Assam – called the gateway to the northeast is slowly rising on the places-to-see chart. Totally worth going all the distance. Of course theres many things to do like staying at the Kaziranga national park, check out the local rock music scene, watch elephant polo or just get a dose of assamese culture.
Rongaali Bihu is the National Festival of Assam, one of the most beautiful states of India, known for its tea gardens, lush green forests and the mighty Brahmaputra river. Rongaali Bihu is non-religious and is celebrated by all the communities.
The Assamese celebrate three differing types of Bihu during the year, the most important one being the first, Rongaali Bihu or Bohaag Bihu which marks the New Year. The Assamese word Bihu is also used to imply Bihu dance and Bihu folk songs.
The New Year celebrations take place on the first day of Chitrai or (in the local calendar) Bohaag or Bohag. It falls around the middle of April each year in the Gregorian calendar. It also marks the coming of Spring. It’s a time of merriment and feasting. Nowadays it lasts for several days, roughly a week, although at one stage it used to last for the whole month.
At this time farmers prepare the fields for cultivation of paddy and there is a feeling of joy around. The ladies make pithas and larus (traditional food made of rice and coconut) which gives the real essence of the season.
The first day of the Rongaali Bihu is called Goru Bihu or Cow Bihu, where the cows are washed and worshipped. This falls on the last day of the old year. This is followed by Manuh or Human Bihu on the first day of New Year. The folk songs associated with the Rongaali Bihu are called Bihugeets or Bihu songs.
bihu festival assam culture
Pic courtesy (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Rongaali Bihu is also a fertility festival. The bihu dance, with its sensuous movements using the hips, arms, etc, is performed by young women who are celebrating their fertility. In this aspect, the bihu dance can also be called a mating ritual by young women and their male counterparts.
The New Year celebrations take differing forms for differing elements of the community, although families as a whole try to celebrate together.
Mukoli Bihu is celebrated by young unmarried men and women attired in traditional golden silk. They “muga” dance the bihu and sing bihu songs in the open fields. The songs have themes of romance and sexual love, both solicited and unrequited. Sometimes the songs describe tragic events as well, but in a light-hearted manner. The theme of the dance is female sexuality.
Husori Bihu is the celebration of the village or community elders, who move from house to house singing carols, also in the style of bihu geets, called husuris. They are traditionally welcomed into the courtyards and thanked after the singing with an offering of tamul in a xorai, after which the singers bless the household for the coming year. Husori Bihu is traditionally an all-male celebration.
Jeng Bihu is bihu song and dance performed and watched only by women. The name “jeng” comes from the fact that women in the villages used to surround the place of their performance with sticks dug into the ground, called jeng in the Assamese tongue.
Stage Bihu is a modern development. In recent years, bihu dancing on stage has become popular in urban areas, where mukoli bihu or husori is not appropriate. This reflects the fact that bihu is no longer just an agrarian-orientated activity but is becoming a truly national occasion and activity.