My Songkran
The
first day, (in the morning) in my country the statues of the Buddha come
honored all, with water deposit perfumed on the same statues, all
accompanying from dances and are drunk a toast, to the sound of lao
music so as to be involved the greater number of persons to partecipate.
(watches
the video)
According to day comes while still alive from me dedicated to the
veneration of my ancestors,
(watches
the video)
is to those deceaseds. The third day I dedicate it to the organized
festivity from the mayor of the country in honor of the old ones of the
village, where a umorist theatre rappresentation kind is carried out,
whose participants are same the old ones to which the mayor, participate
also political of the village. To the term of this rappresentation the
autority of the village offer gifts the old ones and therefore made to
seat in row under I stretch some come "bathes you" from all the
participants to the festivity. Ended this event us dedication to the
games of entertainment and the dances with a singer and relative dancers
for all day, until that she does not remain a single participant.
(watches the video)
After some days in an distant country a score of kilometers from my
village, carries out one processione in car in order to honor the Great
Buddha of the town.
(watches
the video)
Origins of
Songkran
There was once a
young man who was prodigious in learning. He understood even the
language of the birds. This excited the jealousy of Kabil Maha Phrom,
one of the gods of a higher heavenly realm. He came down to meet the
young man and posed him three sphinx-like riddles with the wager that if
the young man failed to give the right answers within seven days, he
would lose his head but if he succeeded, the god himself would give his
own. Like all folk tales the young man was at first at his wit's end to
answer such difficult riddles and he repaired to a certain place in
order to kill himself rather than face defeat.
He stopped at the
foot of a tall tree at the top of which was an aerie. By chance he heard
the mother eagle comforting her eaglets who cried for more food, that
they would be gratified soon by feasting on the body of the young man
who would fail to solve the riddles. She then related the story of the
wager between the god and the young man, and in answer to her children's
question the mother eagle satisfied them with the right answers to those
three riddles. The young man availed himself of this information and on
the appointed day he gave the god the three right answers.
The god, as was the
case in such tales, lost the wager and himself cut off his own head. His
head was a terrible one for if it touched the earth there would be a
universal conflagration and if it fell into the sea, the sea would dry
up through its intense heat. The god's head therefore was deposited in a
certain cave in the heavens. Every new year that is on Songkran Day one
of the god's seven daughters in turn will carry her father's head in
procession with millions of other gods and goddesses circumambulating
like the sun round the Meru, the Buddhist Olympian Mount. After that
there are feasts among the celestial beings who enjoyed themselves with
drinks made from the juice of the chamu
How to
Celebrate Songkran
On the eve of
Songkran Day, on the 12th April, the people clean their house and burn
all the refuse. This is a Spring Cleaning Day done as a duty in the
belief that anything bad belonging to the old year will be unlucky to
the owner if left and carried on to the coming New Year. It is something
like a Public Health Cleaning Day but backed by traditional belief has
proved more effective to emotional people than prosaic reason.
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Early on the first
day of Songkran, the 13th April, the people both young and old in their
new clothing go to the Wat or monastery belonging to their village or
district to offer food to the monks there. A long table is erected in
the compound of the wat where monk's alms bowls stand in a row on either
side of the table. Into the alms bowls the gathering people put boiled
rice and into the covers of the alms bowls, food, fruits and sweetmeats.
Such a performance can be seen at wats outside Bangkok on Songkran Day.
While the monks partake of their feast, music sometimes is played to
celebrate the occasion.
In the afternoon of the same day there is bathing
cerimony of the Buddha images and also of the abbot of the wat. After
this begins the well-known "water throwing feast". The bathing of images
is done as ritualistic ceremony, but it is no other than a New Year's
purification. Younger people will also on this day or the succeeding
days go to pay their respect to and ask blessings from their elders and
respected persons. They will pour scented water into the palms of the
old people and present them with a towel and other bathing requisites.
In the old days it was an actual bathing where the young people helped
the old people to take a bath and to change their old clothing and put
on the new clothes which the young people presented them as an act of
respect to the aged on the occasion of the New Year.
