Important Facts For Prelims
Rongali Bihu
- 14 Apr 2020
- 2 min read
Why in News
For the first time, Assam is celebrating Bohag or Rongali Bihu without rong (meaning merriment), because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Key Points
- Bihu is the main festival of Assam. It is celebrated three times a year.
- Rongali or Bohag Bihu is observed in April. Kongali or Kati Bihu observed in October and Bhogali or Magh Bihu observed in January.
- Rongali or Bohag Bihu is the Assamese new year and spring festival. The Rongali Bihu coincides with Sikh New Year- Baisakhi.
- The Bohag Bihu dates are April 13 to April 21. It is a harvest or sowing festival. It marks the first day of the Hindu solar calendar and is also observed in Bengal, Manipur, Mithila, Nepal, Orissa, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- Festive food - pitha (rice cake) and larus (traditional food made of rice, coconut) are prepared.
- Men and women in traditional Muga silk (golden silk) attires dance to the rhythm of Bihu tunes and beatings of the bihu dhol (traditional drum) across the State.
- Bihu dance is Assam’s most popular folk dance.
- The traditional gamocha woven on handlooms is offered as bihuwan to one's near and dear and also to guests.
- The gamosa’s graph as a symbol of protest rose during the anti-foreigners Assam Agitation from 1979 to 1985.
- The gamosa staged a comeback as a political statement with the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act from mid-December 2019.
- The Covid-19 has turned gamosas into masks.
