During the Water Splashing Festival, the Dai youth like to go to the forest clearing to do the game of throwing bags. Flower bag made of beautiful flower cloth, filled with cotton paper, cotton seeds, etc., four corners and the center of the five flower spikes, is a token of love, young men and women through the bag, catch the bag, get acquainted with each other. And so the girl consciously let the young man could not lose, the young man will be ready to give the girl, both left the crowd to the secluded place to talk about love to go.
During the Water Festival, there is also a dragon boat race. The competition is held on the Lancang River. A group of groups of red and green dragon boat in the "Hall Hall" in the sound of the gong and "Hi Hi Hi" shouts and whistles, chopping waves, bravely forward, thousands of Chinese and foreign tourists attracted to the Lancang River side, for the festival has added a lot of tension and joyful atmosphere.
The Water Splashing Festival originated in India, which used to be a religious ceremony of Indian Brahminism, and then absorbed by Buddhism and introduced to Yunnan Dai ethnic area through Myanmar, at about the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century, with a history of 700 years. With the increasing influence of Southern Theravada Buddhism in the Dai ethnic area, the Water Splashing Festival has become more and more widespread. The Water Splashing Festival is the celebration of the Dai New Year, generally between April 13 and April 15 of the solar calendar. At that time, people first go to the Buddhist temple to bathe Buddha, and then splash water on each other, expressing sincere blessings with splashing water. The festival is full of laughter and festive atmosphere.
Another notable activity of the Water Splashing Festival is rowing dragon boats, dancing elephant foot drums and peacock dance. On the third day of the Dai New Year, which is called "Maipaya Evening Ma" in Dai language, the festival atmosphere reaches a climax. People dressed in festive costumes gathered on the banks of the Lancang River and the Ruili River to watch the dragon boat race. The Water Splashing Festival is rich in activities, other than the release of Gao Sheng, cockfighting, peacock dance, etc., people dressed in full costume, joyful, the scene is extremely enthusiastic!
When the Water Splashing Festival comes, the Dai people will be busy killing pigs, chickens, brewing wine, and making a lot of "huonosuo" (rice cakes) as well as a variety of poop made of glutinous rice, which will be eaten during the festival.
The festival lasts three days. On the first day, dragon boats are rowed, high rises are released, and cultural performances are held; on the second day, water is splashed; and on the third day, young men and women engage in bag-throwing and exchanges of materials.
The festival is generally held on the banks of the Lancang River in the beautiful scenery. When the morning sun reflects the red "City of Dawn", people of all ethnic groups will be dressed in costumes, from all directions converge here. A call, a branch of high rise into the air, straight through the clouds, a dragon boat arrow, straight to the other side. At this time, ten million golden bamboo "(on the bamboo under the must)" together blowing, point of light gongs, elephant foot drums ringing, both sides of the Lancang River suddenly turned into a sea of joy.
When the water splashing just started, courteous Dai girls while saying words of blessing, while using bamboo leaves, twigs dipped in pots of water to the other side of the sprinkler. "Water flowers put, Dai crazy", to the climax, people with copper bowl, basin, and even buckets of water, in the streets and alleys, playful chase, only feel, face to face with the water, behind the water, splashed to the fullest, one from head to toe soaked, but people are happy, full of laughter everywhere. After a period of water baptism, people form a circle and dance to the accompaniment of the hydrazinium gongs and elephant foot drums, regardless of ethnicity, age or occupation. When people are excited, they burst into cheers of "Shui, Shui, Shui". Some men danced and drank, drunk, all night long.
"Throwing bags" is the most romantic, often unmarried Dai young people's exclusive game. "Packet" is a token of love, by the Dai girls with flower cloth carefully made, loaded with cotton seeds, packet corners are decorated with colorful flower spikes. When the bag is thrown, men and women stand in a row on the grassy lawn, and the Dai girl throws the bag to the young man, and the young man then throws it to the girl and uses it to pass on his feelings. In this way, the flower bag flying around, and finally the exchange of feelings to a certain extent, the two sides quietly withdrew from the bag throwing field, looking for a quiet place to shoulder whispering to go.
The Water Festival, the youth of the end of the water sprinkler, as if the silver flowers blossomed.
The festival is a traditional festival of the Dai, Achang, De'ang, Brown and Wa ethnic groups. The Dai language called the New Year as "Jingbimai", the Water Festival as "Hounan". Therefore, the Water Splashing Festival is a symbol of the transition between the old and the new in the Dai calendar year.
The Water Festival is usually held in the middle of April in the Gregorian calendar, June in the Dai calendar, for three to five days. The first day is called "Waduosangli", meaning New Year's Eve, the last day is called "Waba Wamma", meaning "the day of the arrival of the king of the day", for the New Year's Day. In the middle of the day, it is called "Cu Brain", which means "empty day". Every festival, are to splash water, throwing bags, rowing dragon boats, put high up, worship Buddha, drive pendulum and other activities.
The first day of the festival early in the morning, people pick flowers and leaves to the Buddhist temple offerings, and in the temple courtyard pile of sand to build four or five towers, secular beings sitting around the tower, listening to the Buddha chanting scripture, and then lifted the Buddha statue to the courtyard, the whole walled village of women to bring the blue clarification of the water for the statue of the Buddha to wash the dust. Buddhist temple ceremony, young men and women quit each other splashing water as a play, so the mass of water activities began. People with copper bowl, basin to bucket water, crowded out of the streets and alleys, concubines chasing, everyone will splash. Folk believe that this is auspicious water, blessed water, can eliminate disasters and diseases, so people splash, pour as much as they like, whether they are splashing or being splashed, although from head to toe all wet, but still happy exception. Just see a flower in the crowd bloom, under the reflection of the sun to form a rainbow, everywhere full of laughter.
