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The Khasi predominantly inhabit the Khasi and Jaintia
Hills Districts of Meghalaya. They comprise of the
The Khasi have a rich cultural heritage, they have many
festivals and dances and their own distinctive dancing costumes, gold
and silver
Rong Khli(Tiger Festival) of War Jaintia :- Besides these major ones, there are still many more festivals and dances in the different parts of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, but here only one important festival known as the Rong khli/khla(Tiger Festival) is to be highlighted. This is the most important festival of the War Jaintia, living in the southern part of the Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya bordering Bangladesh; it is performed at Nongtalang village, the biggest village in war Jaintia area. Most of the people in this village are still in their traditional religion. Rong means festival and Khli means tiger, in the local dialect, so Rong Khli means the Tiger Festival.
Origin of the Festival In ancient times, when there were war between two sides, the winning side use to chop the head of the leader of the losing side. So when they return to their village with that chopped head, the villagers welcome them as heroes and all will start dancing/singing and organised the Winning Festival .As the time passed-by people started to learn about the destruction of wars and adopted the processes of love and friendship .Hence, to keep the memories about their ancestors, the people of that period where the love and friendship had started, declared TIGER as equivalent to the fighter warrior; therefore,whenever TIGER is killed they have to organise the festival known as RONGKHLI Tiger Festival). Contents of the Festival Normally a sacrificial object from the jungle as mentioned is the prime object of the festival which is observed and organised by the specific clan (clan under the ngiamkhrong. These clan organise, mobilise people participation to find and get a sacrificial object has to enable them to perform their rituals. Stages of the Festival Rongkhli have a men dance called Shad Mastieh between two Clans at a time and only among the Clans under the Lyngdoh niam(niam khrong). At the village gate only the Mea Kur( Kur heh/High Clans) could make the Male dance (Mastieh) comprising of Lyngdoh, Pohsnem, Rymbui, Myrchiang, Bareh and Pohti. The Festival day On the day of the festival, early in the morning, the people leave the dancing ground and they all go to the elder uncle's house of the organizing clan. The dance is accompanied by the music played by the drummers and pipers. The dancers carry their shields and swords, after this dance of the clans; the other dancers can also participate in the dance. After the dancing is over, next they go to the Lyngdoh's house, to show respect to him. At night , there is only a female dance, which continues throughout the whole night till morning, along with the beating of the drums and playing of the pipes by the musicians. Dress and Ornaments The dancing dress of both men and women are different from that of the Nongkrem and Weiking dance. The women dancing costumes consists of a jainsem dhara, which is a expensive silk material and a traditional dress of the Khasi women, it is of many colors and is tied at both ends in the shoulders and reaches below the knee. They also put on a jaintawah, which is a kind of a small shawl. They also wear their sopti kti or long sleeve blouse. They put on necklaces of gold and coral beads, but they do not wear a crown like the female dancers in the upland region. They put a flower made of paper and is tied to their hair knot. The men's dress consists of a long sleeve shirt, and a kind of a lungi with black borders, on their heads, they put on a turban. Like the male dancers of the Nongkrem and Weiking dance, they also carry a sort of a fly flab or whisk, a sword and a shield. Conclusion Although the Tiger Festival is being organized by a particular clan, yet the people in the village as a whole take part. People from the neighboring villages also come to take part in the dance and Tangmuri competition. Which is a sort of music competition. Competitors from the different villages come to compete and prizes which are always in terms of cash, are given to the winners and even the losers. The judges are selected from the elderly persons who are considered knowledgeable persons of the arts and their decision is final. The Tiger Festival is important because it is in this kind of festival that both religious and cultural activities are combined together . As observed above, we can say that the Clans who are not well to do have to avoid killing of a Tiger as any member who do so, his whole clan have to perform the Festival, which now would be very expensive. Therefore, we may say tiger will not be killed without proper calculation as he is precious and expensive to them-hence Tiger is protected.