Another duty to be
done during the Songkran Festival is a religious service called
Bangsakun performed in sacred memory to the dead. When a person died and
was cremated, the ashes and charred bones of common people were buried
at the root of a sacred fig-tree in a wat. Such trees are to be found in
the grounds of almost every wat. It is a symbol of the Lord Buddha's
enlightenment for under such a tree did Buddha sit in meditation and
receive his enlightenment. If a person is able to erect a Pra Chedi or
pagoda in the wat the ashes and bones are then deposited in it. In later
times a portion of the bones was sometimes kept in the house in a
receptacle. On Songkran Day a religious service in sacred memory to the
dead may be officiated by a monk or monks at the place where the ashes
and the bones have been deposited, or as in some localities the people
bring their dead bones to a village wat in company with others where a
joint memorial service is performed. In some parts of the country the
guardian spirits of the village and town receive also their annual
offerings on Songkran Days. Obviously there are reminiscences or traces
of ancestor and animistic worship in by-gone days.
Bathing
Ceremony
During the three
days of Songkran people flock to the wat in their best clothes. They
bring with them candles, joss sticks, flowers and small bottles of Thai
scented water called "nam ob" or water saturated with perfumes. At the
wat shrine each devotee lights a candle and three joss sticks and places
them together with a single flower or a bouquet in a receptacle in front
of Buddha's altar.
The worshippers then
make obeisance to the Buddha by partly prostrating themselves thrice
before His image in a prescribed form. Each worshipper kneels with his
hands placed palm to palm raising them to the forehead in a worshipful
attitude and then prostrates himself on the floor with the hands now
separated to allow the forehead to touch the floor between the palms.
Such salutation is called "benchangapradit" from the Sanskrit "panchangapratishtha"
(fivefold body worship, i.e.. with the forehead, two palms and two knees
resting on the floor). Such salutation among the Thai is the highest
form of respect. Salutation by full prostration on the ground and "kissing
the earth with the forehead" is unknown.
After worshipping in
this manner, a little quantity of the scented water is poured on the
hands of the Buddha image. Such a ritualistic act is called in Thai
"Song Nam Phra Putha Rup" (bathing the Buddha image.)
Not only do the
Buddha images in Thailand receive the ceremonial bath, but elders of the
family and elder monks may receive it too. Here is an account of the
bathing of family elders. In Bangkok, especially among the upper class,
people are want to make a traditional call on their elders to pay their
respects during Songkran. This they do by pouring scented water into the
palms of the elder who will then duly rub it lightly on his head and
face. The elder, in the old days, would then be presented by the
visitors with a "phanung" (loin cloth) and a "pha khao ma" for a male or
a "pha hom" for a female, both of which constituted everyday wear in
those days.
Nowadays the elder
is presented with a towel, a box of handkerchiefs, a box of soap or
other such articles and sometimes with a bottle of scented water. After
the presentation the elder will bestow his blessing and best wishes upon
the relatives for the New Year.
A gift of a bottle
of scented water is specially appreciated by the older generation who
are want to smear themselves during the hot season with a preparation of
soft chalk powder called "din saw phong" mixed with scented water which
is refreshing to the skin. Sometimes the powder is ready-mixed with
attar of roses and may be applied lightly with a towel or handkerchief.
Such toilet preparation is called "paeng sod" or fresh toilet powder.
In the old days, the
ceremonial bath was the regular family thing. The elder would seat
himself on a broad bench. The children would assist him in the bathing
by pouring the scented water on him. They also would furnish him with a
new set of clothing to be worn after the bath. Further they would
present him with the traditional candles, joss sticks and flowers
emblems denoting the highest respect among the Thai.
We now come to the
ceremonial bath of a monk. It may take place on any of the three days of
Songkran. The monk is usually the abbot of the monastery, who is
invariably held in high esteem, usually old and, in the case of a
village wat, a leading personage in the community life. People call him
"Luang Phaw" (Great Father). He is not only their spiritual father but
also their adviser in temporal affairs in the light of his recognised
wide knowledge and experience. Sometimes he combines the versatility of
doctor, astrologer and adapt in the mystical and magical arts separately
or all rolled into one.
He is always an
unquestioned mediator in disputes; the villagers, in most cases prefer
to abide by their "Luang Phaw's" decision rather than report to the
courts or other local authorities.
It is not difficult
to see, therefore, that such a man would command hosts of disciples
falling over each other to do him the traditional honour of a ceremonial
bath. But in such cases a notice is circulated before-hand specifying
the exact day and time of the ceremony which is the same as for the
elder of a family. After the bath the abbot gives a sermon followed by
his blessing for a happy New Year.
