Meghalaya CM announces Rs 2 crores financial support for infrastructural development of Ing Syiem

The Nongkrem Dance Festival or the ‘Shad Pomblang’ concluded on Monday at the courtyard of the grand ‘Iing Sad’ at the Smit Village. 

Smit, the capital of the Khyrim Syiemship was flooded by a sea of people from various villages of different districts of Khasi Hills. 

Notably, many international and national tourists came to witness one of the oldest traditional rituals of the Khasi Tribe.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma attended the Dance festival and announced 2 crores in financial support from the government towards the syiem for overall infrastructural development of the Ïng Syiem which has been a star attraction of tourists. 

Today we handed over the sanction order to the Syiem of Hima Khyrim Paiem Balajied Sing Syiem of ₹1 Crore out of the total ₹2 Crore sanctioned to the Dorbar Hima Khyrim for the Nongkrem Dance & for the upgradation of the infrastructure in the vicinity of the Iing Sad pic.twitter.com/8Ful0nRHv7

— Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) November 7, 2022

Along with the Chief Minister, Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh, PHE Minister Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar, Arts and Culture Minister Sanbor Shullai, Deputy Chief Whip Pyniaid Sing Syiem and other government officials attended the final day of the Dance festival.  

The religious dance festival of the Khasi Tribe is performed to appease the all-powerful Goddess ‘Ka Blei Synshar’ for a rich bumper harvest and prosperity of the people.

Organized every year in the month of November, the Nongkrem Dance has been drawing a sea of culture enthusiasts and also photographers from the country and from abroad as well.

Late in the afternoon, the Syiem (King) of Hima Khyrim, Paiem Balajied Syiem, along with the ‘Lyngdoh’ or the high priest performed the ‘Pomblang’ ceremony (sacrifice of goat) to appease the ‘Lei Shyllong’ – the God of Shyllong peak. The offerings are also made to the ancestor and ancestors of the ruling clan.

Hima Khyrim has always been a bastion of Khasi culture. The Pomblang (goat sacrifice) and the Shad Nongkrem (Nongkrem dance) have been organized in the same manner for hundreds of years even before the recorded years of 1831 AD.

On Monday, the final day for the Nongkrem Dance Festival 2022 which witnessed beautiful maidens decked in Khasi traditional attire and gold ornaments and valorous young men brandishing their swords participate in the religious dance. The Men dance in a circular motion with their swords in their right hand and usually a white Yak hair whisk in their left hand to guard the female dancers who dance at a very slow and less energetic way in sync with the changing beats of ‘Ksing’ or drums and playing of the ‘tangmuri’ or pipes.