INFORMATION SHEET No. A 0387 (I)

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                                      INFORMATION SHEET
		
                          No. A 0387 (I)                       14 April 1998 

           ? A splash of clean water to usher in a happy new year ?  

                                              ( by Win Naing ) 

		The Thingyan Festival or Water Festival in April lasts three to five days.
It ushers Myanmar New Year.  This year, we enjoy four days of Thingyan--Akyo
Day, Akya Day, Akyat Day and Atet Day.

		Thingyan days find us once again in the joyful mood of the season in
cooling, soothing and heat-quenching water.  Thingyan is, perhaps, the oldest
festival of our golden land and it is clearly the most exciting and merry
festival.

		Excitement and joy

		And why is Thingyan so exciting and joyous? It is the perfect liberty with
which one splashes water on friends and strangers alike.  The music and
dancing have become an integral part of the festival.  It is also the almost
overwhelming pleasure one derives from playing with the water on what must be
the hottest days of the year.  And most probably at last, Thingyan is exciting
and so well-liked because of the long stretch of holidays.  

		Whatever the reason, there is always plenty of fun at Thingyan.  It is the
most joyous festival for the young and the young-at-heart.  Thingyan revellers
let go of themselves freely, some enjoying Thingyan entertainment at various
pandals, some going around town in cars and some splashing water onto one
another, and some performing meritorious deeds at monasteries, keeping the
sabbath and alms-offering ceremonies.

		Mostly, young people and children eagerly await the festival. It is a time
for teens to see and to be seen and to mix with other people. According to
Myanmar traditions, the youngsters help the elderly people bathe, wash their
hair and manicure their nails.  They pay respects to monks, parents, teachers
and elders.  

		It is an occasion for the old and pious to keep the sabbath either at home
or at the monasteries and perform meritorious deeds.  Devotees throng pagodas
in their respective areas and offer incense and candles and stay at the
pagodas and monasteries the whole day to meditate or say their rosary.

		Focus

		The focus of the festival is water.  Most people believe throwing or
sprinkling of water cleanses the ills of the old year.  Water thrown on one
another during the festival is a gesture to cleanse themselves from the dirt
of the old year and to be cool and fresh as water for the New Year.

		Thingyan is the prelude to the New year and it represents the transition
from the old year to the new.

		Legend

		There is a legend about Thingyan.  The Thagyamin,  King to the Celestial
beings, had a wager with a rival and the loser would have his head cut off.
The Thagyamin won but the head was so hot that it could not be thrown onto the
ground, into the water nor in the air. Seven daughters of the Devas take turns
holding the head.  When the head changes hands the Thagyamin visits the earth
 .

		When the Thagyamin visits earth he makes a list of good  people in his gold
book and the bad in a dog-leather book.

		Padauk

		Thingyan is not complete without the padauk, ?Pterocarpus Indicus?, the
national  flower which bursts into bloom at Thingyan.  Padauk is different
from others, for in the scorching heat of Tabaung-Tagu when trees, big and
small, shed their leaves and are mere skeletons, the padauk tree stands
emerald green, and, the yellow blossoms in clusters provide exquisite harmony.

		It may not be as majestic as the orchid, nor as elegant as the rose, nor as
fragrant as the jasmine and gardenia and neither as romantic as the thazin.
Yet padauk is unique.  All women of this land fall for it.  The young adorn
their heads with padauk why the old offer it with reverence to Buddha.
Myanmar women?s craze for the golden blossoms of padauk is perhaps due to the
fact that it blooms only one day in a year, with the first April showers.
?You wait a whole year, your reward lasts only a day,? sings a poet in praise.

		Padauk buds emerge in hundreds while waiting for the shower, and, once
touched by a rain shower, they are a golden glory.  The whole tree is gold and
emerald and the air bears its mild fragrance.

		Padauk is faithful.  So long as it is not touched by raindrops,  the buds
stubbornly hang on.  In some years when the shower is late, padauk does not
bloom even during and after Thingyan.

		Thingyan spirit

		Thingyan has its charm and cultural significance unique to Myanmar-- the
festival always brings with it the spirit of goodwill, fun and charity.
Thingyan spirit is loving spirit and friendly spirit which most essentially
embodies the loving spirit of Myanmar people.  Thingyan spirit is a also
forward-looking spirit as it glances towards the New Year.  Moreover, it is
also a spirit which is outward-expressing in social relations, for people mix
and mingle regardless of class at this time.

		Thingyan spirit is also infused with the essence of the temperament and
cultural heritage of the people.  It is something that is cherished and
preserved and never sullied by rude language, wild manners and indecent
behaviour.

		We in Myanmar are rejoicing with New Year thoughts while ushering in
Thingyan today, Akyo Day. May what lies ahead be good for all of us, for all
humanity. 
 
		Happy Thingyan to all.

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