Nang Songkran
The seven daughters of Kabil Maha Phrom, the god
who lost his head as a wager, have their own names, but they are called
as a class Nang Songkran or the Songkran Ladies. When any one of them
appears in a Songkran Day parade, she rides on a certain kind of animal,
seven in number and she rides it in four different postures according to
the time she comes. She stands on the animal's back if she comes in the
morning rides on its back if she comes in the afternoon, reclines with
her eyes open if she comes in the evening, and reclines with her eyes
closed if she comes past midnight. All these are based on calculations
made by court astrologers. For instance, in the year 1951, the Songkran
Lady named Kimitha appeared on the 13th April at 1 o'clock 17 minutes
and 56 seconds in the morning. She reclined with her eyes closed on the
back of a buffalo. The time she appears is when the sun first enters the
sign of Aries which heralds the beginning of Songkran New Year's Day.
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Every year before
the advent of Songkran the royal astrologer will present his
calculations to the King giving all traditional information as predicted
by the calculations of the coming year. The artist attached to the court
will also paint a picture based on the above information, showing the
Songkran Lady and the celestial procession of the god's head. This
painting with such information is hung in a convenient and conspicuous
place in the Royal Palace precincts for the people's information. This
traditional practice was given up many years ago, but still survives in
old style printed calender sheets which find a ready demand among the
folk. The four postures of the Songkran Lady on the back of her animal
according to the time when she first appears as a herald of the New Year,
was in the old days, a wise one. The people who were mostly illiterates
were able to see at a glance when the New Year or Songkran Day begins.
When they see the Songkran Lady reclining with her eyes closed on the
back of a buffalo, for example, they know at once that Songkran Day will
start past midnight
Building Sand Pagodas
In
the
afternoon of April 13th peoples in the some Wat making sand pagodas.
Phrasai" is an abbreviated form of "phra chedi sai" (sand-pagodas). "
Phrachedi" means pagoda and "sai" sand. This festival takes place on
an open space in the wat. The sand to be used for the occasion is
provided by the wat and piled up nearby. The pagoda builders, mostly
women and children, will come to the wat in their best clothes. They
will buy candles, joss sticks, flower and banners from the wat stalls
set up in the compound. Buying these articles from the wat is regarded
as "tham bun" ("merit making"). Some will bring along these requisites,
but nevertheless, they will contribute money to "tham bun" as well.
The merit makers
will then fetch sand in the silver bowls which they have brought along
with them and carry them to the ceremonial ground and start building a
sand pagoda something like a pyramid. The size of the pagoda is
optional. The sand is mixed with water to make it lump together when
used to build the pagoda. A coin and and a leaf of the religious fig
tree will be buried inside the sand pagoda. When finished the pagoda
is sprinkled with scented water and decorated with flags and banners.
The base of the pagoda is then covered with a small piece of yellow or
red cloth. Lighted candles and joss sticks and flowers are stuck
around the sand pagoda as an offering. Some of these pagodas, usually
the big ones, are beautifully decorated with miniature ceremonial
latticed fences surrounding them.
Sometimes people
vie with each other in building such pagodas. The ceremonial ground
itself is decorated with ceremonial latticed fences called "rachawat"
and banners. There is a theatrical performances in the wat on that day
for the merit makers to enjoy themselves. It is a one-day festival and
the wat benefits by the sand which the devotees bring. For it serves
to raise the level of the ground which normally is too low during the
flood season. As the open ground in the wat also serves as a meeting
place for the community during the religious and festive occasions, it
is ultimately the public in general who benefit by this religious
custom
The sand pagodas
do not last long. Unless they are jealously guarded, mischievous
children will take pleasure in prying them open and thus ruining them
in order to get the coins inside. The bigger ones are usually the
selected targets
Songkran Water Fights
Although Songkran
officially starts on the 13th April, some people like to get the
festivities off to an early start. After all, four days isn't usually
enough time for a water fight.
Popolo
tollerante e pragmatico, i Thai non perdono l'occasione per far festa:
cosė festeggiano anche il Capodanno occidentale, il 1° Gennaio, e il
Capodanno cinese, fine Febbraio o inizio Marzo.
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