Magh Bihu, or Bhogali Bihu, is the harvest festival of Assam, kept on the first day of the month of Magh in mid-January. The granaries are full, and bhog, eating, is its whole point. On the eve, Uruka, people build a hut of hay and bamboo in the bare paddy field, the bhelaghar, and feast in it through the night. At dawn they bathe, set fire to the meji, a tall tower of firewood, and pray to Agni.
The story
Uruka is a day of community: the men go fishing together in the beels and rivers, the women pound rice for pitha, and the whole village eats in one place. Young men keep watch by a fire all night, and by old custom help themselves to vegetables from any garden.
The half-burnt sticks of the meji are thrown among the fruit trees for a good yield. Then the visiting begins, and with it buffalo fights, egg fights and, at Hajo, fights between bulbul birds.
How it is kept
- UrukaThe feast of the eve, with fish, duck and new rice, in the bhelaghar.
- MejiLit at first light after a bath; pitha and betel are offered to the fire.
- Pitha and laruTil pitha, ghila pitha, sunga pitha roasted in bamboo, and balls of coconut and sesame.
- JolpanFlattened rice, curd and jaggery served to every visitor.
- GamesTekeli bhonga (pot breaking), tug of war and traditional fights.
Why this date
Magh Bihu is the first day of the solar month of Magh, which in the Assamese reckoning is the day after the Sun enters Makara: 14 or 15 January. Uruka is the evening before.
Magh Bihu in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wednesday | |
| 2026 | Thursday | |
| 2027 | Friday | |
| 2028 | Sunday | |
| 2029 | Monday | |
| 2030 | Tuesday |
More Assamese festivals
23 JanuarySaraswati Pujaসৰস্বতী পূজা
15 FebruaryMaha Shivaratriমহা শিৱৰাত্ৰি
3 MarchDoul Utsavদৌল উৎসৱ
26 MarchRam Navamiৰাম নৱমী
2 AprilHanuman Jayantiহনুমান জয়ন্তী
14 AprilGoru Bihuগৰু বিহু
Where to see Magh Bihu
In Assam
- Hayagriva Madhava Temple, HajoAssamKnown for the bulbul fights held in its courtyard at Magh Bihu.
- Jonbeel Mela, JagiroadAssamA fair of the Tiwa people held the weekend after, where hill and plains folk still trade by barter.
- MajuliAssamThe river island of the satras, with mejis on the sandbanks of the Brahmaputra.
Across India
- GangasagarWest BengalThe bathing fair where the Ganga meets the sea.
- AmritsarPunjabPunjab's midwinter bonfire, Lohri, a night or two earlier.
- MaduraiTamil NaduThe same harvest is Pongal in the south.