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Bihu Dance: Revisiting the antique Culture

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Bihu is celebrated in the land of Assam which is a hub of traditions with a rich cultural background. The state in itself is a land of blended culture and a fusion of tradition, lifestyle, faith, belief and religions of the different communities living in the state.

bihu

And when it comes to folk dance forms, no other region can be as vibrant as this land. Its culture has a rich heritage infused with the various fairs and festivals, dance and music, languages, arts and crafts and delicious cuisines. The populace have given a distinguished shape to it by retaining their age old traditions, rituals and celebrations.

About Bihu

The dance form is performed by the people of Assam with utmost passion and respect. The dance includes brisk dancing steps and rapid hand movements.

Instruments used:

The dance form refers to both human fertility, through the erotic nature of the dance, as well as to the fertility of nature, meaning the celebration of spring and the welcoming of the life-giving spring rain. The use of instruments such as drums and horn-pipes is believed to replicate the sound of rain and thunder, as a way of invoking actual precipitation. 

The performances are accompanied by traditional instruments such as Baanhi, Dhol, Gogona, Taal, Toka and Xutuli. These instruments lend a unique musical flavour when rendering the songs for the dance. 

bihu

Costumes:

The costumes of the performers are as colourful and quivering as its culture itself. The women dancers who participate in Bihu wear a traditional dress made of Assam’s geographical tag Muga silk called Mekhela Sador which has two parts the Mekhala at the lower part of the body and the Sador is like a shawl which covers the upper half. 

The boys who perform the dance form dress in  dhoti, Gamusa, tongali and Muga shirts.

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History:

The first reference of Bihu was found in a copperplate inscription issued back in 1401 AD, during the time of Chutia king Lakshminarayan. Swargadeo Rudra Singha was the first Ahom king to accept Bihu as the national festival of Assam in 1694. Rudra Singha’s rule saw the Husori reaching the royal palace.

Customarily, Bihu was performed by the local farming communities and performed the dance outdoors, in fields, groves, forests or on the banks of rivers, especially under the fig tree.

Kolimoti of Kesai Khati Gukhani Thaan is believed to be the creator of Bihu dance.

Sources say that in 1935 the first community Rongali Bihu in Shillong was held on the field of Laban Assamese Boys’ High School complex with traditional Bihu dance and songs. Sports were also part of the special events that were organised. Hereafter, for the first time Bihu was performed on stage in 1962 in Guwahati. 

In the film industry:

If we speak about the Assamese film industry, the Bihu dance form was first included in 1956 by Nip Baruah in his film ‘Smritir Porosh ‘.

In the beginning, this form of dance was limited to only some parts of the state. But later it became popular among the youths of other places. During British rule, this form was looked down upon due to the message it gives.

Current status:

If we talk about the popularity of the form in today’s date, the Bihu dance is being performed and praised on various platforms. It was performed by a professional dance group at the London Olympics in the year 2012. Ranjit Gogoi’s professional team of Bihu dancers has performed this traditional dance overseas on many other occasions as well and they are quite popular.

Turning the pages of time, one may realise that in the present times the culture of performing Bihu is getting more commercialized and ends with televised live stage editions of Bihu songs and dances. And this in turn has drained away the essence of our culture.

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