Customary Belief and Faiths of the Boros in Bwisagu Festival

Guwahati, April 14, 2019:

Bwisagu or Baisagu is one of the most popular forms of Bihu celebrated among the Bodo community of Assam.

Bwisagu will be celebrated for the next seven days and is as similar to the Bihu celebrated among the Assamese community.

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Today, the Bodo people are celebrating the “Mwswou Bwisagu” which is the “Goru Bihu” for Assamese people.

Tomorrow, the people of the Bodo community (especially the youth) will be going house-to-house to seek blessings from the community elders.

Bwisagu will be celebrated with the indigenous dance form “Bwisagu Mwsanai”. Instruments like the “Thorkha” (bamboo instrument) and others are used give add music to the dance performance.

For the community, Bwaisagu is all about the dances and feasts organized among the people. People are welcomed by giving “Aronai” (Bodo scarf). The most important food consumed during the occasion is “Jwou Bibwi” (local homemade alcohol) and “Oma” (pork meat).

‘Dhekia’ (edible fern) is consumed by the community for the first time in the year as before that, fern is not consumed as part of their customs. “Gwkha Gwkhwi” (Bitter and sour food) is consumed as a specialty.

The Boros are one of the largest tribal communities with about 1.5 million population at present. They belong to Indo-Mongoloids and Kirata people.