Brahmaputra Valley · Eastern Himalaya & Brahmaputra Belt
Festivals
| Festival | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Rongali (Bohag) Bihu | Mid-April, seven days | The Assamese new year and spring festival — Bihu dancing, husori troupes, new gamosas given to elders, and the first day given over to the cattle, which are bathed, garlanded and fed. |
| Magh (Bhogali) Bihu | Mid-January | The harvest feast. Temporary bamboo-and-thatch meji and bhelaghar structures are built, feasted in overnight and burnt at dawn, with buffalo fights and egg fights in some districts. |
| Kati (Kongali) Bihu | Mid-October | The austere Bihu — the granary is empty and the crop is still in the field, so lamps are lit at the tulsi plant and in the paddy to ask for protection. No feasting. |
| Ambubachi Mela | June, four days | At Kamakhya, marking the goddess's annual menstruation. The temple closes for three days and reopens to enormous crowds, including large numbers of ascetics who appear only for this. |
| Me-Dam-Me-Phi | 31 January | The Ahom festival of ancestor worship, honouring the departed of the community and the dynasty. |
| Ali-Ai-Ligang | February | The Mising spring sowing festival — the name means seed, fruit and sowing — with the Gumrag dance, apong and pork. |
| Jonbeel Mela | January, at Magh Bihu | A three-day fair at Morigaon where hill communities and plains communities still trade by barter rather than money, and a Tiwa king ceremonially collects tribute. |
| Raas Mahotsav, Majuli | November | Days of Bhaona performances of the Krishna story across the island's sattras, drawing visitors to Majuli in numbers it otherwise never sees. |
The festival calendar of Brahmaputra Valley — what is celebrated, when it falls and what happens. (8)