Magh Bihu To Be Celebrated On 15th January 2018: Assam Prepares For Harvest Festival
The people of Assam are all set to celebrate the much-awaited harvest festival Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu on 15th January 2018. It is a way of celebrating life and nature.
The people of Assam are all set to celebrate the much-awaited harvest festival Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu on 15th January 2018. The festival marks the end of harvesting season. People from all communities and religions come together to celebrate Bihu with feasts at the centre of the festivities. It is Assam celebration of Makar Sankranti with feasting lasting for a week. The festival is marked by feasts and bonfires. The night before Magh Bihu is called Uruka which is the night of feasts. People meet, cook food together and relish the fun of an open bonfire. Villagers make bamboo huts called Bhelaghor, or community kitchen and begin the preparations. Various dishes, vegetables, meat items and sweets such as Pitha, Ladu are prepared out of sesame, coconut and molasses. The next morning, the people gather to light the Meji, a large born fire and pray for a better harvest in the year ahead.
Offerings are made to the sacred fire and people indulge in traditional Jolpan breakfast, followed by different games such as Dhop Khel (a traditional ball game and Pot breaking. Community fishing by the tribes especially in the remote areas is also seen as a part of the celebration. It is an expression of the change of season. Everyone in Assam celebrates spontaneously. Bihu is a festival of agriculture that brings everyone together. It is a way of celebrating life and nature. On the eve of Uruka, both men and women along with their children come together and sing songs of Joy as they march towards the water bodies for community fishing at different locations across the state. They sing Bihugeet and dance on the beats of dhol-pepa and there is an ambience of merriment all around. The festival is celebrated every year with equal enthusiasm.
Besides, Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu, the people of Assam also celebrate Bohag or Rongali Bihu to welcome the spring season that marks the Assamese New Year. Subsequently, during the mid of October, the people rejoice Kati or Kongali Bihu when crops are growing in the field before the harvest.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 12, 2018 07:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).