Thingyan

Thingyan (Burmese: သင်္ကြန်; MLCTS: sangkran, [θɪ́ɴdʑàɴ]; Arakanese: [θɔ́ɴkràɴ]; from Sanskrit saṁkrānti, which means "transit [of the Sun from Pisces to Aries]"^[1]) is the Burmese New Year Water Festival and usually falls around mid-April (the Burmese month of Tagu). It is a Buddhist festival celebrated over a period of four to five days, culminating in the New Year. Formerly the dates of the Thingyan Festival were calculated according to the Burmese calendar but they are now fixed to Gregorian calendar 13 to 16 April; it often coincides with Easter.^[2] The dates of the festival are observed as the most important public holiday throughout Burma and are part of the summer holidays at the end of the school year. Water-throwing or dousing one another from any shape or form of vessel or device that delivers water is the distinguishing feature of this festival and may be done on the first four days of the festival. However, in most parts of the country, it does not begin in earnest until the second day. Thingyan is comparable to other new year festivities in Theravada Buddhist areas of Southeast Asia such as Songkran in Laos, and Thailand, the Cambodian New Year, the Sinhalese New Year, the Pana Sankranti in Odisha and Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Rongali Bihu in Assam. Marma people in Chittagong Hill Tracts and Rakhine people also celebrate it in same time by name of Sangrain or Sangren respectively.

A Rakhine girl pours water at revelers during Thingyan in Yangon, 13 April 2011.

History

Thingyan is originated from the Buddhist version of a Hindu myth. The King of Brahmas called Arsi, lost a wager to the King of Devas, Śakra (Thagya Min), who decapitated Arsi as agreed but the head of an elephant was put onto the Brahma's body who then became Ganesha. The Brahma was so powerful that if the head were thrown into the sea it would dry up immediately. If it were thrown onto land it would be scorched. If it were thrown up into the air the sky would burst into flames. Sakra therefore ordained that the Brahma's head be carried by one princess devi after another taking turns for a year each. The new year henceforth has come to signify the changing of hands of the Brahma's head.^[1]

Burmese girls perform traditional dance during closing ceremony of Myanmar New Year Water Festival 2011 in Yangon, Myanmar on 16 April 2011.

Thingyan Eve

The eve of Thingyan, the first day of the festival called a-kyo nei (in Myanmar, အကြိုနေ့), is the start of a variety of religious activities. Buddhists are expected to observe the Eight Precepts,^[3] more than the basic Five Precepts, including having only one meal before noon. Thingyan is a time when uposatha observance days, similar to the Christian sabbath, are held. Alms and offerings are laid before monks in their monasteries and offerings of a green coconut with its stalk intact encircled by bunches of green bananas (ငှက်ပျောပွဲအုန်းပွဲ, nga pyaw pwè oun pwè) and sprigs of thabyay (Syzygium cumini) before the Buddha images over which scented water is poured in a ceremonial washing from the head down. In ancient times, Burmese kings had a hair-washing ceremony with clear pristine water from Gaungsay Kyun (Shampoo Island), a small rocky outcrop of an island in the Gulf of Martaban near Mawlamyine.^[4]

Mandalay legendary Thingyan float Myoma arrives to perform in front of Mandalay City Hall in Mandalay, Myanmar on 12 April 2012.

