Bathow Festival of Bodo Tribes for Good Health, Peace and Progress in India

Devotees from Bodo tribal community of Assam worshiping the Hindu Gods and Goddesses in their traditional way in the form of “Bathow Puja” , with daylong rituals at Ulubari Kachari Basti in the heart of Guwahati city on Saturday,13th June 2009. Bodo- Kachari tribal maintains their traditional rituals for good-health of the Bodo community and betterment of the society along the century old mythological believes. The devotees offer animals and birds for sacrifice or release them according to their wish before the deity for the well being of the community. They make a “Bhel”- a makeshift boat with banana stems which they later release in to the river at night, which takes away all the scare, ills and evils and bad things of the society. With the arrival of Indian New Year, the Bodo tribe, arranges this “Bathow Puja” for the peace and prosperity of the community as a whole, every year in different parts of north east India. Bodos are one of the oldest tribal communities of northeastren India.