Bihu: A Festival … A Identity … A Celebration For All!!!
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English Article-
Bihu: A Festival … A Identity … A Celebration For All!!!
ණ Dr Simanta Sharma------------------------------------------ Bihu is perhaps the single most important festival of Assam celebrated by the entire Assamese diaspora around the world that not only defines an Assamese individual but also gives him / her the distinct unique identity of belonging from the beautiful state of Assam. Bihu is celebrated not only with delight and joviality but also with passion and vehemence to mark the change of season. The history of the significant and noteworthy celebration dates back to 3500 B. C. At that point, it used to be a month long celebration. „ Bihu ‟ basically is an astounding Assamese dance form accompanied with Bihugeet( Bihu Songs) that mark the essence of the pleasurable and congenial occasion. The dance forms which are the souls of the traditional festival were only restricted and constrained to the men previously during the olden times. However, with the passage of time women too stated participating and came out of their homes to dance and celebrate the festival with their male companions. In fact there is a form of Bihu( jeng bihu) wherein only women dance and only women are allowed to watched. 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. It is also called gos tolor bihu( Bihu beneath tree). The word Bihu is derived from the language of the Dimasa people, one of the earliest known tribes to have resided in Assam, who have been agrarian since time immemorial. Their supreme god is Brai Shibrai or Father Shibrai. The First crops of the season are offered to Brai Shibrai while wishing for peace and prosperity. So Bi means " to ask " and Shu means " peace and prosperity " in the world. Over a period of time the word BISHU gradually became Bihu to accommodate linguistic preferences. The other suggestion is that " Bi " means " to ask " and " Hu " means " to give " and so came BIHU. In a year there are three Bihu festivals in Assam- in the months of Bohaag( Baisakh, the middle of April), Maagh( the middle of January), and Kaati( Kartik, the middle of October). Each Bihu coincides with a distinctive phase in the farming calendar. The most important and colourful of the three Bihu festivals is the Spring festival " Bohag Bihu " or“ Rongali Bihu” celebrated in the middle of April. Rongali Bihu( mid-April, also called Bohag Bihu), the most popular Bihu, celebrates the onset of the Assamese New Year( around April 14-15) and the coming of Spring. This marks the first day of the Hindu solar calendar and is also observed in
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