Assam’s Tiwa and Rabha communities living in a cluster of ten villages in Marngar, a few kilometres from Nongpoh in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district, held their annual community fishing festival, Hulao Mara, on the eve of Bohag Bihu, reaffirming long-held Assamese cultural traditions despite being outside Assam’s administrative boundaries. The event brought together villagers to mark the seasonal festival that precedes the Assamese new year.
Hulao Mara is a communal fishing ritual traditionally tied to Bohag Bihu celebrations, where families and neighbours join in collective fishing and shared meals as part of springtime observances. In Marngar, the ceremony functions both as a practical food-gathering exercise and a symbolic act of cultural continuity, timed to the agricultural calendar and the rhythms of the Bihu festivities.
The gathering in these Meghalaya villages underscores how ethnic and cultural identities traverse state lines in the Northeast. Though administratively part of Meghalaya, the Tiwa and Rabha inhabitants maintain Assamese customs, language, and ritual practices, organising Hulao Mara each year to pass traditions to younger generations and to strengthen communal ties.
Bohag Bihu, celebrated across Assam as the spring harvest festival and Assamese new year, frames Hulao Mara as more than a local pastime: it is a living link to broader Assamese social and ritual life. For residents of Marngar, the festival is an occasion to celebrate shared heritage, exchange food and stories, and remind the community of communal responsibilities and solidarity.
By continuing to observe Hulao Mara annually, the Tiwa and Rabha communities in Marngar demonstrate how cultural practices endure across geographic and administrative divides, keeping Assamese traditions vibrant within Meghalaya’s village life.
Original Source: https://eastmojo.com/meghalaya/2026/04/16/how-hulao-mara-keeps-assamese-traditions-alive-in-meghalaya-villages/
Category: Assam,Free Digest,Meghalaya,National News,News,Northeast News,Top News
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Publish Date: 2026-04-16 17:04:00
