Food, music, and games—know everything about the celebratory night of Magh Bihu Uruka and its significance in Assamese culture.
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Magh Bihu Uruka is celebrated on the eve of Magh Bihu—a night filled with music, food, family get-togethers, and joyous celebration. It is usually celebrated on the 13th or 14th of January on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, popularly called Magh Bihu in Assam.
With the beginning of the English new year and a fruitful harvest, the people of Assam gather to celebrate this joyous event as Magh Bihu. It is a celebration of rejoicing delicacies and foodstuff.
Magh Bihu Uruka is the festive night prior to the celebration day of Magh Bihu, or Bhogali Bihu. It begins on the last day of the month of Puh of the Assamese calendar and the 13th or 14th of the Western calendar.
Let’s explore more about Magh Bihu Uruka
Significance of Magh Bihu Uruka
Magh Bihu Uruka is an integral part of the Assamese festivities and rituals. It holds importance as a prosperous day of the year that holds several aspects of an Assamese society together. Uruka is a night of celebration and Thanksgiving. It serves many purposes, among which the most prominent one is thanking God for obtaining a harvest of Sali-paddy.
We also pray to God for blessing us with prosperity as well as the society. Magh Bihu Uruka brings together the whole community for a grand feast where they enjoy various traditional delicacies. The final goal of the celebratory night is to escape winter gloom and laziness and to revive the desire to participate effectively in livelihood activities in the upcoming days ahead.
Rituals and festivities of Uruka
The day of Uruka is spent around a lot of hustle and bustle. From building a Bhela Ghar to collecting ingredients for the delicacies, people gather around and take part in this preparation with utmost enthusiasm.
Bhela Ghar
Starting with the Bhela Ghar, it is a temporary tent house made of bamboo and paddy straw in which all the members of the family, especially menfolk, stay at night and enjoy food, drinks, and music. They dance and celebrate the night inside that house. It is a truly beautiful experience amidst the hardships of day-to-day life.
Mezi: A special bonfire setup with paddy hay
Another special sight of Magh Bihu Uruka is the Mezi, which is a prototype of an Assamese bonfire. It is generally organized by the side of Bhela Ghar. Mezi is made of wood, bamboo, and hay in a triangular shape with a tapered end, which is burnt on the next day of Uruka, and people seek blessings from the warmth.
Four banana trees, or bamboo, or areca nut, are placed at four corners of the stake, and provisions are made to light a fire from four different corners using dried bamboo sticks called jumuthi. It is considered an auspicious event. The burning of mezis symbolizes the end of the old agricultural cycle and the beginning of a new one.
Community feast
A festival wouldn’t be complete without food. The same is true of Magh Bihu. During the occasion, feasting and communal meals are common. Cooking traditional Assamese dishes, especially those cooked with freshly collected crops, brings people together. This feast would not be complete without expressing gratitude to God for the crop. Various pithas and rice dishes are frequently included. Magh Bihu Uruka’s community feast is planned for the evening. Families and neighbors gather to share meals on a public open space. The typical food items are rice, mixed vegetables, fish curry, and duck meat curry.
Community fishing
Community fishing is another activity enjoyed in the villages during uruka. In some locations, residents of multiple villages gather to harvest fish from shared water sources, such as rivers and beels. The community feast is the primary usage for harvested fish. Moh-Juj, or buffalo fight, is also organized for the enjoyment of the people in numerous locations.
Preparation of pithas and larus
Various pithas are made on the night of the uruka, like sunga pitha, til pitha, and ghila pitha. A winter evening snack is sorted with a hot cup of milk tea and a variety of pithas and larus. One important delicacy of uruka is the native varieties of potato. Sweet potatoes, Asiatic yams, and others make it so special.
But the actual mouthwatering delight is the dinner of uruka night. That is one meal every Assamese looks forward to the whole year. From fried fish to duck curry to mutton curry, rice, vegetables, and fritters, everything blends together to make a perfect festive dinner.
Fun custom of stealing
Magh Bihu Uruka has a distinctive and entertaining tradition of stealing, largely enjoyed by young adults in the community. Theft of hay, bamboo, crops, and poultry for the feast is possible. Young people enjoy this pastime, and since everyone is in a giving and joyous mood, these mischievous deeds are dismissed without hurting anyone’s feelings. In order to protect their possessions, the young men of the house sit by the bonfire and do not sleep through the night.
Significance for women
Magh Bihu Uruka holds great significance for womenfolk. Among the foods they prepare for the following day are chira, pitha, laru, curd, and others. The gathering of fuel, fish, and meat makes the Uruka a multi-day event. Women from tribal communities enjoy making rice beer, which is often undistilled and takes four to five days to mature in the winter.
For them, it is a means of interacting with other members of the community and escaping the normal activities of daily life. Women of the house have an important role in Uruka celebrations. From preparing cuisines to welcoming guests, they brighten the occasion and cheer up the people around.
Bottomline
Uruka, in a way, is an amalgamation of togetherness, unity, and communal celebration. It is a way of celebrating resilience against agrarian hardships, a break from day-to-day life, and enjoying the fruitful labor in the form of a good harvest.
Rimjim Bora is a passionate researcher, writer, and storyteller. Being an Assamese, she takes pride in writing the vibrant stories of Assam, sharing its essence beyond the region. Contact Rimjim at rimjim@diversityassam.com.
