TUSU: ONE FESTIVAL, MANY NAMES: Explore Music, Songs, Art, Culture, Rituals, Traditions and Impacts of Technology + Much More...!

Abstract 

Tusu, a harvest festival, is one of the three major festivals of the Kurmi community in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam and Odisha. From the middle of November to the middle of December, Tusu is celebrated throughout Jharkhand, the Rāṛh region of West Bengal, Assam and in some parts of Odisha. 

Not only the Kurmis, but many other communities celebrate Tusu. Tusu is not a religious festival . . . Tusu is a secular festival and is celebrated by people of all castes and religions, like Christians, Muslims, Hindus, non-Hindus, Adivasis, everyone.'

Keywords:

Tusu Songs, Makar Sankranti, Choural, Married, Unmarried, Doha, TUSU Immersion 

Learning Outcomes

After undergoing this article you will be able to understand the following:

1. What's exactly TUSU PARAB Songs?

2. What's Importance of Tusu songs?

3. Demographics where these songs are prevalent 

4. Rituals and songs associated with various states

5. References for further readings

6. Conclusions

7. FAQs

1. What's exactly TUSU PARAB Songs?

Tusu Songs

The festival is mainly about the collection of #songs sung by the unmarried girls during the nights, throughout the month of Poush. #Tusu is prepared and worshipped at homes by chaste virgin girls. #Married #women do not worship Tusu'. 

All celebrations in #culture are related to singing and dancing and Tusu has a significant role in it . . . We can see only one Pada songs in the Jawa #festival and two Pada songs or Doha in Tusu. 

2. Types of Tusu songs

Tusu songs are single pada and double pada

Two Pada Songs: A specialty

Two Pada Songs are double line songs in which expressions are inherently bonded with such style that they reflect maximum human feelings. 

As example, 

In the following two Padas song, it reflects all the feelings, ‘বল মা আমার মন কেমন করে/ যেমন শোল মাছে উফাল মারে.’ (‘O mother, do you know the state of my mind/It is like the thrust of the Shol fish.’)

Tusu Geets have remarkably contributed towards strengthening and enriching the culture of Purulia district and the surrounding regions of Rarh Bengal. These are songs of fertility, praying to Mother Earth for a rich and prosperous harvest. They are known by different names in different places of Rarh and are sung in different ways with a mixture of lyrics, articulations and tunes. But the overwhelming influence of Santhali lyrics and tunes are clear in the Tusu songs of Purulia region in Bengal. 

3. Few modern days selected popular TUSU songs are as follows 

New Tusu Geet…Meera Das · 2022

Tusu Geet…Sumit Bangali · 2022

Tuder Tusu Muri Bhaje…Subhas Chakrabarty · 2012

Morod Subhe Khat Palonke…Sonai Sen

Phool Patibo…Konika Karmakar · 2022

Tusu Geet…Naresh Mahto · 2022

Tushu Amar…TRISHAE PARUI · 2022

Khejur Guder Pitha…Anima Mahata · 2022

Tusu Bhadu…Chaitali Bauri · 2022

Tusu Maa…Gopal Sonari

Babur Mosir Fancy Mokor…Trinath Barik · 2022

Tusu…Sree Partho

Porobe Nai Thakbo Ei Bochhor…Konika Karmakar · 2022

There are popular local music videos which follow the Tusu’s tune and these are also called Tusu songs. Apart from the tune and rhythm, these songs do not have any other resemblance with the ‘traditional’ Tusu songs. 

4. Special songs on Tusu 

Aschhe makar du din sabur kar

আছছে মাকার দুদিন সবুর কর

Tor thaila Tai ki achhe

Bahu bhula rasgolla achhe

তোর থাইলা তাই কি আছে
বহু ভুলা রসগোল্লা আছে

Aar Kato din sabur karibo

Biha Ghar ta saraibo

আর কত দিন সবুর করিবো
বিহা ঘর তা সরাইবো

Panchpargania Tusu

टुसू गीत :
आमरा जे माँ टुसू थापी, अघन साँकराइते गो!
अबला बाछुरेर गोबर, लबन चाउलेर गुँड़ी गो!!

तेल दिलाम, सलिता दिलाम, दिलाम सरगेर बाती गो!
सकल देवता संइझा लेव माँ लखी, सरसती गो!!

