Bihu is the main festival celebrated by the people of Assam. It is the most important non religious festival celebrated irrespective of caste, creed and class. It is said that the word ‘Bihu’ originated from the Sanskrit word ‘Vishuvan’ which means equinox. 

The Assamese celebrate three kinds of bihu in their calendar year--- Rongalee bihu or Bohag bihu (the first month of the calendar), Kati bihu or Kongalee bihu and the last but not the least magh bihu or the Bhogalee bihu. Bihu celebrations mark three distinct phases of the farming calendar for the native crop of Assam i.e. paddy. Bohag bihu marks the advent of the seeding time, the Kati bihu marks the completion of sowing of paddy and transplantation of the saplings and finally the magh bihu marks the culmination of the harvesting period.

Bhogalee bihu is celebrated in January, immediately after the traditional paddy cultivation is harvested.  The word Bhogalee comes from the word “Bhog” which means eating and enjoyment. It is Assam’s celebration of Sankranti with feasting lasting for a week. Bhogalee bihu is also known as “Magh bihu” as it is celebrated in the month of “Magh”. It is celebrated at a time when all the cultivation works get over and everyone has plenty to eat and enjoy.

The celebration of bhogalee bihu starts one day before the actual day i.e. the last day of the month of “puh”. On this day called “Uruka”, men folk, particularly young men go to the field to build the “Meji”. The Meji is a high temple like structure made by pilling firewood, bamboo and haystacks that is to be burnt on the first day of Magh bihu. To build the Meji , the young men collect firewood and cut them into certain length and erect a huge temple like structure held together by  a bamboo pole at the centre and banana trees at the four corners. This Meji is guarded whole day and night by all the people of the village or the community. To stay for the night, people build makeshift huts called “Bhelaghar” close to the Meji. These houses are usually made up of bamboo and hay of the harvested fields.

The night of ‘uruka’ is spent by community gathering and feasting, merry-making, singing bihu songs and dancing and beating the dhol around the meji. This feast is called “Urukar Bhoj”. People from a particular area gather and prepare food and enjoy the dinner together. For dinner rice, dal, vegetable curries, salads, chutneys, various non-veg items such as chicken, mutton, pork, duck, fishes of various kinds are prepared. There are community feasting everywhere. Young boys roam about in the dark stealing firewood, vegetables, ducks, chickens etc for fun.

On the actual day of Magh Bihu, everyone takes bath at the dawn itself and proceed towards the meji. The meji is lit up by one elder member of the society. People gather around the meji and throw pithas and betelnuts & paan to it while burning it at the same time. Various types of edibles like coconut, til (sesame seeds) etc are worshipped to the meji i.e. the Hindu God of Fire (Agni Devta). People gather around the meji and offer their prayers to the Agni Devta by singing naam and kirtans. Magh bihu is celebrated at a season when winter is about to go. It is believed that the fire of meji burns the winter out.

Ladies of the society prepare for this bihu from many days. They cook various snacks, sweets for this day. On the Bhogalee bihu day, they carry their food items to the auspicious meji spot. Various types of jalpan such as cheera, muri, handoh, aakhoi etc are served with curd or milk and molasses. Til laroo, narikal laroo, poka mithoi, muri laroo, pithas (rice cakes) such as til pithas, ghila pithas, tekeli pithas, hutuli pithas, chunga pithas etc are served to every one.

Various types of potatoes such as mitha aloo, muwa aloo, kaath aloo etc are roasted in the large fire of meji and everyone from children to elder ones eat it. They offer prayer to the “God of Fire” and mark the end of the harvesting year. Thereafter, they come back home carrying ashes of the meji and bhelaghar and scatter them on the farmlands as the belief has that it increases land fertility. All the trees in the compound are tied to bamboo strips or paddy stems.

The celebration also features traditional Assamese games where from children to old people participate. Among the most popular one is the egg fight. It is played across Assam in every corner from villages to towns. There are some traditional sports involving pets, animals etc. These sports are now localized to some places now-a-days; the most popular being the “Moh Juj” (buffalo fight) of Ahatguri in Morigaon district. The Moh Juj is the most thrilling among all the sports.

Another popular sport is the bird fight. When we talk about bird fight what immediately comes to our mind is the makarsankranti celebrations at Hajo during Magh bihu.  Makar sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India. According to the lunar calendar, when the sun moves from the Tropic of cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn, in the month of puh in mid-January, it commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the north east monsoon in south India. The movement of the earth from one zodiac sign into another is called sankranti and as the sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makar in Hindi, this occasion is named as makar sankranti in the Indian context. It is one of the few Hindu Indian festivals which is celebrated on a fixed date i.e. 14^th January every year (The first day of the magh bihu).

Hajo throbs with the activities for sports of birds which is unique in its kind. On Makar Sankranti, thousands of people from across the north- eastern region rush to the Hayagriva Madhava temple premises to see this traditional fight of Bulbul birds. Usually, its preparation begins from mid –December each year. Those willing to participate in the fight, trap the birds from the nearby forest and keep them with care. Once caught, the owner grooms the 20-cm-long Bulbul bird for the big date. Tied with a string on its legs, the inebriated birds start fighting one another aggressively, surrounded by clapping crowds who gather in large numbers at the temple ground. 

Like all other bihu celebrations, Magh bihu also has the ritual of showing respect to the elder with a gamosa. Although the main bihu celebration goes on for two days, the air of celebration remains for a week. Bhogalee bihu is a festival that ushers in a period of prosperity and a spirit of gastronomy. It helps us to overcome our bad days and indulge in feasting and merrymaking. Therefore, we must use this occasion as an opportunity to spread the message of peace and harmony among all sections of people.