Kati Bihu: Find out all about this harvest festival

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• Oct 18, 2022 | digital desk

The Assamese community celebrates this Bihu by lighting earthen lamps in front of the...

Digital Desk: Kati Bihu, also known as Kongali Bihu, is celebrated all around Assam on the first day of the month of Kati.

The word Kongali refers to poor, as it is the time when the barns of the farmers are usually blank and there is little to eat. Kati Bihu is celebrated during the rearrangement of the rice saplings during the month of October.

The Assamese community celebrates this Bihu by lighting earthen lamps in front of the Tulsi plant, the garden, the storage and the paddy fields and praying for a good harvest. The Tulsi plant is placed on an earthen platform called a "Tulsi Bheti". Prayers and offerings are made to the Goddess Tulsi for the well-being of the family and for a good harvest. This practise continues for the whole month of Kati. Akash Bati, a special kind of lamp, is tied to poles and lighted in paddy fields. It is believed these lamps are lit to lead ancestors to heaven, though they also serve a practical purpose by drawing insects to the flame to their doom, which helps keep the crops healthy.

Assam is mainly agricultural land, and rice is its staple crop, which is why Bihu holds a special place in the state and among the community. ‘Kati Bihu’ is one of the three Bihu celebrated by people together.