Assam celebrates harvest festival ‘Kati Bihu’

The festival is marked annually on the first day of the Kati month in the Assamese calendar and usually falls during mid-October.

The people of Assam are celebrating the auspicious harvest festival of Kati Bihu today. This is the one Bihu in the state that is not seen as a form of celebration but more as an occasion of observance and perseverance.

The festival is marked annually on the first day of the Kati month in the Assamese calendar and usually falls during mid-October. It is also known as Kongali Bihu.

Today households all over Assam will be lighting a lamp under a tulsi plant and praying for a bountiful year ahead.

Farmers will be lighting a lamp perched atop a high pole in their fields which is known as Akashi Bonti while praying for a good harvest.

The occasion is seen as a time when harvest and resources are limited and people make preparations for the winter while also gearing up for the sowing of crops in the coming months.

Meanwhile, people are making preparations for the day as they will be holding traditional Naam Kirtans in the Naamghars and other congregational prayer halls.

And similar scenes are also being seen at Kalaigaon where people are gearing up to observe Kati Bihu in the traditional way.

Meanwhile, everything is not the way it should be for people during this Kati Bihu. Farmers in Kampur are facing tough times as devastating floods this year have left their fields dilapidated.

Now even after the floods are gone, the fields lie in a damaged state with no harvesting possible. In the midst of this, farmers are finding no reason to observe Kati Bihu when there are no crops to pray for.

What is the significance of Kati Bihu?

Kongali Bihu, which means poor, as the granaries are usually empty and there is not much to eat at this time. Kati in Kati Bihu means cut since this is the time of relocation of rice saplings. The festival honors nature and the harvest cycle and also reminds people to be grateful and to stay connected to their roots.

On this festival. The Tulsi plant is cleaned and placed on a platform which is called ‘Tulsi Bheti’ as the offerings and prayers made to Goddess Tulsi for a good harvest and for the well-being of the family.

The rituals of the Kati Bihu celebration include the Assamese women wearing the traditional attire and are seen lighting the earthen lamps called ‘saki’ in the paddy fields, the granary, and also in the garden.

The ancient times, these earthen lamps were lit all around the paddy fields, in order to attract the insects, thus acting as a natural insecticide. They did so to protect the maturing paddy. Also, the cultivators whirled a piece of bamboo and would recite rowa-khowa chants and spells to ward off the pests and the evil eye.

The festival teaches the youth to be kind, respectful, and loving towards their culture, tradition, and practices, teaching them to expand and develop these aspects in a positive manner, to help their communities grow, and to further save these age-old customs from being washed away.

The festival signifies love and dedication towards Nature, thus teaching the youth to grow, love, and care towards Mother Nature and all her provisions for human beings.

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