The yellow flowers of Padauk and Ngu War are gloriously in full bloom. The Gantgaw (Mesua ferrea), Ngu War, and Padauk flowers are competing for beauty and glory.
After a gust of Thingyan rain, the Padauk is in full bloom and the whole tree is assumed to be covered with gold dust. The Padauk flowers are scattered on the ground under the Padauk tree. It is also reluctant to trample them like they are sprinkled with pure gold. The flower exudes a sweet floral fragrance. The Gantgaw and Ngu war is not as grand and haunt as the Padauk flower. But they maintain their beauty in their own ways.
From a distance, you can hear the tweeting sound of a small koelbird. Oh! Signs of the upcoming Thingyan.
Oh, Thingyan!. It deviated from the Pali word -sankanta- which means transition or migration. In Sanskrit, it is Sakandra. In Myanmar, it means Thingyan. It is a time to leave the old year behind and move on to the new year. Buddhist Myanmar people usually celebrate the Thingyan festival to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year. They celebrate the Thingyan festival by sprinkling fragrant water on each other and pouring clean water to wash away the impurities of the old year. Water is cool, it cleanses the impurities and makes it clean, and it is believed that water has incomparable properties, so splashing water is considered to be auspicious.
The Thingyan Water Festival is celebrated by the people of Myanmar all over the country. Although the Thingyan Festival is a social festival, the Thingyan Festival of the ethnic groups of Myanmar is religious-related. Ethnic groups also celebrate Thingyan with their traditions. However, there is no uniformity from one region to another. The Thingyan Festival of the Myanmar people is a festival that reflects both religious and traditional culture. It has been a traditional festival that the Myanmar people have celebrated for many years and the Myanmar Thingyan Festival was designated as a World Heritage Listed festival by UNESCO in 2025.
Eve of Rakhine Thingyan Festival
It is recorded in the history of the Rakhine religion that in the year 123 Buddhist Era, the Buddha himself visited Dhanyawaddy in Rakhine and was allowed to cast and honour the Mahamyat Muni statue on his behalf. It is recorded that every time the Thingyan festival came, the king and the people, out of respect for the Buddha, would splash water with essences to the Buddha’s image before playing the water festival to gain merit. Since then, during the Rakhine Thingyan festival, people would first make devotional bathing water to the Buddha before playing the water festival. Thus, the Rakhine people hold a Buddha bathing ceremony (water bathing) on the eve of the Thingyan festival which has been maintained and celebrated since the time immemorial.
Nangtha Thway Festival
During the Thingyan festival, some days include the eve of Thingyan, the descent day of Thingyan, the middle day of Thingyan and the ascent day of Thingyan. In Rakhine, the eve of the Thingyan festival is usually held magnificently before the Thingyan festival. In other words, it is a Nangtha Thway Festival ( incense grinding festival ) and a Buddha bathing ceremony(water-bathing festival). The festival is usually held on the night before the eve of the Thingyan festival. It is also the one that the Rakhine people give special respect.
In rural villages, the people gather and grind incense in the front yard of the village elders, or the junction of the village under the light of lanterns. Each village girl will bring Thanaka grinding stone planks and incense sticks and gather to make incense grinding, wearing clothes to beautify themselves. In urban areas, people happily gather at the junction of each ward to grind incense.
The Nangtha Thway Festival is also a festival that can reveal the beauty of young women. Recently, groups of young men have also gathered in groups and performed Nangtha Thway Festival. On the night of the Nangtha Thway Festival, young people from the village and neighbourhood often have fun beating drums, playing the percussion, and dancing. They sing and dance to Thingyan songs, without being tired. The young men, looking at the smiles and the twinkling eyes of the young women performing the Nangtha Thway process, are dancing to the rhythm of the music. They are also very energetic. They ignore that they are tired. What a night of joy and happiness!
The boys and girls prance and dance around happily. They sing thanchuts( antiphonal chants) and songs. The girls also grind incense with an enigmatic smile until 11:00 pm or midnight. The royal maids (married women) collected the fragrant water in large silver bowls. The water is to be used in bathing the Buddha the next day (Thingyan Akya Day).
Bathing of Buddha Ceremony
The Bathing of the Buddha ceremony is usually held on the Akya day of Thingyan at the respective monastery. The fragrant water collected the night before will be put in small incense cups and the young women will carry it walking in a procession. The old women, middle-aged women, and dignified maids will walk in a procession carrying alms bowls on their heads. The elders and royal servants ( married men over 30 to 45 years old) will walk in the front of the procession to the monastery holding donations, flags, and kokkars( a kind of flagstaff).
Finally, the young men will hold the padesa tree ( tree-shaped stand ) dancing with the band and singing the traditional Rakhine Thingyan songs. It is the most active and joyful time for the young men. The dance performed during Thingyan is not graceful. It is performed by raising both arms and swaying the body left and right by the rhythm. Each person must be in harmony with the others.
When they arrive at the village monastery, they will walk around the monastery three or seven times clockwise. Then, they will donate offerings to the abbot, take the five precepts, and clean the entire monastery. They will clear the bushes and garbage around the monastery. They will bathe the Buddha images in the monastery hall. They clean Buddha statues. Young women will fetch water from the well and young men will perform washing and cleaning. They will prepare alms with the alms baskets they bring and offer them to the abbot. People will enjoy the leftovers together happily. What an unforgettable event!
Playing with Water
In Rakhine, a large boat is placed in a large Thingyan pandal and filled with water. Rakhine young girls wait for the men who come to splash water. A young man can ask for water from a young woman whom he wants to play with, among the young women waiting at the pandal and both face each other splashing water. They do not rush in splashing water. What a very romantic scene!
On the ascent day of Thingyan, people born on that day usually bring their own Thingyan pots, go to their planetary post of the pagoda and light candles and incense sticks. Similarly, on that day of Thingyan, people make Thingyan snacks, offer them to the Buddha, send them to the monasteries, and distribute them to the neighbours to gain merit.
On the first day of the new year, they also perform good deeds by releasing living creatures to their lives safely, washing the heads of the elderlies, and trimming their nails. They also do meritorious deeds by paying homage and providing offerings to the elderly. They invite Sayaws and Sanghas to their villages, wards or townships, donate offerings, hear the safeguarding Parittas recited by Sayadaws and share their merits.
Thingyan period contains the eve of Thingyan(Akyo nay), the descent day of Thingyan(Akya Nay), the middle day of Thingyan(Akyat Nay), the ascent day of Thingyan (Atet Nay), and the first day of the new year. In our Rakhine region, we welcome Thingyan by happily celebrating the incense grinding (Nangtha Thway) Festival on the night before Thingyan. On the eve of Thingyan, people go to the monastery to clean the monastery and bathe the Buddha statues before the Thingyan festival. The Thingyan water festival is usually played by young people until the first day of the new year, and it is a tradition to offer water to the elders on the last day of Thingyan.
Thingyan is coming soon! It is the time when the flowers of Gantgaw (Mesua ferrea), Ngu war and Padauk flowers are in full bloom. The old leaves fall and the new leaves sprout, welcoming the new year. Splashing water with each other during Thingyan is very peaceful. The symbol of water is washing away dirt, being cool and clear, being peaceful and being united as though water can not be cut by a knife. Therefore, I pray for all the citizens of Myanmar to have peace and clarity in their hearts and minds, and to have a strong spirit of unity like water that can not be cut by a knife.
Translator – Nyan Tin
