Essay on “Bihu” Festival
Bihu is one of the spring festivals, celebrated in Assam. The others are: the Bohaag Bihu celebrated in Baisakh, Kaati Bihu celebrated in Kartik, and the Maagh Bihu celebrated in Maagh. They derive their name from the Sanskrit word for the vernal equinox. It is originally a fertility ritual. These festivals represent the arrival of seeding time, the completion of sowing and transplanting of paddies and the end of the harvesting period.
It is celebrated across the state with exuberant singing, drumming and dancing. It is a secular and universal festival without any sectarian bias. The women perform the dances and the menfolk accompany them on horns and drums.
The Bihu songs have exercised great influence on Assamese literature. Even the translator (Madhav Deva, 1849-1596 A.D.) of the great Hindu epic Ramayana and the great hymn composer Sankar Deva (1449-1569 A.D.) could not escape their influence.
