Sohra

For places in Iran, see Sohra, Iran.

Sohra, also known as Chur(r)ra (a British Raj corruption), is one of the hima (Khasi tribal chieftainships constituting petty Khasi Hills States) in the present East Khasi Hills district of the (formerly Assamese) Indian state of Meghalaya.

It was originally homonymous with its capital, a town which is now known as Cherrapunji or -punjee.

Sohra is the place where British Christian missionaries first came into contact with the Khasi tribal community and converted them to Christianity in the early 18th century. The British also gave the Khasis their script, English, but helped them systematise their grammar.

Currently, Mawsynram, a small village has replaced Sohra in exact statistic on the highest rainfall anywhere in the world.

From December 2010, the local legislator of Sohra, who at the time was Dr PW Khongjee, created the Cherrapunjee Indigenous Festival, showcasing Khasi indigenous culture, including the Phawar system of narratives that followed most activities, like going out for fishing, or celebrating good harvest and so on. Dances like "the small fish" dance" which is enacted just before going out for fishing in the autumn, or the playing of the Bum (big) drum, dance for the gamblers, etc., were enacted on a massive, ultra-modern stage. Local cuisine, wild honey and Sohra's famous fruits sold in stalls that ringed the arena.

From 2010, Cherrapunjee Indigenous Festival has become an annual event in the first week of December.