Kati Bihu 2026 – Assam's Quiet Festival of Lamps and Hope
কাতি বিহু
When is Kati Bihu in 2026?
Kati Bihu falls on Wednesday, 17 October 2026, on the first day of the Assamese month of Kati (Kartik). It is the most austere of Assam’s three Bihus – a quiet evening of lighting earthen lamps at the tulsi plant and in the paddy fields to pray for the ripening crop.
Kati Bihu, also called Kongali Bihu, is the quietest of the three Bihu festivals that mark the Assamese year. It arrives on the first day of Kati (Kartik), in mid-October, at the leanest stretch of the farming calendar – the granaries are almost empty and the paddy is still green in the fields. There is no feasting here. Instead, families light small earthen lamps at the foot of the sacred tulsi plant, in the paddy, and in the granary, praying to Lakshmi to guard the crop through to harvest.
Kati Bihu 2026-2028: Dates & Calendar
Kati Bihu is next observed on 17 October 2026. Because it is tied to Kati Sankranti – the sun’s entry into the sign of Libra – its date shifts by only a day or so each year.
| Year | Date | Day | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 17 October | Friday | First day of Kati |
| 2026 | 17 October | Saturday | Next occurrence (approx.) |
| 2027 | 18 October | Monday | Approximate |
| 2028 | 17 October | Tuesday | Approximate |
Kati Bihu is a single-day observance. The lamps are lit at dusk, and in many villages the akaxi bonti – a lamp raised on a tall bamboo pole – is kept burning through the whole month of Kati.
Why Kati Bihu Is Celebrated
Kati Bihu is celebrated as a prayer for the ripening paddy at the hardest, hungriest point of the farming year. “Kongali” means poor, and the festival’s mood is one of patience and hope rather than plenty.
The timing tells the whole story. By mid-October the previous harvest is long eaten, the new rice is still forming grain in the fields, and a farming family has little in the store. Rather than celebrate abundance they do not yet have, Assamese households turn to prayer – lighting lamps and asking the goddess Lakshmi to see the crop safely to maturity.
The tulsi plant sits at the centre of the day. Kept in a raised earthen altar in most Assamese courtyards, it is watered, cleaned and circled with lamps, honoured as a living form of the goddess who protects the home and the harvest.
A festival of the lean season
Kati falls between the sowing of Bohag and the harvest of Magh, when food is scarce and work in the fields is done. The festival gives this anxious waiting a shape – a moment to gather at dusk and light a lamp for what is still to come.
Protecting the crop
The paddy at this stage is vulnerable to pests and disease. Lamps carried into the fields, and in older practice the burning of pest-repelling materials, blend devotion with a farmer’s practical care for the young rice.
Light for the departed
The tall akaxi bonti raised on bamboo is often said to light the way for departed ancestors, and to call the blessing of the gods down onto the household and its fields.
Deities & Figures Worshipped
Kati Bihu centres on the tulsi plant and on Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, invoked to protect the growing paddy rather than to celebrate wealth already gained.
Tulsi (Holy Basil)
The tulsi growing in the courtyard altar is the day’s chief object of devotion. It is cleaned, watered and ringed with earthen lamps, revered as a sacred plant and a form of the protecting goddess in the Assamese home.
Lakshmi
Lakshmi is prayed to as the guardian of the crop and giver of prosperity. Families ask her to keep the paddy safe until it can be reaped, so that the coming year holds enough.
Key Rituals, Step by Step
Kati Bihu is a home-and-field observance carried out quietly at dusk, without music or public gathering.
- Clean the tulsi altar. In the morning the courtyard tulsi (tulsi than) is swept, watered and tidied, and often smeared fresh with a little cow dung as a mark of purity.
- Light the earthen lamps. As evening falls, small saki – earthen oil lamps – are lit at the foot of the tulsi plant.
- Carry lamps to the fields. Lamps are taken out and placed in the paddy field and beside the granary, so their light rests over the growing crop and the store.
