Kati Bihu, on the first day of the month of Kati in mid-October, is the quietest of the three Bihus. It is called Kongali, the poor one: last year's rice is nearly gone and the new crop is still standing green. There is no feasting. At dusk a lamp is lit before the tulsi plant in the courtyard, another in the granary, and a third in the paddy field, hung high on a bamboo pole.
The story
The lamp in the field, the akash banti or sky lamp, is said to light the way of the ancestors. It also draws insects away from the ripening grain.
Farmers walk their fields at dusk whirling a piece of bamboo and chanting rowa-khowa verses to ward off pests and the evil eye. The lamps are lit every evening for the whole month.
How it is kept
- Tulsi bhetiA tulsi is planted on a small earthen platform, cleaned and lit with lamps.
- Akash bantiThe lamp on the tall bamboo in the field.
- SakiLamps in the granary, the garden and the cowshed.
- Rowa-khowaThe chant that protects the crop.
- Mah-prasadGram and fruit are offered and shared.
Why this date
Kati Bihu is the first day of the solar month of Kati, which in the Assamese reckoning is the day after the Sun enters Tula: 17, 18 or 19 October.
Kati Bihu in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Tuesday | |
| 2028 | Wednesday | |
| 2029 | Thursday | |
| 2030 | Friday | |
| 2031 | Sunday |
More Assamese festivals
7 OctoberMaha Ashtamiমহা অষ্টমী
10 OctoberBijoya Dashamiবিজয়া দশমী
29 OctoberKali Puja and Diwaliকালী পূজা · দীপাৱলী
9 OctoberMaha Navamiমহা নৱমী
14 NovemberRaas Purnimaৰাস পূৰ্ণিমা
4 SeptemberGanesh Chaturthiগণেশ চতুৰ্থী
Where to see Kati Bihu
In Assam
- MajuliAssamFields of lamps on the river island.
- The paddy fields of SivasagarAssamUpper Assam, where the sky lamps are still raised.
- KazirangaAssamThe villages on the edge of the national park, among the ripening sali rice.
Across India
- VaranasiUttar PradeshAkash deep, sky lamps on bamboo poles, are lit along the Ganga through the month of Kartik.
- PuriOdishaThe Kartika month of lamps and one meal a day begins about now.
- TiruvannamalaiTamil NaduThe south's great festival of lamps follows in a month.