After performing a worshipful ritual, they clean the statue of Buddha with this water and pray for the Buddha’s blessing. People fetch clean water from the wells early in the morning, add flowers, and take it to their local Buddhist temple. According to Dai culture, water, as the god of life, symbolizes holiness, happiness, and light. Water, perceived as nourishing everything yet striving for nothing, is the focal point of the festival activities. Sprinkling people with water on this day is believed to purify their hearts in preparation for the coming New Year.įlying kongming lanterns is a time-honored Dai custom. The third day is the Dai New Year’s Day, most important of any other festival on the Dai lunar calendar. The second day is reserved for water sprinkling, which ritually cleanses people of any residual ill fortune lingering from the old year and is believed to bring good health and happiness. In addition to cleaning the house from top to bottom and preparing the family reunion dinner, dragonboat races, setting off Dai-style fireworks, and watching drama, song and dance performances are also customary. The first day of the festival is celebrated in similar fashion to that of China’s Lunar New Year. Buddhism has since been the region’s predominant belief system. The festival was introduced to southwestern Yunnan Province via Myanmar at the end of the 12th century. It originated in India as a religious rite of the Brahman, or priestly, caste, and later became absorbed into Buddhism. In 2006 the Water-Sprinkling Festival was among the first batch of China’s national intangible cultural heritage to be added to the UNESCO list.Īlso known as the Buddha’s Birthday Festival, the history of this celebration goes back centuries. Other Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, also share this folk tradition. The event also highlights the joy the people take in music and dance, feasting, and wearing traditional costumes. The festival comprehensively showcases Dai traditional culture and the significance it attaches to water and folklore. The wetter one gets, the more benedictions one may expect. Evening merry-making activities include watching Dai dramas, performing local dances, and flying kongming lanterns. They later take great delight in generously blessing all and sundry with splashes of water and in getting together to talk and compare notes about the past year. People of all ages, dressed in their festival best, take part in the solemn ritual of washing statues of Buddha. This week-long celebration in honor of the Dai Lunar New Year usually falls around mid-April. THE Water-Sprinkling Festival of the Dai ethnic group is the most popularly celebrated rite among the ethnic minorities living in Yunnan Province. Spot clean.Splashing, Dancing and Making Merry at the Dai Water-Sprinkling Festival Makes a great gift too!ĭurable ribbon-covered wire hanger. Let it bring fresh style to your patio, porch or anywhere inside your home. Piece features bold colors, textures and patterns for added interest.Ĭrafted of all-weather polypropylene, this door hanger is mildew and fade resistant, safe to be used indoors or out. This colorful piece features a very happy and brightly colored jack-o-lantern who is just delighted to greet guests and passers by. It makes a fun alternative to wreaths and looks great on any door or wall. Bring fall colors and a touch of whimsy to any space with our Indoor/Outdoor Jack-O-Lantern Hooked Door Hanger.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |