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Bwisagu Bodo New Year | |
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Observed by | Boros |
Type | Social, Cultural, Religious |
Significance | New Year |
Date | 1st Baisakh |
Frequency | annual |
Related to | South and Southeast Asian solar New Year |
Bwisagu [1] is one of the most popular seasonal festivals of the Bodos of Assam. [2] . This Bwisagu festival is observed at the beginning of the first month of the Boro year, around mid-April. [3]
The Bodos call this popular festival "Bwisagu", which means the start of the new year. Bwisagu is a Boro word which originated from the word "Bwisa" that means "year" or "age" and "Agu" that means "starting" or "start". [1]
The characteristics of the Bwisagu festivals can be classified as follows:
Bwisagu, as observed by Kacharis, indicates the pattern which the festival follows over several days. The first day is for the "Makhau" or "Mashau" meant for cattle, on which the cows are bathed in the river. The second day is meant for the "Mansi" or Men but starts with worshiping their gods; the third day is for "Saima" meant for dogs; the fourth day is for "Oma" meant for swine; the fifth day is for "Dao", or meant for fowl; the sixth for duck and other birds; the seventh is meant for receiving relatives and friends.
House cleaning, cattle rites, worship of Bathow and offering food to their ancestors, ruthoi of new and washed clothes, receiving and visiting relatives, friends, etc. may be said to constitute the formal part of the festival. Worshiping of Bathow is done on the second day of the festival. There is also the ceremo - eating cooked fowl with a bitter herb known as "Khungkha" or other wild vegetables with varied flavors. They also offer this to visitors.
Merrymaking is an integral part of this Bodo Festival. Music and dance become a regular feature. Young men play on the "Sifung" (flute), "Kham" (drum), the four-stringed "Serjã", and beat out a rhythm with a piece of split bamboo called "Thãrkhã". Girls dance in bands and play on the Jew's harp called "Gongonã" and small cymbals called "jotha".
The Bodos perform certain rites on the occasion me the Bwisãgu festival:
The last date of the month of Chaitra is called by the Bodos as the Bwisâgu for the cows or cattle. On the same day, the Bodos lead the cattle to the tank or the river for bathing. Before taking to the river or tank the cattle are offered paddy and horns and hooves are smeared with mustard oil. The body of the cow is routed with black marking with a mixture prepared from black ashes and mustard oil, using the stem of the Eri tree as the marker. The cows are also garlanded with garlands made of gourd and brinjals. Before taking them off the cowshed the owner pays respects to them. While leading the cows to the river for bathing the cowherds sing songs and beat them lightly with the "Dighalati" plant. After taking away the cows from the cowshed, the cow dunk cakes are thrown away and the shed is cleaned. The old ropes (phaga) are replaced by new ones.
Bihu is of three types and it is an important cultural festival unique to the Indian state of Assam – 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in October or November, and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' observed in January. The festivals present an admixture of Tibeto-Barman, Austroasiatic and Indo-Aryan traditions entwined so intricately that it is impossible to separate them—festivals which are uniquely Assamese to which all communities of Assam had contributed elements. The Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three, celebrating spring festival. The Bhogali Bihu or the Magh Bihu is a harvest festival, with community feasts. The Kongali Bihu or the Kati Bihu is the sombre, thrifty one reflecting a season of short supplies and is an animistic festival.
The Bihu dance is an indigenous folk dance from the Indian state of Assam related to the Bihu festival and an important part of Assamese culture. Performed in a group, the Bihu dancers are usually young men and women, and the dancing style is characterized by brisk steps and rapid hand movements. The traditional costume of dancers is centered around the red color theme, signifying joy and vigour.
Boro, also called Bodo, is an ethnolinguistic group native to the state of Assam in India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari family of ethnolinguistic groups and are spread across northeastern India. They are concentrated mainly in the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam, though Boros inhabit all other districts of Assam and Meghalaya.
The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) is an autonomous division in Assam, India, and a proposed state in Northeast India. It is made up of five districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River below the foothills of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. It is administered by an elected body known as the Bodoland Territorial Council which came into existence under the terms of a peace agreement signed in February 2003 and its autonomy was further extended by an agreement signed in January 2020. The region covers an area of over nine thousand square kilometres and is predominantly inhabited by the Bodo people and other indigenous communities of Assam.
Bodo–Kacharis is a name used by anthropologist and linguists to define a collection of ethnic groups living predominantly in the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal. These peoples are speakers of either Bodo–Garo languages or Assamese. Some Tibeto-Burman speakers who live closely in and around the Brahmaputra valley, such as the Mising people and Karbi people, are not considered Bodo–Kachari. Many of these peoples have formed early states in the late Medieval era of Indian history and came under varying degrees of Sanskritisation.
The Bagurumba is a traditional dance of the indigenous Boro people living in the State of Assam and North East India. It is also called '''butterfly dance''' because it's personification of movements of butterflies and birds. In this occasion, only the Bodo women perform the dance, wearing their colourful traditional attire dokhna, jwmgra (fasra) and aronai. The dance is accompanied by handmade percussion instruments such as 'kham', sifung, jota, serja, and gongwna, tharkha.
