North South University

Department of History and Philosophy

HIS 101: Bangladesh Culture and Heritage
December 9, FALL 2022
 Bangladesh is a land of festivals. There is a
popular saying in Bangla „Baro Mashe Tero
Parban‟ meaning 13 festivals in 12 months. It
is interesting to note that many of our
festivals are linked to religions, seasons and
specials occasions.

 Festivals can be grouped broadly into

religious, ethnic, cultural and national days of
celebrations. We know that the Culture of
Bangladesh is interlinked with the culture of
the Bengal region.
Originate from religious rites
to appease gods and other
unseen powers
closely related to farming and
cattle-raising, to human and
crop fertility
 National:  Crop festival
 Pahela Baishakh  Navanna
 Mangal shobhajatra  Pausparvan
 Pahela Falgun  Ambubachi
 Gasbi

 Rain festtival  Some other festival

 Barsha Utshab  Lalon festival
 Chaitra_shankranti  Sagrai
 Megharani  Karam festival
 Hudma_deo  Makar Sankranti
 kulanamano  Suryavrata
 Bera bhasan
 Charak Puja
National Festivals
 Pahela Baishakh is the secular festival of all
Bengali
 Pahela Baishakh is now a major social
festival in Bangladesh. A similar ceremony
welcoming the New Year is also held at the
Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka.
 Students and teachers of the Institute take
out a colourful procession and parade
round the campus. Social and cultural
organisations celebrate the day with
cultural programmes.
 The Mughal Emperor Akbar started the Bengali calendar
on 10 March 1585 which came into effect from 16 March
1586, the day of his ascension to the throne.
 is now celebrated at the national level
 The festival date is set according to the lunisolar Bengali
calendar
 prepares special delicious dishes
 celebrated with processions, fairs and family time
 celebrated across religious boundaries
 People wear festive dress, white-red color combinations
are particularly popular
 integral part of the festivities is the Mangal Shobhajatra
A mass procession that takes place at dawn
on the first day of the Bengali New Year
 considered an expression of the secular
identity
 declared an ‘intangible cultural heritage’ by
UNESCO in 2016
 A new year festival
 Punyah used to be celebrated by zamindars
 Connected with the collection of revenue.
 On halkhata traders close old accounts and open
new ones
 In villages, towns and cities, traders and
businessmen closed their old account books and
opened new ones on Pahela Baishakh.
 common in both urban and rural areas
 This occasion became part of domestic and social
life, and turned into a day of merriment.
Crop Festivals
 Festival for both Hindu and Muslim at the last
day of Paus
 Young boys visit different houses during Paus,
collecting money for festivities
 they cook food, cakes or sweets in a field or
near a forest and give offering to the pir or
the goddess
 Nabanno is a Bengali harvest
celebration usually
celebrated with food and
dance and music in
Bangladesh and in the Indian
states of West Bengal,
Tripura and Assam‟s Barak
Valley.
 It is a festival of food;
many local preparations
of Bengali cuisine like
Pitha are cooked.
 Celebration: Used to be observed after the new
crop came home in the month of Agrahayan.
 Nowadays the Festival “Nabanna” is
celebrating every Bengali year (1st day of
Agrahayan) in Dhaka, organised by Jatiya
Nabanna Utshab Udjapan Parshad (National
Harvest Festival committee) since 1998.
 Farmer perform some certain ritules
 No one takes food before offering puja and food
made of new rice to Laksmi
 Muslim families also celebrated navanna
Several dance and music forms
have grown out of the ritual
accompanied with the festival.
Examples are Chhau, Bihu etc.
Also, the name Nabanna is
associated to several rural welfare
projects and banks.
Navanna continues to be celebrated
all over Bangladesh today
 a special folk festival of the Hindus
 a three-day ritual observed by women
 on the seventh day of Asadh.
 to make earth fit for farming
 forbidden to dig or plow during this
period
 Hindu widows observe some restrictions
during these days.
 Special foods and rice cakes are
prepared during this festival.
 autumn festival, to ensure a better
harvest
 starts on the last night of the month
of Ashvin
 In the past, people would cook food
on the last day of Ashvin and eat it
the next day.
 a folk saying that if one cooked food
in Asvin and ate it in Kartik, his
wishes would be fulfilled.
Ethnic Festival
 A new year festival of the indigenous tribes
 four-day festival covering three days of the
outgoing year and one day of the incoming
year
 Perform some rituals with Buddha image
 they celebrate panikhela
 Vaisabi
 Vaisabi a major festival of the ethnic
peoples of Chittagong Hill Tracts
welcoming the New Year. Different ethnic
peoples call it in different names, and
the name „Vaisabi‟ is common to all of
them.
 The Tripuris call the festival
Baishu.
 The Marmas call it
Shangrai/Sagrai and
 The Chakmas call it Biju.
 Baishu, Shangrai and Biju are
collectively known as Vaisabi.
 The term Vaisabi is the
combination of the first letter
of the three names of the
festival such as bai of Baishu,
Sa of Sangrai and bi of Biju.
 The New Year‟s Day festival is generally
observed for three days, last two days of
the passing year and the first day of New
Year in the hilly districts of Bandarban,
Rangamati and Khagrachhari.

 The Baishu festival of Tripuri

 The Baishu festival, the biggest festival
of the Tripuris, is observed for
continuous three days. Everyday has
some rites called Hari Baishu, Bishuma
Baishu and Bishikatal or Atadang Baishu.
 Festival food
 Tripuri women make cakes of Binni
rice and Cholai wine.
 The males take part in competition
of making handicrafts of bamboo
and cane and in other games.
 Main Program
 The Chakmas observe Fool Biju on
29 Chaitra, Mool Biju on the 30th
and Gajyapajya on the first day of
Baishakh.
 On the day of Fool Biju, they collect flowers
from the forest and divide these into four
groups.
 Food of the festival
 On the day of Mool Biju, Pachan or Ghanta
(a spicy dish of mixed vegetables) is
prepared by the Chakmas.
 Besides, Payesh and various kinds of cakes are
prepared and fish and meat are cooked.
 Arrangements are there for Khai (toasted
rice) of Binni paddy, Naru (ball of sweetmeat),
Shimai and indigenous hilly wine.
Celebrated at the end of Bhadra
By ‘oraon’ tribe
also called bhadaiparva, barsaparva
etc.
to create an atmosphere to
exchange expressions of love
women sing and both men and
women dance.
OTHERCULTURAL
FESTIVALS
 Held on every year on the first day of Kartik
 Fakirs or devotees of Lalon join in
 A fair is held on the occasion
 Followers and other folk singers present
Lalon songs there.
 held on the last Thursday of Bhadra

 arranged both on social or family initiatives or by the

community of fakirs

 during Mughal rule, used to be observed with great pomp at

Murshidabad, Rajmahal and Dhaka at the initiative of
nawabs.

 Nawab Shiraj-ud-Daula and Mir Qasim played prominent

roles.

 It was through their patronage that this folk festival

developed into a national festival.

 variety of sweet offerings are placed on a banana raft and

drift

 Away

 It is believed that this observance will provide protection

 Chadrak Puja
 an important folk festival of the Hindus
 held towards the end of Chaitra and the beginning
of Baishakh
 common in the areas of FARIDPUR and BARISAL,
which were Hindu majority areas.
 ‘Mela’ or fairs lasting for two or three days are
held on this occasion.

 Makar sankranti
 observed according to solar cycle
 for thanks giving to Sun God
Chadrak Puja
Makar Sankranti
Kite flying or festivals
THANK YOU