गाइ आइल', बाछुरी आइल' भगबती गो!
सइंझा निये बाहिराव टुसू छरेर कुल बाती गो!!

5. Tusu Rituals in Jharkhand 

Famous for its rich culture, Jharkhand is home to a large number of vibrant fairs and festivals celebrated all the year round in myriad ways. Tusu Puja is mostly celebrated in the area between Bundu, Tamar, and Raidih areas of Jharkhand beginning from the middle of November till almost mid-December other janajati communities. This region of Jharkhand boasts of an illustrious history during India’s struggle for freedom against the British colonial rule. 

Ranchi and Bokaro districts of Jharkhand are especially famous for the Tusu Puja festivities, where it is celebrated as a harvest carnival with a traditional fervour. The small and moderate-scale hotels close down their shops a few days ahead of the festival, as most of the labourers go on a holiday.

6. Tusu Culture in Jharkhand 

In a few areas of Jharkhand, married women do not worship Tusu even today. It is mainly the girls who take the entire responsibility of performing all the rituals of the festival. Pre-pubescent girls prepare beautiful idols of Tusu Devi and worship her every morning in their homes with a prasad of puffed rice, jaggery and curd while narrating the story of Tusu Devi. It is because young virgin girls are believed to be symbolic of a fresh harvest, and it is in this way that the fertility of women is closely associated with the fertility of the land. Menstruating women are strictly debarred from taking part in the rituals.

7. TUSU Structure and Choural

Since Tusu has no structure, we make kulungi or a hole in the wall. The #main ingredients for Tusu are tush or rice husks. Some rice and flowers are placed inside the kulungi. The unmarried girls worship the kulungi for the whole month in the home altars, in the wall niches decorated with alpona The choudal is something like tazia, but smaller than that, it is made of jute sticks. Inside the choudal, all the things required for worship are placed, and then carried in a procession for immersion in the river, pond or any water body.

Choural

Symbolically speaking, the choudal is the vehicle on which the girl leaves from her maternal home for her husband’s home where she will consummate her marriage and usher in a new life. This journey and departure of the girl also signals the end of the harvest season and the completion of the agricultural cycle. Nowadays, colourful choudals are sold at the haats (market areas). Extraordinarily beautiful choudals having the height of a 2-3 storied building and supported by a rope are especially manufactured for competitions.

8. Rituals associated with Choural 

All the necessary paraphernalia used for the worshipping rituals are placed inside the choudal, which include one dhakon (burnt earthen bowl), rice husk, alochaal (boiled rice seeds), fried white rice, durba (scutch grass), the badu flower which grows on the sal tree, mustard seeds, gendu phool (marigold flowers), radish flower, and one goboro (cow-dung ball). Since goboro symbolises purity and fertility of the land, it is believed that the worship of Tusu is closely related to the fertility cult.

9. TUSU Immersion 

The immersion of Tusu in the waters signifies the mixed feelings of a newly-married girl who leaves behind the comforts of her parental home and the emotions associated with it for a completely new place, a new family and new people.

10. The Differences between Choural and Tusu

The differences between Choural and Tusu can be explained as follows 

1. Choural is not Tusu, choural is the vehicle by which Tusu could go towards her marital family from her father’s house. 

2. In ancient period it was a matter of great pride for the Kurmis to send their daughter to her marital family, after she started menstruating. 

3. This was also a sign that her body was physically capable of bearing a child. 

4. Tusu is worshipped with this same feeling and Tusu finally leaves the house for immersion. 

5. Chou means four sides. Ural means flying. Choural means who can fly in all directions at the same time, 

6. Who can fly in all directions, the answer…the sun rays.

7. Therefore it is scientifically associated with Makar Sankranti Festivals. 

11. Specific Rituals of Kurmis

Among the Kurmis, the word Tusu represents a combination of Tu meaning maturity, and Su meaning husband, referring to the association of crop with water. A Bengali essay titled Tusu Parab (‘The Tusu Festival’) by Sripada Mahato describes the Tusu Parab of the Kurmis of Jharkhand in a vivid detail.

