Magh Bihu or Bhugali Bihu | This is the harvest festival celebrated by Assamese people.
Magh Bihu or Bhugali Bihu - this is the harvest festival celebrated by Assamese people.
Magh Bihu or Bhugali Bihu is the harvest festival celebrated by the Assamese people. The festival has much significance on its own and is one of the enjoyable celebrations for all age groups. The celebrations start on makar Sankranti which is called 'uruka', a day before the primary occasion.
In this winter festival, many sweets are prepared from rice flour, jaggery, sesame seeds, and coconut on the day of the Uruka. At night neighbors and family members get together in an open area, cook dinner for all and enjoy the meal with Bihu songs and dances.
The importance of this festival
Magh Bihu has equal importance to that of Bohag Bihu, which is celebrated in the month of April. On Magh Bihu traditional sweets are prepared to offer among the community gathering in front of the 'Mejii', with huge firewood built with the support of bamboo in a pointed pyramid shape.
Magh Bihu Memories
Magh Bihu's memories from childhood are still fresh in my mind. How we used to celebrate Magh Bihu in our colony along with aunties, uncles, and their children. We can see all of them arriving in the guest house complex a few days before the celebration to discuss the celebration expenses and contribution towards that. Also, they distribute the duties among themselves. Such as cooking duties, vegetable chopping, shopping, tent arrangements, gas arrangements, chairs, and other miscellaneous arrangements.
There was another interesting thing that popped up in my mind, on that occasion of dinner after finishing it some people used to stay overnight to guard the 'meji'. Those people have the liberty to steal anything from any household and to enjoy it during the night. Normally they used to steal vegetables from kitchen gardens, bamboo fencings, chickens and ducks, etc. No one used to get punishment for these offenses performed on that night. When we woke up in the morning and noticed that everyone discovered that something was missing from every household.
A few important practices
In the early morning the 'meji' is set on fire by a young boy, and people gather around the fireplace and offer prayers. Different types of traditional sweets are being served to people gathered during that time.
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