Shillong, Nov 12: Nongkrem Dance or Shad Nongkrem concluded at Smit amid fanfare and gaiety on Monday.
The two-day festival was celebrated every year at Smit, the capital of Hima Khyrim, about 20 km from Shillong.
The whole day, dancers both male and female including young boys and girls, dressed in traditional attire danced to the tune of the traditional musical pipe (Tangmuri) and drums (ksing) even as tens of thousands spectators including tourists from abroad and India came to witness the event. Female dancers performed Ka Shad Kynthei in the inner circle of the arena. Male dancers however performed Ka Shad Mastieh in the outer circle and held swords in their right hand, and a white Yak hair in their left hand while changing beats of the drums and pipes (Tangmuri).
Before dusk, the dance came to an end, which was followed by religious rituals as well as execution of goats .The sacrifice of goat was part and parcel of the ceremony, called Pomblang.
Shad Nongkrem was held annually to seek blessings of Almighty and give thanks for showering blessings especially in the field of agriculture and welfare of the people.