Origin of Tusu Word

There are various opinions on the etymology of the word ‘Tusu’. Santi Sinha, in his book Tusu, has said: এই শস্যোৎসবে ধানের খোসা তুষ একটা বড় উপকরণ। তাই ‘তুষ–এর সঙ্গে আদরার্থক উ-প্রত্যয়যোগে ‘তুষু’ নামটি এসেছে।. . . ‘তুষু’ থেকে ‘টুসু’—দন্ত্যবর্ণের এই মূর্ধন্যবর্ণে পরিণত হওয়া নিয়ে প্রকৃতপক্ষে কোন বিরোধ নেই. (Sinha n.d.:32–33).

Sinha (n.d.:33) has quoted Dr. Suhrid Kumar Bhowmik’s opinion in his book Tusu:

‘টুসু’ নামকরণের পিছনে কোল (Austro Asiatic) গোষ্ঠীর ‘টুসা’ (টুসাউ) শব্দটির প্রভাব থাকতে পারে। কোল ভাষায় এর অর্থ হল—ফুলের গুচ্ছ। এই অভিমতের অন্যতম প্রবক্তা ডঃ সুহৃদকুমার ভৌমিক। তিনি Bulletin of the Cultural Research Institute-এর ‘Tusu Songs’-এ বলেছেন, “Perhaps ‘tusu’ is a non-Aryan word coming from Austro-Asiatic Kol origin, to mean flower, bunch of flowers, bud etc. In Santali ‘bahatusu’ means a bunch of flowers, ‘tusa’ means simply bud, a leaf of bud-a symbol of youth and beauty.

Though there are many opinions by various authors regarding Tusu but as an intellectual person of the society I think this Tusu word is derived from our Kurmali word tui and su. 'Tui' means the highest position of the sun and 'su' means the sun. Tusu means the final or highest position of the sun . . .

According to Kurmi rituals, 

1. Tusu is similar to unmarried girls. 

2. As a girl grows up with care in her family, the grains and seeds are also taken care of by the family which worships Tusu. 

3. The immersion of Tusu in the water is same as the leaving of a newly married girl for her marital family. 

4. Since a grain or seed can flourish only after it gets water, a newly married girl can become pregnant only after copulating with her husband in her in-laws’ house. 

5. Tusu is seen as the harbinger of life and prosperity. 

6. As a Tusu song says, ‘জলে হেল, জলে খেল, জলে তোমার কে আছে? /মনেতে বুঝিয়ে দেখো জলে স্বসুরঘর আছে’. The meaning is ‘You are joyful in the water; you are playing in the water, who is yours in the water? /Ask yourself in your mind, water is the marital family’. Rice grain is offered to the water because water is the most important element for cultivation and living.

12. Worshipping of SUN God: Makar Sankranti 

The sun is also worshipped in this festival because without the presence of the sun no germination could take place. Makar is just another name of the sun. In the day of Makar Sankranti or Poush Sankranti, which is the last day of the Bengali month Poush, people of various communities throughout India celebrate Makar festival or the festival of Sun God, which is mostly a bathing festival. 

The Makar Sankranti 

The festival of Tusu is also named as Makar festival. Therefore, it is clear that this festival is connected to the sun. Women have a much more significant role to play than men in almost all the rituals of Tusu Puja, including seeding, painting the alpona, pran-pratishtha of Tusu Devi with tush, and grinding rice with cow-dung balls and one small stick of paddy.

13. Impact of Science and Technology 

Now we know the scientific reason behind movement of the sun but the ancient people were also aware of it and this was celebrated by them. If we see Tusu just as a local event then it’s a failure of understanding Tusu and also of us. Tusu also has the scientific significance as the ancient people could relate the movement of sun with agriculture and they worshipped Tusu to celebrate the power of sun in the agriculture.

14. Tusu in Assam

Tusu Puja in Assam is a grand socio-cultural and religious celebration, confined as it mainly to the janajatis of the tea garden areas in Upper Assam, who have a distinct and unique culture of their own.

There are five things which are commonly used to establish and worship Tusu. The things are, one dhakon or earthen pot, alochaal or boiled rice seeds, durva or scotch grass the badu flower which grows on the sal tree and one cow-dung ball. It is mainly girls who take responsibility for performing all the rituals of this festival. They establish and worship Tusu, prepare prasad at home, which is puffed rice or flattened rice, and finally the immersion takes place. 

