I am Me

I AM ME
. I am not perfect. 
But I’m working on myself.
 Working to become the best version of myself.
 I am working on myself
, to continue to expand my own self, through my own work, in my own way.

I AM ME
 Not the ME you think I AM. 
Not the ME you want me to BE… 
Just ME. 
The one I want to BE.

I AM ME. 
I make my own decisions.
 I don’t follow. 
I walk my own path.


It’s not always easy, 
but I’d rather walk alone
 than walk with others in the wrong direction.



I AM ME. 
I am strong.
 I have a big heart. 
I speak my truth.
 I don’t back down.

I AM ME. 
I don’t settle. 
I go after what I want. 
I won’t apologize for being me.

I AM ME. 
I accept you. 
I accept everyone. 
As they are
. As they want to be.
 That’s ME.

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অনুভূতি

#অনুভূতি

🖤খুব বেশি দুঃখ পেলে কেমন অনুভূতি হয় জানেন কি? আপনার চোখের জল গড়িয়ে পড়বে না, আপনার কিছুই অনুভব হবে না। আপনার মনে হবে, পৃথিবীটা এইমাত্র ধ্বংস হয়ে গেলো।
আপনার কান্না আসবেনা, আপনি কিছুই শুনবেন না, চোখ অন্ধকার হয়ে যাবে।
আপনি শুধু দাঁড়িয়ে থাকবেন। এক সেকেন্ডের জন্য আপনার হৃদয়টা মরে যাবে।

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Chorkhela

As an agro based tribe, the Hajongs celebrate various festivals.Among those the Charkhela festival is the most importantand meaningful festival that keep their life vibrant. It is almost equivalent to the Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu of Assam. It indicates the fine art and aesthetic sense of the paddy field based Hajong society. Charkhela festival makes the Hajong society fresh and lively. Through this festival they have attained a special status and a distinct position as artists and spirited tribe in the greater Assamese society.Basically, the Charkhela festival is a folk custom of the agro
based ancient rural society of the Hajongs which developedwith the evolution of time. This festival is also very much in conformity with the nature and it manifests their natural life-style. Charkhela festival is celebrated for one week. The period in terms of Indian months i.e. Baisakha, Jetha, Ahara,Shrawana and Bhadra are the period for growing paddy cultivation for the Hajongs. During these months the people work very hard in the field cultivating paddy crop. Each and
every member of the family remains busy in the cultivation and they cultivate their land with all their hands and tools as it is the main means of livelihood for the tribe. The planting or growing of paddy crops is completed in the month of Bhadra. In the later one or two months, the paddy plantation begins to grow with greeneries all across the field. The nature also changes its colour. Gradually, the hot, rainy summer season gives way to autumn season with clear, sunny sky and with decreasing yet more pleasant temperature level. After the cultivation is completed, people are with less
work and remain in a leisurely mood. Mood of the people gradually turns into festive mood with Charkhela festival fast approaching. On the day of Kartik Sankranti (the last day of the month of
Ashina), the Hajongs devotedly illuminate lamps at paddy field expecting a good harvest. They call it Kati Gasa. Thepaddy crops also gradually grow into maturity with green leaves promising a good harvest. The green paddy field emanates a ray of hope on minds of the Hajong youths. A festive mood prevails among them. During this period, the Hajong youths celebrate Charkhela festival. This festival starts two/ three days prior to the Deepawali festival or Shri Shri Shyama Puja or Kaali Puja. It continues for a week. The Hajongs names the Deepawali as Deuli . On the occasion of
Deuli, the Hajongs illuminate light in every household. They celebrate Charkhela or Charmaga with Dhaak, Dhol, Flute etc. musical instruments. In Charkhela festival, the Hajong boys perform different songs like-Lewatana song & dance,Tengla song, Jakha mara, Bhanga Nauka, Ruwa Laga etc. Among these Lewatana Song & dance is the most attractive and important part of the festival.The Hajong society is conservative and cohesive. The society does not permit the Hajong boys and girls to mix up freely. Open and free relationship between a boy and a girl is prohibited. The Charkhela festival gives the Hajong boys and girls an opportunity to interact with each other. The Hajong boys silently and secretly select there would be life partner
during this festival. The Charkhela festival is a cultural festival. Songs, dance,part play and dance drama with traditional musical instruments are the main features of this festival. These songs, dance or dance drama, part plays are mainly extracted from religious books. The character of mythology or stories gets priority in the dance drama. For example, Devi Puja, or
Mahisasur Bodh, Exile of Lord Rama, kidnapping of Sita, Kurukhetra War, killing of Abhimanyu, etc. In course of changed time, the stories of King & Queen are also acted. However, in the Charkhela festival 10-15 youths make a group and with traditional dresses they use to visit door to door every household. They perform song, dance, part play and the host family respectfully offers them with rice, money etc in return. Thus, they collect rice, money etc. from every household. Two boys who play the main role in the Charkhela festival are called Gaan-Sugra. In fact, there are two methods of collection-(1) Dhauwa Maga & (2)Charmaga. If the boys come back home after the collection at the end of the day then it is called Dhauwa Maga . On the other hand, if the boys collect rice, money etc. for one week,
leaving their village, from other villages then that is called Charmaga. If a group of Charmaga want to stay in any house for the night then they send information to that family. The person through whom they send information to the host family is called Bhatkhabari . The family,that provides accommodation and serves meal to the Charmaga troupe, feels itself proud and fortunate for being capable of doing so. In the last day of the festival, they organise a feast or Bhoj for all the people. In the Bhoj they prepare meal separately for both Sakta and Baishnava i.e. the followers of two
different sects of Hinduism. It is called Charkhela Khaun or Chengra Khuwa . After the completion of the Bhoj the Charkhela festival also comes to an end.

