HERBAL RECIPE OF RONGALI BIHU

The North East India has attained a typically special geographical environmental topography in comparison with other states of India.
HERBAL RECIPE OF RONGALI BIHU

Gunin Borah

(The writer is the Faculty of Geography, in Biswanath College, Biswanath Chariali. He can be reached at borah.gunin@gmail.com)

The North East India has attained a typically special geographical environmental topography in comparison with other states of India. Before coming of Monsoon the green forests become attractable with green leaves and flowers as if the Monsoon rainfall provides more natural beauty of Assam. The season changes from winter to spring. Spring is the season of flowers and fragments. The season Bahag comes to the North East along with the changes of season and the green beauty of nature. The Bahag season is the vital life line of the Assamese nation. This is the period for the festival of Bahag Bihu or Rongali Bihu of Assamese people.

Axomiya people have their own customs and traditions for different types of festivals and dance, which reflect their way of life. Assam is a state with a rich cultural heritage. Bihu is the most important festival of the state. Among three Bihus in Assam Bahag or Rongali Bihu is the festival of joy with the cultural milieu of the people living in the state. It is held from the last day of Choat (Last month of Assamese calendar) and continues for seven days of Bahag (The first month of Assamese calendar) and the middle of April. Bihu Naam (Bihu Song) and Bihu Naas (Bihu dance) are unique art forms of Assamese culture.

The first day of Bahag Bihu is called the Goru (cow) Bihu and on that particular day people collect 101 plant species which are locally known as 'Akkoh Ata Sak' and prepare recipes in the evening. Sak refers to all sorts of green leafy vegetables and apparently there's no dearth of it in Assam. According to legend, the night before the feast, the people are supposed to eat 100 different varieties of green leafy vegetables, which are said to boost one's health, shielding them from various diseases. They believe that this special recipe has some medicinal values, which is good for health.

Assam is an important area of Indian mega diversity culture, when different types of tribes and communities reside together with unique cultural heritage. Different types of food and different recipes are part of cultural identity. As a part of moist tropical weather, the state is an area of different seasonal epidemics and also harbours a good number of medicinal and nutritious plants. Every plant bears some phytochemicals that can boost or enhance the power of immunity of the human body. Jetuka is a medicinal plant and prevents many skin and hair diseases.

Different people of Assam make a vegetable recipe on the first day of the month of Bahag. The first day of Bihu all cows of the village brought near the river or stream, where they are given bath, and after bath every cattle owner use to give pieces of Lao, Kumura, Bengana, Bor Thekara, Kerala, Halodhi to their cattle, wishing their good health and clean them with inflorescence of Makhioti and leafy branches of Dighloti. In the evening, when the cattle arrive from grazing, they are treated as God. New ropes made from Tora, Odal, Morapat are tied around their neck. Fumigation by some plants, like Bihlongoni, Tikani Barua, Makhioti etc. is done in the Guhali (cow shed). These all signifies the agricultural base system of the society in Assam.

During Bahag Bihu, Bihu Naasoni (Bihus Dancer) decorates or paints their palms and heels by using Jetuka (Mehandi ) and also decorates their hair knob with Kopu Phul. Jetuka is a medicinal plant and prevents many skin diseases. Bihu Naas (Bihu dance) is a symbol of fertility and people believe that by this dance the Earth will be more fertile.

Giving bath and cleaning with some insect repellent plants indicate that the cattle are the main sources and their good health can give better results in agriculture. Fumigation by different plant species remove different flies and insects from the household, which can bring or spread epidemics. In the evening, the herbal recipe is prepared in every house. The significance of preparation of this kind of recipe on the first day of the year is that due to the consumption of so many plant products containing good numbers of phyto-chemicals will help to protect from diseases. The people of Assam acquired the knowledge of using these plants in the recipe since the time immemorial.

Rapid deforestation and urbanization have rendered the age-old Bihu ritual of consuming 101 varieties of herbs during the spring season limited to less than 10 varieties, due to non-availability. Some precious herbs of medicinal (value) properties are not grown any more or have been pushed to be grown in the inaccessible jungles of the state. The herbs cannot be found easily now as Global Warming, deforestation and urbanization have pushed the plants to interior woodlands. Some people do not even know that a few rare herbs grow in backyards of their own houses. It is their ignorance about the existence of such herbs, in their surroundings.

Consuming herbs during Bihu is an intrinsic part of Assamese culture. Steps must be taken now to ensure that the herbs are revived. Some rare herbs are almost on the verge of disappearance. They are not lost. We still have hopes to bring them back within the common fold.

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