Songkran is the festival of which ethnic group

1. Songkran Festival is a traditional festival of the Dai and Thai-speaking ethnic groups and Southeast Asia, on the same day, people from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and other countries, as well as overseas Thai settlements such as Kowloon City in Hong Kong and Zhonghe District of New Taipei City in Taiwan get up early in the morning to bathe and worship the Buddha, and then begin to celebrate for several consecutive days, during which everyone splashes each other with pure water to pray for washing away the bad luck of the past year. Songkran is the New Year of the Dai people, which corresponds to the middle of April in the Gregorian calendar and generally lasts for 3 to 7 days.

2. The Songkran Festival is a comprehensive stage to show the traditional culture of the Dai people, such as water culture, dance culture, food culture, clothing culture and folk admiration, and is an important window for studying the history of the Dai people, which has high academic value. The Songkran Festival displays art performances such as Zhangha and White Elephant Dance, which help to understand the national characteristics of the Dai people who feel nature, love water and respect Buddha, and are gentle and quiet. At the same time, the Songkran Festival is also an important link to strengthen the unity of the people of all ethnic groups in Xishuangbanna, and has played a positive role in the friendly cooperation and exchanges between Xishuangbanna and Southeast Asian countries, and in promoting the socio-economic and cultural development of the whole state.

On May 20, 2006, the folk custom was approved to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

3. The historical origin of Songkran:

Originating in India, Songkran is a ritual of ancient Brahmanism, which was later absorbed by Buddhism and introduced to the Dai region of Yunnan in China through Burma from the late 12th century to the early 13th century. With the deepening of the influence of Buddhism in the Dai area, the Songkran Festival has become a national custom and has been handed down.

There is a record in the book "Che Li": "On the morning of New Year's Day, all the nobles and civilians bathed and changed their clothes, and worshiped the Buddha in the Buddha Temple. The women each carry a pick of water, wash the dust for the Buddha, from the top to the heel, dripping to the fullest, and the mud Buddha almost collapsed.

After bathing in the Buddha, the people poured water on each other, splashing water and playing with water." Although this record is not auspicious, it has told people that splashing water is an activity that must be held by the Dai people during the New Year. The "New Year's Day" mentioned above is not January 1 of the Gregorian calendar, but the day of the Dai New Year.

The Songkran Festival is the most solemn festival of the Dai nationality, and it is also the festival with the largest influence and the largest number of participants among the ethnic minority festivals in Yunnan. Songkran is the Dai New Year, which corresponds to the middle of April in the Gregorian calendar, and the festival generally lasts from 3 to 7 days. The first day is called "wheat day" in Dai language, similar to the Chinese New Year's Eve of the lunar calendar; The next day, the Dai language is called "annoying day" (empty day); The third day is the New Year, called "Horn Net Ma", which is the first day of the year, and people regard this day as the most beautiful and auspicious day.

In the early morning of the festival, the men, women and children of the Dai nationality put on festive costumes, carried clear water, first went to the Buddhist temple to bathe the Buddha, and then began to splash water on each other, wishing each other auspiciousness, happiness and health. People danced and shouted "Water!" Water!

Water! The sound of drums and gongs resounded in the sky, and the splashes of blessing splashed everywhere, and the scene was very spectacular.