"Tuloni Biya": Assam's Distinctive Commemoration of a Young girl's first menstruation

Veiled under aeons of taboos and secrecy, menstruation in India remains an issue which barely seeps into daily conversations. Men refuse to acknowledge it, women shy from addressing it and pubescent girls gulp their fates with a hint of misery; it has been the elephant in most rooms for time immemorial. In such a scenario, the peculiar case of Assam’s Tuloni biya celebration, or the commemoration of a girl’s first period, is one which sets an example differing from the rest. It is not only a formal announcement of the girl’s puberty but a celebration marked with a mock wedding and reception. The family of the young bride rolls out invitations to well wishers, beckoning them to extend their blessings to her and cherishing her life’s new chapter. The otherwise pensive girl bathes in radiance as she is draped in the traditional silk mekhela sador and for that moment in time, she is pulled out of her trance of confusion and pain. However, the case of Tuloni Biya juxtaposes an age old problem with the idea of celebration; one cannot help but think that is the ceremony for the girl’s ease or does it merely reduces her to her fertility?

Hosted seven days after the dawn of periods in a girl’s life, the Tuloni biya is preceded with numerous rituals and traditions which stem from the same ideas of purity, separation and forced modesty. The girl is ushered in one room for the initial few days deeming all other areas inaccessible to her. While one might argue that it is for her comfort, a young girl undergoing a major transition in her life is only bombarded with impressions of being alone and secluded when she is abruptly cut off from the people that she trusts as her own. Moreover, the girl is reminded time and again to avoid interaction with men henceforth, loading the young mind with the wrong notion of protecting herself from dishonour. It amplifies the age old perspective of women having to draw up their walls, instead of asking men to refrain from misconduct. Without any proper explanation or proper sex education, the girl is awarded the title of becoming a woman. She toys with the label but mentally there is no bridge from the young girl that she was yesterday to the woman she has become today. Although the practice cannot be discredited entirely as the resting phase does benefit in terms of minimizing exertion, the additional orthodox treatment is what makes it questionable.

Before the main ceremony of Tuloni Biya is conducted, the girl is bathed in sandalwood and scrubbed clean before her mock wedding to a banana tree. Wedding songs are sung and participants rejoice in merriment. The event is truly no short of a real wedding. The parting in her hair is tainted with the red of sindoor, symbolising the completion of the marriage and the beginning of her wedded life. It is on this day, that the girl is reintroduced to social gatherings as acquaintances and friends come forward and enamour her with gifts. She sparkles with the jewellery laden on her and her parents beam at their daughter’s newfound ‘womanhood’.

Undeniably, the Tuloni biya is one which unveils the shrouded idea of menstruation and makes it the conversation of the town. The practice is different and enables the girl to be treated in a manner which she would not have imagined earlier, but the ironic juxtaposition of it all, certainly leaves an individual doubting its motive. The initiative is one which is to be lauded but mainly for allowing the discussion of menstruation reach the courtyards of houses. It helps the girl in terms of the freedom of engaging in deliberation about the natural process and also in connecting with other peers about the same. Prepubescent girls attend the Tuloni biya and in turn learn a bit more about the culture’s response to menstruation. Unlike other cultures, girls do not shy away from claiming their womanhood, making the entire deal one of a kind. The emphasis remains on the fact that if the right measures are taken while keeping the girl in mind, the idea of celebrating menstruation holds the potential of altering years of rooted prejudice.