Bathousim

24.02.2025

Bathousim

Why in the news?                        

Recently, the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in Assam has included ‘Bathouism’ as an official option in the religion column of various application forms.

About Bathousim:

• It is the traditional faith of the Bodos, the largest plains tribe of Assam.
• The word 'Bathou' is derived from the Bodo language, where 'Ba' means 'five' and 'thou' means 'deep philosophical thought'.
• The faith system is based on five elements: Bar (Air), San (Sun), Ha (Earth), Or (Fire), and Okhrang (Sky).
• Beliefs of Bathousim:
• The community worships Bwrai Bathou as the supreme god. In the Bodo language, the word ‘Bwrai‘ refers to the ‘eldest’ man concerning power or knowledge.
• The Bathou faith is centred on the Sijou plant (Euphorbia splendens).
• In Bathou religion, the Sijou plant has an important place and has been widely accepted as the symbol of life or soul by the Bodo people since time immemorial.
• This plant is the living symbol of Bathoubwrai, the supreme God of the Bodos.
  • Bodos plant the sijou tree on an elevated altar encircled with a bamboo fencing of eighteen pairs of posts weaved with five pieces of bamboo split.
  • The five bamboo strips signify the five bindings of Bathou, viz. (i) birth, (ii) marriage or procreation, (iii) sorrow, (iv) happiness and (v) death.

                                                           Source: Down to earth

Consider the following statements regarding Bathouism:

1. It is the traditional faith of the Bodos, who reside in the state of Assam.

2. It believes in planting Sijou trees on an elevated altar.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A.1 only

B.2 only

C.Both 1 and 2

D.Neither 1 nor 2

Answer C