The Dai Water Splashing Festival, also known as the "Buddha Bathing Festival", is celebrated by the Achang, De'ang, Brown, Wa and other ethnic groups. It is also celebrated in Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. The Water Splashing Festival originated in India, and with the deepening influence of Buddhism in the Dai area, the Water Splashing Festival has been passed down as a national custom for hundreds of years now. At the festival, the Dai men, women and children put on festive costumes, while the women each pick a quart of water to wash the dust for the Buddha statue, and ask for the blessing of the Buddha spirit." After the "Bathing Buddha", people start to splash water on each other to express their blessings, hoping that the holy water will wash away diseases and disasters and bring about a better and happier life. Collective splashing each other started in this way. A group of young men and women with a variety of containers of water, gushing out of the streets and alleys, chasing and playing, splashing everyone." The water flower is released, Daijia crazy", "splashing wet, happiness for life"! Symbolizing good luck, happiness, health, a flower in the air bloom, people splash as much as they can sprinkle, laughing loudly, soaked to the skin, the excitement is very high. Into the night, the village drums and music heard, people singing and dancing, lively and extraordinary. Throughout the festival, in addition to the dragon boat race, put high, put the lanterns, splashing water, throwing bags and other traditional recreational activities, there are cockfighting, balloon, garden party, material exchanges and other new activities. Men and women of Dai and Wa ethnic groups in Yunnan Ethnic Village also celebrate the Water Splashing Festival with tourists in full costume. The Dai Water Splashing Festival, also known as "Buddha Bathing Festival", is called "Bimai" (meaning New Year) in Dai language and is held in the middle of June in the general Dai calendar, between April 13 and April 15 in the solar calendar (i.e., around ten days before and after the Qingming Festival in the lunar calendar). Xishuangbanna Dehong region of the Dai also called this festival "Shang Han" and "Shang key", two names are derived from Sanskrit, meaning turnover, change and transfer, referring to the sun has been in the zodiac twelve houses orbiting a week to start the transition to a new year. The festival is celebrated by the Achang, Deang, Brown and Wa ethnic groups. Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and other countries also celebrate the Water Festival. The Water Splashing Festival originated in India, is an ancient Brahmanism ritual, later absorbed by Buddhism, about the end of the twelfth century to the beginning of the thirteenth century A.D. through Burma with Buddhism into the Dai region of China's Yunnan Province. With the deepening influence of Buddhism in the Dai area, the Water Splashing Festival has become a national custom that has been passed down for hundreds of years. In the process of passing down the Water Splashing Festival, the Dai people gradually combined it with their own national myths and legends, which gave the Water Splashing Festival more magical meanings and national colors. The Water Splashing Festival is the grandest festival of the Dai people, and it is also the festival with the greatest influence and the largest number of participants among the festivals of the ethnic minorities in Yunnan. The Dai Water Splashing Festival lasts for three to seven days. The first day is "Mai Day", which is similar to the New Year's Eve of the lunar calendar, and is called "Wan Duoshanghan" in Dai language, meaning sending the old. At this time, people have to tidy up their houses, clean up, and prepare for the annual dinner and various activities during the festival. The next day is called "annoyed day", "annoyed" means "empty", according to the custom of this day is neither the previous year, also does not belong to the year after the year, it is "empty day"; the third day of the New Year, called "aba net horse", after all, the first year, people regard this day as the most beautiful, the most auspicious day. Early in the morning of the festival, the Dai men, women and children dressed in festive costumes, picking the water, first to the Buddhist temple to bathe Buddha, and then began to splash each other, wishing each other good luck, happiness and health. People dance while calling out "Water! Water! Water!" The sound of drums and gongs resounded through the sky, the blessing of water splashing everywhere, the scene is really very spectacular. Every Water Festival, the Dai people to the nearby mountains to collect some flowers and leaves, to the festival day, the Dai men, women and children will put on the festival dress, picking the water, first to the Buddhist temple bathing, take the collection of flowers and leaves dipped in water, began to splash each other, you splash me, I splash you, a flower blooms in the air, it symbolizes good luck, happiness, health, young people in the hands of the bright crystal beads of water, but also symbolizes the sweet love! It symbolizes good luck, happiness and health. We splash each other ah splash, everywhere is the baptism of water, water blessing, water song. Duo Duohua string smile, Water Festival has become a sea of joy.
Spilling water
Wen splashing
The more traditional way, with a wooden basin filled with water, splashed on people.
