Every time when the Water Splashing Festival comes, the Dai people will go to the nearby mountains to collect some flowers and leaves, and when splashing water, they will dip it in the clear spring water and sprinkle it to their relatives, friends and guests from afar, so as to dedicate their best wishes to others. The Dai people believe that whoever is splashed with the most water during the festival will get the most happiness. The Dai people believe that the dragon is a symbol of good luck and happiness. Every time when the Water Festival comes, people splash water on the dragon, wishing for a good life and a good harvest every year.
During the Water Festival, the favorite activity of young men and women is bag throwing. Throwing bags is a recreational activity for Dai young men and women to court each other and choose objects.
Joyful Water Splashing Festival
The Dai people are a nation that loves, loves, cherishes and honors water, and they use water to show their cleanliness. Every year, in the middle of June of the Dai calendar, it is the New Year of the Dai calendar (Dai language is called "Sangkan Bimai", and this year is the year of 1364), and it is also called "Water Splashing Festival". It is also called "Water Splashing Festival", during which people splash water on each other for blessing, and the main activities include Buddha bathing, dragon boat races, setting off of peacock lanterns, fireworks, high ascension, bag throwing, peacock dance, etc. The water of the Water Splashing Festival represents the water that is used to splash water. Water at the Water Splashing Festival represents good luck, happiness and health, so the more water that is splashed the more it signals good luck for the New Year.
The exact date of the Water Splashing Festival is calculated according to the Dai calendar every year, roughly on April 14, 15 and 16 in the Gregorian calendar these three days. The first day of the Dai language called "Mai Day", similar to the lunar New Year's Eve; the second day of the Dai language called "annoying day" (empty day), is the transition day in the transition between the old and the new year; the third day of the New Year, called the "Bao Net Ma", meaning the first of the year, people The third day is the New Year, called "BaNaMa", meaning the first day of the year, and people regard this day as the most beautiful and auspicious day. Early in the morning of the festival, the Dai men, women and children put on their festive costumes and carry water to the Buddhist temple to bathe in the Buddha first, and then start to splash water on each other, wishing each other good luck, happiness and health. People dance while shouting: "Water! Water! Water!" The sound of drums and gongs resonates through the sky, and the blessed water splashes everywhere, making the scene very spectacular.
The Water Splashing Festival is the grandest festival of the Dai ethnic group, and also the festival of Yunnan's ethnic minorities with the greatest impact and the largest number of participants. Now the "Water Splashing Festival" has evolved into a mass carnival activities, markets, squares, see people everywhere in each other chasing pouring. The main activities are Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and other places, Kunming, Yunnan Nationalities Village is also a good choice.
The Water Splashing Festival, let's splash a pot of auspicious, happy water together, let the happiness soak through every pore of our ......
The mythological origin of the Water Splashing Festival
On the origin of the Water Splashing Festival, the folk of the Dai ethnic group has a touching myth.
Legend has it that in the early days of the creation of the world, there were no seasons in heaven and earth, and there was no difference between warmth and coldness in the world, which made it difficult for human beings to survive. Seeing this, the God of Creation appointed the God of Heaven to divide the year into three seasons, namely, drought, rain and cold, and set the agricultural seasons for the earth, so that he would rain, heat and cool down on time, so that the cold, heat and rain would be in line with the agricultural seasons of the earth, and the earth would be benefited. Hold hemp point wax self-reliant magic, magical powers, neither care about human beings, but also do not comply with the rules of the sky, chaotic display of magical powers, do whatever they want, want to rain on the rain, want to warm up on the temperature, making the earth's rain and drought disorders, hot and cold is not divided, seedlings withered, people and animals suffered, all kinds of disasters come one after another.
There is a wisdom and courage of the Dai youth named Paya evening, he personally experienced all kinds of disasters on earth, decided to save the earth from the disaster. He made wings out of wooden boards, flew to the heaven and found the God of Creation and told him about the disasters on earth. The God of Creation then removed Huanmadilah from his post and sent another god, Indatila, to take charge of the wind, rain, and warmth of heaven and earth. However, Huma-di-la refused to surrender his power and continued to organize the wind and rain in a chaotic manner. Indatila was determined to punish him. He turned into a handsome young man and went to tease the seven daughters of Huma Dhola. The seven beautiful girls fell in love with this clever and brave young man. When the boy saw that the time was right, he told them how their father had done evil. The seven beautiful, kind-hearted girls had long been y dissatisfied with their father's behavior, and they were even more furious when they heard the boy's words. In order to clear up the disaster on earth, they decided to kill their father.
