When singer Khagen Mahanta, the ‘Bihu Xamrat’ of Assam, passed away in 2014, Tarun Gogoi, the then chief minister of Assam, had said, “Mahanta tried to unite people with his music.” Mahanta, in fact, didn’t just do that; he embodied the very spirit of Bihu.

The word Bihu is derived from the Assamese words ‘Bi’ meaning ‘to ask’ and ‘Shu’ meaning ‘peace’. Hence, to celebrate Bihu is to ask for peace from the almighty.

A London-based organization, Hiddenidol, gathered almost 3000 Bihu performers in London, Guwahati and Bongaigaon and set a new record this August. Not only that, the music video of Goru Bihu created ripples everywhere as the first Assamese EDM folk song to be selected at 50 international film festivals. This humble dance form originating within the agricultural community of Assam has become particularly relevant.

This experimental music video made by Axl Hazarika, tries to capture a futuristic imagination of the festival and dance of Bihu, when it will be celebrated sans cows in a landscape driven by technology. Cow face paint compensates for the lack of the original connect with nature, and cows are washed and adorned before this festival.

Dance has existed as a form of expression in most human cultures since ages. As a form of communication, or expression, dance has helped build bonds and create a sense of community in many cultures. This is particularly true in the case of folk dances like Bihu, which are not just a way of celebrating a festival or an important occasion, but a tool to bring the community together.

This vibrant folk dance, performed during the three primary Bihu festivals of Assam are: spring Bihu festival, known as Rongali or Bohag Bihu, Kati or Kangali Bihu, which is the thriftiest of the three festivals and usually falls in the month of October, and Magh or Bhoghali Bihu, the harvest Bihu festival that is celebrated in January.

While the roots of this indigenous folk dance are unclear, it celebrates the spirit of each of the Bihu festivals of Assam. The first documented performance of this dance form can be traced back to Ahom King Rudra Singha, who is said to have invited Bihu dancers to perform at the Ranghar fields around 1694, to commemorate the occasion of Rongali Bihu. Bihu dance was initially only performed during the spring Bihu festival, which generally falls in the month of April, and marks the Assamese New Year, but later was incorporated into the rituals of the other Bihu festivals of Assam as well.

Bihu is a brisk dance, performed in a group by both men and women, and, perhaps, performed in older times on social occasions that provided a much needed platform for men and women to interact with each other. Bihu has also successfully united many ethnic groups of Assam such as Sonowal Kacharis, Deoris, Moran, Borahis and Chutias.

Bihu dance as an emblem of the state

Today, Bihu is recognized all over the world as an emblem of Assam, and has diversified into many sub types. These include:

Rongali Bihu — also known as the ‘Festival of Merriment’. The Bihu dance is performed at this time of the year by both young boys and girls, and men and women to denote the onset of spring and New Year. The dancers wear colourful traditional costumes that include gamocha and mekhela saadar, and sing specific songs known as Mukoli Bihus. Like the Chinese, the Assamese use predominantly the red colour during their New Year – Rongali Bihu — to denote new beginnings, joy and the sowing of crops. Of all the Bihu dances, this one is the most glamorous and enticing.

Kongali Bihu, or Kati Bihu, is the ‘Festival of the Poor’. It is celebrated on the first day of the Assamese ‘Kati’ month, and is a sparse festival that denotes the austerity and poverty that the word ‘Kongali’ means. This festival is celebrated around mid-October, when the barns are empty, even though the fields are lush with crops. This festival reminds the farmer to be thrifty and wise, and hence the dances performed during this time embody this spirit and are generally performed in austere clothes by peasants.

Traditionally, oil lamps with mustard oil were lit for good luck in front of the Tulsi plant at home and in the fields bearing their crops. The lamps in the fields called Saki were lit on top of bamboo poles, so as to guide the spirits. With time, Bihu dances started being performed with the lamp lighting ceremony, to keep the crops in good health and bring good luck to the family and community.

Bhoghali or Magh Bihu is the third and final Bihu festival of Assam that can be considered as the ‘Festival of Food’. As it is celebrated around harvest, when coffers and plates are full, it focuses on enjoying food and good times together. It is quite like the Hindu festival of Makar Sankranti, which is also celebrated around the same time by farmers in the Indian sub-continent. Both festivals mark the end of the season of harvest. During this bountiful festival, energetic Bihu dances are performed around bonfires known as meijis. These are almost as colourful and enigmatic as the Rongali Bihu dances, and green is the dominant colour during Bhogali Bihu.

To dance to the steps of Bihu is to commemorate the cycle of life itself – birth, growth, harvest and death. Today, Bihu dances are not just performed during these three festivals, but at various functions and conventions celebrating the culture and history of Assam.

Other forms of Bihu dance

With time, some other forms of Bihu dance have developed as well. Bihu Deori, is a variation of the Bihu dance performed and practiced by singers, musicians and dancers of the Tibeto-Burman Deori community settled in the upper areas of Assam. Or Bihu Missing, which is another style of Bihu dance specific to the Missing community, who are settled in Assam, and some parts of Arunachal Pradesh.

There is also a special kind of Bihu dance, which is performed by both married and unmarried women called Jeng Bihu or Buwari Bihu.

