The Bihu festivals have a very special significance for the people of Assam. There are three Bihu festivals starting in mid April is the Bohaag Bihu or Rongaali Bihu. This marks the beginning of the New Year and also the beginning of sowing season. This lasts for several days with young man and women going around dressed in fine clothes. The celebrations include dancing and singing. Then comes the, Kaati Bihu or Kongaali Bihu in mid October. It marks the end of the sowing, planting season. Finally comes the, Maagh Bihu or Bhogaali Bihu. This is the end of the harvesting period in mid January.
In the Bihu dances, young people dance in circles or in straight lines. The dancers wear traditional Indian clothes like Dhoti, Gamocha, Mekhala etc. In the event of a circle dance, the beautiful girls usually dance in the center of the circle. The dance accompanied by songs is very brisk and energetic. Dancers fling and flip their hands rapidly. There are also a lot of suggestive hip moments to signify love and passion.
Pipes and drums are used by musicians to provide music to the dance proceedings. The songs sung during this time speak of love. Mostly the songs are composed in rhyming couplets. These couplets describe a particular emotion and so every couplet has its own distinctive style of dance. Simple, suggestive language that is easily understood by the people is used for the songs. The language used in the songs change from generation to generation as the society evolves.