Welcome, Thingyan!

Welcome, Thingyan!

Thingyan known as water festival is coming nearer. Just a month or so. Everyone is exciting to celebrate this enjoyable time of the year. Every Myanmar loves this special occasion because it has its own distinct features.

According to tradition, it is the time of welcoming a new year in terms of Myanmar way. Its seasonal flower is Padauk which is loved and adored by every woman, young and old alike. Many want to offer these flowers to Lord Buddha. But, to adorn the flower on their heads is a must for Myanmar woman folk. Its smell is not too strong or not too sweet. Just to refresh the worrisome mind of inhalers of Padauk flowers.

This time almost every ward is blessed with these flowers when Thingyan welcoming rain falls gently onto the Padauk trees. Then, on the next day, the trees will bloom exuberantly. Every ward is flagrant with its sweet smell and looks splendid with the attracting yellow color of it.

Young children are really preparing to celebrate Thingyan in their fanciful ways. They like to stay out all day long in the streets or in the sun, even skipping their favourite meals. Parents have to take care of them when their offsprings are enjoying the merriest time of the year because the kids want to be mischievous and naughty.

They like to throw water to anyone who happens to pass in their ways. But, there is a taboo not to throw water onto any pregnant woman, any person who observes eight or ten precepts  or any postman.

Some use yay pywits (water sprayer guns) or some use plastic water bowl. Most of them use used and battered condensed milk can. During the time, they sing their favourite song, "Throwing water with dilapidated can makes us unflinching, unflinching." In this way, they try to ridicule the merry making water throwers, and participants.

The more they sing the cheerful verse, the harder they become. It is the way how children are celebrating Thingyan. But, youths, adolescents, and adults use ribaldry especially on reveller cars. Some of them express a kind of courtship.

For  teenagers, they bend on showing off. They like to wear fancy and trendy clothes for this occasion. Some youths want to dye their hair in different colors whatever they like to do it. Dying hair has became popular among young people these days. Two or three decades ago, young people of those times do not know much about dying hair.

In terms of music, two or three decades ago, they used Heavy Metal music or Rock-n-Roll which could be heard in every fun-making pandal which used powerful loud speakers to the enjoyment of the revellers.

Nowadays, they prefer playing hip-hop music rather than rock or something like that. Tastes are ephemeral. Youths try to shape their own age in this way.

Another prevalent trend which can be seen in this age is people like to set up high pandals which have to be looked up. They try to put colorful vinyl sheets in front of the pandals to attract revellers. In this way, some of Myanmar traditions have been lost in the name of modernity.

But, for some people, they do not forget to perform meritorious deeds in this occasion. In some other wards, they build temporary pandals to prepare for traditional foods like Mote Lone Yay Paw which can be translated literally as Float Ball which is embedded with juggery.

It is mouth watering to taste this famous food. Everyone wants to taste it whenever they have a chance to do it.

Figure: water spray gun

Actually, they prepare it for donating. They do not discriminate, anyone rich or poor can enjoy it when he/ she happens to pass before the pandal. This is another kind of custom seen in Thingyan.

Next thing one can see in Thingyan is decorated cars which are occupied by a group of dancers, and a crowd of jesters who sing "Than Gyut" which is a kind of drills in which a leader leads uttering sardonic verses followed by his peers, and it can criticise properly the current political, social, and economical situations to the enjoyment of audience.

In this way, Thingyan still survive in the hearts of Myanmar people. Therefore, they want to celebrate it again and again when the time for it is coming in. It can be truly said that Thingyan and Myanmar people are inseparable.■

San Lin Tun