The Bihu

Bihu

Bihu denotes a set of three different cultural festivals of Assam and celebrated by the Assamese diaspora around the world. Though they owe their origins to ancient rites and practices they have taken definite urban features and have become popular festivals in urban and commercialized milieus in...

 dance is a folk dance

Folk dance

The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....

 from the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

 related to the festival of Bihu

Bihu

Bihu denotes a set of three different cultural festivals of Assam and celebrated by the Assamese diaspora around the world. Though they owe their origins to ancient rites and practices they have taken definite urban features and have become popular festivals in urban and commercialized milieus in...

. This joyous dance is performed by both young men and women, and is characterized by brisk dance steps,and rapid hand movement. Dancers wear traditionally colorful Assamese clothing

Textiles and dresses of Assam

There is a wide variety of clothing and textiles involved with Assamese culture. An enumeration of the significant items as well as terms used to refer to them is shown below.*Cotton*Dhoti*Endi*Eri*Gamosa*Jaapi*Khadi*Mekhela chador*Muga silk*Pat silk...

.

Though the origins of the Bihu dance is unknown, the first official endorsement is cited to be when Ahom

Ahom kingdom

The Ahom Kingdom was a medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in Assam that maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years and successfully resisted Mughal expansion in North-East India...

 king

Ahom Dynasty

The Ahom Dynasty ruled the Ahom Kingdom in present-day Assam for nearly 600 years. The dynasty was established by Sukaphaa, a Shan prince of Mong Mao who came to Assam after crossing the Patkai mountains...

 Rudra Singha invited Bihu dancers to perform at the Ranghar

Ranghar

Ranghar are a Muslim ethnic group, which is found in Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan and Haryana and Uttar Pradesh states of India. Ranghar were native to Indian state of Haryana and also found in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, as well as Delhi in India...

 fields sometime around 1694 on the occasion of Rongali Bihu.

Description

The Bihu is a group dance

Group dance

Group dances are danced by groups of people simultaneously, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually, and as opposed to couples dancing together but independently of others dancing at the same time, if any....

 in which males and females dance together but maintain different gender roles. In general, females follow stricter line

Line dance

A line dance is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows without regard for the gender of the individuals, all facing the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time. Line dancers are not in physical contact...

 or circle

Circle dance

"Circle dance" is the most common name for a style of traditional dance usually done in a circle without partners to musical accompaniment.-Description:...

 formations. The male dancers and musicians enter the dancing area first, and they maintain their lines and follow synchronized patterns. When the female dancers enter later the male dancers break up their lines to mingle with the female dancers, who maintain their stricter formations and order of the dance. The dance is usually characterized by definite postures; movements of the hips, arms, wrists; twirls, squats and bends but no jumps. Male and female dance movements are very similar, with only minor but subtle differences.

Performance

The dance is performed in accompaniment with traditional Bihu music. The most important musicians are the drummers (dhulia), who play a particular twin-faced drum, the dhol

Dhol

Dhol can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent and nearby regions. Its range of distribution in India and Pakistan primarily includes northern areas such as the Assam Valley, Bengal, Gujarat,...

, slung from the neck and played with one stick and a palm. There are usually more than one dhulia in a performance, and they play different rhythms and compositions at different sections of the performance. These rhythmic compositions, called seus, are traditionally codified. Before entering the dancing area, the drummers play a short and brisk rhythm. The seu is changed and usually the drummers enter the dance area in line. The mohor xingor pepa

Pepa

Pepa may refer to:*Pepa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a village in northeastern Katanga province with a population around 4,000*Pepa Airport, an airstrip in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near Pepa village...

is played generally in the beginning by a single player who lays out an initial plaintive motif and that sets the mood for the dance. The male dancers then enter the area in formation and perform accompanied by singing, in which all participate. Some other instruments that accompany this dance are the taal, a type of clash cymbal; the gogona

Gogona

The gogona is a type of jaw harp, a vibrating reed instrument that is used primarily in the traditional Bihu music in Assam. It is made of a piece of bamboo/horn that has a bifurcation on one end...

, a reed and bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

 instrument; the toka

Toka

Toka may refer to:*Toka - French video game company*Toka - Japanese rock band*Tokka and Rahzar - characters in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" universe* Toka, the Hungarian name for Toaca village, Hodac Commune, Mureş County, Romania...

, a bamboo clapper; and the xutuli, a clay whistle. Bamboo flute

Bamboo flute

Flutes made of bamboo are found in many musical traditions.Some bamboo flutes include:Flute Country of Origin Atenteben Bashi Bansuri Chi Dizi Daegeum...

s are also often used. The songs (bihu geet) that accompany the dance have been handed down for many generations. The subject of the lyrics ranges from welcoming the Assamese new year to describing the daily life of a farmer, from historical references of invasions to Assam to contemporary socio-political commentary in a satirical way. Though both males & females perform Bihu dance, but female performed bihu dance has more variations. There are many stages in female performed Bihu dance - freehand, twisting, with rhythm pepa blowing, with Kahi (disk), with Jaapi

Jaapi

Jaapi is a traditional Assamese headgear or hat of Assam, India.-About Jaapi:Typical regular use Jaapi is made out of tightly woven bamboo and/or cane and taku paat . The name, jaapi comes after the word jaap, bundle of taku leaves...

 (Assamese headgear) etc. The performance itself could be long, it is enlivened by rapid changes in rhythm, mood, movements, pace and improvisation; and dancers and musicians are given short opportunities to show their virtuosity.most of us we donot know real story of bihu dance it is a epitomic dance pratice done by both male and female.

Forms of Bihu dance

The dance takes several forms among the different northeast Indian groups, e.g. "Deori Bihu dance", "Mising Bihu dance" etc. However, the underlying goal of the dance remains the same: to express the desire to feel both pain and happiness..

Rongali Bihu competitions

In mid April, along with the onset of spring, falls the new year in the local calendar with the month of Bohag. Nowadays, during this period, there are Bihu competitions all over the Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

 (as well as throughout the major locations with Assamese diaspora. These competitions attract visitors and locals alike in huge throngs. Apart from Bihu dance, there are competitions held to select the Bihu Kunwori (Bihu Princess) and various singing talents.

At the end of the month of Bohag there is also the farewell to the month commemorated by numerous Bohagi Bidai functions.

External links

• A sample of a Bihu dance performance, from youtube.com.