Agriculture-based Seasonal Festivals
Agriculture has been the main source of livelihood of the Tai Ahom since their migration to Assam. Naturally, the Tai Ahom observe various agro-based traditional festivals at the beginning and end of the agricultural activities.
These festivals are celebrated both at community and domestic levels (within the family). Among these festivals the Bihu,1 a set of three annual festivals among all communities in different names is mention worthy. The Bihu is regarded as the state festival of Assam and has its origin during the rule of Ahoms (Gogoi 1994:254). Jatindra Nath Borgohain, a renowned social scientist of Assam, opined that the Bihu as the festival of Assam evolved with the contributions of different Mongolian communities of the locality apart from the Ahom (Borgohain 1992:75). The set of three Bihu festivals observed by the Tai Ahom in Assam are known as the Poi-Chankien or Bohag Bihu, Mai Ko Chung Phai or Meji Joluwa Utsav2 or Magh Bihu, and Chip-song-ka or Kati Bihu. During Bihu different types of food items and traditional beer are prepared by the people and offered to the visitors.The Poi-Chankien or Bohag Bihu is observed in Assam for seven days. Like the Tai Buddhist communities, the Tai Ahom people also celebrate Poi-Chankien or Bohag Bihu in different organised forms (Gogoi 1994:17). This Bihu is also known as Rongali Bihu or Haat Bihu. The seven events are known as Chot Bihu (second day of Chot, the name of the month corresponding to March and April), Goru Bihu (last day of Chot), Manuh Bihu (Bihu on the first day of the Bohag month), Kutum Bihu (celebration on the second day of Bohag month), Senehi Bihu (the occasion meant for lovers), Mela Bihu (community level celebration) and Chera Bihu (bidding farewell (bidai)) to Bihu, also known as Bohagi Bidai or Phato Bihu). The first event is preparation for the day of Bohag Bihu and this preparation begins with the second day of Assamese month Chot, corresponding to March and April.
Similarly, the last occasion is observed as Goru Bihu. In Goru Bihu the cattle, who play a major role in the agricultural economy, are honoured. The cattle are washed, smeared with turmeric and other pastes, struck with sprigs of dighalati and makhiyati (native plants), and are wished to be healthy and productive. They wish: lao kha, bengena kha, bosore bosore barhi ja/maar xoru, baper xoru, toi hobi bor bor goru (eat gourd, eat brinjal, grow from year to year; your mother is small, your father is small, but you be a large one). After this the old ‘cattle securing ropes’ are cast away through the legs; and the cattle are allowed to roam anywhere they wish for the entire day and when they come back home in the evening, they are tied with new ropes. After Goru Bihu, the other forms of Bihu such as Manuh Bihu, Kutum Bihu, Senehi Bihu, Mela Bihu, and Chera Bihu are celebrated. During these days, the people of Tai Ahom and other communities celebrate Bihu by organising Hushari.3 In this Husari the people dance and sing and play different musical instruments and bestow blessings. The arts of dancing and playing musical instruments are similar with people of Buddhist (Mahayana) of Louse, North Myanmar, and some states of South-Asian countries (Borgohain 1992:76). During the time of Bihu, the women of the family offer gamosha as bihuwan4 to their relatives and loved ones as the symbol of love, respect, and Bihu greetings. Lila Gogoi, a renowned folklorist, has stated that like Poi-Chankien festival of the Tai Ahom, the people of Myanmar also celebrate the Pai Chan Kien festival (Gogoi 1994:17).According to J. Borgohain, Swargadeo Rudra Singha established the new capital of the Ahom Kingdom at Rangpur in the year 1707. Since then the Bohag Bihu is celebrated in Assam as the festival of joy. In this festival every community of the Ahom kingdom took part and that tradition of mass participation continues to this day (Borgohain 1992:79). Another important Bihu of the Tai Ahom is Chip-song-ka or Kati Bihu, observed during mid-October.
On this day, sakis (earthen lamps) are lightened in paddy fields to attract insects so that the paddy fields are protected from their attack. This Bihu is primarily celebrated to seek blessings from the gods, so that no harm is done to the crops while they are getting ready for harvest. This Bihu is also associated with the lighting of akaxbonti, lamps at the tip of a tall bamboo pole, to show the souls of the dead the way to heaven.Mai Ko Chung Phai or Meji Joluwa Utsav or Magh Bihu (also called Bhogali Bihu) is observed at the end of the harvest season i.e. in the month of January (mid-January to be specific) which marks the end of the kharif (wet rice cultivation) season. For some social scientists, this festival is celebrated before the beginning of jhum (shifting cultivation) and after the end of the wet rice cultivation (Borgohain 1992:75). In this Bihu the Tai Ahom people make bhelaghar (temporary huts) and Mejis (stacks of firewood). The people stay in the bhelaghar and stay awake all night guarding the Mejis. On this day a community feast is arranged and cultural programmes are also performed throughout the night. In the morning, people move out of their belaghars and take baths and burn their Mejis. Once the Mejis are burnt down, half-burnt pieces of wood are collected and thrown into fields, which is believed to provide a better harvest. J Borgohain stated that the concept of Mejis is the contribution of Pre-Aryan civilisation. It is believed that if the people worship Agni (lord of fire) then land will be fertile and harvest will be good (Borgohain 1992:75). On the other hand, it is also believed that in Magh Bihu, the Ahom people worship Lengdon (supreme god which is equated with Lord Indra, the god of rains and clouds). People worship him for good rains in following months, so that they can reap a good harvest. It is noted that the ancestor (dam) worship is the main part of these three Bihus. The occasions of Spring Equinox (Bohag Bihu) and Autumn Equinox (Magh Bihu) are celebrated as Dam Phi in the kitchen (Gohain 2022).
Apart from these rituals and festivals, the Tai Ahom community also observes some other rituals related to agriculture and farming. Among these the Khek-Hu-Chung-Khura, Phang Chi Mung, and Chora Utuwa Aai Sabah are mentionable. The Khek-Hu-Chung- Khura ceremony is observed in the front or by the side of the granary after completion of the storage of food grains. The Phang Chi Mung, another agro-based ritual, is observed for the well-being of villages and to safeguard from crop failure, epidemics, or bad weather. The Tai Ahom also worship Kaow-Kham (the goddess of crops and water-Lakshmi). To get rid of diseases in the rainy season another ritual is observed by the Tai Ahom, known as Chora Utuwa Aai Sabah (Chora means boat, utuwa means floating, Aai means mother and Sabaha is the name of ritual) so that the farmers can participate in harvesting with good health.
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