Baisabi festival begins with flowers floating in Sangu River

The festival of Biju or Bishu, the new year and farewell festival of the hill people, began with the worship and prayers of the Water Buddha and Mother Ganga Devi by floating flowers in the Sangu River.

The name Baisabi is a blend of three different festivals celebrated by the three largest national minority communities in the CHT—Baisuk observed by the Tripura people, Sangrai by the Marma and Biju by the Chakma people.

Other national minority communities in the region have other words for the festival—the Tangchangya people call it ‘Bishu’, the Khumi call it ‘Sangkraing’, for the Khiyang the word is ‘Sanglan’ and for the Mro it is ‘Chankran’.

The duration of the New Year festival is from one day to three days depending on the particular community celebrating it, while the day of the celebration may also differ based on the community observing it, falling between April 12 and 15.

The Biju and Bishu festivals began at 7am on Saturday (April 12) in Bandarban's Sangu River by offering flowers to the Water Buddha and Mother Ganga Devi.

Since early morning, men, women, teenagers, and children gathered on the banks of the Sangu River, wearing traditional costumes and carrying flowers arranged on banana leaves. They lit candles and offered flowers, praying for forgiveness for past mistakes. They also prayed that all the sorrows and hardships of the past would be washed away like the current of the river and wished for peace and prosperity in the days to come.

This is the biggest social festival among the 11 ethnic groups (Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Tanchangya, Chak, Mro, Khumi, Kheyang, etc.) living in the three hill districts of Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachari. The festival is a source of joy in the hill towns.

The Bandarban District Festival Celebration Council has taken the initiative of organising various week-long programmes from April 13 to April 18 in view of the upcoming Sangrai. The members of the Festival Celebration Council said that the Sangrai Folk Sports Festival, Sangrai Colorful Rally, Elder Puja, Buddha Bath, Village-based Pitha Festival, traditional Bali wrestling, oiled bamboo climbing, and the last three consecutive days of cultural programmes and Maitriya Pani Barshan or Jalkeli festival have been organised.

Chanungmong Marma, president of the festival celebration committee, said the new year and the last year's farewell festival, Sangrai, are just around the corner. On this occasion, various sports and cultural programmes have been organised from April 12 to 18. Cultural Adviser Mostafa Sarwar Farooki and Hill Tracts Affairs Adviser Supradeep Chakma, Chairman of the District Council Professor Thanjama Lusai, Deputy Commissioner Shamim Ara Rini, District Police Superintendent Md Shahidullah Kawsar and many others will be present at these programmes.