Md. Rezwan Khan
It is believed that the roots of Baisabi are deeply connected to the Buddhist culture of Southeast Asia. Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia all celebrate the New Year at the same time – known as ‘Songkran’. It is believed that when the Marma people from Arakan and Burma (present-day Myanmar) came to the Chittagong Hill Tracts hundreds of years ago, they brought their Sangrai festival with them. Similarly, the Chakma and Tripura people’s own culture and festivals gradually merged and were named ‘Baisabi’. Chakma, Marma and Tripura belong to the larger Mongoloid people. The new year begins in the month of Baishakh from Tibet to Bangladesh. All the people of the hilly areas celebrate their own New Year during this time. The name Baisabi is made up of the initials of the festivals of the three peoples. The Chakmas’ ‘Bijhu’, the Marmas’ ‘Shangrai’ and the Tripuras’ ‘Baisu’ – these three festivals together constitute ‘Baisavi’. However, not only Baisavi expresses the multidimensionality of the New Year and Chaitra Sankranti celebrations of all the communities in the hills. It is necessary to make it clear here – the names ‘Bihu, Biju, Bishu, Baisu, Changkran, Sankran, Sangrain, Sangraining’. It is believed that if the names of other festivals were used in the celebration of Chaitra Sankranti festival in addition to the ‘Baisavi’ festival, the discrimination would have been greatly reduced. Although the style of celebration is somewhat different among each ethnic group, the main spirit of the festival is joy, love and auspicious beginning of the new year. The Chakmas celebrate Biju for three days. The traditions and culture of the hill people are expressed through this festival.
On this day of Chaitra Sankranti, like every year, there is a grand sound of joy in the hills to welcome the new year and bid farewell to the old year. This festive atmosphere has been created with various arrangements. ‘Bihu, Biju, Bishu, Baisu, Changkran, Sankran, Sangrain, Sangraing’, the hill towns of the hilly region and the hilly Bengali residents of the Chittagong Hill Tracts living in the capital will become a gathering of different communities under different names with the combination of spring flowers and leaves. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, like every year, the hilly youth, the elderly, mothers and grandmothers living in the capital are going to participate in this festival of life together. The hilly Bengalis will once again get excited by floating flowers in the lake of Ramna Park from the Hilly Complex on Bailey Road, the heart of the capital. It is expected that the comrades of the anti-discrimination movement that witnessed the change in Bangladesh will also enjoy this festival this time. The enchanting colors of Baisabi resonate in the hearts of hill people of all ages every year on the occasion of Chaitra Sankranti. This major social festival of the hill people will start from April 12. The culture, tradition and traditions of all communities are going to come together around this festival. Meanwhile, the colors of Baisabi festival are in every corner of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The hills are being decorated in colorful decorations. There is joy and joy and dance and song. The hill town of Bandarban has dressed up in a new way around Baisabi, the festival of farewell to the old year and the arrival of the new year. The Baisabi festival is officially starting in the district with the traditional Ghila game of the Tanchangya community. The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs has taken the initiative to inaugurate the Baisabi procession in the capital on April 12.
Men, women and youth from 11 small ethnic groups speaking 10 languages ​​will join the Baisabi festival. The colorful attire of the Chakma, Marma, Tripura and Tanchangya youth will increase the joy several times in this fair. The people of the hilly communities celebrate the New Year and New Year’s Eve festivals with different names. The Chakmas celebrate the Baisabi festival as Biju, the Marmas as Sangrai, the Tripuras as Baisu, and the Tanchangyas as Bisu. This festival is celebrated on the last two days of the year and the first day of the new year.
Biju is one of the main festivals of the Chakma community. This festival is celebrated on the last two days of the Bengali year and on the New Year’s day. Phulbijhu is celebrated on April 12. On this day, before dawn, children go out to collect flowers. Buddha is worshipped with one part of the collected flowers and the other part is floated in water. The remaining flowers are used to decorate houses. Mool Biju is celebrated on the last day of the month of Chaitra, i.e. on April 13. On this day, the Buddha idol is bathed and worshipped. Children bathe their elderly grandparents and great-grandparents and seek blessings. On this day, many delicious dishes including pulao, payes, pachan (a type of stew made from a mixture of various vegetables) are cooked in every house. On April 14, the first day of the Bengali New Year, Gojyepojye Din (time to take a break or rest) is celebrated. The villages living in the Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban hills celebrate this day with a different joy. This year’s festival, the festival of its own culture, Phuli Biju, will fill everyone’s hearts with joy. If there is a big tree, they light lamps under it to show their respect. It is forbidden to kill any living animal during the rest of the domestic animals and the Biju festival among the Chakma community.
