Nongkrem Dance

Ka Pomblang Nongkrem is a five-day religious festival of the Khasi people, held at Smit, the cultural centre of the Khyrim state near Shillong. It is a thanksgiving to the goddess Ka Blei Synshar for a good harvest and the welfare of the people, presided over by the Syiem (chief) and the high priestess, and marked by the sacrifice of goats (pomblang).

Its highlight is the ceremonial dance in which unmarried Khasi women in gold-and-silver finery dance sedately in the centre, encircled by men dancing with swords and whisks — a dignified, deeply traditional spectacle of matrilineal Khasi culture.