When did the Water Splashing Festival in Yunnan originate? Which festivals are celebrated by the Dai people?

The Water Splashing Festival originated in India and is a ritual of ancient Brahmanism. It was later absorbed by Buddhism and was introduced to the Dai area of ??Yunnan, China via Myanmar from the end of the 12th century to the beginning of the 13th century AD. With the deepening influence of Buddhism in the Dai area, the Water Splashing Festival has become a national custom and has been passed down for hundreds of years. In the process of the spread of the Water-Splashing Festival, the Dai people gradually combined it with their own national myths and legends, giving the Water-Splashing Festival a more magical meaning and national color. The major festivals of the Dai people include the Water Splashing Festival, the Close-Door Festival and the Open-Door Festival, all of which are related to Buddhism. The Close-Door Festival and the Open-Door Festival are the largest fasting periods of the year. Grand "Buddha" activities and grand Buddhist ceremonies are held in various places. Everyone must offer food, flowers, scriptures, clothes and coins to the Buddha according to Buddhist regulations. The whole society's activities have a strong religious flavor. The Water Splashing Festival is an important traditional festival of the Dai people and is the Dai New Year. During the festival, the Dai people will hold entertainment activities such as water splashing, dragon boat racing, and high-flying games, hoping to drive away the disasters and diseases of the past and pray for good weather, good harvests, and prosperity for both humans and animals in the new year. Water Splashing Festival: New Year of the Dai people. It falls on the 24th to 26th of June in the Dai calendar (mid-April in the summer calendar), and the festival lasts for three to five days. In the early morning of the festival, men, women and children, bathe and change clothes, go to the Buddhist temple to worship the Buddha, that is, they sprinkle water on the Buddha statue to wash away the dust, and then splash water on each other to eliminate diseases and eliminate disasters. Later it was transformed into a festival with splashing water as a show. According to legend, in ancient times, there was a fire demon who did all kinds of evil and stole seven girls. The youngest girl, Nong Xiang, learned the secret of killing the fire demon: pulling out its hair and strangling it to death. The devil turns into a ball of fire, which catches fire wherever it lands. The girls immediately poured water on each other to extinguish the evil fire. This legend became a custom and gradually became the Water Splashing Festival. It is said that this custom originated in India. Brahmans bathe in the river at this time every year to wash away their sins. The elderly cannot go into the river, so their children pour water on them to wash away their sins. Later it was introduced to the Dai area of ??China. Open Door Festival: It is called "Chuwa" in Dai language, which means the Lord Buddha leaves the temple. A traditional religious festival of the Dai people in Yunnan. It is held every year on December 15th of the Dai calendar. The activities are the same as the Close-Door Festival. On the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month in the Dai calendar, the things placed behind the Buddha's seat when entering the cave were taken out and burned, indicating that the Buddha had emerged from the cave. On the 16th day, the monk emerged from the cave, and the whole family, men, women, old and young, went to the mausoleum to worship the Buddha. On the 17th, a grand "Catching the Buddha" event was held. Because on this day the Buddha went to the West to preach and returned to the earth after three months, every village and village had to beat gongs and drums and hold a grand meeting to welcome the Buddha. In the room, the sins of the past year were confessed to the Buddha; the monks took this time to preach the doctrine to the young men and women. During the Opening Festival, the busy farming season has passed, the weather is getting colder, and there are not many Buddhist activities. Young people can fall in love or get married, while adults can go out to do errands or visit relatives and friends. This is the time when the Dai people have the most cultural and entertainment activities. People set off sparklers, light lanterns, raise lights and travel around the villages, which is very lively. Close-Door Festival: It is called "Jinwa" in Dai language, which means the Lord Buddha enters the temple. The traditional religious festival of the Dai people in Yunnan is held every year on the 15th day of the ninth year of the Dai calendar (mid-July of the lunar calendar) and lasts for three months. According to legend, on the ninth day of every year in the Dai calendar, the Buddha went to the West to preach to his mother, and would not return to earth until March. Once, when the Buddha was in the West to preach, thousands of Buddhists went to the countryside to preach. They trampled on the people's crops and delayed their production. The people complained and were very dissatisfied