Celebrating Rabha Hajong Chandubi Festival in Assam

Five-day Chandubi Festival is a showcase of the myriad folk culture of different communities of the State. The Festival allows knowing their traditions, ethnic culinary delicacies, folk musical instruments, ethnic fineries, and traditional games and sports.

Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council organises the Chandubi Festival, which is held on the bank of ChandubiBeel in Kamrup every year. Rabha and Hajong are main communities of the region. They showcase their ethnic culture in the festival.

The Chandubi Festival also attracts visitors by showcasing the traditional art and culture of the Rabha community and Mouth-watering ethnic dishes which adds another attraction to the festival.

The Festival presents a good platform for organizing exhibitions on traditional craftsmanship on bamboo and cane and handloom textiles which in a way boost the growth of traditional industries. The festival features bamboo and cane exhibition, traditional games and sports, cultural programmes, garment stall etc.

Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi said that Chandubi Festival has turned into a bridge of unity among the indigenous communities living along the border between Assam and Meghalaya.

He also hailed the efforts of the organizers in achieving this goal of transforming the Chandubi Festival into bridge of unity.

Chandubi Festival in Assam

A brief about Rabha and Hajong

Rabha people

The Rabha are a Tibeto-Burman community to the Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal. The Rabha community have a rich, multi-faceted and distinct culture of their own. They primarily inhabit the plains of Lower Assam and the Dooars, while some are found in the Garo Hills.

Most of the Rabhas of Dooars refer to themselves as Rabha, but some of them often declare themselves as Kocha. The women love to wear colorful clothes that they weave themselves and they wear a lot of beads and silver ornaments. The Rabhas are non-vegetarians and rice is their staple food.

Hajong people

The Hajong people are an ethnic group from Northeast India and northern parts of Bangladesh. The majority of the Hajongs are settled in India and are predominantly rice farmers. Hajong people are said to have brought wet-field cultivation to Garo Hills, where the Garo people used slash and burn method of agriculture.