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| Lighting a saaki in the fields. |
Kati Bihu, celebrated on the first of Kati or Karthik month in the Assamese Calendar. This is tied to the practices of an area where agriculture is the main source of livelihood. Unlike the lavish celebrations of other bihu festivities of Assam, this one is celebrated in very simple ways. During this time of the year, paddy is still growing and not harvested. Households have low food stocks with their bhoral (granaries) empty. Kati bihu is also called Kongali bihu, kongal means poor.
One offers prayers in the evening with saaki (earthen lamp lit with mustard oil and cotton wick) that are lit below tulasi plants, in bheti (land area of the place of dwelling), near bhoral (granaries) and pothar (paddy fields) to welcome Goddess Lakshmi and get her blessings. We pray for a good crop and well-being of the family. To protect the maturing paddy from the evil eye and ward off pests, farmers will hang a lamp on the long end of a bamboo plant called akash banti (sky lamp). This burning flame also attracts pests and insects that get attracted to it and die, protecting the fields of harmful infestations. These high lamps are believed to show the departed ancestors the way to heaven.