Bohag Bihu (Rongali Bihu) 2026

Assamese New Year and spring celebration, also called Rongali Bihu.

Bohag Bihu, or Rongali Bihu, welcomes the Assamese New Year and a fresh agricultural season. It is one of Assam's three major Bihu observances, alongside Kati and Magh Bihu, but each marks a different point in the farming year. Rongali Bihu celebrates spring, new beginnings and the relationships connecting people, animals and fields. It belongs to the wider cultural life of Assam and cannot be reduced to a single founding myth or one religious community.

The festival unfolds over successive days. On Goru Bihu, families traditionally wash and care for cattle, often using herbs or symbolic cleansing practices, recognizing their role in agriculture. Manuh Bihu brings bathing, new clothes, visits to elders, blessings and gifts of the woven gamosa, sometimes called a bihuwan. Young people and neighbours sing and dance to the rhythms of dhol, pepa and other instruments. Husori groups visit households to perform and offer good wishes. Families prepare and share pitha, laru and other regional foods; different communities preserve their own versions of these customs.

Bohag Bihu falls near the beginning of the Assamese solar month of Bohag and the solar new year, but individual days such as Goru and Manuh Bihu are not interchangeable. The database's single generic Mesha ingress rule is insufficient to confirm the complete festival schedule without checking Assamese calendar practice for the year. The celebration expresses gratitude to cattle, hope for productive fields, hospitality and the renewal of community bonds.

Bohag Bihu welcomes the Assamese New Year, agriculture, music, community and respect for cattle.

Goru Bihu honours cattle; Manuh Bihu involves greetings, new clothes and respect for elders. Dance, music and shared food continue over several days.

Primarily Assam and Assamese communities. It is distinct from the other Bihu festivals, Magh Bihu and Kati Bihu.