Assam: People offer prayers at temples on 'Bohag Bihu' in Dibrugarh

Udalguri (Assam) [India], April 14 : People offered prayers at temples on 'Bohag Bihu', the second day of the week-long Rongali Bihu in Assam's Dibrugarh district on Sunday.
Locals participated in the Bihu celebration, sought blessings from the elders of the area and presented the traditional patch of Bihuwan or Gamosa.

Bohag Bihu involves the tradition of seeking blessings from the elders in a family and presenting the ceremonial traditional patch of Bihuwan or Gamosa.
Along with other parts of the state, Bohag Bihu was also celebrated in Guwahati and Udalguri districts wherein people participated in community feasting, dancing and merrymaking.

Locals participated in the Bihu celebration, sought blessings from the elders of the area and presented the traditional patch of Bihuwan or Gamosa. The locals also participated in the traditional Bihu dance.
The first day of the Bohag month marks Manuh Bihu ('Manuh' symbolises "Elders" and Ancestral Spirits).

People give offerings to the elders and the ancestral spirits and ask for blessings. People have a special maah halodhi bath, put on new clothes and light saki at Gohai Ghor (the household prayer place).
The festival involves the tradition of seeking blessings from the elders in a family and presenting the ceremonial patch of Bihuwan or the Gamosa cloth, as a gift, to be worn as a symbol of cultural pride.
A 'Gamosa' is an indispensable part of indigenous Assamese life and culture with its distinctive symbolic significance.
The intricacy of its handcrafting symbolically historically heralded the ideas of friendship, love, regard, warmth, hospitality and it is intimately woven into the social fabric of Assam.
Rongali Bihu marks the beginning of a new agricultural cycle by ushering into the Assamese New Year. The new year begins on April 14 and festivities will continue till April 20.