Rongali Bihu - Wikipedia
Rongali Bihu
Rongali Bihu (mid-April, also called Bohag Bihu), the most popular Bihu
celebrates the onset of the Assamese New Year (around April 15) and the coming
of Spring. This marks the first day of the Hindu solar calendar and is also
observed in Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Nepal, Orissa, Punjab and Tamil Nadu
though called by different names. It's a time of merriment and feasting and
continues for several days. The farmers prepare the fields for cultivation of
paddy and there is a feeling of joy around. The ladies make pitha, larus
(traditional food made of rice and coconut) and Jolpan which gives the real
essence of the season. The first day of the bihu is called goru bihu or cow
bihu, where the cows are washed and worshipped, which falls on the last day of
the previous year, usually on April 14. This is followed by manuh (human) bihu
on April 15, the New Year Day. The folk songs associated with the Bohag Bihu
are called Bihugeets or Bihu songs.
The form of celebration and rites vary among different demographic groups.
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 gorueat 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.[2]
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.[3]
Husori
Village elders move from household to households singing carols, also in the
style of bihu geets, called husoris. It possibly derives from the Dimasa
Kachari word formation ha (land) and char (move over): hachari.[4] 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. At the end of the performance they are thanked with an offering of tamul
in a xorai, whereupon the singers bless the household for the coming year. If
there is a bereavement in the family, or the family does not invite the husori
singers due to an illness, the husori band offers blessings from podulimukh and
move on. Generally the singers are all male.[5]
Pat Bihu
This is a very old form of Bihu, characterized by spontaneity, popular in
the Lakhimpur area of Assam. According to legend, the first Ahom king,
Sukaphaa, traveled to the region to watch it in the early 13th century.[6]
Mukoli Bihu
Young unmarried men and women attired in traditional golden silk muga dance
the bihu and sing bihu songs in the open fields. The songs have themes of
romance and sexual love, requited or unrequited. Sometimes the songs describe
tragic events too, but treated very lightly. The dance celebrates female
sexuality.
Jeng Bihu
This is Bihu dance and song performed and watched only by women. The name
"jeng" comes from the fact that in earlier days women in the villages used to
surround the place of their performance with sticks dug into the ground called
jeng in Assamese.
Baisago
The Bodo-Kachari people celebrate for seven daysthe first day for cattle
(Magou), the second day for man (Mansoi) and ancestor worship, feasting,
singing and merriment. Songs follow the same themes as the Bihu songs.[7]
Bihutoli Bihu
The rural festival made its transition to urban life when it was first time
brought to the stage in Lataxil field in Guwahati by the Guwahati Bihu
Sanmilani in 1962, promoted by leading citizens like Radha Govinda Baruah and
others. Unlike the rural version, the dancers danced on a makeshift elevated
stage in an open area that came to be known as a Bihutoli. Many such Bihutolis
have sprouted since then in Guwahati and other urban areas. The performances
are not confined to the bihu dance form, but may incorporate all forms of
theatrical performances to keep the audience enthralled well into the early
hours. Performances could include standup comedy, to concerts by solo singers.
The stage form of bihu has become so popular, that organizers have begun
extending the celebrations to bohagi bidai, or farewell to the Bohag month,
which are similar performances held a month later. Rongali Bihu is also a
fertility festival, where the bihu dance with its sensous movements using
the hips, arms, etc, by the young women call out to celebrate their fertility.
In this aspect, the bihu dance can also be called a mating ritual by the young
men and women.
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