The legend of Songkran Festival

The legend of the Water Splashing Festival

In ancient times, the place where the Dai people lived suffered a disaster. There is no rain in summer, no wind in spring, no sunshine in autumn, and it rains all winter. It can be sunny but not sunny, rainy but not rainy, the four seasons are confused, crops cannot be grown, fields are barren, people and animals are plagued by epidemics, and mankind is facing annihilation. The man known as Paya Wan saw such a situation and decided to go to heaven to find out the cause and report it to the king of heaven, Yindatila. He made wings from four wooden boards, soared into the sky, rushed into the heaven, and reported the disasters encountered in the world to the king of heaven, Yindatira.

Indatila’s investigation revealed that Pengma, the god in charge of wind, thunder, lightning, rain, clear and cloudy, ignored Pengma’s rules for the three seasons of drought, rain and cold. , relying on his vast supernatural powers, he splashed water to deliberately cause chaos. And this Dalacha, who holds the horse in his hand, is so skilled in magic that all the gods can do nothing to him. In order to punish this promiscuous god, Yingda Tila dressed up as a handsome young man and went to the home of Pengma Dian Dalaza. The seven daughters who had been imprisoned in the palace for a long time by Pengma Dian Dalaza had no idea about this. The handsome man fell in love at first sight.

The seven daughters are determined to kill their relatives and save mankind. Facing the charming girl, Dalacha finally revealed the secret. What he fears most is to use his own hair to make a "Gong Saizai" ("Gong" is the bow, "sai" is the string, and "Zai" is the heart). meaning "heartstring bow"). After the girls found out the secret, they got their father drunk, took the opportunity to cut off a bunch of his hair, and made a "bow saizai". They just pointed the bowstring at the neck of Dalacha holding the horse. , his head fell suddenly.

However, the head of Dalacha who was holding the horse and pointing it was a demon head, with its sprinkler head falling to the ground, and the fire was soaring into the sky. The seven daughters threw themselves at the head and held it in their arms, and the demonic fire was extinguished. In order to extinguish the demonic fire, the seven girls had to hold the demonic head in their arms and rotate it until the head rotted away. Every time the sisters take turns, they splash water on each other to wash away the stains on their bodies and eliminate the odor. After the death of Pangma Dalacha, Maha Peng of Shurupa rebuilt the calendar and controlled the wind and rain, so that the world would have smooth weather and the people would live and work in peace and contentment.

The revised calendar was announced by Paya in a dream to his father in the sixth month of the Dai calendar. Therefore, the Dai people regard June when the new calendar is announced as a time to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. When people celebrate the New Year, they splash water on each other to commemorate the seven kind-hearted girls who killed their relatives for righteousness, and to drive away evil spirits and eliminate dirt, hoping for good luck and good luck to this day. ?

Extended information:

Celebrations

When the Water Splashing Festival comes, the Dai people are busy killing pigs, killing chickens, making wine, and making a lot of Noso” (rice cake) and various kinds of cakes made from glutinous rice are eaten during the festival.

The Water Splashing Festival lasts for three days: the first day is "Mai Day", which is similar to the Lunar New Year's Eve. It is called "Wanduo Shanghan" in Dai language, which means sending off the past. At this time, people have to tidy up their houses, clean, and prepare for the New Year's dinner and various activities such as dragon boat rowing, high-flying games, and artistic performances during the festival.

The next day is called "nui day", and "nui" means "empty". According to custom, this day neither belongs to the previous year nor the next year, so it is called "empty day". "On this day, water-splashing activities are usually held to commemorate the goddess who eliminates harm for the people, use holy water to eliminate disasters, and wish each other peace and happiness; the third day is called "Maipaya Wanma", and it is said that this Maipaya The day when the heroic spirit of Wan Ma returns to the world with the new calendar, people are accustomed to regard this day as "the coming of the King of Days" and it is the New Year's Day of the Dai calendar.

Reference: Water Splashing Festival (Ethnic Minority Festival)_Baidu Encyclopedia