The three-day Shad Suk Mynsiem festival concluded today with large numbers of men and women gathering at Weiking ground here in Jaiaw to attend the concluding day.
After two years of Covid-induced disruption, the Niam Khasi faithful could celebrate the festival in relative normality this year.
Shad Suk Mynsiem is organised by Seng Khasi Kmie and began on Saturday.
Men and women clad in the traditional attire looked excited as they gathered at Weiking to participate in the dance.
The festival was a smaller affair last year and was cancelled in 2020 as the pandemic began to take hold. It was the first time in the history of the dance that it was cancelled.
Assistant general secretary of the Seng Khasi Kmie, Paia B Synrem, said that the festival of thanksgiving is a way to express gratitude to God Almighty for his blessings of health, prosperity and the harvest and to seek his blessings for the days to come.
“The male dancers dancing around the females show that men are the protectors of the family. The female in the centre signify the dignity that they are upholding in society,” he added.