Behdienkhlam Festival

Behdienkhlam is the four-day monsoon festival of the Pnar (Jaintia) community of Meghalaya, held every July at Jowai, the district headquarters of West Jaintia Hills. The name means 'to drive away plague', and the festival is both a public health rite and a celebration of Pnar identity.

Its most striking element is the parade of rots — tall, decorated bamboo-and-coloured-paper structures built in each locality and carried through Jowai to be immersed in the Aitnar pool.

• Rots — decorated bamboo-and-paper structures paraded through Jowai
• The Datlawakor game — men wrestling for a wooden ball at Aitnar pool
• Priests invoking Knia Pyrthat, the thunder deity, atop the sacred pole
• Rhythmic drum-and-tangmuri (pipe) processions through the town

• One of Meghalaya's most visually powerful indigenous festivals
• Jaintia Hills is a quieter, less-visited region than the Khasi belt
• Combine with Krang Suri Falls and Nartiang's monoliths

Behdienkhlam is rooted in the Niam Tre religion, the indigenous faith of the Pnar people, and has been observed at Jowai for centuries. The festival's roots are pre-Christian — the Pnar traditionally worshipped U Blei Nongthaw (the creator) and a pantheon of clan deities and thunder spirits.

The festival is presided over by the Daloi (the traditional chief of the Elaka) and administered through the community's clan councils, with rituals unchanged in form even as Christianity has grown alongside them in Jaintia Hills.

• Annual dates: typically the second week of July (four days).
• Venue: Jowai town, West Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya — main rites at Aitnar sacred pool and Madiah field.
• The Datlawakor game is played on the final day and draws the largest crowds.

The Pnar (also called Jaintia) are one of Meghalaya's three main matrilineal communities, alongside the Khasi and Garo. Property and clan name pass through the mother, and the youngest daughter inherits the ancestral home.

The Jaintia Hills were historically ruled by the Jaintia kingdom, which briefly extended into the Bengal plains until British annexation in 1835. The Pnar language belongs to the Austroasiatic family.

Behdienkhlam is a purification rite — driving out disease, evil and misfortune from the community before the monsoon peaks. The immersion of the rots symbolises the disposal of accumulated ill and the renewal of the village for the season ahead.

The Datlawakor game between the two halves of Jowai is both play and augury: the winning half is believed to have a better harvest and fewer misfortunes in the coming year.

• The rots parade — dozens of tall bamboo-and-paper structures carried through Jowai's narrow streets.
• The Datlawakor tug-of-war game with a wooden ball, played in the mud pool at Aitnar.
• The Symlend rite — priests scaling a sacred pole to invoke Knia Pyrthat, the thunder deity.
• The Wasan dance performed by young men around the community's khnong pole.
• Pnar food — jadoh (rice with meat), tungrymbai (fermented soybean) and dohkhlieh salad.

• Air: Shillong Airport (SHL) at Umroi — 60 km from Jowai. Guwahati (GAU) is the primary hub, 175 km via Shillong.
• Rail: Guwahati Junction (GHY) is the nearest major railhead, 175 km.
• Road: Jowai is 65 km from Shillong on NH-6, about 2 hours by shared sumo or private cab. From Guwahati, allow 5–6 hours.

No Inner Line Permit is required for Meghalaya. Indian nationals can travel freely with valid ID.

Foreign nationals do not require a Protected Area Permit for Meghalaya but must carry their passport and register at the hotel of stay in the normal way.

July in Jowai is the peak of the monsoon with heavy rainfall, cool temperatures of 18–24 °C and near-constant cloud cover. Carry a good waterproof jacket, quick-dry clothes, waterproof footwear and a rain cover for camera gear.

Jowai has modest hotels and guesthouses; Shillong offers the widest range and is a 2-hour commute. Homestays in Jowai and nearby villages such as Nartiang are the most immersive option.

Book two to three weeks in advance during the festival — Jowai's hotel stock is limited.

• The rots parade moves quickly through narrow lanes — a 24–70 mm zoom and quick reflexes work better than long lenses.
• The Datlawakor mud game is chaotic and wet; use a weather-sealed body or a rain cover, and protect gear between shots.
• Ask the Daloi's committee before photographing the priestly rites at Aitnar and Madiah.

• Nartiang Monoliths — the largest cluster of megaliths in Meghalaya.
• Krang Suri Waterfall (30 km) with a turquoise pool.
• Thadlaskein Lake and the ancient Nartiang Durga Temple.
• Syndai and Iawmusiang caves in Jaintia Hills.

Photographs from Behdienkhlam Festival, shot on our own departures and by license-cleared contributors.

Behdienkhlam Festival is a living cultural event hosted by the Pnar (Jaintia) community. Please attend as a respectful guest, not a spectator.