Seasonal Bihu Festivals and Rituals
Domain 5 - Seasonal Bihu Festivals and Rituals
This domain tests ritual sequence: which Bihu, which day, which act. Sequence questions are common and cheap marks are lost on ordering.
Bohag Bihu (Rongali)
Goru Bihu comes first - cattle are bathed, fed and tended, and the day belongs to them. Manuh Bihu follows on the first day of Bohag: new clothes, elders' blessings, the Bihuwan gamosa offered as a mark of respect. Gosain Bihu and the occupational days follow, and the week closes with Hat Bihu, when the weekly market day becomes the last festive occasion. Husori groups move courtyard to courtyard through this period.
Kati Bihu (Kongali)
An austere observance while the crop stands. Akashbanti lamps are raised on tall bamboo poles in the fields; a lamp is lit at the tulsi; prayer is offered for the crop and there is no grand feasting.
Magh Bihu (Bhogali)
Uruka is the eve, the last day of Poush, when the Meji and Bhelaghar are built of bamboo and thatch and a community feast is held in the open. The Meji is burnt at dawn on Magh Bihu; pitha and laru are made and the granary is celebrated.
Worked example. "Place in order: Manuh Bihu, Hat Bihu, Goru Bihu, Uruka." Reasoning: Goru Bihu precedes Manuh Bihu; Hat Bihu closes Bohag; Uruka is the eve of Magh, so it belongs to the other cycle. Answer: Goru Bihu, Manuh Bihu, Hat Bihu (Bohag); Uruka falls in Magh.
Traps. Burning the Meji at night instead of dawn; treating Uruka as a fourth Bihu; describing Kati as a feast; reversing Goru and Manuh Bihu.