The Dai Water Festival Myths and Legends
There is a legend in the beautiful Xishuangbanna. A long time ago, there are sixteen layers in the sky, in one of these sixteen layers, there is a vicious demon king, he has a magic body, he can do stand in the water can not float away, fall in the fire can not be burned, the knife can not be broken, the gun can not be stabbed, the bow and arrow can not be shot.
Because of his magic power, he became arrogant, and was a bully all day long. He had six beautiful wives by then, but they were not enough for him, so he took another beautiful and clever woman as his wife.
One day, when it was New Year's Day on earth, the devil king was drinking in his palace. After three rounds of drinking, he was already drunk. His seventh wife, Zi Zong Bu (also known as Nong Xiang), took the opportunity to praise the king, saying, "My noble king, you have unlimited power and virtue, and with your prestige, you are fully capable of conquering heaven, hell, and the earth, and you should be the master of the three worlds."
Hearing these words of praise, the Devil King became even more complacent, and after a moment's contemplation, he turned his face to his beloved wife and said, "It is true that my magical power can conquer the three realms, but my weaknesses are known to no one."
The young wife then asked, "How can the Great King have a weakness when he has such magical power?" The king looked around to make sure he was safe and replied in a low voice, "I'm afraid of people pulling out my hair and strangling me, which would separate my head from my body, so you should always keep an eye on it."
She pretended to be surprised and asked, "How can a king who can conquer the three worlds be afraid of hair strands?" The Demon King whispered again, "Though the hair strands are small, my hair strands can strangle my neck and I won't be able to live."
When she heard this, she secretly made up her mind. So she continued to pour wine for the demon king until the feast was over, and she helped him to bed to sleep. At this time, she carefully plucked off one of the demon king's hairs and strangled it around his neck before he woke up.
At once the king's head fell to the ground, and every drop of blood that dripped from his head turned into a fire that burned brightly and spread rapidly to the earth.
At this time, the Dumpling Cloth rushed to pick up the Devil King's head, and the flames on the earth were extinguished, but as soon as the head was put down, the fire burned up again. So the six wives of the king also came, and they took turns to hold the head of the devil king, so that the fire no longer burned up.
Afterward, the Dzungarian returned to the earth, but she was still covered in blood, and people poured water on her in order to wash the blood off her body. The blood was finally washed away, and the woman lived happily ever after.
After the death of Dzong Dzong Bu, people in honor of her, in the New Year every year, they splash each other with clean water to wash away the dirt, ushering in an auspicious New Year. This also slowly evolved into the Dai Water Festival.
Expanded Information:
The Water Splashing Festival is the grandest festival of the Dai people, and also the most influential and attended festival among the ethnic minorities in Yunnan. The Dai Water Festival lasts for three to four days. The first day is "Mai Day", which is similar to New Year's Eve on 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 is the new year's day, called "MaiPaYa evening horse" people used to regard this day as "the king of the day to come"; The fourth day is New Year's Day, called "Ba net Ma", respect for the first year, people regard this day as the most beautiful, the most auspicious days. Early in the morning of the festival, the Dai men, women and children dressed in festive costumes, picking water, first to the Buddhist temple bath, 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 resonates through the sky, and the blessed water splashes 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 wear festive dress, picking the water, the first to the Buddhist temple to bathe in the Buddha, and then take the collection of flowers and leaves dipped in the water, began to splash each other, you splash me, I splash you, a flower bloomed in the air, it symbolizes good luck, happiness, health, young people in the hands of the bright crystal droplets, also symbolizes the sweet love. It symbolizes good luck, happiness and health, and the bright crystal beads of water in the hands of young people also symbolize sweet love. We splash each other, splash, everywhere is the baptism of water, water blessing, water song. Duo Duo flower string smile, water splashing festival has become a sea of joy.
The first day, cultural performances; the second day splashing water; the third day, male and female youth in a piece of bag throwing. First to the Buddhist Temple Buddha, jumping elephant foot drum dance and peacock dance festival, and then Bing Bing Dai girl while saying the words of blessing, while using bamboo leaves, twigs dipped in pots of water to the other side of the sprinkled over, " water flowers, Dai crazy ", with the splash of the splash of the water to express the sincere blessings.
" Throwing package " is the Dai unmarried young people's special game, " package " is a symbol of love tokens, by the Dai girls with flower cloth carefully made, loaded with cotton seeds, package of four corners are decorated with colorful flower spikes, throw the package, in the grassy lawn men and women stand in a row, first by the Dai girl, and then by the Dai girl, the Dai girl, the Dai girl, the Dai girl, the Dai girl. When throwing the bag, men and women stand in a row on the green grass 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 the 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.
"Putting on the high rise" and Kongming lanterns are also unique activities in the Dai ethnic area. People before the festival set up a good anti-aircraft frame, when the homemade earth rocket will be lit, so that it whistles and flies into the blue sky. The higher and farther away from the cottage, the more people feel glorious, auspicious. The winners will also be awarded. At night, people in the square on the open space will be lighted candles, put into the homemade large "balloon" inside, the use of hot air buoyancy, a "Kongming lantern" flying into the sky, in honor of the ancient sage Kong Ming (Zhuge Liang).
Catching the pendulum is one of the main programs of the Water Festival. Catch the pendulum field is generally located in the river bank flat place or the center of the field dam, the field side of the high shelves, there are specially used to burn sparks and fire flying lanterns on the site. Dressed in festive costumes of all ethnic groups from all directions converge here, a sea of people, drums and drums. People listen to the singing of Zhangha, watch folk artists perform the Peacock Dance, the Elephant Foot Drum Dance, the Butterfly Dance, the White Elephant Dance, the Horse Deer Dance, the Knife Dance, the Boxing Dance, etc., and dance the "Yilah neighing" dance together with the rhythm of the drums. Dragon boat races are held on the river and high rises are set off in the air. Young men and women get together to throw bags and pass on their love. At night, people continue to sing, dance and revel in the festivities, releasing high rises, fireworks and fire lanterns, lively and extraordinary.
Elephant's Foot Dance and Peacock Dance, the Dai people can sing and dance, the Water Festival is naturally less dance. Large-scale dances are mainly arranged on the third day of the festival, such as the Elephant Foot Dance and Peacock Dance. From seven or eight years old dolls to seventy or eighty years old people, all dressed in festive 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 also many dancers to show off their own improvisation, some sing and dance, some even dance and drink, as intoxicated, wild and unrestrained, jumping for days and nights also do not know how to get tired.
Dragon boat racing is one of the most exciting events of the festival, 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 and the Ruili River to watch the dragon boat race. River moored in green colorful dragon boat, the boat sits dozens of sturdy sailors, the signal sounded, ready to start the dragon boat like an arrow flying forward, and then the whole river, drums, gongs, trumpets, cheers, one after another, sound corresponding to the atmosphere of the festival reached a climax here.
Reference:
Dai Baidu Encyclopedia