15. Women empowerment 

Women have a much more significant role than the men in all the rituals, including seeding, painting the alpona, establishing Tusu by tush, grinding rice with cow-dung balls and one small stick of paddy . . . Women from the whole family used to gather there for one month, offer their prayers and give it for immersion on the day of Makar through choural.

After the labour of the whole year, people enjoy some prosperity at home during this period. Therefore, they have time and money to celebrate the festival. That might be a reason behind the celebration which takes place on a huge scale. Sadhan Mahato, in his interview, emphasizes:

With time, Tusu songs are becoming outmoded with the onset of different forms of entertainment. The hegemony of mainstream culture took a toll not only on the folk cultural activities but also on other aspects of the culture. In his interview, Nirmal Halder says:

16. Impacts on Tusu songs due to Modernization 

Tusu festival and Tusu songs of our childhood were completely different from those of the present time . . . However, with modernization, urbanization and technological developments all these festivals are slowly becoming obsolete. Moreover, with my advancing age, it turns out that the folk festivals are slowly moving towards the villages . . . while associating ourselves with modernity, we say that we are not involved in these festivals or we are not connected to them. But these are always connected with the people of Purulia, be they Brahmin, Baidya, Kayastha, Haari, Muchi or Bauri (castes). All the people were involved with it. With passing days, we are letting ourselves drift away from these festivals . . .

Tusu songs are still an important part of popular culture and new songs are being written. These songs include mythological stories, contemporary political issues, local issues, etc. The two stanzas below reflect the mood of a contemporary Tusu song based on the Ramayana:

দৈয়বের নির্বন্ধ দেখ নাহয় কোভু খন্ডন।

বানের উপরে বান আকাশে করে গমন।

দেবগনে বলে প্রভু রক্ষা কর নারায়ন।।

অন্তরীক্ষে দেবগনে দেখে সবে মহারণ।।

অভয় বলে অহংকারে অবশেষে হয় মরন।।

হারাইলাম আমিও ভাই প্রাণের অনুজ লক্ষণ।।

আমার প্রাণের নিধি হরিয়া নিল সমন।।

অন্তরিক্ষে ডাকি বলে ইন্দ্র যত দেবগণ।

অভয়ে বলিছে আমায় খমা কর নারায়ন।।

A few such songs are—‘মনে পড়ে তোর মুখের হাঁসি, তোকে ধনী ফাঁকা যদি পাই’ ('Mone Pode tor Mukher Haansi') by Birochon Mahato and Anima Mardi; ‘টুরকু ছঁড়াই তোকে ভুলাইল’ ('Turku Chhodai toke Bhulailo') by Rohin Mahato and Mrityunjoy Mahato; ‘মকর পরব আসছে ঢেউ মাইরে’ ('Makar Parba Aaschhe Dheu Maire') by Paresh Mahato and Anjana Mahato.

Tusu songs are sung today through these new age songs, which reflect the traditional ways of singing. Gradually, the new songs will become part of the tradition. This is how Tusu remains an important part of folk culture and people’s life. Although the form of the festival, the songs and their content have changed with time due to technological advancement, corporatization, and an evolving notion of entertainment—Tusu continues to be a source of happiness, celebration and festivity.

17. Identical/ Synonyms Festivals of Tusu

Tusu is organised on the dates of the following festivals with other names; like

Lohri - Punjab 

Makar Sankranti

Magh Bihu- Assam

Pongal - Tamil Nadu

Maghe Sankranti - Nepal

Makara Sankranti - Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Sakraat - Bihar, Haryana, Delhi 

Uttarayan - Gujarat

Magha Saaji - Himachal Pradesh

Suggi - Karnataka

Ghughuti or Kale Kauva - Uttarakhand

Maghi - Punjab

Poush Parab - West Bengal

17. Conclusions 

Tusu symbolises the virtues of kindness, love and sacrifice and happens to be the favourite Goddess among adivasi and Kurmis. The different activities are carried out during the tusu festivity. Tree plantation drives and book-release functions are organised in several places as a mark of the occasion. Different competitions among students are also organised such as drawing competitions, Tusu dance-song competitions, and essay-writing competitions.

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