Major cultural events of Majuli are an integral part of the life of the people. Seasonal variations and celebration of festivals are correlated.
This has a direct impact on the activities and occupation pattern of people of the Majuli. The Sattras are the major centers where the local people assemble in large numbers for the celebration of festivals.
These are the occasions when people get united and perform the rituals along with the Sattradhikar and the bhaktas. These are times when people get spiritually and rejuvenated by following the practices. It gives them a better understanding of the Vaishnavite principles and philosophy.
Another aspect of the celebration of festivals is related to the farming practices. The Sattras give equal importance to these festivals. These are also occasions when the villagers and the Sattradhikar along with the bhaktas come together to celebrate the event.
Hence, the Sattras give equal importance to religious events and farming practices and the same ideology is transmitted to the villagers as well, as they are their followers.
Following are the festivals celebrated in the river island of Majuli:-
FALGUTSAV:
Falgutsav, also known as Doul Yatra or Phakuwa (Holi), is a spring festival of colors rooted in stories of Lord Krishna playing with colors in Gokula. Celebrated in the month of Phaguna (February–March), it takes place in Assamese sattras and villages to mark the abundance of spring and prepare for future hardships.
On the full moon day, an image of Krishna (Dol Govinda) is carried around a sacred fire and placed on a swing, with the festival lasting three days. On the final day, a procession carries the image through nearby areas, where villagers offer prayers and gifts. The celebration ends with a playful mock fight using colored water, symbolizing joy and the vibrancy of spring.
Traditionally introduced by Shankaradeva, the festival also includes community activities like repairing boats and making crafts such as bamboo baskets and fans, taking advantage of seasonal resources.
BIHU:
Bihu is the national festival of Assam. There are three Bihus in Assam held in three different times of the year, perhaps fixed according to the urge of early human habit in a particular topographical context. They are Bohag Bihu, Kati Bihu and Magh Bihu.
The first is observed in the middle of April, the second at the close of the Hindu month of Asvin or Ashin and beginning of Kartik or Kati (middle of October), while the third is observed at the close of the Hindu month of Pausha or Puh and beginning of Magh (middle of January).
Of the three Bihus, the Bohag Bihu also called Rangali Bihu is the most popular and widespread over all sections of the people irrespective of caste and religion having a secular character.
Bohag Bihu is a widely celebrated Assamese festival that blends folk traditions with spiritual practices. It begins on the last day of Chaitra and lasts three to seven days. The first day focuses on caring for cattle—feeding them special leaves, washing them with turmeric and pulse, and protecting them from insects—to prepare for the upcoming farming season.
The second day marks the Assamese New Year and is celebrated with Bihu dance, music using instruments like dhol, pepa, and gagana, symbolizing joy, fertility, and new beginnings. Groups perform huchari (community singing and dancing) from house to house, offering blessings and receiving gifts, often including a gamocha.
The festival also features community prayers, recitation of religious verses about Lord Krishna, and traditional foods such as rice-based sweets, herbs, and, in some communities, rice beer and meat dishes.
ALI AI LIGANG (MISHING):
Ali-Aye-Ligang is the main spring festival of the Mishing community, celebrated on the first Wednesday of Phagun and centered on agriculture. Its name means “sowing of seeds,” and rituals involve symbolically planting rice, offering prayers to deities, and beginning cultivation. The festival includes community feasts with fish, meat, and rice cakes, and features the Gumrag dance, reflecting daily life.
Magh Bihu (Bhogali Bihu), observed during Makar Sankranti in January, marks the end of harvesting and is a time of feasting and celebration. People light bonfires (meji), hold community feasts (uruka), prepare traditional foods, and gather for prayers.
Kati Bihu (Kangali Bihu), observed in October–November, reflects a period of scarcity. It focuses on prayers for a good harvest, lighting lamps near tulsi plants and in fields (Akash Bati), and performing rituals to protect crops from pests and ensure agricultural prosperity.
BISU (DEORI):
The Bisu of the Deoris begins in the first Wednesday of the (mid-April) month of Bohag. The Bisu is both a secular and a religious festival. Preparations for the Bisu festival are made for the whole month of Chot preceding the festival. The actual festival starts on the first Wednesday of the Bohag month along with the worship of their god Kundi-Mama (Hara-Gauri) with the sacrifice of thirteen fowls at the sal (shrine) of the priest.
