Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Meji ....Bhogali Bihu

Magh Bihu is celebrated in the month of Jan.to mark the end of harvesting season.As the granaries are full,this harvesting festival is observed all over Assam.The word BHOGALI comes from the word Bhog which means eating and enjoying. the day of Uruka i.e. the eve of sankranti ,Bhellaghar and Mejis are made particularly by the menfolk,with bamboo sticks,hay and wood pieces.A community feast is held on the uruka nite inside the Bhellaghar(a makeshift cottage).Next day both the Bhellaghar and Mejis are burnt.As I mentioned in my previous post that I am going to tell you about burning of the Meji on the day of bihu.On the day of Sankranti or Bihu we gather at our fields at very early hrs in the morning.Meji burning is a ritual where we worship fire(Agni).Here you can see  Meji prepared by the people of our village,earlier years it used to be very huge but as most of the youth have left the village for higher education and for jobs...very few people are left behind to help in this.

It was a very cold morning.As soon as we reached near the Meji we kept our offerings on the ground at the base of the meji.Very carefully we lighted earthen lamps(diyas or sakis) .After all the offerings were placed one of the elders of the community did the honor of lighting up the meji.I was standing at a far distance to capture a full view of the happenings at that time but could still feel the heat of the meji.A thick cloud of smoke soon covered the area.
As the fire burned we heard crackling sound of burning and bursting bamboos -the sound is very similar to firecrackers.Kids love the sound and eagerly waited for more to come.While the meji was burning we took the opportunity to greet and invite each other to our home for eating pithas and jolpan(snacks).As we are a guest there we end up accepting many invites ....some invite with a warning attached...hummm,last year you missed our house so don't dare to repeat the mistake !
Once the meji is completely burnt....ladies start distributing all the offerings as prasad to the people present there .
The ashes are collected and put on our foreheads as tilak....as you can see in this picture.Now we go back to our home and after a heavy breakfast without wasting a single minute we visit all the people who are our relatives(many) and our good neighbours(many ).In other words we spent most of our day eating and having a good time with the family and friends.

34 comments:

  1. you make the world envy by portraying the rituals so well that i am sure the readers believe that if there is any countryside life they would desire it has to be Mongoldoi, Assam,India......Jai Ho!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful the bond with Mother Earth.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful photographs, Kavita! We Hindus celebrate nature in so many ways, so beautifully in all parts of our country. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. very interesting, kind of like thanksgiving and earth day combined. thanks for sharing your rituals.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really enjoyed this post!
    Wonderful pictures too!

    Have a great day, Kavita.

    Margie:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. thanks for the cool pics! I hope you are feeling well, now! I missed you and am happy you are back.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful description of a wonderful ritual. I love the photo of the smoke lying thick over the land. It lent a mysterious air to the celebration.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wonderful post. we missed you very much, Kavita!



    Aloha, Friend!


    Comfort Spiral

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, wonderful photos and writing. Thank you! Did I see your son on the last photo?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely post yet again Kavita and gr8 pics .. I luv hw u let us know abt all the customs ..thanks a lot :) Thoroughly enjoyed reading this post :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very impressive. Very nice pictures

    ReplyDelete
  12. Delighted....told my mom about it...She was born at Assam..:)keep up

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a happy time you must have all had.

    ReplyDelete
  14. @ROMITA....Thanks.Home is always beautiful and i have always loved and treasured small pleasures of life.I only try to share my feelings and experience with readers.

    @HOLYLAMA....Thanks.Yes,it is a beautiful one.

    @SANDHYA...Thanks.I wish we not only celebrate but also do something good for our environment and nature.Our rituals always make me think about the hidden messages they convey.

    @LIN ..Thank you.

    @MARGIE...Thank you.

    @GIGIHAWAII...Thank you.I am doing good now and i missed you too.

    @CLYTIE...Thanks.You said it very beautifully ,i wish that if only i could have written it in a better way .

    @CLOUDIA...Aloha !i missed you too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. HALF INDIAN...Thanks,yes the one wearing the orange jacket is my son and the pink one is my daughter rest are their country cousins.

    @SWARAM...Thanks,i love to share them with my wonderful friends.

    @BK CHOWLA...Thanks a lot for your encouraging words.

    @TARUN MITRA.....Thanks.How wonderful,please convey my regards to your mom.

    @PATTY....Thanks,yes it sure was a very relaxing and fun time.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Felt like I was in Assam for the occasion ....thank you very much for the wonderful description .

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lovely post. I am thoroughly enjoying this series.

    ReplyDelete
  18. * kavita
    * Aparna
    * sujata

    Hi.....sweat
    How r u?
    i am kalpesh from surat.

    ReplyDelete
  19. great series and what lovely pictures. Really made me feel a part of the cold morning.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your festival and celebrations are so unique Kavita, i am experiencing an interesting part of another world!! Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lovely and informative post. All the photographs are very beautiful. Very well written.

    ReplyDelete
  22. thank you very much for the wonderful description .

    How to make a website

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks! This is a nice peek into your part of the world. Thank you for sharing. Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  24. what hapnd something unusual here..u removed a blog or what!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hello Kavita,
    I have come here out of curiosity, he loved to know India is a country that fascinates me, also my husband is a native of Goa - Ribambar.

    Kisses,
    Ana Martins

    ReplyDelete
  26. just stumbled on to this blog. And loved the idea of all these posts. My dad stayed in Silchar for couple of years and heard so many stories from him. So, this posts are great. Will come back to read them.

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is very interesting, thanks for sharing. It is nice to see old rituals observed and held dear. Have a nice weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Your posts always make me want to visit Assam. This one was no exception :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Another beautiful ritual, Kavita. The photos are awesome, as usual. Thanks for another wonderful lesson.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What a way to celebrate the festival. You have inspired me to cover sankrant in the Marathi tone. Waiting for next year :D

    ReplyDelete
  31. @BHAVYAB B...Thanks.

    @APARNA...Thanks.

    @ADMIN...Thanks.

    @SUJATA...Thanks.

    @SUFFIX..Thanks.

    @ONKAR...Thanks.

    @NISHANT...Thanks,you are right the traditional Mizo Dance Bamboo dance is sure very tough.

    @BABLI....Thanks.

    @SANJEET..Thanks.

    @SLOGAN MURGAN..Thanks.

    @RAMESH..Yes,i have closed all my other blogs.

    @ANA MARTINS...Thanks,you are most welcome here.

    @MARGERET CLOUD...Thanks,i am sure you are enjoying a happy weeekend.

    @DELL GIRL...Thanks.

    @PRIYANKA KHOT...Thanks.I would be eagerly waiting for that post.

    ReplyDelete