BIhu and Halloween Celebrations

Diferent countries, different religion, different food habits...but if we observe closely all things are the manifestation of one thing. Life is endless nothingness; we are all waiting for death and to make that waiting less tiresome, we eat, drink and make merry. In that merriment, we all end up doing more or less the same things, things which are symbolic to each one of us, the Human Spirit.

For instance, take Bihu and Halloween; Two different festivals celebrated in two different parts of the globe by two different race.

For the people of Assam, Bihu is the most important festival and is celebrated during three different seasons in three different ways- Kongali Bihu (October), Bhogali Bihu(January) and Rongali Bihu (April).
On the other hand, we have Halloween, which is mostly celebrated in the western world on 31st October. However, both have their origin related to Harvesting.

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival, Samhain. This festival is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, similarly, Bhogali Bihu marks the end of the harvesting season in Assam. Of the remaining two Bihus- Kongali Bihu is observed in Octber when the granneries of the farmer is almost empty and he prays for the paddy in the fields to yield a good harvest in January. Rongali Bihu marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year and also the preparation of the paddy fields for cultivation.

One of the main activities of Halloween is Trick-Or-Treating. It includes the children going from door to door dressed in disguise and offering entertainment. They are then treated with gifts of candies or money. Similary during Rongali Bihu, children and youngsters go from door to door and entertain people with Bihu dance and songs. They are then given pithas (assamese sweets) and money.

Trick-or-Treating also involve children and young people playing a range of tricks on adults. One such trick is to unhinge garden gates and move it far away. This is something I have done a number of times during our Bhogali Bihu celebrations. Just like Halloween, we would have our Bonfire night (Uruka in Assamese)- all children and young people spend the whole night dancing, singing and playing games around the bonfire and ofcourse, playing tricks on adults like stealing chickens , vegetables from the garden, etc.

Just like Hallooween, Kongali bihu's history involves lamps, evil eye and spirits.
During Kongali bihu, earthen lamps are lighted all across the house and paddy fields and traditonal chants are recited to ward off pest and Evil Eye and thus protect the paddy. This Bihu is also associated with the lighting of Akaxi Ganga, lamps at the tip of a tall bamboo pole to show the souls of the dead the way to heaven. Likewise, in Halloween, the Jack-O_lanterns are put at the door of each house to protect it from evel siprits ( Gaels believed that on that day, the boundaries between living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come alive and cause havoc on the farmers). When the Romans occupied Celtic region, several roman traditions were included in the celebration including Feralia, which is celebrated by Romans for the passing of the dead (AKAXI GANGA, anyone?!).
Similarities and similarities...anywhere, everywhere..

For me there is only one race- the human race.....All for one, one for all!