Boro culture is the culture of the Boro people in Assam. For long, the Boros have been farmers living in an Agrarian society with a strong tradition of fishery, poultry, piggery, with rice and jute cultivation, and betel nut plantation. They make their own clothing from scratch, such as traditional attires. In recent decades, the Boros are influenced by recent social reforms under Boro Brahma Dharma and the spread of Christianity.
This is an overview of festivals and observances found in the Okinawa Islands, Okinawa Prefecture of southwestern Japan. The Okinawan culture is noted for extreme diversity. The following list is based on south-central Okinawa, and may not be applied to northern Okinawa. Miyako and Yaeyama hold substantially different festivals and observances.
The culture of Assam is traditionally a hybrid one, developed due to cultural assimilation of different ethno-cultural groups under various political-economic systems in different periods of its history.
Magh Bihu (also called Bhogali Bihu or Maghar Domahi is a harvest festival celebrated in Assam, North-East India, which marks the end of harvesting season in the month of Magh. A bonfire is lit for the ceremonial conclusion and prayer to the God of Fire. The festival is developed by the Tibeto-Burman cultures and festivals Magan of Kachari.
Me dam me phi is a socio-traditional festival celebrated by the Tai-Ahom and people of Assam. The festival has its roots in the ancestral worship of Confucianism in ancient China, which later developed into the Dam-phi tradition of the Tai people. In modern era it's celebrated on the 31st January while initially it's celebrated in the Tai month of Duin-Ha (March-April) of sexagenary cycle.
Folk dances of Assam include the Bihu and the Bagurumba, the Bhortal, the Ojapali dance. Assam is home to many groups: Muslim, Indo-Aryan, Rabha, Bodo, Dimasa, Karbi, Mising, Sonowal Kacharis, Mishmi and Tiwa (Lalung) etc. These cultures come together to create an Assamese culture. Residents of the state of Assam are known as "Axomiya" (Assamese). Most tribes have their own language, although Assamese is the primary language of the state.
The Mising people are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group inhabiting mostly in the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. They are part of the greater Tani group of people of India and Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Bathouism is the folk religion of the Boro people of Assam in Northeast India. The name Bathou in Boro means five principles. The five principles are: bar (air), orr (fire), ha (earth), dwi (water) and okhrang (ether). The chief deity, called Bathoubwrai — omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent— is said to have created the five principles. Though there are other minor gods and goddesses, Bathoubwrai is considered the Supreme God. Bathoubwrai is unseen. The second most important deity is Mainao, the daughter of Bathoubwrai, who is considered as the "protector of the rice fields".
Here is a list of glossary of culture of India in alphabetical order:
The Sangken festival is celebrated in Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam, India and in Kachin, Sagaing region of Myanmar as the traditional New Year's Day from 14 to 16 April by the Theravada Buddhist Communities. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars. The Sangken festival is celebrated by the Khamti, Singpho, Khamyang, Tangsa tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, and Tai Phake, Tai Aiton, and Tai Turung communities of Assam. Sangken generally falls in the month of 'Nuean Ha', the fifth month of the year of the Tai lunisolar calendar coinciding with the month of April. It is celebrated in the last days of the old year and the New Year begins on the day just after the end of the festival.
The Barman Kacharis are an indigenous community of Northeast India and are a subsection of the Dimasa people in Barak Valley but claim to a separate group in Brahmaputra Valley. They are mainly found in the districts of Lower Assam and in Barak Valley like Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj and some parts of Arunachal Pradesh. Barman Kachari is Dimasa convert group of North-East India. Since the 2002 Amendment act, many Barman Kacharis in Assam are referred to as 'Barman'. They are sparsely found in Brahmaputra valley.
The Konkomba people are a Gur ethnic group residing mainly in the Northern, Brong Ahafo, Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. Saboba, Chereponi and Nanumba Districts, Gushiegu and Karaga districts, East Mamprusi, Yunyoo-Nasuan, Zabzugu and Tatale-Sanguli districts in the Northern Region and the Nkwanta North and South Districts in the Volta Region are a few examples of administrative districts where Bikpakpaam are seen in huge populations. Other key districts where Bikpakpaam are in Ghana are Atebubu, Kintampo, Techiman and Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region. According to the Act 280 of the Anatomy act of Ghana, the Konkomba people are the second largest ethnic group in the Northern Region of Ghana.
Hinduism is the dominant religion practised in the state of Assam. According to some scholars, it is home to some of the most complex and poorly understood traditions in Hinduism. People follow traditions belonging to Shaivism, Shaktism, Tantra, and an indigenous form of Vaishnavism called Ekasarana Dharma; taken together the practitioners constitute around 61% of the state population as per the 2011 Census. Hindus form a majority in 17 out of the 29 districts of Assam. By region, there is a significant diversity among the ethnic groups that profess the Hindu faith, traditions, and customs. As per as 2011 Census, In Brahmaputra valley of Assam, Hindus constitute 62% of the population, the majority being ethnic Assamese. In the autonomous Bodoland region of Assam, Hindus constitute 71.3% of the region's population, most being of the Bodo tribe. In the Barak valley region of southern Assam, Hindus constitute 50% of the region's population, most being ethnic Bengalis. The Hill Tribes of Assam, particularly the Karbi people of Karbi Anglong and Dimasa people of Dima Hasao, are mainly Animists.
[1] https://books.google.com/books?id=YuSSBQAAQBAJ&dq=Bwisagu+assam&pg=PP1