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Home :: Festival tour :: Rangoli Bihu
RONGALI BIHU
FACTS & FIGURES
Time of the year - Mid April
Places to Visit - Assam
Duration - Seven days |
 Celebration Of Bihu |
THE FESTIVAL
Assam is a land of myths and mystery for those who are not familiar
with it. The Land of Red River and Blue Hills, as it is described,
has an enchanting beauty. It has a unique landscape with sprawling
tea gardens and unending stretches of paddy fields interspersed
with groves of coconut, betel nut, and banana trees. Its population
is a confluence of streams of different races and tribes like the
Austric, the Aryans, Negroid, Indo-Burmese, Indo-Tibetans, and Mongoloid.
They have enriched each other and have evolved to give a distinctive
identity to the Assamese people. Vast majorities of the people in
the state, as in most other states in the country, are closely associated
with agriculture. It is, therefore, natural that almost all the
important festivals and dances are rooted in agricultural activities
and the changing moods of nature. The festivals of Assam are a synthesis
of diverse cultures, which have blended to become a common heritage
of the people of the state.
Assamese people, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, faith,
and belief celebrate the Bihu. There are three Bihu festivals in
a year, namely, Rongali, Bhugali, and Kangali. Each Bihu coincides
with a distinctive phase in the farming calendar. The Bohag Bihu
marks the New Year at the advent of seeding time, the Kati Bihu
marks the completion of sowing and transplanting of paddies, and
the Magh Bihu marks the end of the harvesting period. Bohag Bihu
is also called the Rongali Bihu or the Festival of Merriment, Magh
Bihu is also called Bhugali Bihu or the Festival of Food, and Kati
Bihu is called Kangali Bihu or the Festival of the Poor.
Of the three Bihu festivals, which are secular and non-religious,
the Bohag Bihu ushers in the period of greatest enjoyment and marks
the arrival of spring, the agricultural season. The folk songs associated
with the Bohag Bihu are called Bihugeets or Bihu songs. The Bohag
Bihu lasts for several days during which "the young people
in the village may be seen moving about in groups gaily dressed
or forming circles in the midst of which the prettiest girls dance"
singing songs of love and romance. The merriments include dances
accompanied by the wild and lusty beats of dhol and pépa
(buffalo hornpipe) and gagana. Songs sung in this Bihu are woven
around themes of love and often carry erotic overtones. People adorn
traditional attires like dhoti, gamosa, and saadar mekhela.
CELEBRATIONS
The weeklong festival of Bohag Bihu starts from the Vishuva Sankranti
day. It comes when the first shower of the year, the blossoming
of varieties of colorful flowers, the sweet voice of the cuckoo
and the fragrant breeze transform the environment into an earthly
paradise. Rongali Bihu inspires unbounded joy and enthusiasm expressed
through dances, songs, and other festivities.
The first day of the festival week is called Garu Bihu and is dedicated
to the cattle and livestock. In the morning, the cattle are taken
to nearby ponds or riverbanks for a ceremonial bath. The horns and
heads of the animal are rubbed with the paste of newly harvested
turmeric and black gram. Pieces of aubergine, turmeric, and bottle
gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) are thrown on the cattle amidst shouts
of "Lau kha, bengena kha, bachare bachare barhi ja". The
animals are tethered with new ropes and garlanded with a collection
of different kinds of leaves.
The rest of the weeklong celebrations are known as Manuh Bihu.
A mood of festivity and gaiety is seen throughout Assam during the
seven days of Rongali Bihu. Some people celebrate it for almost
a month. Hundreds of young men and women perform Bihu dances in
the bihutolis and sing to the accompaniment of dhol and pépa,
a flute made of buffalo horns. The sensuous and brisk Bihu dance
is performed in the fields, at roadsides and over specially erected
stages. They also sing couplets expressing love for the sweethearts.
The Bihugeets, as they are called, are tuned to rhythmic beats of
the dhol, to which the people dance.
Nowadays, Mukoli Bihus are not common any more. In towns and cities,
there are well-organized Bihu fairs where professional or amateur
troupes perform Bihu songs on stage to the accompaniment of dance.
Various contests are also organized where young men and women compete
in dancing to the tune of Bihu songs, and the best dancer of each
category is awarded the title of Bihu Kunwar and Bihu Kunwaree,
respectively.
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