Since then, the seven sisters have been obedient to their father and have won his heart. Hao Ma Dang La saw his daughters so obedient, feel very happy, in the conversation and laughter, unknowingly revealed his own secret of life and death. He told his seven daughters, fire, flooding, knife, arrows, he was not afraid, afraid of his hair made of "bow Sai Zai" ("bow" for the bow, "Sai" for the string, "Zai" for the string, "bow" for the bow, "Sai" for the string, "Sai" for the string, "Sai" for the string, "Sai" for the string, "Sai" for the string. "Zai" is the heart, meaning "bow with heart strings"). One day, the girls got their father drunk, while he slept soundly, quietly pulled down a hair on his head to make a "bow of heartstrings", when they put the "bow of heartstrings" against the father's neck, cupping the neck of Ma DuoLa was broken, and the head fell to the ground and burst into flames. As soon as the head hit the ground, it burst into flames, and the evil fire spread everywhere. In order to extinguish the fire, the seven girls had to take turns holding the head in their arms until it rotted. When they rotated, the girls would call for fresh water and splash it on the girl holding the head to wash away the stench of the stains on her body.
After the death of Hao Ma Dang La, Indatila began to take charge of the wind and rain, cold and warm power. From then on, human beings lived a good life again. Later, the day of the death of Huanma Dora was designated as the first day of the year - the New Year. In order to commemorate the seven nymphs for the people to get rid of harm, the New Year, people have to pour water on each other for them to wash away the blood on their bodies, extinguish the fire on their bodies, and over time, it formed the custom of pouring water.
The Water Splashing Festival in Other Nations and Countries
The tradition of the Water Splashing Festival is not unique to the Dai ethnic group in China, but it is a major festival of the Hinayana Buddhist ethnic group and most Southeast Asian countries. It is a New Year's ceremony for the Deang people, and neighboring countries such as Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos also have similar festivals.
The Deung Water Festival
The Deung Water Festival Legend
Legend has it that a long time ago, a widow of the Benglong ethnic group, who had worked hard to bring up her son, went blind. When the son saw that his mother was not doing as good a job as she used to, he was very upset and often scolded her. One year, on the seventh day after the Ching Ming Festival, the son went to work in the mountains, and saw a small crow with newly-plumped feathers, looking for worms to feed an old and thin crow, and the son was touched. He cursed himself for not being as good as the little crow that "repaid his mother's kindness with food", and resolved to serve his mother well. At that moment, the sick and hungry mother was bringing food to her son when she fell down with dizziness on the way. When the cool wind blew her awake, she thought that her son must be very hungry and hurriedly struggled to climb up the hill. Crawling, the mother heard her son running down the hill, she was afraid to be late by the son scolded, heart will be crashed in the roadside tree. The son came to apologize to his mother for his mistake, and when he saw that his mother was scared to death, he cried his eyes out. After burying his mother, the son cut down a big tree and carved the trunk into a statue of his mother and offered it to his family. Every year, on the seventh day of the Qingming Festival, the son went up the mountain to pick flower branches and dipped them in spring water to wash the wooden statue. Later, this day becomes the Water Splashing Festival of the Benglong people. The Water Splashing Festival is a good day for the young people of the Benglong tribe to look for their sweethearts. When the Qingming Festival is approaching, young men cut the best bamboo to make bamboo baskets. Three days before the Water Splashing Festival, the carefully woven, containing two to four bamboo tubes of bamboo baskets to their favorite girls. By the time of the festival, if the girl puts the bamboo basket on her back, it shows that she has accepted the love of the young man. The morning of the festival, everyone gathered around the Zhuangfang side of the colorful dragon spraying water, the girls in turn, climbed high standing colorful dragon next to the wooden frame, out of the bamboo basket on the back of the bamboo tube, the water poured into the dragon body. The colorful dragon spouting beads and spitting jade, excited people dancing, the more the elephant foot drum sounded louder and louder. At the beginning of the water splashing, people use bouquets of flowers in the bamboo tube dipped in water, gently sprinkled on each other's shoulders, body, to express their blessings. The festival lasts for three days and ends with pouring water on the hands of the elderly, wishing them a long life. The young people also carry water to each house, wash their hands and feet for the elderly, and invite them to eat the water splash.
The Deang Water Festival is similar to and different from the Dai Water Festival, which is held around mid-April of the Gregorian calendar. As the festival nears, people are busy making new clothes, making rice pudding, making water dragons, buckets and other water-splashing tools. Elderly believers gather at Buddhist temples to build huts and set up water dragons to wash the dust off the statue of Sakyamuni during the Water Splashing Festival. The water dragon is carved from a thick wood, about four or five meters long, painted a new, on the groove. When splashing water, the girl carries a bucket with a basin and pours the auspicious water into the trough, which flows to the statue of Buddha in the hut to wash the dust for the Buddha. Then, a respected elder holds a flower and dips it in the water and gently sprinkles it on the surrounding crowd, blessing everyone and congratulating them on the beginning of the New Year. At this point, people begin to get excited and congratulate each other on the New Year. Young people hold buckets of water high above their heads and sprinkle drops of water on the hands of the elderly, wishing people a happy, healthy and long life. The old people, on the other hand, stretch out their hands, put the water stick in their hands, recite the words of blessing for the young people to say good luck and blessing. After this ceremony, people will take the elephant foot drum as a guide, formed a long line, crowded to the spring, the river, singing, dancing, chasing each other, splashing water.
