[triardwonvada]

Going through our things today and sorting out what we wanted to pack for our move to the Pacific Northwest this summer, we came across this sheet with the legend of Songkran. It was one of the materials we volunteers received from our Peace Corps trainers during our time in Thailand. We have no idea where it came from originally.

The Songkran Festival

Around the 13th of April, where ever you travel in Thailand, you come across people going about in groups with water in all kinds of vessels. They throw water on all who pass, laughing gaily. This is Songkran time. Songkran probably originated in southern India. This custom is observed in most of the countries of the Golden Peninsula in some form or other. There is an ancient legend which goes with the celebrations.

Once upon a time, there lived in the heavenly region with Indra as the supreme God, a young celestial named Dharmapal. He was widely recognized as a very wise and holy young god. There was a man of great wealth on earth at the time, who was constantly performing great and good deeds, who had no son. He prayed to Indra to give him one. To reward him, Indra asked Dharmapal to leave his heavenly home to be born as a son of the rich and good man.

When Dharmapal became a young man, he began to acquire a great reputation for wisdom and goodness. A celestial from the heavens of Brahma, who was not under Iindra became disturbed for some unexplained reason. It probably was jealousy, as gods and men with powers seem prone to this weakness. He came one day to see Dharmapal and entered into a contest of wisdom with him. The god, whose name was Kabilphrom, posed a certain question, which had to be answered within seven days. He offered to sever his head if Dharmapal could give him the right answer, but if Dharmapal failed, Kabilphrom would take the young man's head.

Dharmapal racked his brain for six days, but on the seventh he went and laid down under a tall tree in the forest. Through his knowledge of animal languages, he overheard a pair of eagles tell his mate the answer to Kabilphrom's question. When Kabilphrom appeared at the end of the day, Dharmapal was ready with the correct answer.

The question was: in which part of the human body does "rasi" reside? Now this word cannot be satisfactorily translated into English or into any language. Nor is it originally a Thai word. The meaning ranges from "section", " blessing", " luster", "radiance", to "greatness". The correct answer expected by Kabilphrom resided in the face in the morning, and the chest in the middle of the day, and in the feet in the evening. Human beings washed and scented the respective parts of the body regularly during the respective parts of the day.

Kabilphrom had no choice now but to allow his head to be severed from his body. He called his seven daughters together. He explained that he was such a powerful god that if his severed head fell on the land, a great fire would spread all over the earth. If thrown into the ocean, it would dry up. If thrown into the air, the heavens would be destroyed. A special receptacle must be made to receive his head. It must then be placed in a mountain cave high up in the abode of the gods. Every 365 days one of his daughters was to commemorate her father's honor by leading a great procession with his head on the receptacle across the sky, circling Mount Krailas, the dwelling place of the highest of the gods

The term Soingkran used by astrologers means "passing". It is used for the passing of the sun from one house into the next. The thirteenth of April marks the passing of the sun from the 12th, the last back into its so-called "first rasi". We know that the sun is at its hottest and brightest during this month all over the southern parts of India and the countries of the Golden Region. Of course, for rice growers, harvest is usually in February and by March, all work for the year is over. May is the beginning of the working year, as the southwest monsoon starts. And ploughing sometimes is carried out the last week of April, as soon as the soil is softened by early rains. The middle of April is about the right time for festivals.

Songkran and Easter are celebrated very closely one to the other. Songkran is reckoned by the solar , and Easter by the lunar calendar. Both originally may have marked the return of the sun to the northern hemisphere, and the timewhen life reawakens after winter in northern latitudes, and after the hot dry season in monsoon countries.

Whatever its origin, Songkran is a happy time for people in Thailand. Along with the throwing of water, the playing of games, and cooking of seasonal foods, most Thai families invite Buddhist monks into their homes offering them the best of the dishes and sweets. Some Thai families keep small pieces of bones belonging to their parents or grandparents, which have been intentionally left unconsumed by the fire at the cremation. These they wash with scented water after the monks have recited some Buddhist scripture in the Pali language. Members of the families listen with not so much attention since they do not understand Pali. The kind act of offering food seems to make everyone happy, and that is the most important thing to the Thai people. Some Songkran celebrations are carried on for the better part of the week. Then people settle down to await the monsoon. They mend their farm implements and their houses to be ready for coming rains.