On the first day the young and old together go to the house of the chief priest and spend the whole night dancing and singing there. The next morning they go to the river and take common bath and also bathe their cattle. Since that day till the next Wednesday the young girls and boys of the village dance and sing at the open Marang house of the Gosani Sal.
The Deoris have certain reservations about entering the thanghar. They consider 'dumahi' to be inauspicious. That's why they don't celebrate the sankranti of magh or bohag bihu as done by the general Assamese community. They consider Wednesday or Thursday to be auspicious days. Hence, they consider only the first Wednesday after the magh or bohag sankranti as uruka and only then the Carideoris perform puja in the thanghar.
BARSIK BHAONA-SABAH/BAR SABAH:
Barsik Bhaona-Sabah (or Bar Sabah) is an important annual religious and cultural observance in Assam, especially associated with the Vaishnavite sattra institutions established by Srimanta Sankardeva and his followers. It is a congregational event held in namghars and sattras where devotees gather to perform bhaona (religious drama) and sabha (assembly or prayer meeting).
The festival typically involves the enactment of episodes from Hindu scriptures, particularly stories of Lord Krishna, through traditional theatrical performances accompanied by music, dance, and recitation of devotional texts. Alongside bhaona, the sabah includes community prayers, kirtan (devotional singing), and discussions on religious teachings, reinforcing spiritual values and social harmony.
Barsik Bhaona-Sabah serves both religious and social purposes—it strengthens community bonds, preserves Assamese cultural traditions, and provides a platform for passing down the teachings of Neo-Vaishnavism to younger generations.
BAH-GOROWA:
This is an occasion where the bamboos used for various purposes are seasoned. This is done in wetlands or household ponds filled up due to heavy rains. Cow dung and neem leaves are used as well for seasoning. This process protects the bamboo from insects and termite.
GARAKSHIA SABAH:
This is a community celebration where prayers are offered for the well being of the cows and cow-boys.
JANMASHTAMI:
This festival is celebrated on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Krishna. It falls on the eighth lunar day of the dark fortnight in the month of Bhadra of the Indian calendar. Some of the Satras perform it for two days, while in some others it is performed for one day. It is marked by the offering of Puja, holding of the congregational prayer - nam-prasanga, fasting(brat), and performance of drama depicting the birth of Lord Krishna. It is believed that fasting on the day of Janmastami would bring immense religious merit (punya) equal to the offering of panda (oblution) in the holy waters of Ganga. On the contrary, those who do not observe fast shall take their birth as demon (rakshasa).
The coconut which is indispensable as an item of offering in all other religious functions is prohibited to be offered in the Janmastami; on the other hand, pakamithoi is a special item in the offerings during this festival. Janmastami is believed to be a day of thick cloud and heavy shower with much thunderstorm and if the night passes without rain and thunderstorm, people consider the day to be unenjoyable.
PO'RAG (MISHING):
Po'Rag is performed in the middle of cultivation so that ancestral spirits may protect the crops from pests and other natural calamities. Dabur Puja is observed as a post-harvesting religious festival, worshipping Kuber to be the goddess of wealth and agriculture.
DEO PUJA (DEORI):
This is the most important puja of the Deoris. They perform this puja on the third Wednesday after Deori bihu commences. Besides offering three goats, pigeons and chicken, etc. in sacrifice on behalf of the whole community, individual contributions for sacrifice are also accepted. It is considered inauspicious if the goats' heads are not severed at one go. So people anxiously wait for news regarding the sacrifice. If the sacrificial animals are in excess, then under the instructions of the bor deori, they are offered for sacrifice on some other appointed day.
PAAL NAAM:
'Paalnaam' is a compound word, pal and nam. Pal (Sanskrit paryaya for one after another) means by turn and nam means congregational prayer, chanting the name of God. And so, paalnaam means holding of incessant congregational prayer or chanting of the name of God by the inmates of the Sattra in group and in rotation.