By nightfall, the real fun begins with music, song and dance, merrymaking and general gaiety in anticipation of the water festival. In every neighbourhood pavilions or stages, with festive names and made from bamboo, wood and beautifully decorated papier mache, have sprung up overnight. Local belles have been rehearsing for weeks and even years, in the run-up to the great event in song and dance in chorus lines, each band of girls uniformly dressed in colourful tops and skirts and garlanded in flowers and tinsel. They wear fragrant thanaka - a paste of the ground bark of Murraya paniculata which acts as both sunblock and astringent - on their faces, and sweet-scented yellow padauk (Pterocarpus macrocarpus) blossoms in their hair. Padauk blooms only one day each year during Thingyan and is popularly known as the "Thingyan flower". Large crowds of revellers, on foot, bicycles and motorbikes, and in opentop jeeps and trucks, will do the rounds of all the mandat, some making their own music and most of the womenfolk wearing thanaka and padauk. Floats, gaily decorated and lit up, also with festive names and carrying an orchestra as well as dozens of amorous young men on each of them, will roam the streets stopping at every mandat exchanging songs specially written for the festival including the Thingyan classics that everyone knows, and performing than gyat (similar to rapping but one man leads and the rest bellows at the top of their voices making fun of and criticising whatever is wrong in the country today such as fashion, consumerism, runaway inflation, crime, drugs, AIDS, corruption, inept politicians etc.).^[5] It is indeed a time for letting go, a major safety valve for stress and simmering discontent. There will be the usual spate of accidents and incidents from drink driving or just reckless driving in crowded streets full of revellers and all manner of vehicles, as well as drunkenness, arguments and brawling which the authorities have to be prepared for at this time of the year. Generally however friendliness and goodwill prevail along with some boisterous jollity.

Typical season flowers, Burmese Padauks (Pterocarpus macrocarpus), flowering during Thingyan

Water Festival

NāgaCheroots girls dancing round a float in 1950s Thingyan, Mandalay

The next day called a-kya nei (အကျနေ့) is when Thingyan truly arrives as Thagyamin makes his descent from his celestial abode to earth. At a given signal, a cannon (Thingyan a-hmyauk) is fired and people come out with pots of water and sprigs of thabyay, then pour the water onto the ground with a prayer. A prophecy for the new year (သင်္ကြန်စာ, Thingyan sa) will have been announced by the brahmins (ponna) and this is based on what animal Thagya Min will be riding on his way down and what he might carry in his hand.^[4] Children will be told that if they have been good Thagya Min will take their names down in a golden book but if they have been naughty their names will go into a dog book!

Serious water throwing does not begin until a-kya nei in most of the country although there are exceptions to the rule. Traditionally, Thingyan involved the sprinkling of scented water in a silver bowl using sprigs of thabyay (Jambul), a practice that continues to be prevalent in rural areas. The sprinkling of water was intended to metaphorically "wash away" one's sins of the previous year. In major cities such as Yangon, garden hoses, huge syringes made of bamboo, brass or plastic, water pistols and other devices from which water can be squirted are used in addition to the gentler bowls and cups, but water balloons and even fire hoses have been employed! It is the hottest time of the year and a good dousing is welcomed by most. Everyone is fair game except monks and obviously pregnant women. Some overenthusiastic young lads may get captured by women, who often are their main target, and become kids of a practical joke with soot from cooking pots smeared on their faces. Maidens from mandats with dozens of garden hoses exchange hundreds of gallons of water with throngs of revelers and one float after another. Many revellers carry towels to block the jet of water getting into the ear and for modesty's sake as they get thoroughly soaked and drenched in their light summer clothes. The odd prankster might use ice water and a drive-by splash with this would provoke shrieks of surprise followed by laughs from its victims. Pwè (performances) by puppeteers, orchestras, dance troupes, comedians, film stars and singers including modern pop groups are commonplace during this festival.

Modern-day celebrations

During the Water Festival, the Myanmar government relaxes the restrictions on gatherings.^[6] In the former capital, Yangon, the government permits crowds to gather on the Kandawgyi Pet Lann and Kabaraye Roads. Temporary water-spraying stations, known as pandals are set up, and double as dance floors. Many of these pavilions are sponsored by rich and powerful families and businesses ^[7]

Modern day Water Festival celebrations in Yangon

The third day is called a-kyat nei () and there may be two of them, an extra day in certain years. The fourth is known as a-tet nei (အတက်နေ့) when Thagya Min returns to the heavens, the last day of the water festival. Some would throw water at people late into the day making an excuse such as "Thagya Min left his pipe and has come back for it"! Over the long festive holiday, a time-honoured tradition is mont lone yeibaw (မုန့်လုံးရေပေါ်), glutinous rice balls with jaggery (palm sugar) inside thrown into boiling water in a huge wok and served as soon as they resurface which gave it the name.^[1] All the young men and women help in making it and all are welcome, but watch out for some prankster putting a birdseye chilli inside instead of jaggery for a laugh! Mont let saung (မုန့်လက်ဆောင်း) is another refreshing Thingyan snack, bits of sticky rice with toasted sesame in jaggery syrup and coconut milk. They are both served with grated coconut. In major cities such as Yangon and Mandalay, Rakhine Thingyan can also be experienced as Rakhine residents of the city celebrate in their own tradition. Water is scooped from a long boat (လောင်းလှေ, laung hlei) to throw at revellers and Rakhine mohinga is served.