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Hajong food

#Snail_Curry
#Hajong_Food

River or paddy snail is also eaten by Hajongs. There are two types of snails. One with oval shaped and another with pointed shaped. Pointed shaped is liked by most Hajongs. It is also found in ponds and streams.

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Hajong Traditional attire

• Hajong traditional attire

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Hajong Marriage

#Hajong_marriage

Traditional Hajong marriage (Hajong Bhasa:Bya') is a ceremonial ritual that involves a marriage established by pre-arrangement between families. Within Hajong culture, romantic love and widow re-marriage was allowed, and monogamy was the norm for the Hajong people.

#History
Hajongs are endogamous people. In Hajong society matriarchy declined with the influence of Hinduism, leading towards the growing dominance of patriarchy in Hajong society. When intimacy develops between a boy and a girl without the knowledge of their parents, they are married to each other, provided that they do not belong to close maternal and paternal kinship. Exorbitant dowry system was absent in the Hajong society. The Hajongs would give a tolerable bride price or groom price called pon.Marriage is usually negotiated by the parents through a matchmaker known as Jahu or Jasu. Marriage is prohibited between close maternal and paternal kin. Hajong marriages of the khutri or warrior class have a sword ritual to symbolise the mani katri, a sword given by a girl to her husband to protect her.

In a traditional Hajong wedding there are different people who participate in the wedding ceremony.

Kuina' and Jang'oi, the bride and the bridegroom, both covered with a large white cloth known as the ghutang kapu. The white robes symbolise purity. Both, bride and the bridegroom, wear crowns. The groom's crown traditionally has a golden peacock on the top and he carries a small sword. The bride remains fully veiled.
Airos are five or seven married women with their husbands alive. They perform the Chan-Bila Akawa, invite the deities to attend the wedding and bless the newly married couple and help the priest in performing the wedding.
Dhunimao and Dhunibap ceremonially performs the marriage and act acts as the guardian in the wedding.
Mita' is the formal witness the marriage and becomes a lifelong friend of the married couple.
Udhika'ri is the priest who performs the formal marriage rites. The Udhikâri is now mostly substituted by a Hindu Brahmin.
Gita'lus are people who sing songs that depicts the marriage of Shib Dyao and Parbuti Dyao and story of Bihulâ and Lukkhindǒr.
Traditional marriage rituals
#Proposal
When an unmarried boy's parents found a potential daughter-in-law, they then go to the girl's house with a Jahu whose job was to assuage the conflict of interests and general embarrassments when discussing the possibility of marriage on the part of two families largely unknown to each other.

