Date of the Dai Water Splashing Festival: April 13th-April 16th every year.
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 want to tidy up the house, clean up, prepare the annual meal 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 only the devil's own hair could kill him.
One night, when the demon fell into a deep sleep after getting drunk, 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. The girls immediately picked up the head, and the fire was extinguished, and the demon disappeared.
In order to prevent the fire from burning again, 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 on her body and the exhaustion of the whole year. Later, the Dai people in honor of the seven brave and resourceful women, on this day every year to splash water on each other, and since then the formation of the Dai people to celebrate the old and welcome the new grand festival - Water Festival.
The Dai Water Splashing Festival customs and activities
1, song and dance activities
The old man to seventy or eighty years old, down to seven or eight years old dolls, dressed in festive attire, *** gathered in the village square, men and women, young and old, in a circle, and with the mango gongs and elephants foot drums dance. Some jump "Peacock Dance"; some jump "Yu La He"; some improvised, singing and dancing, some men jumping and drinking. Dai people in the Water Festival, like to form a queue, knocking the gong, beat up the elephant foot drum, collective dance "Yilaha" dance, go from door to door to pay tribute to the New Year, congratulations on a happy new year, all the best.
2, bathing Buddha
In the "Mai Day" (the first day), early in the morning, people will pick flowers and leaves to the Buddhist temple offerings, and carry to the water "bathing Buddha" - for the statue of the Buddha to wash the dust. It is also to pray to the gods to bless people with good health in the new year. After the "bathing Buddha", the collective splashing of water on each other began. A group of young men and women with a variety of containers of water, out of the streets and alleys, chasing and playing, every person will splash.
3, throw the bag
The Water Festival is also a wonderful time for unmarried young men and women to seek love and cultivate happiness. 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. The "bag" is a token symbolizing love, carefully made by Dai girls with flower cloth, filled with cotton seeds, the corners of the bag 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 their feelings. Throw package day, the girls dress up as much as they can, and then hit the flower umbrella, carrying a small flower bag to the "package field", and the young men on both sides, 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 flowers inserted into the chest of the young man, so gradually selected each other, a romantic love story began.
4, dragon boat race
Dragon boat race is one of the wonderful projects of the Water Festival, often in the Water Festival "Mai Praya 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 colorful dragon boat, the boat sits dozens of strong sailors, the horn, ready to start the dragon boat like an arrow flying forward, suddenly the whole river, drums, gongs, trumpets, cheers, rise and fall, sound corresponding, the atmosphere of the festival has reached a climax here.
5, put high rise
High rise is the Dai people's homemade a fireworks, the bottom of the bamboo poles filled with gunpowder and other ingredients, placed in the bamboo built into the high rise 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. The person who puts the highest bamboo in the sky is appreciated by the people and is rewarded with a prize.
6, put the Kongming lantern
The Dai ethnic areas unique activities: at night, people in the square open space, the candle will be lit, put into the homemade large "balloon" within the use of air buoyancy, a Kongming lanterns flying into the sky. A bright Kongming lantern in the darkness of the night higher and higher, more and more far away. People use this to honor the ancient sage Kong Ming.
7, Border Fair
By the Thai side of the small businessmen to come over to buy and sell local specialties, snacks, as a way to increase the friendship between the two countries, which is very significant. Border Fair generally lasts three days, the first three days of the Water Festival are there, and thereafter also increased folklore inspection.