The Water Splashing Festival is not only a ceremony for the Deang people to celebrate the New Year, but also a good time for young men and women to talk about love and find their sweethearts. Deang popular a gift of bamboo baskets, and take the late night string of girls, the baskets were given to their favorite girls, the most beautiful one, to be given to their favorite girl, as a way to express their love, test each other's reaction. Therefore, this time, each girl can often receive several bamboo baskets, but the girl in love with who? This depends on the girl on the day of the Water Splashing Festival is who sent her the bamboo basket. On this day, the girls all carry a delicate and beautiful bamboo basket, but whose is it? This can be busy bad lads, they open their eyes, staring at the girls on the bamboo basket, carefully identify the sweetheart is carrying their own to give her a bamboo basket. Pairs of lovers meet, they splash each other, playful, to express their excitement, joy.
Thailand Water Festival
There is a Chinese proverb that says, "When you are in the water, you are in the hair", and this seems to be true for the Thai people as well. Every year on April 13, the beginning of the three-day New Year's holiday, not only for the celebration of various activities busy, and accustomed to splashing water to wish each other a happy new year, so also known as "Water Festival". This is the peak season for tourists visiting Thailand, and the streets are filled with images of naughty children and tourists chasing each other in water fights.
On April 13, Thai men, women and children dress up in new clothes, bring food and offerings to temples to worship monks, and in the afternoon wash Buddha statues, with the younger generation pouring fragrant water into the hands of their parents and elders as a sign of respect for them and to pray for blessings from the gods. In addition, celebrations such as food fairs, float parades, beauty contests and fireworks displays are held in Pattaya at this time, as well as beauty contests and parades in Chiang Mai.
The custom of splashing water was originally a religious blessing ceremony, and there are different ways to splash water on different objects, which has evolved into a simple blessing of splashing water. As a result, religious festivals and celebrations are held all over Thailand at this time, allowing people and tourists to celebrate together.
Whether it is Bangkok, Chiang Mai and other big cities, or small villages in the middle of nowhere, on April 13th, all will be caught up in the excitement of fighting with the water, regardless of whether they know or do not know, the local residents or foreign tourists, everyone is busy pouring water to congratulate each other and blessing. Those who are splashed with water not only don't hide, but also accept it with a smile on their face, because the wetter the splash, the more blessings they receive.
Because a small water thrower or water gun can no longer satisfy the public, now almost everyone has their own small bucket, or even a hose to splash directly, only to see the size of the water column on the street full of sky sprinkling, everyone playing with each other in a water fight, the scene of joyful and boisterous. As the weather heats up, the cool water is poured over the head, adding a lot of coolness, not to mention the blessing of a new year!
Three, Myanmar Water Festival
The Water Festival is also a traditional festival of the Burmese people, similar to the Spring Festival in China. It is usually held in the middle of April in the Gregorian calendar and usually lasts for 3 or 4 days.
According to Burmese custom, during the festival, men and women, young and old, can splash each other with water to express the meaning of washing the old and welcoming the new. The sophisticated ones use fragrant cherry blossom branches, dipped in rose petal-soaked water from a silver bowl, to gently splash others. Ordinary people like to splash the whole bucket and basin, or even use a hose to spray. Children were not scolded for spraying adults with a water pistol. The more people are splashed, the happier they are, because water symbolizes happiness.
The origin of the Water Festival in Myanmar has different legends. According to one theory, one year, the king of Myanmar encountered a fairy in the palace, and the king of Myanmar was so pleased with the dragon's heart that he ordered people to mix spices with water and splash it on the bodies of civil and military officials to show that they were washing the old and removing the dirt and welcoming the new to receive blessings.
Dwelling in the "peacock country" of the Dai
The Dai New Year is the Water Festival. Every year, in the early morning of the 10th day after the Qingming Festival, people bathe and dress in brightly colored clothes, go to the Buddhist temple to bathe in the Buddha's sutra, pile up sand pagodas, and then splash each other with water to symbolize good luck and good fortune. It is said that the more water that is poured over one's body, the happier one will be in the New Year. Meanwhile, dragon boat races, bag throwing, fireworks, and the lighting of Kongming lanterns are very lively activities. At night, people are still singing and dancing and laughing.