with the Buddhists. When Buddha learned about this, he felt uneasy. From then on, whenever the Buddha went to the West to preach, he gathered all the Buddhists together and stipulated that they were not allowed to go anywhere during these three months, and could only repent to atone for their previous sins. Therefore, people call it "Closing Day". The Jinwa activity has been inherited and developed from generation to generation, and has formed several fixed activities: every year in the early morning of September 15th in the Dai calendar, drums are played in the Zangfang (Buddhist temple) to announce that the Buddha has entered the Zangfang. At this time, believers must get up immediately or sit on the bed. When the old man wraps grain flowers, incense, candles, and money paper into a package and sends it to the back seat of the Zangfang Buddha, two hours after the Zangfang Buddha beats the drum again, the believer can Go back to sleep, and the old man will stay in the gestation room until dawn. On the 16th day, all the believers went to the cave to worship Buddha; on the 8th day, every family brought food to the Buddha, and then Monk Qing recited the Peace Sutra and told historical stories. After hearing this, he was moved and donated merit on the spot. During the three months of the Jinwa activity, on the eighth, fifteenth, twenty-third, and thirtieth day of the lunar month, each elderly family has to go to the Zang room to worship Buddha once. The night before, they sleep in a special house in the temple, and young people bring meals to them. Go feed the old man. These activities have become customary. From now on, every time on the Close-Door Festival, people will hold a grand Buddha worshiping activity (that is, fasting monks offering Buddha), offering food, flowers, wax strips, currency, etc. to the Buddha. During these three months, you have to have a "xiaobiao" every seven days. After the Close-Door Festival begins, it also enters the busy farming season. In order to concentrate on production and labor, people set many rules and regulations: young men and women are prohibited from falling in love and getting married; monks are not allowed to go out casually; people who worship Buddha in Zang are not allowed to stay away. Families may go to other houses to spend the night; no one is allowed to enter the Buddha's house, go to the Buddha's platform, or take the Buddha's things. It was not until three months later, during the Opening Festival, that people resumed all their usual activities before the Closing Festival. Xuntianba Festival: a traditional folk festival of the Dai people in the Maaba area of ??Lvchun County, Yunnan Province. It is held every year on the 13th day of the first lunar month and lasts for one day. This is a unique traditional festival of the local Dai people. In the early morning of the 13th day of the first lunar month, when the morning sun shines in the Dai water town, Dai men and women who are good at singing and dancing put on their festive costumes and gathered under the big green tree in the center of the village to the sound of gongs. The sound shook the sky, and the singers held fragrant rice wine and opened their voices to sing the Spring Festival Song and the Four Seasons Song; the crowd danced the traditional twist dance to the drum beats, and the whole Bazi was filled with joy.

It wasn't until the sun rose high in the sky that the song and dance came to an end. At this time, an elder announced: "The field tour begins!" For a moment, the people who were intoxicated with the singing and dancing immediately formed a very orderly team: the eight young people holding colorful flags were in the lead, and the people behind were blowing trumpets all the way. ; Some beat gongs and drums, fired firecrackers, and gunpowder guns, and slowly walked towards Tianba. After walking along the planned route, people gather together to formulate village rules and regulations during the busy spring plowing period to ensure that spring plowing can be completed according to the season. Flower Street Festival: also called "Reshuitang Flower Street Festival". This traditional folk festival of the Dai people in Yuanjiang, Yunnan Province is held every year on the seventh day of the first lunar month and lasts for one day. The Dai Ya people also celebrate the Flower Street Festival, and the activities are basically the same as those of the Dai people, but the festival falls on the sixth day of the fifth lunar month. The main purpose of the Flower Street Festival is to get rid of the old and welcome the new. On the morning of the festival, when the sun rises, men, women, old and young, dressed in festive costumes, gather on the hot water pond lawn on the east bank of Yuanjiang River to celebrate the festival with joyful songs and laughter. The old people talked about the past, the young people sang and danced, and the children chased and played games, enjoying themselves. People also bathe in the hot springs of hot water ponds to get rid of the filth of the old year and welcome the new year cleanly and refreshingly. On this day, unmarried young men and women also perform antiphonal songs to find partners.