Tusu Puja: A prime festival of Assam’s Tea Tribes

Celebration of the Tusu festival or puja is not simply limited to Bengal and Jharkhand but has extended reach to the Tea hub of the nation Assam as well. Tribal groups in this state worship the deity not for a good harvest but as a symbol of love and sacrifice. Alike all other festivals celebrated here, this festival too is celebrated in a vibrant manner by the dwellers of all the tea gardens in Assam. Talking of Assam in particular, it is a colorful land being house to people belonging to various tribes, communities, religions and cultures. Of all these, it is the tea tribes of this state forming a vital part of the vast Assamese society.

[Tusu Puja being performed by Tea Tribes of Tezpur, Assam]

Chawtal, Kol, Kharia, Gonju, Munda, Chawra are some of the prominent Tea tribes of Assam.These tribal groups celebrate numerous festivals such as Karam Puja, Tusu Puja, Durga Puja, Lashmi Puja and others. However among all of these, it is Tusu and Karam Puja which are of prime importance. It is interesting to know that unlike the story that is hitched to the origin of Tusu festival, that relied upon in Assam is different. Tusu Devi for the tea tribes is looked upon as the “Folk goddess”. Though the Hindu community residing here compares Goddess Tusu to Goddess Sita, Durga and Kali, but the traditional rituals of this puja is way different from others.

According to the legend adhered in Assam, it is believed that Tusu or Rukmini was the daughter of Gujrat’s Kurmi King. It is during the Mughal rule in India that he and his family was forced to run away from his kingdom and eventually landed up taking shelter at King Birbal’s kingdom- who was then the king of Punjab. It is during these days that Rukmini or Tusu and Sitaram(Birbal’s son) fell in love but it was the then Mughal emperor who created hindrance in their relationship. To save himself and his family, the king of Gujrat left Punjab and met the Bhumijs and Chawtals. Eventually the King of Bhumij got Tusu married to Sitaram but unfortunately Sitaram died after few days and Tusu killed herself jumping into her husband’s funeral pyre.  Tusu here stand as a symbol of love and sacrifice. She is worshipped as a “pure soul” and is sometime related to Mata Sita and Sati Sabitri.

[A Girl belonging to the tea tribe in her traditional attire during tusu Puja]

During the festive season, Tusu statues are made by sculptures and these are decorated with flower and mud beautifully. Young girls and boys carry the statues from one house to another narrating her story through songs. Young girls dress up in the traditional attire and tie a handkerchief on the head and dance to the music. Here unlike Bengal, music is accompanied by instruments to enhance the ambience these songs create. People here look upon Tusu as their favorite goddess who stands for virtue, kindness, sacrifice and love.