Eclectic Northeast – July 2019

54 │ │ July 2019

done before monsoon because according to locals, the

vegetation on the hill is favoured by tiger-leeches.

Culture and Conservation

Social gatherings, like festivals, are conceptualized

by communities to preserve their culture. Although

what ‘culture’ actually means and whether it remains

static is highly debatable, but in most cases, preserving

culture brings people closer to nature. Baokhungri

festival is no different. It is interesting to learn that

the hill owes its current appearance to the efforts of

the locals and the Tourism Department. A few years

before the official inauguration of the festival, the hill

had lost most of its green cover and the biodiversity

was in danger.

Prafulla Hazoary, Secretary, Bodoland Territorial

Council has been climbing the hill for a long time.

He started even before the festival started. Back then,

only a few people from the town, who knew about

the tradition, would climb to the peak every Bwisagu.

‘When I first started coming to this place, the hill looked

almost empty with no trees and vegetation.’ But with

the help of locals and the Tourism Department, the hill

is now home to approximately 150 different species of

plants. Hazoary sees the festival as the outcome, and

also the reason, for revival of the vegetation cover.

‘Many people know about sacred groves in different

parts of the region. This hill is a sacred grove for the

people of this locality.’ Nowadays the hill climbing

tradition known as ‘Baokhungri Hajw Gakhwnai’ (To

Climb the Baokhungri) sees hundreds of participants,

young and old, every year.

This kind of festival is like a window to the culture

of the community. But as more and more people

from outside the region make their way to the hill,

it has given rise to corrupt practices and scams. For

instance, it is not uncommon for fake priests or sadhus

to roam the hill nowadays and earn money by fooling

unsuspecting visitors. Also, it has been felt that people

participate in the festivities without knowing the

significance. The hill climbing practice is gathering

attention more as a recreational activity instead of a

religious one. In fact, many people still don’t know

the story of princess Deeplai, as was apparent during

the quiz competition held on the second day of the

festival.

But despite the lack of awareness, Prafulla

Hazoary along with the rest of the Bodo community,

are hopeful that the festival will give people a chance

to experience the local culture, and slowly, visitors

will start to see how the Baokhungri festival is much

more than climbing a hill to test your endurance.