The Dai mainly live in Yunnan Province. The Dai people mostly live in the valley and dam area surrounded by mountains, with abundant rainfall, four seasons of spring, abundant production of rice and sugar cane, camphor, coffee and other cash crops, as well as wild elephants, rhinoceros, golden monkeys, peacocks and other exotic birds and beasts, known as the "Peacock Township."
The Dai Water Splashing Festival
A Origin of the Water Splashing Festival
The Water Splashing Festival is the New Year's festival of the Dai people and the most important festival of the Dai people, which is held in the fourth month of the lunar calendar (equivalent to the fifth month of the Dai calendar) every year and usually lasts for three to four days. The first day is "Mai Day", similar to the lunar New Year's Eve, which is called "Wan Duoshanghan" in Dai language, meaning to send 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, so it is "empty day "; the third day called" MaiPaYa late horse ", it is said that this is the Paya late spirit with the new calendar return to earth day, people used to regard this day as the day of the king comes, is the new year's day of the Dai calendar.
The Water Splashing Festival originated in India, is an ancient Brahmin ritual, later absorbed by Buddhism, about the end of the twelfth century to the beginning of the thirteenth century in the twelfth century A.D. through the Myanmar with the Buddhism into the Dai area 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 festival, the Dai people gradually combined it with their own national myths and legends, which gave the festival a more magical meaning and national color.
To this day, there is a very interesting myth circulating among the Dai people: In ancient times, there was a devil in the Dai area who did a lot of evil and abused his power to make the crops fail, and the people had no peace of mind, and the people did not have enough to live on. People hated him, but they tried many ways to deal with him. Later, the devil took seven women as his wives. Seeing the miserable lives of their fellow countrymen, the girls were determined to find a way to destroy the demon. The seven clever girls discovered the devil's Achilles' heel in his words, that is, only the devil's own hair can kill him. One night, when the demon was drunk and fell into a deep sleep, the girls bravely pulled a hair from his head and tied it tightly around his neck. Sure enough, the demon's head immediately fell off. But as soon as the head hit the ground, the ground burst into flames. Seeing that it would become a disaster, the girls immediately picked up the head, and the fire was extinguished, and the demon disappeared with it. In order to prevent the fire from rekindling and plaguing the people, the sisters decided to take turns holding the demon's head, changing it every year. At the time of the annual change, people gave the girl who held the head a rinse in order to wash away the blood stains and the exhaustion of adulthood. Later, the Dai people in honor of the seven resourceful and brave women, on this day every year to splash water on each other, since the formation of the Dai people resigned to the old and welcome the new grand festival - Water Festival.
B Water Festival Blessing
In the "Mai Day", early in the morning, people have to pick flowers and green leaves to the Buddhist temple offerings, and bring water to the "bath Buddha" - for the statue of Buddha! The Buddha's image is washed with fresh water. "Bathing Buddha" finished, collective mutual water splashing began. A group of young men and women with a variety of containers of water, out of the streets and alleys, chasing and playing, everyone will splash. "Water flower release, Daijia crazy", "splash wet all over, happiness for life"! Symbolizing good luck, happiness, health, a flower in the air bloom, people splash as much as they can sprinkle, laughter, happy exceptionally, soaking wet, interest in high ......
C Water Festival Love
The Water Festival is also a wonderful time for unmarried young men and women to seek love and cultivate happiness. During the Water Festival, unmarried young men and women of the Dai ethnic group like to do the "bag throwing" 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 prepare the flowers 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 into the young man's chest ...... so gradually selected each other, a romantic love story began ... ...
D The Power of the Water Festival
Dragon boat rowing is one of the most exciting events of the festival and is often held on the third day of the festival, Mai Paya Evening Ma. On that day, people dressed in festive costumes gather on the banks of the Lancang River, Ruili River, to watch the dragon boat race. River moored in green colorful dragon boat, the boat sits dozens of sturdy sailors, the horn, ready to start the dragon boat like an arrow flying forward, suddenly the whole river, drums, gongs, trumpets, cheers, one after another, sound corresponding to the atmosphere of the festival has reached a climax here ......
E Songkran Festival Dance
The Dai people are good at singing and dancing, and the Water Splashing Festival is naturally filled with dances. Large-scale dances are mainly arranged on the third day of the Water Splashing Festival, such as the Elephant Foot Dance and Peacock Dance. From seven or eight years old dolls to seventy or eighty years old, all dressed in holiday costumes, gathered 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 a lot of dancers to show off their own improvisation, some sing while dancing, some even dance while drinking, such as intoxicated, wild and unrestrained, jumping for days and nights without knowing fatigue.
F Water Festival "Gao Sheng"
"Put Gao Sheng" is another reserved program of the Water Festival. Gao Sheng is a kind of fireworks made by the Dai people, filling the bottom of the bamboo pole with gunpowder and other ingredients, placing it on the bamboo frame, connecting the fuse, and setting it off 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, not lively.
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