Assamese culture is a vast topic. Its not possible to cover every aspect of the Great Assamese culture in a small article format.

To know about the magnanimous Assamese culture, one has to go through a number of books and has to do a lot of research. Since it is a Herculean task, I decided write a synopsis of this colossal culture so that those readers who do not know much about our motherland can get some idea. I hope you will get a small glimpse of our very own Mother Assam.

Assamese culture is rich because it’s a hybrid resulting from the absorption of major milestones, which took place through out its evolution. The first and the foremost being the establishment of the kamrupa kingdom followed by the establishment of the Ahom dynasty in the 13th century, Koch Kingdom (15th to 16th century) ,  Kachari Kingdom  ( 12 to 18th century ) and finally the Vaishnav movement  led by Srimanta Sankar Deva.  The American Baptist Missionaries such as Mr. Nathan Brown, and local pundits such as Sri Hem Chandra Barua standardized the Assamese language. Symbolism is a prominent element in Assamese culture. The use of a variety of things to represent beliefs, feelings etc is an indispensable part of Assamese Culture. For example, tamul pan, xorai , Gamosa , etc are used to portray feelings of devotion , respect and pride.

When it comes to festivals Assam holds her head high because she is famous in this sphere. The most important festival of Assam is Bihu. Rongali Bihu, kati bihu and bhogali Bihu are the three types of Bihu. Rongali Bihu also known as Bohag Bihu is celebrated with the onset of spring. Kongali Bihu means Barren Bihu because it’s celebrated when the fields are green but barns are empty. Bhogali bihu is celebrated during the harvest season when the barns are full.

In the field of performing arts, Assam has to its credit the Ankiya Nat. The Ankiya Nat is a vaishnav dance drama also known as Bhaona, where actors wear large masks of God, Goddesses, demons, animals etc and in between the plays a ‘sutradhar ‘ tells the story. Major folk dances of Assam comprises of the Bihu Dance, “Hucory”, the ‘Kushan Nritya’ of the Rajbongshi’s , the bagarumba and the bordoichila dance of the Bodos , Mishing Bihu , and the  Banjar Kekan which is performed by Karbis . Sattriya Dance is another classical and an important dance form of Assam. Apart from these very dance forms , other important dances of  Assam include , the Bhortal nritya , the Deodhani Nritya , Oja Paali , Beula Dance etc .  Assam is also known for its moving theatres . The kohinoor and the apsara are renowned theatre groups.

Assam also has a rich culture of music. The music of Assam can be divided into various categories. These include the Regional folk music, comprising “Kamrupiya Lokageet “, “Goalpariya Lokageet”, “Ojapali” , “ Tokari Geet”  , then we have ethnic folk music like “ jhumur” and “ Bharigaan”, then there is ofcourse , Bihu Geet comprising the “Husori” , then we have allied styles such as “ Biya Naam” , “Bongeet” , Gorokhiya Naam” , “ Nisukoni Geet” , “Gorokhiya Naam” . We also have , Bhakti Music like “ Borgeet ( example , Xuna Xuna re Xuna ) , and “ Zikir ‘ and finally we have Contemporary music.   The major exponents of Assamese Music include Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardev, Sri Madhabdev , Sri Luit Konwar Rudra Barua , Padmabhushan Dr. Bhupen Hazarika , Sri Jayanta Hazarika , Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala , Kalaguru Bishnu rabha , Smt Parvati Prasad Baruwa , sri ambikagiri Raichowdhury , Begum Parveen Sultana , Smt Dipali Borthakur , Smt Queen Hazarika , Smt  Pratima Barua Pandey, Sri khagen Mahanta , Sri Samar Hazarika , Sri Zubeen Garg , to name a few.

Assam is also known for cane and Bamboo craft, bell metal and bass craft, silk and cotton weaving , pottry and terracotta work . The xorai and the bota , made from bell metal and brass are found inalmost  every assamese home. The most important centers of traditional bell metal and barass crafts are Hajo and sarthebari.  Sualkuchi is the center for the tradional assamese silk industry. The  muga and paat being the prominent silks.

Assam has also to its credit a markedly good cinema industry. Though the Assamese cinema has not really achieved much through out these years, yet it is making a marked improvement in today’s age. The Assamese film industry was born in 1935 . This was the year when Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala , released his movie Joymoti. Renowned   directors of contemporary Assamese Cinema are Jahnu Baruah (who directed Aparoopa, Papori, Haladhia Choraye Baodhan Khai, Banani, Firingoti and Hkhagoroloi Bohu Door); Sanjeev Hazarika (Haladhar, Meemanxa) and Bhabendra Nath Saikia who directed Sandhya Raag, Anirbaan, Agnisnaan, Sarothi, Kolahol, Abartan, Itihaas and Kaal Sandhya). Other directors include Santwana Bordoloi who directed Adajya and Bidyut Chakraborty who made Rag Birag, both of which have won National & International Awards.


References::
Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia

Barua, Birinchi Kumar (1969), A Cultural History of Assam, Guwahati: Lawyer's Book Stall

Goswami, Praphulladatta (1988), Bohag Bihu of Assam and Bihu Songs, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board

Medhi, Kaliram (1978), Studies in the Vaisnava Literature and Culture of Assam, Jorhat, Assam: Asam Sahitya Sabha