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Performing Art · Meghalaya
Nongkrem
The five-day thanksgiving dance of the Khasi community of the Khyrim-Sohra region — performed at the Nongkrem festival with the men and women of the community dancing in the central courtyard, in celebration of the harvest and the well-being of the village.
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Nongkrem is the central thanksgiving festival of the Khasi community of the Khyrim and Sohra (Cherrapunji) region, celebrated in November as a five-day thanksgiving for the harvest and the well-being of the village. The festival is one of the most distinctive regional traditions of the Khasi community and is documented as a key Khasi religious-cultural event. The dance is performed at the central courtyard of the Khyrim state (the largest of the Khasi kingdoms) with the men and women of the community dancing in coordinated formations. The festival is recognised as a state festival of Meghalaya.
Nongkrem is performed by men and women of the Khasi community in a circle at the central courtyard of the Khyrim state or at the open ground of the festival. The men and women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the Nongkrem cycle and to the rhythm of the ka phreng (the bronze drum) and the small cymbals. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Khasi tradition. Costume is the traditional Khasi dress — the women's jainsem and the men's dhoti and the regional shawl. Performances are at the Nongkrem festival and at the cultural programmes of the state.
The five-day thanksgiving dance of the Khasi community of the Khyrim-Sohra region — performed at the Nongkrem festival with the men and women of the community dancing in the central courtyard, in celebration of the harvest and the well-being of the village.
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