Culture and Tradition of Assam | By Gaurav Lahon, Jorhat, Assam.

Above picture is, mekhela chadar prepared from muga.

India is a rich land of diversified culture and tradition. Every state of the country is unique in its lifestyle and food habits which are a glimpse of their ancient history. The uniqueness of the states are their pride and defines the boundaries of distinction between them and their neighboring brother lands specifically in terms of their old age culture and tradition which are gifts of their ancestors.

Culture is the art of living. The peoples of Assam are a mixture of Mongolian, Indo-Burmese, Indo-Iranian and Aryan origin. This mixture of people constitutes the population of the state and they call themselves as “Asomiya” or “Assamese” and the language is also known as “Assamese”. The Assamese culture is a very unique culture among all the states of the country. It has the largest number of tribes which shows a great diversification in their tradition, culture, dresses and exotic way of life.

The culture of Assam is mainly reflected by our main festival “Bihu” which is actually a set of three festivals i.e. Rongali bihu which is celebrated during the month of April, Kongali bihu which is celebrated in October and Bhogali bihu which is celebrated in January. Bihu is celebrated to mark the important points of a cultivator’s life over a yearly cycle. It is a non-religious festival which is celebrated irrespective of caste and creed. The Rongali bihu (“rang” means merry-making), also known as Bohag bihu, is celebrated to mark the Assamese New Year with the coming of spring. In this bihu Assamese people went to namghar (prayer house) to worship god to have a happy life in the upcoming year and also to get maximum yield from the crop because April is the sowing time of rice. Moreover peoples wear and gift new clothes to everyone of the family. Kongali bihu (also known as “kati bihu”) is a little dull; thrifty that reflects a season of lesser supplies. In this bihu Peoples go to the field for lighting lamp because it is believed that in the light of the lamp the unwanted insect/pest of field which harms the grain of the rice crops are died. Lastly Bhogali bihu (also known as “magh bihu”) is the harvest festival. During this period the availability of the food is more hence people of the same areagathered and arrange a party. Besides bihu there are many festivals celebrated by different tribes of Assam like Ali-Ai-Ligang (by missing tribe), Baishago (by Bodo tribe), Karam puja (by tea tribe) and Deori bihu (by Deori tribe) etc..

Fig: – Bihu

Traditions and customs play a significant role in all the societies of a particular group and they form the base for the same. The customs and traditions are more of beliefs which have been followed by earlier generations which are widely accepted and strictly followed. Thus the Assamese people also strictly adhere to such customs and traditions generated by their forefathers pertaining to their community. The Assamese wedding, birth, festivals and even death include various customs and tradition which are supposed to be followed.

The people of Assam are mainly rice eaters so they grow different varieties of rice like Bora (Sticky rice), Joha (scented rice), black rice, brown rice etc. They make different kinds of Pitha (by grinding rice grain) like Til pitha (from sesame seed), Tel pitha, Narikol pitha (from coconut) etc. in the occasion of Bihu. There are different traditional meals of an Assamese but it will not be complete without “Khar” and “Tenga” which is a sour dish. Moreover the bamboo shoot is a major ingredient of Assamese meal.

Fig:-Bhaoriya

There is a traditional form of entertainment in Assam, with a religious message which is called Bhaona. It is a creation of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev. Through bhaona he tried to convey religious message to villagers through entertainment. It involves dialogues, songs and dances. The actors who perform it are known as “Bhaoriya”, they were different costumes related to the character.

The culture and tradition of any place forms the overall living ways of the people which controls their thinking, emotions and views towards their own tribe and also others. In India, the variation of cultures is the bond that keeps every Indian united with the feelings of respect and brotherhood for one another.