Bihu dance was given another form by followers of Srimanta Sankaradeva, a 15th-16th century Assamese saint, scholar, and religious reformer, who started blending some of his Vaishnava music in Bihu songs.

Mancha Bihu is the art of performing Bihu on stage, and it has been practiced since 1931, when it was first performed on stage in Golaghat district. By 1952, its popularity had spread to Guwahati and thereafter it became popular all over Assam and later the rest of India.

Bihu dance, particularly the one performed during Rongali Bihu and Bhogali Bihu, is marked by a fast pace, swift hand movements, and synchronized movements in a group. Like most folk dances, interaction between the dancers plays a huge part in adding zest to the performance.

Traditional attire and celebration of beauty

Clothing too gives Bihu its own unique touch. Both men and women don traditional Assamese attire for the Bihu dance.  The male dancers wear dhoti, which is a long piece of cloth, generally made of cotton or silk, on the lower half of their bodies. And gamocha, which is a thin piece of folded cloth, on their head. Nowadays they also wear a silk kurta, which is often elaborately embroidered. Both the dhoti and the gamocha can be of various bright colours, including red during Rongali Bihu, or other festive occasions. During Kongali Bihu, the colours are more muted.

The women are draped in Chador and Mekhela. Mekhela is a cylindrical piece of clothing worn on the lower half of the body, while Chador is a big piece of cloth that is draped on the upper half of the body like a shawl, above a blouse. Apart from cotton, many rich fabrics like pat silk, cotton silk and muga silk are used for making these garments. Often elaborate embroidery adds more élan to these clothes. Sometimes women also wear sarees, particularly during the more austere or modern variations of the Bihu dance. Along with such stylized clothes, women adorn themselves with heavy jewellery and flowers on their head, preferably red or matching with the colours of their clothing. An alluring red bindi adds the final touch of beauty to the perfect traditional attire for women dancing the Bihu dance.

Dhol, pepa, gagana, toka, xutuli, baanhi and many other traditional instruments accompany the enthusiastic music to which Bihu is performed. It’s a combination of all these instruments, dress, decorations and customs, sound, lyrics, music, movement and light, which makes a traditional Bihu dance eye-catching and mesmerizing.

The humble Bihu dance, which has its roots in the agricultural community of Assam, is now being celebrated and appreciated globally. It is no longer limited to the state of Assam, and has crossed not just regional, but international borders. It represents the vibrant culture and enthusiastic people of Assam to the world on many international platforms.

From being a part of the Awesome Assam Campaign featuring Priyanka Chopra, to being performed at the opening of the Manas National Park in Assam, no important occasion in Assam can be complete without this vibrant dance. Thus, it is no surprise that the Bihu dance was performed during the 2012 London Olympics, and is performed regularly all over the world at almost every important gathering commemorating an Assamese success story, or celebrating the beauty of Assamese culture.

Bihu goes popular on stage, TV and web

Performing Bihu on stage has also become a lucrative business. It is an important part of television programming in Assam. Competitions are held both outdoors and inside studios, and it has become a part of various dance shows and competitions, where contestants get rewarded handsomely, and are televised and broadcast all over the world.

In the age of the Internet, Bihu has conquered the webspace as well. Various groups and individuals post and even teach Bihu dance online. Global Bihu is another such platform that has flourished with the help of the Internet. Their website says: It is a techno-cultural evening, celebrated on a certain day of April/May every year, where various Bihu songs and dances are performed, and various discussions and presentations are held to commemorate the spirit of Bihu. These can be viewed online by the Assamese diaspora residing across the globe on their website, making it a successful tool that unites the Assamese community with the help of Bihu.

Many professional groups, like Ranjit Gogoi’s group of dancers, perform Bihu all over India and the world, and thereby keep its legacy alive. They also release their videos online, while reaching out to a much larger audience.

Each dancer has a tale to tell

Various colleges in Assam are also helping to keep the tradition of Bihu alive through international cultural exchange programmes. Recently, Gauhati University sent a 14-member team to Sherubtse College of Royal University of Bhutan to commemorate 50 years of India and Bhutan’s friendship. The team members performed various Assamese folk dances and songs like Bihu, Sattriya, Tolari geet etc.

By introducing it to a global audience, the Bihu dancers have not only helped it reach new heights of popularity, but ensured that it is not forgotten or neglected by the younger generation in their own hilly state. Internet has helped these dancers and musicians in preserving the heritage and the legacy of Bihu.

On the flip side, some of the rituals of Bihu have been modernized (like costumes) or done away with (like the adornment of cows). This is particularly done when Bihu is performed for an international audience or on foreign soil. As Axl Hazarika’s music video, Goru Bihu shows, the execution of Bihu may change with time, but its essence still remains the same. Indeed, the people of Assam may not always welcome this. As Axl said in an interview, his video “has ruffled feathers and evoked criticism for its innovative approach”. He admitted that it showed the lack of acceptance of experimental and avant-garde stuff among the media and masses of the region.

Ultimately, one dances not just for the pleasure of the audience, but also for oneself. So, Bihu is an expression of not just Assamese culture, but each individual dancer as well. Each one has a tale to tell through the intoxicating movements of this dance.

As Wayne Dyer said, “When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.”

Rhea Paine is a Kolkata-based writer and amateur photographer