One of the main festivals of the Tripura community, Baisoo is celebrated for three days, the last two days of the month of Chaitra and the first day of the month of Baishakh. The first day of this festival of Tripura is called Hari Baisoo, the second day is Baisuma and the third or last day is called Bisoo Kotal. Basically, prayers are made to the Lord for the happiness and prosperity of the coming day on this day. The first day of this three-day Baisoo festival is Hari Baisoo. On Hari Baisoo, the rush to pick flowers from the flower trees begins in the early morning. Houses are decorated with those flowers and tributes are paid to temples and holy places with those flowers. The popular food of the Baisoo festival, ‘Ganatmak or Pachan’, is cooked in almost every household of Tripura. Apart from this, pitha, semai, muri-murki, chanachur, various types of fruits and cold drinks are also available. Special vegetables are cooked with a mixture of 25 to 30 types of vegetables. It is often believed that the amount of forests is decreasing while making such a huge vegetable item.
The water festival of Tripura and Marma is more or less popular with many. It is a part of the Vaisabi festival. In this festival, everyone throws water at everyone and rejoices, as if all the sorrows, sorrows and sins of the previous year are washed away. Before this, water worship is done. Through this, the bond between each other is strengthened. In the Marma community, love is expressed in front of everyone by sprinkling water on their beloved person. Such colorful excitement and colorful feelings of love ‘Gandharva’ are only seen in the Vaisabi festival.
The Tanchangya community of Bandarban celebrates the traditional Vishu festival for three days. On this day, the people of this community worship Ganga Devi with devotion and respect on banana leaves in the Sangu River. The Tanchangya community’s Vishu festival will begin with the Ghila game during the Vishu festival. Then, they will complete the traditional Pajan meal prepared by them with 20 to 30 vegetables. The Marma community of Bandarban has organized a four-day Sangrai festival this time. Various events including water games, pitha making, Balikhela, and cultural programs will be held around the festival for two days. The main attraction of the Sangrai festival-Maitri Panibarshan Jalkeli festival will be held. Marma youth will indulge in Jalkeli or water splashing games. In addition, cultural programs will be held throughout the day. Mangal Pradeep Prajwalan will be held in Buddhist monasteries (Kyaang). At this time, hilly men and women will pray for the well-being of the country and nation by lighting thousands of lamps.
Bihu is the national festival of Assam. Bihu is celebrated by all the people of the society. It is mainly an agricultural festival. The word Bi means prayer and the word Shu means peace and prosperity. The word Bihu is derived from the word Bishu in the process of evolution. It is said that Bihu is originally prevalent among the Chutia tribes of Assam. In this case, they use the word Hu to mean donation. The Assamese people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts celebrate Bihu festival on Chaitra Sankranti. The Mro community in Bandarban, which is famous for being home to 11 small ethnic communities, has gained special fame by celebrating the Changkran festival on Chaitra Sankranti. Every year, on the occasion of the New Year, the Mro community’s Pitha festival, traditional sports, and the huge bamboo flute made by the Mro have greatly increased the attraction. The people of the Mro community will continue to organize the traditional Changkran festival in this year’s ‘Baisabi’. Around the festival, the MROs have organized water sports, oiled bamboo climbing, creative stick strength competitions, and cultural programs.
The culture, tradition and identity of the hill people will be revealed through these festivals of Chaitra Sankranti. The traditional sports of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Pitha festival, the Jalkeli festival, various colorful costumes, folk dance performances, songs, musical instruments, the excitement of eating pajan, all of which will color and fascinate the eyes of the eager public during the Biju, Sangrai, Baisu, Bishu, Changkran and Bihu festivals of this year’s Chaitra Sankranti in the hills.
#
Author: Information Officer, Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs
PID feature
Views: 6