New Year's Day

A pickup truck full of revelers is doused with water on the streets of Taunggyi, Shan State.

The next day is New Year's Day (နှစ်ဆန်းတစ်ရက်နေ့, hnit hsan ta yet nei). It is a time for people to visit the elders and pay obeisance by gadaw (also called shihko) with a traditional offering of water in a terracotta pot and shampoo. Young people perform hairwashing for the elderly often in the traditional manner with shampoo beans (Acacia rugata) and bark. Many make new year resolutions, generally in the mending of ways and doing meritorious deeds for their karma. Releasing fish (ငါးလွှတ်ပွဲ, nga hlut pwè) is another time-honoured tradition on this day; fish are rescued from lakes and rivers drying up under the hot sun, then kept in huge glazed earthen pots and jars before releasing into larger lakes and rivers with a prayer and a wish saying "I release you once, you release me ten times".^[4] Thingyan (a-hka dwin) is also a favourite time for shinbyu, novitiation ceremonies for boys in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism when they will join the monks (Sangha) and spend a short time, perhaps longer, in a monastery immersed in the teachings of the Buddha, the Dhamma. It is akin to rites of passage or coming of age ceremonies in other religions.

On the New Year's Day, people make food donations called satuditha (စတုဒီသာ) at various places. They typically provide free food to those participating in the new year's celebrations.

Regional traditions

• Rakhine State - The Rakhine people have three unique customs that form Thingyan, namely the nantha grinding ceremony, the nantha pouring ceremony and the water festival.^[8] On the evening of New Year's Eve, Rakhine girls assemble to grind blocks of nantha sandalwood (used as a traditional cosmetic in Burma) on a kyaukpyin (a flat, circular stone used to grind sandalwood), as part of a competition.^[8] The following morning, the Rakhine visit monasteries and pagodas to offer the ground nantha to Buddha statues, as a gesture of ushering the new year.^[8]
• Mon State - As part of Thingyan traditions, the Mon people offer a festive dish called Thingyan rice, which consists of rice, dried snakehead fish, a generous sprinkle of fried onions, a few flakes of beeswax and served alongside a salad of unripen green mangoes.^[8][9]
• Tanintharyi Region - The Bamar of Dawei and Myeik pay respects to elders and provide free meals to accompany Thaman Kyar dance performances.^[8]
• Shan State - The Shan people call Thingyan "Sangkyan" (သၢင်းၵျၢၼ်ႇ) and prepare a steamed sweetmeat called khaw mun haw (ၶဝ်ႈမုၼ်းႁေႃႇ), made of glutinous rice flour and jaggery, wrapped in banana leaf.^[10] This is offered to neighbors as a gift of goodwill.
• In Chittagong Hill Tracts, the south eastern part of Bangladesh, Marma people Organize water pouring stages in their villages that especially participated by young boys and girls. Apart from water pouring, they also go to Monastery for special offering and prayer for well being of coming days. Marmas commonly follow the Lunar calendar produced in Rakhine state of Myanmar.

See also

• Cambodian New Year
• Lao New Year
• Sinhalese New Year
• Thai New Year
• Water Festival

References

• Khin Myo Chit (1980). Flowers and Festivals Round the Burmese Year. 

Notes

External links

• Thingyan 2004 photos by Gerry Haines
• Thingyan Fun and Games
• Old Thingyan photo of a float by Goto Osami
• Thingyan Photos by Goto Osami
• Thingyan Time - When Fun-Loving Burmese Douse Their Disappointments Yeni, The Irrawaddy, April 11, 2007
• Thangyat: Traditional Songs Hard to Suppress The Irrawaddy, April 2008