Culture is one’s heritage. It is like a necklace. Every civilization have their own culture. Hence, dances and festivals occupying a pivoltal position. The Bohag Bihu is the most important and largest Bihu among the three Bihus of the people of Assam. It begins on the last day of the month of chait and continues up to the sixth day of Bohag, the first month of the Assamese calendar. The Bohag Bihu heralds the Assamese New year. The first day of the Bohag Bihu is observed as ‘Goru Bihu’ or the Bihu for the cow.
The second day of the Bihu is the most important day as it is the actual Bohag Bihu day, because it falls on the first day of the month of Bohag and is observed as Assamese New Year’s day. This day is also called the ‘Manuh Bihu’ or the Bihu for men. In lower Assam that day of the Bihu is called ‘Bar-Domahi’.
In the evening of the Bohag Bihu day the astrologer comes to the village, reads out the ‘Bihu Patrika’ in the Namghar and the people listen to him attentively. Of course, at present this system has nearly come to an end.
People are afraid of natural calamities. They want the New Year to be free from all sorts of dangers and difficulties which bring untold troubles and sufferings to them and their domesticated animals. They pray to God to save them from the said troubles and write the following hymn praying Him on the leaves of the Nahar trees and on the very day of the Bohag Bihu push them into the eaves of the roofs of their houses___
‘Deva deva Mahadeva Nilgriba Jatadhar
Bat bristi harang deva Mahadeva namastute’.
The simple English rendering of the hymn is like this __
‘Oh, God of the gods blue-necked knot-haired Mahadeva I have saluted you. Mar or destroy storm and rain’.
One pecularity of the Bohag Bihu is the offering of the Bihuwan and the wearing of the same. On the Bihu day, people bathe in the morning, wear new clothes and new home—woven red bordered Gamochas (Napkins). The women of Assam weave napkins in the month of chait and on the New Year’s day they present them to their friends and relatives.
It is why, they busy themselves in weaving clothes and as such the sounds of the shuttles of their looms echo and re-echo everywhere. It is sung in the Bihu song__
‘Atikai senehar Mugare mahura
Atikai senehar mako;
Tatokai senehar Bahagar Bihuti
Nepati Kenekai thako?’
The song simply means that the muga silk bobbins as well as the shuttles are very dear to the Assamese women; but dearer still is their Bihu festival of Bohag. Professor Jogesh Das has given a fine English rendering of the said Bihu song in his book “Folklore of Assam” under “Fairs and Festivals” as under__
‘Very dear to me is the muga bobbin,
Very dear is the shuttle;
Dearer still is the Bihu of Bohag,
Could I do without it?’
In short, the Assamese cannot part with neither the silk muga bobbins and the shuttles nor the Bihu of Bohag which they always celebrate with much joy and merriments.
The Rongali Bihu is the another name of the Bohag Bihu. In the proper sense of the term, it is really the Bihu of rong or merriment. It is the Bihu of cheerfulness. It maddens the people with the sounds of drums, flutes and other musical instruments. The “Bihu gits” and “Bongits” echo and re-echo in the plains and hills of Assam. They are “for the most part youthful vibrations and are woven round themes of love and youthful nature.” Principal Hem Barua in his famous book “The Red River & the Blue Hill” mentions a specimen of the same as under__
“I cannot fix my mind in my home, O my love:
I cannot fix my mind in the paddy field:
My mind wants to fly as is the roving cotton.”
The Bihu songs “rouse the softer notes of the young hearts of both the sexes.” The young people become fickle-minded. Their minds are about to fly. Their souls are about to fly. They cannot fix their minds anywhere. In the world of nature also the Bihu songs rouse the waves of lust for creation in the hearts of the birds and animals. The sweetness as well as the intoxication of the Bihu songs makes the earth also fertile for the production of crops.
Another peculiarity of the Bohag Bihu is the singing of the huncharis or hucharis. Young boys and girls dressed in their traditional customs move from house to house in the village to sing huncharis with drums, cymbals and taka; sing Bihu songs and dance Bihu dances, collect gifts and shower blessing in return. Properly speaking, the Bohag Bihu is still the festival of songs and dances.However, the Bihu songs and the Bihu dances and the huncharis of the young people last for a period of seven days. Then they give Bihu a formal send off called Bihu Urua or Bihu Thowa all ceremonially.
The Bohag Bihu festival has now become very significant in Modern Assam. The Bihu songs and dances are now performed on stages in the towns. They are becoming more and more attractive than before. As such, the Bohag Bihu alias the Rongali Bihu is becoming more and more cosmopolitan with its distinctive features.
Art and Entertainment 
