बिहु

The tradition & historical record

Bihu (Assamese pronunciation: [bi'hu] ) is an important cultural festival unique to the Indian state of Assam and is of three types – 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in October or November, and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' observed in January. The festivals present an admixture of Tibeto-Birman, Austroasiatic and Indo-Aryan traditions entwined so intricately that it is impossible to separate them—festivals which are uniquely Assamese are ones to which all communities of Assam had contributed elements. The Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three, celebrating spring festival. The Bhogali Bihu or the Magh Bihu is a harvest festival, with community feasts. The Kongali Bihu or the Kati Bihu is the sombre, thrifty one reflecting a season of short supplies and is an animistic festival. The Rongali Bihu is the most important of them all, coincides with the Assamese New Year and as well as with other regions of Indian subcontinent, East Asia and South-East Asia, which follow the Hindu calendar and Buddhist calendar. The other two Bihu festivals every year are unique to Assamese people. Like some other Indian festivals, Bihu is associated with agriculture, and rice in particular. Bohag Bihu is a sowing festival, Kati Bihu is associated with crop protection and worship of plants and crops and is an animistic form of the festival, while Bhogali Bihu is a harvest festival. ¹

The word Bihu has been derived from the Deori (a Boro-Garo language) word Bisu which means "excessive joy". Original form of Bihu continues among the Chutias, Sonowal Kacharis, Thengal Kacharis and Deoris. These groups, known as Sadiyal Kacharis were associated with the historical Kingdom of Sadiya. The other branches of Bodo-Kacharis which include Boros, Dimasas, Rabhas, Tiwas, etc. have also been celebrating Bihu since ancient times. The Boros call it Baisagu, while the Dimasas, Tiwa and Rabha call it Bushu or Bushu Dima,Pisu, Dumsi respectively. In local folklore, it is said that Bordoisila (Bardai Sikhla in Bodo) (meaning north-westerly winds in Assamese) was the daughter of God Earth who married to a bridegroom of some distant land. Bordoisila visits her mother's home once in year during spring time which indicates the beginning of Bihu and leaves after a few days which indicates the end of Bihu. Assam experience strong gale (wind) at that period which marks the beginning of Bihu and another strong gale after her departure which is devastating. The word Bordoisila is derived from the Bodo word Bordaisikhla which means "girl of storm" (Sikhla meaning girl and Bardai meaning storm). There is even a dance with the same name performed among Boro people during Baisagu which points to the origin of Bihu in the Bodo-Kachari groups. ¹

Yet another reference of Bihu can be found in the Deodhai Buranji which mentions that the capital of the Chutia kingdom, Sadiya was suddenly attacked by the Ahom forces on the first day of Bihu/Bisu in 1524 (first Wednesday of Bohag/Vaisakha), when the people were busy celebrating Bihu. The Ahom general Phrasenmung Borgohain upon the advice of a Chutia general (who sided with the enemies) played the Bihu Dhul (on Ujha Bisu day i.e. ¹

Ahoms used to celebrate their own spring festival Chyeng-Ken (similar to the Thai word Songkran which is derived from the Sanskrit word for new year saṅkrānt (संक्रान्ति); the rituals of Chyeng-Ken are described in Khyek-Lai-Bet manuscript. But later on they adopted Bihu as their spring festival. Ahom King Rudra Singha gave patronage to Bihu and was also the first one to celebrate Bihu in the courtyard of Rang Ghar. This policy was later followed by his successors. ¹

Bohag Bihu (mid-April, also called Rongali Bihu), the most popular Bihu celebrates the onset of the Assamese New Year (around 14–15 April) and the coming of Spring. This marks the first day of the Hindu solar calendar and is also observed in Bengal, Manipur, Mithila, Nepal, Orissa, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu though called by different names. It's a time of merriment and feasting and continues, in general, for seven days. The farmers prepare the fields for cultivation of paddy and there is a feeling of joy around. The women make pitha, laroos (traditional food made of rice, coconut) various drinks by local tribes such as Chuje by Deoris, Nam-Lao by Tai-Ahom, Aapong by Mising tribe and Jolpan which gives the real essence of the season. ¹

The first day of the bihu is called goru (goru means cow in Assamese language) bihu, where the cows are washed and worshipped, which falls on the last day of the previous year, usually on 14 April. This is followed by manuh (manuh means man kind in Assamese) bihu on 15 April, the New Year Day. This is the day of getting cleaned up, wearing new cloths and celebrating and getting ready for the new year with fresh vigor. The third day is Gosai (Gods) bihu; statues of Gods, worshiped in all households are cleaned and worshiped asking for a smooth new year. ¹

The folk songs associated with the Bohag Bihu are called Bihu geets or Bihu songs. The form of celebration and rites vary among different demographic groups. ¹

Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu festival continues for seven days and called as Haat Bihu. The seven days are known as Chot Bihu, Goru Bihu, Manuh Bihu, Kutum Bihu, Senehi Bihu, Mela Bihu and Chera Bihu. ¹

Goru Bihu: The goru bihu or cattle worship rites are observed on the last day of the year. The cattle are washed, smeared with ground turmeric and other pastes, struck with sprigs of dighalati and makhiyati and endeared to be healthy and productive (lao kha, bengena kha, bosore bosore barhi ja / maar xoru, baper xoru, toi hobi bor bor goru—eat gourd, eat brinjal, grow from year to year / your mother is small, your father is small, but you be a large one). The old cattle ropes are cast away through the legs and new ropes are tied to them, and they are allowed to roam anywhere they wished for the entire day. ¹

Manuh Bihu: The New Year Day, the day after the goru bihu, is called the manuh bihu. Elders are shown respect, with gifts of bihuwan (a gamosa), a hachoti (kerchief), a cheleng etc., and their blessings are sought. Children are given new clothes, and Husori singing begins on this day, and people visit their relatives and friends. Husori: Village elders move from household to households singing carols, also in the style of bihu geets, called husoris. ¹

It possibly derives from the Dimasa Kachari word formation ha (land) and char (move over): hachari. Villages could have more than one Husori band, and they would visit households in a village non-contiguous to itself, first singing carols at the Naamghar. The husari singers then visit individual households, by first announcing their arrival at the gate (podulimukh) with drum beats. The singers are traditionally welcomed into the courtyard where they sing the husori songs and perform a ring dance. ¹

Kongali Bihu (mid-October, also called Kati-Bihu) has a different flavor… ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Bihu”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Bihu is three seasonal festivals of Assamese people: Rongali or Bohag Bihu (April), Kongali or Kati Bihu (October), and Bhogali or Magh Bihu (January), according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²