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This Khasi festival is also known as the Dance of the Joyful Heart. The festival is performed to celebrate harvesting and sowing in relation to the agricultural cycle (i.e. the harvesting period and the beginning of the sowing period) and also paying obeisance to God, the creator for the blessings that he has showered. During the festivals, men and women dress in their traditional costumes of gold and silver ornaments dance to the beats of the Nakra (drum) and the tunes of the Tangmuri (flute). The female dancers have to be unmarried (virgins), while their male counterparts do not have any such restriction. The dance also depicts the matrilineal society, where the male is the maternal uncle and father of a family where as the woman is the custodian of the ancestral property.
When: The First - Second Week of April | Where: Weking Ground, Jaiaw
This is one of the popular festivals of the region of Jaintia hills. Based on the socio - economic life of the Jaintias and prayers for the prosperity and good health of the people, this festival is celebrated at Jowai, the district headquarters of Jaintia Hills. The festival is celebrated to invoke the blessings of the Gods for a bountiful harvest and keep people off diseases and plague. The main highlight of Behdienkhlam is the making of the colorful decorative Rots (Rath) by different localities spreading social messages. During this festival a traditional game of wooden football called Datlawakor is played between the farmers of the upper & lower paddy fields in the street of Jowai and belief is that the winner of the game will be blessed with bountiful harvest to their field.
When: Second Week of July | Where: Jowai
Wangala, celebrated as a thanksgiving ceremony to the Gods and the Goddesses, is considered to be 'the post - harvest festival of the Garos'. Wangala is one of the most important festivals of the Garo Community. During this festival, ritual sacrifice is made to the goddess 'Misi Saljong' to bless them with plenty of food-grains. The festival also highlights the end of the time of toil in the fields and harvesting of crops. When the dance ceremony begins the dancers make a queue of two parallel lines - one of men and the other of women, both turning out in festive regalia. The men beat their drums and move forward in tune with the sounds of music flowing out of gongs, buffalo - horns, flutes and the drums. The dancers show energetic, vigorous movements, aided by the sumptuous feasts of meat and rice - beer.
When: Third Week October | Where: Tura
This is one of the most important festivals of the Khasi tribes. It is celebrated at 'Smit', which is the cultural centre of the Khasis. It is five days celebration for thanking the Lord Almighty for a good harvest. The participants also pray for the peace and prosperity of the community. When the festival commences, the Syiem (the administrative head of the Khasi region) dance before a certain wooden pillar called "U Rishot Blei". Then a ritualistic sacrifice of goats is made followed by a series of rituals like offerings to the Gods and to the ancestors, 'Ka Iawbei U Thawlang'. Once the religious rituals are over, dancers begin their rituals. Unmarried girls in fine costumes and jewelry dance within a circle with the men holding open sword in one hand and a white yak - hair whisk in the other. They dance to the rhythmic beats of the drums and the clanking of cymbals and the flute striking up a melody in the background.
When: Second Week November | Where: Nongkrem
The Autumn Festival is a massive cultural event held in the month of October - November in the state of Meghalaya organized by the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum with an objective to showcase the rich and colourful culture of the North East and Meghalaya in particular. The first Autumn Festival was held in the year 2005 and due to its tremendous success it has been continued since. It is aimed at mobilizing various communities into action and participation in one common event which in turn allows the people of the area to see the benefits of tourism to their communities. The festival is a weeklong celebration in various venues in Meghalaya such as Shillong, Jowai, Cherrapunjee and Ri Bhoi. Local communities are involved in various capacities wherever the festivals are being held so that these communities see the benefits of being involved in the efforts to bring about sustainable development in the form of tourism. The festival also showcases cultural songs and dances from Meghalaya and the North Eastern region as well as traditional sports and traditional massage therapies. There are food courts serving delicious and traditional and world cuisines, Arts and Handicraft stalls, Modern music and Dance entertainment, Competitive activities like kite flying, fishing, boat races, classic car pageants, international performers, tattoo huts, family activities and so on. As a part of the Festival the Guinness World Record was created for the Largest Drum Ensemble on the 28th of October 2006 in Nehru Stadium, Shillong with record 7951 drummers from all over North East India playing in one place.
When: Last Week October – First Week November | Where: Sohra,Cherrapunjee, Jowai, Shillong and Umiam Lake.
Winter Festival starts with the carol singing revelry as people of the city gear up to celebrate Christmas and culminates with mass New Year Celebrations at the City Center (Khyndailad). For the last two years, over 30,000 people collectively ushered in the New Year dancing and singing along with Shillong & Kolkata’s finest bands at Khyndailad. Taking a leaf out of New Year celebrations in New York’s Times Square, Shillongites bid adieu to the old year and welcomed the New Year in grand style and fanfare. Organised by the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF), the dazzling lights, fiber sparking betel nuts trees and fireworks lit up the night sky as New Year revelers in Khyndailad danced to the tunes of their favourite local bands and singers that were playing well past mid-night.
When: Last Week December | Where: Shillong
The brainchild of Lou Majaw, the Bob Dylan concert has become an annual ritual of sorts for this city of Shillong. Majaw: a singer and songwriter extraordinaire, along with other musicians have been belting out Dylan’s songs for 35 years! In times when every piece of art (read music) comes with a price tag, the Bob Dylan concert has been a constant effort to keep the spirit of good music alive since 1972. From being a small, almost private celebration three decades ago the Bob Dylan concert today attracts audiences from across the country and even from overseas. “It gets better every time. More and more people are writing songs and poetry. Poetry is otherwise underrated; no one gives a damn about it. So this is a very good thing. And more so because Dylan’s efforts are not wasted,” says Majaw. Getting Dylan to Shillong remains a long unfulfilled dream for Majaw. According to him numerous attempts have been made to bring the master himself to Shillong, but they have so far been unsuccessful. However, unfulfilled dreams are no stranger to Majaw. “I am looking for a big, day - long celebration in schools and colleges in Shillong. A day which will be declared a holiday! I would like to invite students from various schools and colleges, and ask one representative from each institution to sing a Dylan song or recite one of his poems. It should all be a beautiful spirit of participation,” he says.
When: 24th May | Where: Shillong
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