Bihu is the festival of the multi-ethnic heterogenous Assamese community. It’s the main festival of the Assamese community of Western-South-East-Asia. There are 3 Bihus : Rongali (Bohag), Kongali (Kati), Bhogali(Bohag). The famous Bihu dance is danced in Rongali Bihu.
In this post, we’ll be learning about the history of Bihu dance. So, stay tuned !
But first, we have to take note of the fact that Assamese people come from different ethnicities. Broadly, these ethnicities can be classified as: Kachari, Indo-Aryan, Tai, Abo-Tani, Austroasiatic .
Bihu festival was originally the festival of the Kachari communities which was later adopted by other Assamese communities as well. Almost every Kachari has it’s own version of Bihu with a different name. For example, we have Bwisagu(Boro), Bishuwa(Koch Rajbongshi), Deuri Bihu(Deuri), Moran Bihu(Moran), etc. As Kachari communities are spread all across Assam, Bihu was celebrated in all parts of Assam, but with different names.
Till this day, some Kacahari tribes celebrate their own versions of Bihu. But they do celebrate the standardized Bihu too. Hence, they celebrate 2 Bihus. Most of the rituals are same. So, there’s actually very less difference.
Many people have the misconception that Bihu originated in upper Assam. But, that’s not exactly true. The Bihu dance we know today originated in upper Assam. But, Bihu is not only about the Bihu dance, it has much more to it. Bihu was actually celebrated in lower Assam too by both Kachari Assamese and Aryan Assamese. The Aryan Assamese of lower Assam adopted the Bihu festival from the Kachari Assamese ; but they didn’t adopt the Bihu dance of the lower Assamese Kacharis ! However, the lower Assamese Kacharis did dance in their traditional versions of Bihu dance.
The Bihu dance which we know today originated in upper Assam. It was adopted by the non-Kachari Assamese communities like Kalitas, Keots, Ahoms of upper Assam. The Bihu dance we know today is a result of the mixture of Kachari and Aryan cultures. It was derived from the Bihu celebrated by some upper-Assamese tribes like Sonowal, Chutia and Thengal. The word ‘Bihu’ is derived from the Chutia word ‘Bishu’. This Bihu dance form became the standardized form of Bihu.
Since, the standardized Bihu dance was from upper Assam, some people may think that Bihu was imposed by the upper-Assamese on the lower-Assamese. But it is a myth because the Bihu festival was adopted by the lower Assamese non-Kachari groups too ; they just didn’t adopt the Bihu dance form of the lower Assamese Kachari.
In the 1960s, the standardized Bihu dance entered lower Assam when some lower Assamese girls learned the dance form from upper Assamese people, and thus the non-Kacahri Assamese groups of lower Assam too started dancing the standardized Bihu which is derived from the Sonowal/Chutia Bihu !
