- Mid April, about seven days
- Assamese new year
- Three Bihus a year
- Assam and Assamese abroad
Where it began
Assam keeps three Bihus, each tied to the farming year. Rongali or Bohag Bihu in April is the joyful one that starts the new year and the sowing season. Kongali or Kati Bihu in October is a quiet one with lamps in the fields. Bhogali or Magh Bihu in January is the feast after the harvest.
The roots of Bihu lie in the old farming life of the Brahmaputra valley. Its songs speak of love, nature, youth and the coming of rain, and its dance moves echo the joy of spring.
The Ahom kings, who ruled Assam for centuries, gave Bihu royal support. In Sivasagar they built the Rang Ghar, a pavilion from which the royal family watched games and festivities.
How it grew over time
Ancient times
Farming communities of the Brahmaputra valley welcome spring with songs and dances under the trees.
Ahom period
Bihu gains royal patronage, and the Rang Ghar in Sivasagar becomes a place to watch festive games.
1900s
Bihu songs and dances move onto open stages, and towns start to hold public Bihu functions.
2023
A huge Bihu dance performance in Guwahati, with thousands of dancers and drummers, enters world record books.
Today
Bihu stages, called Bihutoli, spring up across Assam each April and the dance is known far beyond the state.
How it is celebrated in different places
Villages of Assam
The first day, Goru Bihu, honours cattle. They are bathed in rivers and ponds and fed with gourd and brinjal.
Guwahati
Large Bihutoli stages host dance contests, Bihu queens and famous singers late into the night.
Upper Assam
Groups of husori singers go from home to home, singing blessings and receiving gifts.
Assamese abroad
Communities in the US, UK and the Gulf hold Bihu evenings with dance, dhol and home made pitha.
Bihu moments
Bihu today
On Manuh Bihu, the second day, people wear new clothes, touch the feet of elders and give the gamosa, the red and white woven towel, as a gift of respect.
Young people dance in mekhela chador and dhoti to the dhol, the pepa horn and the gogona. Homes serve pitha, laru and doi chira, and visiting friends and family is part of every day.
