Behdienkhlam Festival in Meghalaya kicks off today; read to know more

The Behdienkhlam Celebration is the most well-known cultural festival among the Pnars. Behdienkhlam (driving away the Demon of Cholera) is the most prominent dance festival of the Jaintia tribes, celebrated annually in July following the sowing time. This festival tour is also a petition to God, asking for his blessings for a good harvest. 
 
The women, on the other hand, do not take part in the dance since they have the essential function of offering sacrificial food to the spirits of their predecessors. The festival held at Jowai is one of the most well-known and enjoyable festivals in Meghalaya.
 
Here’s all you need to know about the Behdienkhlam festival
 
During the Behdienkhlam Cultural Festival Tour, young men beat the roofs of every home with bamboo sticks to drive away the evil spirit, plague, and disease.
 

1. The climax of the celebration is the fight for a large undressed beam by two groups of people in opposition to each other. 

2. This leads to the heavy beam getting across a muddy ditch called Wah-eit-nar.

3. A lot of horseplay enters into this part of the event when mud is smeared by the participants on each other. 

4. The Behdienkhlam festival is celebrated in India's North East.

5. The ceremony and ritual are carried out for three days.

6. On the last day, in the afternoon, people would gather in Aitnar and dance to the tunes of the pipes and drums, both young and old.

7. When tall-decorated structures called rots and wooden posts called khnongs are carried into the pool, the dancers become extremely emotional.

8. The climax of this famous festival of North East India is when people dressed up in their best attire would converge to a place called Mynthong to witness a game played similar to football, called dad-lawakor. 

9. The game is played with a wooden ball between the Northerners and the Southerners. 

10. If one side wins the match by putting the ball on the opposite side, it means that the following year's crop will be plentiful in that specific location.

11. In the evening there would be a lot of funfairs and merry-making.

12. It is desirable that there should be rain on the day of the festival.