festivals play an important part in the life of people here and are celebrated with lot of pomp and gaitey. number of festivals celebrated here, with some important ones being as below:

• shad suk mynsiem festival, most important festival of the khasis is celebrated in april, every year and is also known as  ‘move of cheerful hearts’. it is a three-day festival. during the festival, dances are performed by unmarried girls dressed in their traditional attire while the man circles the women with their swords. it is performed at weiking grounds near shillong and at other places. this dance form signifies that man is the protector of the women and her honor.

• nongkrem festival an important festival of khasi tribe is a five day long festival held in october or november to celebrate for good harvest, peace, and prosperity. it is held in smit, a small village 15 kilometers from shillong. people from all over come to witness the khasi men and women performing the shad mystieh dance. during this festival young virgin girls of the khasi clan attired traditionally preform shad kynthei in inner circle while men also dressed in traditional attire with hand perform shad mystieh in outer circle. this dance symbolizes male power and protection over women.

• behdeinkhlam is a four-day festival celebrated by the jaintia clan and means ‘chasing away the plague’ i.e., ward off evils.  the festival is celebrated in july before the seed-sowing season and rituals and sacrifices are made by priest during the festival. the festival is celebrated every year at jowau town and other villages of the jaintia hills.  it goes on for 4 day. on last day people carry 30-40 ft tall structures made of bamboo and wood called raths. the festival ends with a game called dad-lawakor, which is like football but played with a wooden ball.

• shad sukra is celebrated by the jaintia clan prior to sowing season; in mid-april or may. rituals and dance accompanied by drums and flute with both women and men dressed in traditional dresses.  it is celebrated at jowai town in west jaintia hills which is about 64 km the capital city of shillong.

• wangala festival celebrated by the garo people marks end of agricultural year and is performed in honor of misi-a-gilpa-saljong-galapa, the god of fertility. this festival is now popularly known as hundred drums festival and is celebrated in the middle of november. the celebrations go on for 2 to 3 days. major highlight is when 100 drum players descend on the field creating a synchronised rhythm that is followed by dance moves. the young and old, all wear their traditional dress and feathered headgear, to dance to the rhythm of the beats.