Chakmas celebrates 'Bizu' festival

Young generation offering flowers to the river, while elders look.

BIZU is the main festival of Chakma tribe which celebrates once in a year for three days. The BIZU festival celebrates in the month of April every year and the Chakma people have been celebrating the BIZU festival since its existence. The Bizu is the most important socio-religious festival of the Chakma. The bizu festival gave birth to the Bizu dance and Bizu song. The festival is celebrating for three days and begins on the last day of the month of Chaitra.

The first day is known as Phool Bizu and the day start with bath in the early morning and offer flowers to the river. On this day, household items, clothes are cleaned and washed, food items are collected to give the house a new look with the veil of different flowers. The second day known as Mul Bizu or one day before the New Year eve day starts with the bath in the early morning. People wear new clothes (traditional) and make rounds of the village. They also enjoy specially made vegetable curry known as “Pazon ton”, different homemade sweets and take part in different traditional sports. The day ends with the Bizu dance and Bizu songs. The last day, which is known as Gojjepojje din or New Year day involves the performances of different socio-religious activities. Children and young adults go out and bathing the elders and seeking their blessings. People attend prayer to the Monastery and offer pindu and sweets to the monks. At the evening time people light the candle around the monastery and home to as a mark of respect and its importance in their daily lives.

Before one week of Bizu, flowers are bloom and known as Bizu Phool (flower) and its decorated house surrounding with Bizu Phool by naturally. The Bizu phool looks like very beautiful and it’s very useful on this occasion mostly for offering. In the context of its nature some say that Bizu is a festival, which revolves around agricultural activities because it is celebrated in mid-April when the earth is just drenched with the first rain and the jhum (Shifting cultivation) sowing is taken up. And it is believed that with the objective of getting rich harvest worship of the earth was arranged which later on took the form of a festival. However, of late it has lost its agricultural character.