Bathow Puja is an important religious festival of the

Bodo Bodo may refer to: Ethnicity * Boro people, an ethno-linguistic group mainly from Northwest Assam, India * Bodo-Kachari people, an umbrella group from Nepal, India and Bangladesh that includes the Bodo people Culture and language * Boro cu ...

- Kacharies of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

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 ...

. In this festival, the people worship a god known by different names like Gila Damra, Khuria Bwrai, Sri Brai (Shib bwrai), Bathow Bwrai etc. The different forms of this festival are-Garja, Kherai and Marai. Among these festivals Kherai is the most significant.

Kherai Puja

Before this festival the religious rites of the Garja are performed and consequently a date is fixed by the Bodo villagers for performing the Kherai Puja. In kherai Puja, a cactus called Bwrai Bathow surrounded by a small bamboo boundary is offered flowers, fruits and some grains. Different leaves like special grass, mango leaves and

tulsi ''Ocimum tenuiflorum'', commonly known as holy basil, ''tulsi'' or ''tulasi'', is an aromatic perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and widespread as a cultivated plant throughout the Southeast Asian ...

leaves dipped in a small pot with water is also kept nearby. The

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also ...

and Dhuna (coconut peel burnt in a small holder) keep on burning arousing nice fragrance. In this puja, Doudini, the oracle possessed by the Gods plays the main role. The dodini enchanted with mantras by the Deuri (priest) performs the Kherai dance in front of the cactus called Bwrai Bathow. She is accompanied by music played by men at a distance. The beat of the music has to follow the exact rhythm as taught by the Doudini beforehand.

References

External links

*
‘Kherai a religious festival’
assamtribune.com. {{Fairs and Festivals in Assam Bodo Festivals in Assam Religious festivals in India