- Raise the akaxi bonti. A lamp is fixed at the top of a tall bamboo pole and stood in the yard or field – the “sky lamp” that lights the way for departed souls and draws down blessing.
- Offer prayers to Lakshmi. The family prays before the tulsi for the goddess to protect the paddy and grant a good harvest in the months ahead.
- Keep the flame through Kati. In many homes the akaxi bonti is relit each evening for the whole month of Kati, keeping the prayer alive until the rice ripens.
Where It's Celebrated
Kati Bihu is an Assamese festival, most alive in the rice-farming villages of the Brahmaputra valley and among Assamese communities beyond the state.
Upper Assam
In the districts around Jorhat, Sivasagar and Dibrugarh, where wet-rice farming shapes the year, the lamp-lighting at the tulsi and in the fields is kept faithfully.
Rural Brahmaputra valley
Across village Assam the festival stays close to its farming roots – a household affair of a few earthen lamps and a quiet prayer, without the dance and feasting of Bohag Bihu.
Assamese diaspora
Assamese families living elsewhere in India and abroad mark the day more simply, lighting a lamp at a tulsi plant or before an image of Lakshmi and remembering the fields back home.
Kati Bihu Do's and Don'ts
A few simple points keep the spirit of this austere festival.
Do
- Light earthen saki lamps at the tulsi plant at dusk.
- Clean and water the tulsi altar before the evening prayers.
- Place lamps in the paddy field and near the granary.
- Raise the akaxi bonti on a tall bamboo pole.
- Pray sincerely to Lakshmi for the protection of the crop.
Avoid
- Do not treat Kati Bihu as a feasting festival – it is meant to be austere.
- Do not skip the tulsi worship, which is the heart of the day.
- Do not let the lamps go dark; keep them burning through the evening.
- Do not confuse it with the joyous Bohag or harvest Magh Bihu.
- Do not waste food during this lean-season observance.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Kati Bihu in 2026?
Kati Bihu in 2026 falls on Saturday, 17 October, on the first day of the Assamese month of Kati (Kartik). Families light earthen lamps at the tulsi plant and in the paddy fields at dusk to pray for the growing crop.
When is Kati Bihu in 2027 and 2028?
Kati Bihu is observed around 18 October 2027 and 17 October 2028. These dates are approximate, as the festival follows Kati Sankranti in the Assamese solar calendar and is confirmed each year by the panjika.
Why is Kati Bihu called Kongali Bihu?
Kati Bihu is called Kongali Bihu because “kongali” means poor. It falls at the leanest time of the farming year, when the granaries are nearly empty and the new paddy is still ripening, so it is a festival of prayer and hope rather than feasting.
Which god is worshipped during Kati Bihu?
Kati Bihu centres on the tulsi plant and the goddess Lakshmi. The tulsi is honoured with lamps as a sacred, protecting plant, and Lakshmi is invoked to guard the ripening paddy and bring prosperity.
What is the akaxi bonti in Kati Bihu?
The akaxi bonti, or “sky lamp”, is a lamp raised on a tall bamboo pole during Kati Bihu. It is said to light the way for departed souls and to draw the blessing of the gods down onto the home and its fields, and is often kept burning through the month of Kati.
How is Kati Bihu celebrated?
Kati Bihu is celebrated quietly at home and in the fields. At dusk families light earthen saki lamps at the tulsi altar, in the paddy and by the granary, raise the akaxi bonti on a bamboo pole, and pray to Lakshmi to protect the crop.
How is Kati Bihu different from Bohag and Magh Bihu?
Kati Bihu is the austere Bihu, marked by lamps and prayer for the ripening crop. Bohag Bihu in April is the joyous spring and new-year festival with dance and feasting, while Magh Bihu in January is the harvest festival with community feasts and bonfires.
Is Kati Bihu a public feast like other Bihus?
No, Kati Bihu is not a feasting festival. Coming at the poorest point of the farming year, it is a solemn household observance of lighting lamps and offering prayers, quite unlike the community feasts of Magh Bihu.
May your lamps burn bright and your fields ripen full this Kati Bihu.