This is celebrated on a large scale in the Auniati Sattra during the last five days of the Kati month (October-November). A lot of people from all over Assam come to take part in this programme. It is a congregational prayer which continues for few days. Palnam is organized by other Sattras too, but they have options to select the dates and duration for holding it.
For example, in the Garamur Sattra it is celebrated for one day only which starts on the closing day of the Paalnaam at Auniati. The origin of Palnam is to be traced to the mid-16th century. It is recorded that when Madhavdeva was kept in confinement by the men of the Ahom King Suhungmung allas Dihingiya Raja (1497-1539) on charges of his failure to capture elephants on his behalf with threats of dire consequences, all devotees at the advice of Shankaradeva then started a kind of unending prayer for his life and release.
In Paalnaam, a copy of the Bhagavata is placed on a symbolic boat at the center of the namghar, representing salvation, while the space is treated as a divine realm. Devotees sit on both sides and chant in three daily shifts—morning, midday, and evening. At the end of each shift, religious leaders offer respect to the devotees, and offerings like salt (considered highly valuable) are made.
The ritual concludes on the fifth day with prayers, blessings, and the ceremonial reinstatement of the Bhagavata in its place.
RAAS UTSAV:
The Raas Lila is an annual festival being performed on the full moon day (Purnima) in the months of October-November (Kati- Aghun) during the autumn season. It is not known for certain in which Sattra Rasa Lila was first introduced in Majuli as a performing festival. During this festival the Sattras draw a large number of people.
The Raas Lila is the story of the life of Lord Krishna presented in the performing art form. It begins with the birth of Krishna, his upbringing at the house of king Nanda, his tending the cows at Gokula along with his fellow cowherds, his childhood activities, his killing of the demons like Bakasur, Putana, Kaliya, and of Kamsa- his maternal uncle, at various times of his youth and on various other occasions. Finally his amorous play with the Gopis.In the Udasin Sattras, the Ras dance is performed by the celibate inmates of the Sattra, the Bhakats donning female costume in the night in the namghar with music and dance. Performance of the Ras Lila involves various classes of musical instruments, music and dance, and artifacts mask and painting. First Raas Leela was performed at Dakhinpat Sattra in 1840 A.D. and it is continued with full ritual ways.
These constitute Assamese classical music and dance. Raas Lila was made into a stage performance by Pitambardeva Goswami of Garamur Sattra in the year 1934; in the year 1950 he permitted the girls of the Sattra to take roles in the Raas Lila and dance. Today, in most of the centers women participation is the normal way to carry on the Raas Lila performance.
This festival has a great impact on the life and culture of the people of Majuli in particular, though it is a part of the culture of the Sattras as a festival it is performed by many of the villages. During the festival every man and woman and child remains busy receiving visitors and performing different duties related to the festival. There are reports to the effect that during the festival that lasts for four to five days at a stretch, lakhs of outsiders visit the island, and every family is to receive and keep one or more of them for those days.
DIWALI: It is the festival of light celebrated to commemorate the home coming of Lord Ram from fourteen years of exile. It is however celebrated less ostentatiously in the Majuli.
AMROK (MISHING): In the month of Bhadon/Ahin (August/ September), the Mishings observe a festival called 'Amrok'. Every household observes this festival where food is prepared out of harvested crop and is offered to the ancestors. Another dancing event called Porag takes place after the harvest. The neighbouring villages are invited to take part in the celebrations which lead to dancing and beating of drums. Though initially the event looks competitive it finally ends in harmony.
SAWANIA PUJA(DEORI): Sawania Puja is so called because it is inaugurated in the month of Sawun. The door of the thanghar remains closed after performing this puja till Magh. That's why it is also called "Cipere Giduwa" puja. The community offers a goat in sacrifice during this puja.
NA KHOWA: Na-khowa is a customary celebration in terms of a household feast along with the local community with newly harvested crops in the first part of January (puh-Magh).
NORA-CHIGA (MISHING): The Mishing celebrate Na-khowa as Nora-chiga or puh-rug at the village level inviting all the relatives settled and spread far and wide. The Vaisnavite performances like Raas are conducted in Mishing villages also and the children are encouraged to learn the Vaishnavite culture. The religious texts like kirtana and namghosa are also respected in Mishing culture.
