New Years, Thai Style
Burilam, Nakhon Sawan, Thailand
“Be prepared to get wet,” my friend, Julia, warned me. This was true. But she didn’t warn me I’d have my best New Year’s celebration and one of my most memorable travel experiences. We were heading to the Burilam village in the Nakhon Sawan province of Thailand for the Songkran festival – Thai New Year.
Songkran is celebrated with water and lots of it. The water is traditionally for bathing Buddha images and sprinkling water over the hands of monks and elders as a sign of respect. Nowadays it is also an excuse for the world’s biggest water fight.
Due to Julia’s connections in Bangkok, six of us were privileged to be invited to this remote village for the celebrations. The Burilam village is small, having little contact with farang (foreigners). In fact, we were such a novelty that when we walked around the village, we were approached by children who wanted to touch us and gently sprinkle water over us.
Our second day in the village was the main celebration day. I woke to the sounds of chanting and prayers of the village monks at the local temple off in the distance. Songkran tradition usually calls for the villagers to head to the temple with offerings of cooked dishes, fruit and new robes. In Burilam, the monks do a village tour, visiting several of the houses to collect these offerings.
The monks’ visit also included a ceremony in the main living area of the house. Sitting along a wall, facing the family and invited friends, the monks took hold of a long piece of string, chanting and placing blessings upon the household. It was an interactive affair with the guests chanting replies to the blessings.
The monks then feasted on the cooked dishes laid out for them, before collecting the rest of the offerings and moving on to the next stop in their village tour. We were invited to dine on the leftover food of the feast. And a feast it was – there was possibly enough food for the whole village. This meant a midday nap to prepare for the rest of the day’s festivities and the party that evening.
Later in the day, one of the other guests woke me from my sleep on the concrete floor just in time for the next and most important ceremony. The event that followed explained why the number of elder guests had doubled since the morning. It was Wan Park Bpee – the main water aspect of the Songkran festival.
Wan Park Bpee is the gentle pouring of water over the hands of the village elders as a blessing and sign of respect. The water symbolises cleansing of the spirit and all good things associated with life.
The elders were lined up with a large drum of water. Everyone was given bowls, tins, and cups – anything that would hold water. We filled our containers and walked along the line, pouring water over the hands of the elders and saying blessings as we went. To follow tradition, only the hands are to be washed, but by the end of the ceremony, every elder was drenched from head to toe.
The celebrations weren’t over yet. The elders were dried off and everyone went back inside the house for the tying of the strings ritual – an expression of good wishes for the New Year. While tying the strings, each person recited a short prayer or blessing. The fact that I didn’t know any Thai blessings was not a problem. My “Happy New Year” blessing still received smiles and nods.
A full-scale water fight followed for the rest of the day and evening. The “fight” seemed to span the entire village, including drive-by water balloon bombings from other villagers on motorbikes.
In the evening we got stuck in the traditional Thai rice wine, which I’m sure the villagers also use as fuel for their motorbikes!
Late that night, as I fell into a deep, rice wine-induced sleep, I thought about how I had been invited to take part in something quite special. I saw the gentler side of Songkran. As a farang, I felt very privileged to be welcomed into this village so warmly, as if I were part of the family.
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