The land, cattle & Krishna
Bohag Bihu
Assam's Rongali Bihu: the year opens with cattle honoured, elders bowed to, and the bihu danced.
Tithi: The last day of Chot (Sankranti) and Bohag 1, the Assamese solar new year.
In the simplest words
Assam's happiest week: the new year dances in with dhol and pepa, cows are bathed and honoured, and everyone visits everyone.
The story & purpose
Rongali means 'the joyful'. This Bihu greets the Assamese new year and the sowing season for seven days. It begins with Goru Bihu: cattle bathed in the river with turmeric and black gram, switched lightly with sprigs of dighalati and makhioti, and told in song: 'grow well, live long.'
The rest of the story
Manuh Bihu follows: new clothes, the gamosa, Assam's woven cloth of honour, offered to elders, and forgiveness asked for the old year. Then the fields fill with bihu naach and the dhol-pepa till the nights are warm.
What is done
Goru Bihu
Cattle bathed, anointed, garlanded, and fed pitha: the year's first gratitude.
Gamosa & seva
The bihuwan gamosa offered to elders and guests; blessings taken.
Husori
Singing parties go courtyard to courtyard carrying blessings, Naam-ghar bhakti in festive dress.
Best timings
Goru Bihu at the river in the morning; husori and dance in the evenings.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition; for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
Bihu has three seasons: Rongali (spring), Kongali (autumn austerity), Bhogali (harvest feast); this is the joyous one.
The bihu dance and dhol carry pre-Vedic agrarian memory, and are among India's oldest living folk forms.
In Sattras (Vaishnav monasteries) the day begins with naam-prasanga to Krishna.