Chiang Mai Art & Style

Chiang Mai Songkran Festival

April 10 - 16, 2002

 
Welcome to Songkran festival in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai Municipal office organize and cerebrate Songkran festival annually. This year the festival will be held from April 11 - 15.
Songkran Festival has been the heritage of the northerners for several hundred years. The festival is regarded as the Northern Thai New Year Cerebration which is officially April 13 of every year. Songkran derives fom the Pali word "Sankhara" which refers to the sun passing from one zodiacal house to another. In this case from Pisces to Aries. This festival is though to have originated with the animist Tai (Dai) people in Yunnan or Vietnam, as a fertility ceremony which coincides with the traditional New Year and occurs during the dry season, well after the rice harvest and before the rains allow planting a new crop.

The procession of Buddha Sihingh. Phra Sihing Buddha image in the Songkran festival parade near Wat Phra Singh
April 13th,"Wan Sangkan long (Sangkan Long Day)" is the last day of the old year. Firecrackers are detonated in the morning to send the old year on its way and to drive away evil spirits. Houses and gardens are throughly cleaned, bodies and hair washed and nails manicured. Traditionally acacia oil was applied to the hair to drive away all misfortune. This is the day when the area's principle Buddha images are paraded alon Tha Phae Road to Wat Phra Singh. Led by the Phra Sihing Buddha Image, the statues are reverently cleansed with lustral water while every mortal gets completely drenched.

Worshippers lustrating the Phra Sihing Buddha at Wat Phra Singh
The next day, "Wan Nao" is an in between day, belonging to neither the old nor the new year. People should not quarrel or use harsh words. Food is prepared for merit-making on the next day. In the afternoon sand is taken to the temples where it is used to built small stupas. The sand replaces that which people have inadvertently carried away on their feet during the past year. The stupas are decorated with small Tung (pennants) often bearing signs of the Thai-Chinese zodiac.

Decorating a sand stupa with banners at Wat Phra Singh

Marchers in the Buddha image parade

Fingernail dance in the parade

Water dispense on Thae Phae Road. The pouring of water on each other gets more fun during Songkran festival.
The third day, April 15th, is "Wan Phaya Wan" the most important and auspicious one as it is the first day of the Thai New Year. Thai people goes to temples early in the morning to present the food prepared the day before, new robes, and other offerings to the monks. A day especially devoted to merit-making, captive birds, turtles and fish are sold to be release in the belief that this brings merit. In the evening, the "Dum Hua" ceremony will take place. This is the traditional ceremony in which younger people go to forgive and present the gift to the one they respect and receive their blessing and ask forgiveness for their transgression during the past year.
Traditionally the last days, "Wam Pak Pi". April 16th was the day in which respect was shown to one's elders by pouring scented water over their hands. This day and the day before were the two days for gently pouring water over a person's left shoulder aafter politely asking permission in order to wish them a happy new year.