51 / 54
50
Festival
in
China
W
ater Splashing
Background
The Water Splashing Festival mainly celebrated by Dai ethnic
in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and Dehong Dai and
Jingbo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province is also called
Buddha Bathing Festival. It falls on the first day in Dai calendar, and
hence is also known as Dai New Year.
The festival in Dai vernacular is called “Shanggan”,
transliterated fromSanscrit with themeaning of “rotation”, symbolizing
the Sun has passed a full round circle on the zodiac signs and a
new year is coming. The Water Splashing Festival is one of the most
widely celebrated traditional festivals of Dai people in Xishuangbanna
and Dehong, while other ethnics including Achang, Deang, Bulang
and Wa also celebrate this festival.
According to research of Chinese scholars, the earliest records
concerning Water Splashing Festival appeared in the history book
Northern Zhou Dynasty, stating “People splashed water on each
other to have fun.” It got popular and celebrated with singing and
dancing during Tang Dynasty, confirmed by many historical records
at that time.