Rongkusi: Rongkusi is the cultural part of Rongkhli which now a day been organise by any village, club or organisation to preserved and promote the cultural activities of War Jaintia.
In this Festivals, it is performed in the
form of dancing with joy and happiness along with music where males participate
during day time and females during the dawn of the night. Music is played both
by old and young men. All the participants either males or females must be of
virgin but most probably for this occasion, it is given chance to the divorcee
also.
In
this festivals, males have to wear Golden ornaments, turban around the head,
trouser called Piarchelit/Bohkhaila,
tail of a birth called Tdong Tyrlong
used as a flower over the turban. He also carried a sword (Shura), a shield (Stiah) and a tail of yak (Symphiah). For females they need to
wear a Golden ornaments, Golden Dhara and Silver Flower around the head. For
the Musicians, they have their own dress like the turban around the head,
trouser called Piarchelit/Bohkhaila.
Musical Instrument used in this Festival are like (i). Flute called the Buhri (ii). Male Drum (Bom) along with the small Male Drum (Hun Seng). (iii). Female Drum (Seng Hynthai) and Lakadiah. is Thep Mawbah (Lum shyiang): The other festival found in War Jaintia is the festival which is more religious significance than Social or Cultural known as Bone Collection (Thep Mawbah). When the date of the Thep Mawbah is fixed, the uncles/elder Members of the Clan who arranged the festival sent invitation to different villages and even to individual persons informing them about the festival of Bone Collection of the members of their family who have died earlier. Special invitation is sent to individuals who have the knowledge of the ancient stories/legends. Villages have to sent their representative to contest in the `Stories or Legends narration` inform and style of traditional Singing or story-telling called locally as Phawar Rwai. This, we may say is a Cultural activity on the night prior to the day of the Thep Mawbah; judge is selected from among the elders who was well respected and had the vast knowledge on Legends. When he pronounced his judgements, he pointed the mistakes of the loser and his decision is respected and final. |
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four main tribes,
the Khynriam, Pnar, Bhoi, and the War. The Khasi, are a happy and
lively people, they love dances, music and songs, which are connected
with their various colorful festival and religious association, though
a few of the celebrations are plainly secular 2. The festivals and
dances play a very important role in the life of the people. It is
during these occasions that the people can be joyous and happy and can
forget their everyday monotonous life. It is through the festivals and
dances that the life of the Khasi is reflected. To them festivals and
dances are not only religious ceremonies but also social festivities.
During these occasions, ceremonies, rites and rituals are performed
which shows that the Khasi are a deeply religious people, they pray to
God for His blessings, peace, well being and general prosperity and at
the same time, they do not forget to thank Him for all the blessings
that He has showered upon them. It is also during these festivals and
dances that they could meet their relatives, the near and dear ones
from far and near. The young boys and girls could be joyous and happy;
the girls in particular, could display their beauty, gracefulness and
their rich costumes, gold and silver ornaments.
ornaments and jewelleries, which are artistically made.
Their musical instruments consist of various kinds of drums, pipes,
harps, flutes and cymbals. Their most important festivals are the Pomblang Syiem or the Pomblang Nongkrem or more popularly known as the
Shad Nongkrem of the Nongkrem dance, which is the religious festival
of the Khyrim Syiemship, held annually at Smit, the official residence
of the Khyrim Syiemship a few kilometers from Shillong. Another
important festival is the Behdeinkhlam, which means a festival to
drive away plague with sticks. It is a religious festival, that is
celebrated annually in the month of July at Jowai, the headquarter of
the Jaintia Hills District, and also in some other places, of the
District. Another important festival is the Shad Suk Mynsiem or Shad
Weiking, which is an annual Thanksgiving Dance held under the auspices
of the Seng Khasi, a socio-religious and cultural organization of the
Khasi who are still in their traditional religion. Shad Suk Mynsiem
means the dance of a happy or peaceful heart. The dance is of
comparatively recent origin, when a need was felt to preserve the rich
cultural heritage of the people.