Shillong, April 11: The 3-day Shad Suk Mynsiem (‘the dance of peaceful hearts’) festival of the Khasis concluded at the Weiking Ground here on Monday amidst pomp, splendour and regality.

The last day of the event witnessed the attendance of over 300 dancers and thousands of spectators including foreign tourists who thronged the venue.

Hundreds of people belonging to the ‘Niam Khasi’ or ‘Seng Khasi’ including young and old took part in the dancing festival accompanied by the beats of the drums and tangmuri to give thanks to God for all the blessings that he has bestowed.

Shad Suk Mynsiem is a thanksgiving dance festival of the indigenous people to the Almighty for bountiful harvest, health, wealth and peace. They sow the seeds for the next season symbolizing the beginning of the new. It is celebrated in the month of April every year, at the outset of spring and slight summer in Khasi Hills.

The dance step of a man differs from that of a woman. Men’s dance steps are very energetic, on the other hand, women perform a very subtle and dance form. Only virgins ‘sotti’ Khasi females can participate in this annual dance festival.

In the dance, two circles are formed with women dancing on the inside of the circle and men on the outside, with men playing the part of protectors for the women.

Ka Shad Suk Mynsiem dance is also symbolic of women’s fertility where they are receptacles of seeds and bearers of fruit, and men are cultivators who plant, cultivate and nurture the seeds until they are harvested.

The dance was a tradition since inception but it was only in 1911 that the Seng Khasi decided to have it an organized manner at the Weiking Ground.

Mentionably, the festival did not witness much celebration last year owing to the pandemic and in 2020 during the first wave the festival was cancelled, which is the first in the history of the Seng Khasi.

Assistant General Secretary of Seng Khasi Kmie, Paia B Synrem said that the festival of thanksgiving dance is a way to express gratitude to God Almighty for his blessings and seek his blessings for the days to come.

Explaining about the dance, Synrem said that this dance reflects the Khasi Society how it is being governed. “The male dancer dancing around the female shows that men are the protector of the family. The female in the center shows the dignity that they are upholding in the society,” he said.