Religious Belief

Beliefs and rituals related to birth

The Bodo tribe has special beliefs and rituals for when a baby is born. They think evil spirits might harm the baby, so pregnant women stay inside at night. During pregnancy, at seven months, the woman visits her parents for blessings. After birth, there are rituals for purification. After a month, the family celebrates, allowing the mother to do regular tasks again. Later, there's a ceremony where the baby eats rice for the first time, involving the maternal uncle. They believe this relationship is important. They also have parties and give gifts to celebrate the baby's birth.

Beliefs and rituals related to marriage

The Bodo tribe has some special belief regarding marriages. Before fixing the wedding date, the groom's family brings betel nuts to ask for the girl's hand in marriage. They believe in signs like seeing a dead body or a cat crossing from right to left as inauspicious omens. On the wedding day, they place water vessels and coconuts at the entrance for wealth and prosperity. The bride's sisters wash the groom's feet with turmeric water and rub his face with betel leaves. When leaving her parents' home, the bride sprinkles rice behind her without looking back to keep prosperity at home. After the wedding, a ceremony called Hathasuni is held at the groom's house, where the bride cooks for the family for the first time and is accepted as a new member. Aathmongola, observed after eight days, sees the couple returning to the bride's home with relatives, where they worship village deities and share food with villagers. Finally, they leave the bride's house, concluding the marriage ceremonies.

Beliefs and rituals related to death and disposal

According to the Bodo tribe if someone dies, they believe it's the soul's journey to heaven. They wash the body and offer food like rice, eggs, and potatoes, so the soul won't be hungry on its way. They cremate the body in a common ground and bathe in a nearby river afterward to keep away spirits. Every evening, they burn leaves and thatch to ward off spirits. Ten days after death, they have a purification ritual called "daha," where everyone tastes bitter jute gravy to symbolize separation from the departed soul. They also perform similar rituals during "shraddha" ceremonies, offering feasts to villagers and relatives with pork, chicken, fish, and rice beer.