Bohag

Bohag is a month in the traditional Assamese calendar. It is associated with the spring season and harvest and roughly corresponds to mid-April to mid-May in the Gregorian calendar. The exact dates can vary slightly depending on the lunisolar calculations used in the calendar system.

In Assam, Bohag is best known for the Rongali or Bohag Bihu, the region’s most significant annual festival. The festival celebrates the agricultural harvest and the New Year, and it features folk music, dances, and community gatherings. Bihu songs, called Bihu geet, are performed during the celebrations, and dances such as the Bihu dance are commonly seen at homes and public events. People traditionally wear festive attire, share meals, and participate in various cultural programs.

Observances during Bohag emphasize family and community, with households preparing seasonal foods and visiting relatives. The festival also marks the beginning of a busy agricultural period, as sowing and farming activities resume after the winter months. While Bohag is central to Assamese cultural life, neighboring regions have analogous harvest and new-year celebrations in different months, such as Boishakh in the Bengali calendar, which corresponds to a nearby time of year but follows a separate calendar system.

In summary, Bohag is a spring month in Assam tied closely to the Rongali Bihu festival and the agricultural cycle, reflecting the region’s cultural emphasis on community, music, and harvest celebrations. It is distinct from but sometimes confused with similarly named months in other calendars, such as Boishakh in Bengal.