The Songkran Festival, also known as the Songkran Festival, is a traditional festival of the Dai, Achang, Brown, Wa, and De'ang peoples, as well as Thai-speaking peoples and Southeast Asia.
The festival was approved by the State Council on May 20, 2006, and was included in the list of China's first batch of intangible cultural heritages.
Songkran Festival, also known as Songkran Festival, April 13 April 16, has a history of 700 years, is the Dai, Deang the grandest traditional festival. On that day, people in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and other countries, as well as China's Yunnan Province, wake up early in the morning to bathe and salute the Buddha, after which they begin to celebrate for several days. During this time, people splash each other with pure water, praying to wash away the past year's misfortunes and start the new year with good wishes. 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 Water Splashing Festival is the New Year of the Dai people and usually lasts for 3 to 7 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 annoyed day (empty day); the third day is the New Year, called Ba Nang Ma, meaning old age, people regard this day as the most beautiful, the most auspicious days.
Another remarkable activity of the Songkran Festival is rowing dragon boats, dancing elephant foot drum dance and peacock dance. The festival culminates on the third day of the Dai New Year, which is known as Maipaya Evening Ma in Dai language. The 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 festival activities are rich in content, and others are put on the high rise, cockfighting, jumping peacock dance, etc., people dressed in costumes, joyful, the scene is extremely lively.
Sangkan Bimai, is the Dai language, meaning the Dai New Year. As the Dai people celebrate the New Year festival, to hold a unique water splashing activities, pouring water on each other for blessing, so other ethnic groups will call this festival as the Water Splashing Festival. There is a sad folk story about the origin of the Dai New Year (Water Splashing Festival). According to the legend, the weather on earth was originally controlled by a god named Huanma Zha. He divided the year into dry season, rainy season and cold season, and set the agricultural time for the earth, and let a god named Huanmadalachar be in charge of the implementation. A young man named Paya Wan used four wooden boards as wings and flew up to the heavenly court to find the god of heaven, Indra Tila, to tell him about the disaster on earth. When Paya Wan wanted to go to the highest level of heaven to worship Tathagata Sands, he accidentally crashed into the door of heaven, and one of the doors collapsed, crushing him to death at the entrance of the heavenly court. After Paya Wan's death, the king of the heavens, Indatila, began to use a scheme to punish the magician Huma Dhritarashtra. He turned into a handsome young man and went to the seven daughters of Hema Dharamchak in disguise to talk about love. The seven beautiful girls fell in love with him at the same time. The girls learned from the young man's mouth about their father's plague on earth, both regret and hate. Seven kind girls for the earth to avoid disaster, determined to righteousness. They try to find out the secret of their father's life and death. In the bouma point dalacha drunk, cut off a bunch of his hair, the production of a bow Sai Zai (heart-string bow), resolutely cut off the wrongdoing bouma point dalacha's head in his arms, from time to time to rotate, each other with the water sprinkled with water to rinse the filth, wash away the stench. It is said that this is the people during the New Year, mutual splashing blessing of the origin.
Dai New Year Festival, most of the Dai calendar in late June, a few years in early July, the traditional festival time, usually three days (sometimes four days). The first day is called Mai, which is equivalent to New Year's Eve in the lunar calendar, and households have to clean up, prepare food supplies for New Year's Eve, and eat New Year's dinner. The second day is called the brain, is an extra day, not counted in the old year, not counted in the new year, known as the empty day, legend has it that this day is the day of the cupping of the horse point Dala Chad head rotting day. This day is usually held to splash water activities to commemorate the people to eliminate harm to the heavenly maiden, to the holy water to eliminate disasters, wishing each other peace and happiness. The third day is called MaiPaYa evening Ma, is said to be the day of the spirit of PaYa evening with a new calendar to return to earth, people are accustomed to this day is called the day of the king of the coming. According to ancient custom, this day to catch pendulum, put high up, singing and dancing, rowing dragon boat to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
The Dai New Year, also known as the Water Festival, celebrated for three to seven days. The first day is called net mold (the meaning of death). People think this day is unlucky, so they do not wash their hair, do not cut their hair, do not work. People go to catch the pendulum, dragon boat race, put the high rise.
The next day is called the net brain (the meaning of stink) this day is considered unclean, to bathe, shampoo, haircut, change clothes, wash the statue of Buddha and the pagoda, the evening held to catch the pendulum, set off fireworks, release of lanterns, the year's diseases, disasters and dirty things are sent off, clean into the new year. In the Dai calendar, these two days are considered to be empty days, not called in the old year, and not counted into the New Year. The third day is New Year's Day, which is called Ba Nang Ma (meaning deity and the first day of the year). The Dai people regard this day as the most beautiful and auspicious day. It is the climax of the Water Splashing Festival. It is necessary to pile up sand, fine Buddha, splashing water, put Gao Sheng, throwing bags, dancing Yilaghe dance, pay homage to the New Year and other activities.
The Water Splashing Festival in the sixth and seventh month of the Dai calendar, early in the morning on this day, men, women and children will put on the festival dress, picking the water, first to the Buddhist temple fine Buddha, bathing Buddha, and then began to splash each other, wishing each other good luck, happiness and health. People dance while shouting, the sound of drums and gongs ringing through the sky, blessing the water splash everywhere, the scene is really very spectacular.
During the Songkran Festival, Dai youth like to the forest clearing to do throw package game. Flower package made of beautiful flower cloth, loaded with cotton paper, cotton seeds, etc., four corners and the center is decorated with five flower spikes, is a token of love, young men and women through the throw package, receive package, get acquainted with each other. When the girl consciously let the young man can not catch lose, the young man will be ready to give gifts to the girl, both left the crowd to the secluded place to talk about love to go.
During the Songkran Festival, there will be a dragon boat race, which will be held on the Lancang River. A group of red and green dragon boat in the hall 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.