Traditional Bihu festival of Assam

Bihu festival
The Bihu is the famous cultural festivals of Assam The origin of the word 'Bihu" is said to be from the Sanskrit word 'Vishu'. Bihu festival is mainly a culture of the masses, secular in concept and it is intimately connected with agriculture. Assamese peoples celebrated this festival with lots of joy and no matter what their caste, creed, religion and faith might be. In a year there are three Bihu festivals known as Rongali, bhogali and Kangali. The Bihus mark three distinct phases of the farming calendar for the native crop of Assam i.e. paddy. Bohaag Bihu marks the advent of the seeding time, the Kati Bihu marks the completion of sowing of paddy and transplantation of the saplings ('Kothia') and finally Magh Bihu marks the culmination of the harvesting period. The most important and colorful of the Bihu festivals is the spring festival "Bohag Bihu" or Rangali Bihu celebrated in the middle of April.The Bohag Bihu is also called Rangali Bihu. Rangali means delight and the festival in this season is full of joy. Bohaag Bihu is celebrated over a period of several days. The first day of the Bihu is known as 'Goru Bihu'. During this festival people bathe their cows also and put new garlands round their necks and new ropes are used to tie the cows. Good food is served to the cows. So the cow has an important place in this festival. The Rangali Bihu is a dance festival. Performing the Bihu dance one of the traditional Assamese dances, this performed during Bihu Festival. Bihu dances performed by young boys and girls characterised by brisk stepping, flinging and flipping of hands and swaying of hips represents youthful passion, reproductive urge and 'Joie-de-vivre'. The Bihu is not an Assamese tribal dance although it has some links with some tribal dances. Most attractive Bihu Songs sung in this Bihu are woven around themes of love and often carry erotic overtones. People adorn traditional attires like Dhoti, Gamocha and Chadar, Mekhala.
Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu is a harvest festival which is celebrated in the month of January. Bhogali bihu is celebrated at a time when all the cultivation works get over and everyone has plenty to eat and enjoy. Bhogali bihu is celebrated at a time when all the cultivation works get over and everyone has plenty to eat and enjoy. 'Uruka' is the first day of the festival and is devoted to the God of fire, Agni. A grand feast is held at night and 'mejis' or 'bhelaghars' are put up in open spaces, using bamboo and wood. The most significant part of this day is the building of 'Meji' and feasting at night. To stay for the night, people build temporary houses called 'Bhela Ghar'. These houses are usually made up of hay. There used to be grand feasts for the people staying in the bhela ghar that night. The feast is called 'Bhoj'. The whole night is spent in feasting, merry - making dancing and singing.
Kati Bihu comes off in the month of October. On this occasion in the evening people put lights on the top of bamboo poles. This is a silent affair, as farmers pray to the Gods for a good harvest. During this time of the year, the paddy in the fields is in the growing stage and the granaries of the farmers are almost empty. Thus it can be also referred as the empty bihu. The main function associated with this bihu is the worship of the sacred tulasi (basil) plant at the root of which earthen oil lamps are placed. Hence the Kati Bihu is also Kangali Bihu.

Bihu is one of the best National Festival of Assam. You may Travel to Bihu Festival in Assam to be part of the amazing ambiance festival to make your holidays more entertaining and Attractive.