C T Online Desk: People of different ethnic groups of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is waiting for a colourful Chaitra Sankranti and Naboborsho.
Three-day programmes on the occasion will begin in the Capital and CHT begins tomorrow as all preparations are completed.
It is said that the roots of Baishabi are deeply connected with the Buddhist culture of Southeast Asia.
Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia celebrate the New Year at the same time – which is known as ‘Songkran’, said a PID feature.
It is believed that when the Marma people from Arakan and Burma (present-day Myanmar) came to the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) hundred years ago, they brought their Sangrai festival with them. Similarly, the Chakma and Tripura people’s own culture and festivals gradually merged and were named ‘Baisabi’.
Chakma, Marma and Tripura belong to the larger Mongoloid people. The New Year begins in the month of Baishakh from Tibet to Bangladesh. All the people of the hill areas celebrate their new year during this time.
The name Baisabi is made up of the festivals of the three ethnic groups. Their three festivals- Bijhu of Chakmas, Shangrai of Marmas and Baisu of Tripuras- altogether is called Baisu.
However, Baisu alone does not express the multidimensionality of the New Year and Chaitra Sankranti celebrations of all the communities in the hills. It has different names like- ‘Bihu, Biju, Bishu, Baisu, Changkran, Sankran, Sangrain, Sangraining’.
It is believed that if the names of other festivals were used in the celebration of Chaitra Sankranti festival in addition to the ‘Baisu’ festival, the discrimination would have been greatly reduced.
Although the style of celebration is somewhat different among each ethnic group, the main spirit of the festival is joy, love and auspicious beginning of the New Year.
