The Bizu festival is celebrated by the

Chakma people The Chakma people ( ccp, 𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦; ) are a tribal group from the eastern-most regions of the Indian subcontinent. They are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of southeastern Bangladesh, and the se ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, as the traditional New Year's Day which falls on 13 or 14 April.

Bizhu

Bizhu is a three-day-long festival that commemorates the commencement of a new year for the Chakmas and is their most important festival. Bizhu marks the

Chaitra Chaitra (Hindi: चैत्र) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Cho ...

sankranti Sankranti ( sa, संक्रान्ति ''saṁkrānti or saṅkramaṇa'') means transmigration of the Sun from one zodiac to another in Indian astronomy. Each Sankranti is marked as the beginning of a month in the sidereal solar calen ...

, which is the last day of the

Bengali calendar The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar ( bn, বঙ্গাব্দ , , Baṅgābda), colloquially ( bn, বাংলা সন, Baṅgla Śon), is a solar calendar used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. A revised version of th ...

, and the festivities span a period of three days starting on the day of the Chaitra-sankranti. It is thought that the festival lasted for a full fortnight in earlier times. Bizhu has close links to the practice of

jhum cultivation Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

among the Chakmas and is believed to have originated as a festival to propitiate the earth for a bounteous harvest following the first rains of the agricultural season. In recent years, the festival has lost some of its agrarian linkages and has become a social event for the Chakmas. The rituals associated with Bizhu too have been simplified over time. The festivities begin on the first day, also known as the ''Phool Bizhu'', when Chakma households are cleaned out and decked with flowers. In the evening special prayers are made to the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

and lamps lit at the Chakmas' houses and Buddhist temples. The next day, ''Mul Bizhu'', is a time for socialising as people visit others in their village, participate in traditional games and cook special curries and sweets for the day. According to Chakma belief, a person dying on the day of ''Mul Bizhu'' goes to heaven. The ''Mul Bizhu'' ends with a performance of the Bizhu dance. The last day, ''Gojjepojje din'' is set aside for the performance of various religious and social activities.

Bizhu dance

Bizhu dance is a dance performed by the

on their new year, Bizu and is one of the traditional dances of Chakma people. The Bizhu dance is a group dance with participants aligning themselves in a square or circular pattern. The Chakmas dress up in their traditional attire when participating in it. It is thought to have originally been a devotional offering performed within the precincts of the Chakmas' temples. The dance is unlike other dance forms in that it is marked by abrupt pauses during its performance. In recent years it has enjoyed a surge in popularity owing to its appealing rhythm and easy tunes. Through the Bizhu dance, the Chakmas bid adieu to the departing year and usher in the new year.

Attire

The women wear ''pinon'' and ''

khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as ''swadeshi'' (self-sufficiency) for the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent, and the term is used throughout India, Pakistan ...

'' and deck themselves in

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

ornaments while the men wear a headgear called ''khabang'' and a ''

dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the ...

'' and jacket.

Musical accompaniments

The dance draws some of its charm by virtue of the music that accompanies it. Flutes and drums accompanying the dance set its rhythm. The ''

dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

'', ''baajhi'', ''khenggarang'' and ''dhuduk'' accompany the dance. Of these, the ''khenggarang'' and ''dhuduk'' are crafted from

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

while the ''dhol'' is a percussion instrument and the ''baajhi'' a flute.

References

{{New Year by Calendar New Year celebrations April observances Folk festivals in Bangladesh Cultural festivals in Bangladesh Annual events in Bangladesh Festivals in India New Year in India Festivals in Mizoram Festivals in Tripura