#Bride_price
At this point the bridegroom's family arranged the matchmaker(Jahu or Jasu) to present a bride price to the bride's family.

#Arranging_the_wedding
Before wedding ceremony, two families would arrange a wedding day according to Hajong calendar. Selecting an auspicious day to assure a good future for the couple is as important as avoiding what is believed to be an unlucky day. The wedding is not held on the birth day of both the bride and the groom.

#Invitation
The groom's family invites people like the Airos, Dhunimao and Dhunibap who are essential for performing the marriage rites. They are invited by giving betel nuts and betel leaves. Traditionally wedding ceremonies were held in the groom's house.

#Wedding_ceremony
The final ritual would be the actual wedding ceremony where bride and groom become a married couple, which consists of many elaborate parts and the rituals takes place for three to five days:

#Chan_Bila_Akawa
The actual wedding rituals start by making the Birapat-Chhita' during the Chan-Bila Akawa ritual.
The actual wedding rituals start by making the Birapat-Chhita' during the Chan-Bila Akawa ritual.
The airos make sun, moon, birds and palanquis on a bamboo screen and paint auspicious symbols on earthen lamps and pottery.

#Udhiba's
The airos invite the gods, to attend the wedding and bless the newly married couple, by lighting a lamp in the name of the deity.

#Wedding_procession
The wedding procession from the bride's home to the groom's home consists of a traditional band and the airǒs. Picking the bride from her house, traditionally in a palanquin, the airǒs along with the jahu and the mitâ heads towards the grooms's residence.

#Welcoming the bride
The wedding procession stops at the door of the groom's home. There are ceremonies to be followed to welcome the groom and her wedding procession into the groom's home, which varies from place to place.

#Gon_Suwaba
The bride and the groom are ritually purified by the airos before the bhor bya'.

#Bhor_bya'
Bhor bya' is the actual wedding ceremony equivallent to exchanging vows in the west, it is an elaborate ritual and is held at the night. The couple would pay respect to wedding deities, the patron family deities, paying respect to deceased ancestors and the bride and groom's parents and other elders.

#Basi_bya'or #Bahi_bya'
It is the second half of the wedding and is performed in the next morning.

#Wedding_banquets
In Hajong society, the wedding banquet is known as Bi'â-khawa. There are ceremonies such as the bride and groon eating together sharing the side dishes. Traditionally, the bride's father is responsible for the cost of the wedding invitation sweet treats, the banquet invitations, and the wedding itself. Wedding banquets are elaborate and consist usually of 5–10 courses and turtle meat is considered auspicious for wedding banquets as it symbolizes long life. Traditionally, the father of the bride is responsible for the wedding banquet hosted on the bride's side and the alcohol consumed during both banquets. The wedding banquets are two separate banquets: the primary banquet is hosted once from the bride's side, the second banquet is at the groom's side, for which the groom's family takes the expenses of the banquet. While the wedding itself is often based on the couple's choices, the wedding banquets are a gesture of thanks and appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom (such as grandparents and uncles). It is also to ensure the relatives on each side meet the relatives on the other side.

#Polygamy
Polygamy is very rare among the Hajongs. Traditional Hajong culture does not prohibit nor explicitly encourage polygamy, except as a way to obtain male children.

#Remarriage
Widows are allowed to remarry in the Hajong society and this type of marriage is called Hang'a or Sang'a in Hajong. This marriage is mostly performed for young widows by her inlaws or the village headman.

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Hajong Food

#Hajong_Food

Turtle and sticky-rice is the chief food of the Hajongs. A song has also been composed long ago with the title ”Turtle meat and sticky-rice”. But since the population of turtle has been decreased now and considered an endangered species, this is not available in the market and thus, the future generation have less chance to taste it.

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