Besides the water splashing, there are also mass singing and dancing activities. From seventy to eighty years old, down to seven or eight-year-old dolls, dressed in holiday attire, to the village square, men, women and children in a circle, dancing to the mangalong elephant foot drums. Some jump "Peacock Dance", some jump "Yu La He", some improvised, singing and dancing, beautiful movement, rhythm, singing. Dance to the high spirits, or outbreaks of "water, water, water" cheers, or to "Yulaho, Yulaho" song ending. Some men danced and drank, like a drunken maniac, all night long, and even drunk on the dance floor.
During the festival, a dragon boat race is held on the wide Lancang River. Wooden boats tied to colorful flowers, dressed as dragons, peacocks, big fish and other images, by dozens of young men and women paddling forward, the audience on both sides of the cloud, gongs and drums, cheers resounded through the clouds. At the end of the race, the winners came to the podium to receive their awards and drink celebratory wine.
At night, the villages and cottages set off Gao Sheng. This is the Dai people's homemade fireworks, with a few feet long bamboo, filled with gunpowder and other ingredients in the root, placed on the bamboo to build a high shelf. Ignite the fuse, gunpowder combustion, bamboo that is, like a rocket shot into the sky, in the air released brilliant pyrotechnics, as if the flowers, stars shining, brilliant, the festival of the night sky decorated with particularly beautiful. Gao Sheng put the highest person by people's appreciation, and get rewarded.
During the Water Festival, activities such as bag throwing are also held. Young men and women seek partners and express their love and affection by throwing bags.
On April 13 every year, Thailand celebrates the Water Festival, also known as Songkran. Songkran is a Sanskrit word, meaning "the sun runs into the sign of Aries, that is, the beginning of the new solar year". Songkran is the hottest time of the year in Thailand and is celebrated for three days. Before the festival, homes are cleaned and old clothes are burned to avoid bad luck. On the day of the festival, you should go to the temple to pile up sand towers, insert colorful flags and offer flowers to pray for a good harvest. In the evening, perfume soaked with flower petals is sprinkled on the arms and backs of the elders to express the good wishes for them; thereafter, the elders then drizzle water on the heads of the younger ones to express the blessings from the elders.
The annual Thai New Year, the Water Festival, began on April 13, and for three days the whole of Thailand was enveloped in a joyous atmosphere. During this time, Thais usually celebrate by splashing water on each other, so it is also called the Water Festival.
The traditional practice of splashing water means that you can wash away the bad things of the past year and start a new one. Nowadays, the festival is more of a fun event, so don't get angry if you get wet in Thailand! In fact, Thailand is not the only country with a water festival tradition. It is also celebrated in neighboring countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia.
On this day, men, women, and children dress in new clothes and bring food offerings to temples for the monks. Housewives are the busiest on New Year's Eve, cleaning up inside and outside their homes and setting fire to old clothes and belongings, as tradition dictates that it is bad luck not to throw away old or useless items. In the afternoon of April 13, Buddha statues are cleaned, while the younger generation pours fragrant water into the hands of elders and parents as a sign of respect for them and to pray for blessings.
In Pattaya, the festival is celebrated annually with food fairs, float parades, beauty contests and various fireworks displays. In Chiang Mai, beauty pageants and parades are held, and in Thailand it is important to remember the past and the present, so people carry the ashes of their ancestors to the temples for a ceremony to pray for their well-being.
[edit]Deang Water Festival
Deang people also had a Water Festival, time in the seventh day after the Qingming Festival, in addition to pouring water blessing and jumping elephant foot drum dance and other programs and the Dai Water Festival, the Deang Water Festival is the most distinctive custom is to wash the hands of the elders to wash their feet. At that time, the young people of each family should prepare a basin of hot water, bring it and put it in the center of the hall, invite parents and other elders of the family to come out and sit on the hall, kowtow and ask for forgiveness from them for their unfiliality in the past year. The elders are also asked to review what they have not done enough to set an example for the younger generation during the year. The younger generation then washes the hands and feet of the elders while wishing each other a year of harmony and hard work. In the event of a parent's death, older brothers and sisters and sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law become the recipients of the foot-washing. This custom comes from an old legend: a disobedient son working in the mountains on the seventh day after the Ching Ming Festival, saw the scene of the nestlings feeding, and realized that he was determined to treat his mother well, and at that time, his mother was walking towards the mountains to bring food to her son, and she accidentally slipped and fell. The son rushed to help her, but she thought he was coming to beat her, and crashed headlong into a tree. The son regretted it, cut down the tree and carved a statue of his mother, and every year, on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival, he would dip the statue into warm water sprinkled with flower petals to clean it. It has since evolved into a custom.
The Deang Water Festival is similar to and different from the Dai Water Festival, which is held around mid-April on the Gregorian calendar. Near the festival, 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 Buddha. Then, a respected elder holds a flower and dips it in the water and gently sprinkles it on the surrounding crowd to give his blessing and congratulate everyone on the beginning of the New Year. At this point, people start to get excited and congratulate each other on the New Year. Young people hold the buckets 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, and 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. Water Festival is not only the De'ang people celebrate the New Year ceremony, 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 basket will be given to their favorite girls, the most beautiful one, to give 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. After the pair of lovers met, they splashed each other, playful, to express their excitement, joyful mood.