Music is integral to Khasi life, and whatever
it lacks in formal sophistication of established schools and forms of music,
it makes up in purity, beauty and a certain complexity in skilful rendering.
Music everything in Khasi Life - every festival and ceremony from birth to death
is enriched with music and dance. One can hear natural sounds enmeshed in the
songs - the hum of bees, bird calls, the call of a wild animal, the gurgling
of a stream.
One of the basic forms of Khasi music is the 'phawar', which is more of a "chant"
than a song, and are often composed on the spot, impromptu, to suit the occasion.
Other forms of song include ballads & verses on the past, the exploits of
legendary heroes, laments for martyrs. Khasi musical instruments (Ksing Shynrang,
Ksing Kynthei) are also interesting because they support the song and the dance.
Flutes and Drums of various types are used. The ubiquitous Drum taking on the
most prolific role. Drums not only provide the beat for the festival, they are
used to 'invite' people to the event.
"Tangmuri"(a kind of flageolet); "Shaw Shaw " (Cymbals);
Percussion instruments of various types, including the "Nakra" (Big
Drum) and "Ksing Padiah"(small drum); the "Besli" (flute
for "solo" recitals) and a variety of other wind instruments like
"Sharati", "Shyngwiang" (used for different occasions, sad
or joyous); the "Duitara" (a stringed instrument played by striking
the strings with a wooden pick), [Dymphong-Reeds of Bamboos].Today the "Spanish
Guitar" is more popular and is widely used for festive occasions as well
as for general entertainment.
Festival of Dance
Dance is at the very heart of Khasi life, rich in repertoire, performed often
as a part of the "rites de passage"- the life-cycle of an individual
in society or the annual passage of the seasons.Dances are performed at the
level of individual villages (Shnong), a group of villages (Raid) and a conglomeration
of Raids (Hima). Local or regional flavours and colours bring variations to
the basic dance form, which is universal in Khasi folk culture. Different types
of Festivals are :-
Ka Shad Suk Mynsiem : The annual spring dance, performed to
celebrate harvesting and sowing.The Dance is performed in relation to the agricultural
cycle (i.e. the harvesting period and the beginning of the sowing period).The
participants in the dance are both male and female. The female dancers have
to be unmarried (virgins), while their male counterparts do not have any such
restriction.
More ....
Ka Pom-Blang Nongkrem : For
five days, this festival gives thanks to the Lord Almighty for a good harvest
and the participants pray for peace and prosperity of the community. It is among
the most prominent of ancestral cultural revivals.In earlier days, this festival
was celebrated in mid-summer, but today, in conformity with other cultures and
for convenience, it is held either in October or November every year.
More
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Ka-Shad Shyngwiang-Thangiap
: A ceremonial dance to express sorrow, performed on the occasion of a death
in the family. Male musicians play music on the flute, drum and bamboo pole.
More ....
Ka-Shad-Kynjoh Khaskain :
A dance to commemorate "house-warming" or when a family moves into
a new-built home. Once the ritual ceremonies are over, the dance is performed
in three stages - Ka Shad Kyuntui, Ka Shad Khalai Miaw and Ka Shad Brap - and
lasts through the night till dawn of the next day.
More
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Ka Bam Khana Shnong : Nobody knows
when this "Village Community Feasting Festival', began, but it is an event
that everyone - men, women and children - look forward to. It is a social get-together,
but at the back of it all, it is a time to thank the Lord for the old year past
and seek his blessings for the New Year, which is to come.
More
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Umsan Nongkharai : The festival is
held in spring (April or May), commencing on Sugi Lyngka with a ceremonial sacrifice
of a goat and two cocks before the supreme deity of the Khasis - Lei Shyllong.
It ends on Sugi-Shillong, with prayers offered at midnight to establish person-to-person
contact between the finite and the infinite.
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Shad Beh Sier : This deer-hunting dance
is dedicated to occupational merry-making. In off-harvest-season, male hunters
roam the dense forests for deer prey. A kill or two, usually made with bow and
arrow, becomes a local celebration. Young and adult males mount the slain deer
on a bamboo bier and parade it through villages.
More
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