Martial splashing
With dirty water, sewage and water with stones, glass, mud, itchy substances splashing people; to the police on duty, staff, photographers, journalists, the elderly, sick, pregnant women, infants and children splashing water; blocking the passing vehicle siege splashing water; the use of high-pressure water gun spray splashing; the use of mobile splashing vehicle splashing the crowd
Other
In addition to the In addition to splashing water, there are other folk activities such as catching the pendulum, dragon boat races, Buddha bathing, chanting sutras, Zhangha singing, cockfighting, peacock dance, white elephant dance, throwing bags, releasing the Gaoxin, releasing the Kongming lanterns and other artistic performances, economic and trade exchanges, and so on.
Edit the meaning of the Water Festival
1, the Water Festival "blessing": Bathing Buddha
In the "Mai Day", early in the morning people will be taken to the Buddhist temple to pick up flowers and green leaves, water to the Buddha's temple offerings, water to the "Bathing Buddha" - for the Buddha to wash the dust." Bathing Buddha" finished, collective mutual water splashing began. A group of young men and women with a variety of containers of water, gushing out of the streets and alleys, chasing and playing, splashing everyone." Water flower release, Daijia crazy", "splash wet all over, happiness for life"! Symbol of good luck, happiness, health, a flower in the air bloom, people splash as much as they can sprinkle, laughing loudly, wet all over the body, the excitement is very high.
2, the Water Festival "love": throw the bag
The Water Festival is also unmarried young men and women looking for love, cultivation of happiness in the beautiful season. During the Water Festival, the Dai unmarried young men and women like to do "throw the bag" game. The flower bag crafted with flower cloth in the girl's hand is a token of love. Throw package day, the girls dress up to the best of things, and then hit the flower umbrella, carrying a small flower package to the "package field", and the young men on both sides of the separation, thirty to forty paces apart, began to each other to throw the flower package. If the young man can not catch the girl threw the flower bag, you have to put the pre-prepared flowers inserted in the girl's hair on the fly, the girl if you can not catch the young man threw the bag, you have to put the flowers inserted into the young man's chest ...... so gradually selected each other, a period of romantic love story has begun.
3, the water festival "power": dragon boat
Dragon boat race is one of the most exciting projects of the water festival, often in the water festival "Mai Paya evening horse" (the third day) held. On that day, people dressed in festive costumes gather on the banks of the Lancang River and the Ruili River to watch the dragon boat race. River moored in green and colorful dragon boat, the boat sits dozens of strong sailors, the order sounded, ready to start the dragon boat like an arrow flying forward, and then the whole river, drums, gongs, horns, applause, one after another, sound corresponding to the atmosphere of the festival reached a climax here. ......4, the Water Festival "Dance": Elephant Feet Dance and Peacock Dance The Dai people are good at singing and dancing, and the Water Splashing Festival naturally involves dancing. Large-scale dances are mainly arranged on the third day of the Water Festival, such as the Elephant Foot Dance and Peacock Dance. From seven or eight-year-old dolls to seventy or eighty-year-olds, they all put on their festive costumes and gather in the village square to participate in the collective dance. The Elephant's Foot Dance is enthusiastic, steady and elegant. The dancers form a circle and dance with manganese gongs and elephant foot drums, cheering "my, my" or "water, water" while dancing! Peacock dance is beautiful, elegant, lyrical, is the soul of the Dai dance, dance to the peacock's posture as the basis for the recreation of the interest and beauty, focusing on the cohesion of the Dai sons and daughters of the aesthetic purpose. There are also many dancers who show off their own improvisation, some sing and dance, some even dance and drink, as intoxicated, wild and unrestrained, jumping for several days and nights without knowing fatigue. 5, the Water Festival "Gao Sheng": put Gao Sheng and Kongming Lanterns Putting Gao Sheng is another reserved program of the Water Festival. Gao Sheng is a kind of fireworks made by Dai people, the bottom of the bamboo pole filled with gunpowder and other ingredients, placed on the bamboo built into a high frame, connected to the fuse, often burned at night. Release high rise, ignite the fuse so that the gunpowder combustion will produce a strong thrust, will be pushed into the sky like a rocket bamboo. Bamboo spit with white smoke, emitting whooshing whistling sound, while in the air released brilliant pyrotechnics, as if the flowers, colorful, very wonderful. The ground is cheering, applauding one after another, talking, praising the sound of endless, very lively. Gao Sheng flying higher and farther away from the cottage, people also feel more colorful, more auspicious.