The Nongkrem dance festival concluded at Smit in Meghalaya on November 2, bringing Khasi ceremonial dances and harvest thanksgiving traditions to the grounds of the Iing Sad. The five-day celebration was presided over by Dr Balajied Syiem, the Syiem of Hima Khyrim, according to Meghalaya Times.
Dancers in traditional dress performed to drums and tangmuri pipes. Men carried swords and white yak-hair whisks, while women took part in their ceremonial attire. Local handicrafts and food stalls formed part of the gathering around the dance grounds.
Meghalaya Tourism describes the festival as a community celebration rooted in Khasi ritual traditions. Its principal venue, the Iing Sad, is a thatched royal building constructed without metal. Smit remains the capital of the Khyrim Syiemship.
Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar attended the final day. The state government had designated November 2 a local holiday in East Khasi Hills for Nongkrem, underscoring the festival’s place in the district’s annual calendar.
Archive illustration: Khasi dancers at the Nongkrem festival in Smit, photographed on November 12, 2018. This is not a photograph of the 2026 celebration. Photo: Wann Majaw / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Resized.
