BIHUWAN

by Himani Saikia

“Sunor jorire buta phul basilu
Ure rati bohi bohi
Somajor voyote lukuwai anilu
Senai tuk dimegoi buli”

While talking about “Bohag”, “Bihuwan” is one item no escape from consideration. The “Bihuwan” which is in a way to show our love and respect to the elders and near and dear ones represents “the Assamese identity”. Along with the cheerful ‘bohug’ cum ‘Bihuwan’, the weaving skills of Assamese women too come to the floor.

Very often the “Bihuwan” is meant only to be the “Gamusa”. However, “Bihuwan” includes other Assamese traditional weave products like “Seleng”, “Hasoti” and so on .

The history of “Bihuwan culture” in Assamese society dates back to Ahom Kingdom. Queens of King’s (Ahom) or Sorgodeus themselves used to weave so called
“Eri seleng” for their husbands just one night before the kings went to the battles.

Gifting a ‘Eri seleng’ was considered to manifest queen’s love and her holy endurance of association with the affairs of the kingdom. According to the Assamese believe, it is a holy talisman for Sorgodeus (king of Ahom) who fought for the home land and the queen or the women folk at home wove clothes for them .

Gradually, with the development of the Assamese society, weaving became an inevitable functionary of every household. However, the usability of the product weaving is mostly limited to meet the household needs and to other societal functions like marriage and all.

Assamese handlooms are mostly made welcome during ‘Bohug bihu’. “Gamusa”, “seleng”, “paat and muga”, “sadar- mekhela” and so on are some other major handloom items which are gifted as ‘bihuwan’.

However, business of ‘bihuwan’ is another aspect that can never be left un-pondered. Earlier variety in “bihuwan”, now a day, has shrunk down to “Gamusa”. “Hasoti” (hankerchief) is one of such kind which is very pervasive in agrarian and rural Assamese society. It is in which the Assamese farmer folk tied the betel nut and took to the fields in the seasons of sowing harvest.

Although “gamusa” is given a very high position in the Assamese society the cultural value attached to it is no longer there. It is the ardent need of the hour to realize that ‘Bihuwan’ which is a symbol of the artistic taste of the Assamese society should not only be promoted but also be preserved along with the embedded cultural identity in it.