Pomblang (Jaintia)

Understand

Where Pomblang (Jaintia) comes from

Pomblang is the central thanksgiving festival of the Jaintia (Pnar) community of Meghalaya, celebrated annually to give thanks to the Almighty and the ancestral spirits for the harvest. The festival is one of the most distinctive regional traditions of the Jaintia community and is documented as a key religious-cultural event of the region. The Pomblang dance is performed at the central courtyard of the Jaintia village with the men and women of the community dancing in coordinated formations. The festival is recognised as a state festival of Meghalaya.

How it's practiced

Pomblang is performed by men and women of the Jaintia community in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the festival. The men and women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the Pomblang 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 Jaintia tradition. Costume is the traditional Jaintia dress — the women's jainsem and the men's dhoti and the regional shawl. Performances are at the Pomblang festival and at the cultural programmes of the state.