Home : China Guide : Yunnan : Xishuangbanna
By SHEN XIAONING

Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, in southern Yunnan Province, is well known for its Peacock Dance, wild elephants, primeval forest, and not least its Water-Splashing Festival, its biggest of the year.

According to the lunar calendar, the 22nd day of the third month is the Water-Splashing Festival, and a few days beforehand, the whole of Xishuangbanna seethes with excitement at the Dragonboat Race, and the country fair, both of which signal the start of the Water-Splashing Festival.

North: Wild Elephant Valley        West: Menghai
South: Menghan     Menglong      East: Menglun  

Northeast: Mengyang & Jinuo Villages   Southeast: Mengla     

The Lancang River, running through Jinghong city, capital of Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture, is the venue for the Dragonboat Race. Teams of competitors from more than 10 locations throughout the prefecture, all wearing colorful costumes, come here to race across the Lancang River in long, narrow, dragon boats that each hold 20 or so people.

After about two hours of fierce rowing, the victors of the race go up to the rostrum and claim their prize, beating an Elephant Foot Drum (a drum worn at the waist, with an hourglass shape that resembles an elephant's foot) and dancing. After drinking fragrant corn liquor from a bamboo tube, they flourish their trophies, woven from bamboo strips and decorated with colored ribbons, to tumultuous applause.

The Dai outdoor market is held along the Lancang River at this time. All kinds of goods, multifarious snack stalls, as well as beautiful Dai ladies in sheath skirts, wearing flowers in their hair, and carrying colorful umbrellas may be seen here. It all makes a vibrant, animated and irresistible spectacle.

As the Buddhist Hinayana, or "Lesser Vehicle," is the religion of the Dai ethnic group, it is customary for Dai men to serve as monks for a period before they reach adulthood. For them, the temple is not only a place to practice Buddhism, but also to receive an education in such subjects as traditional Dai folklore, and language. Consequently young monks are a common sight on the crowded street, dressed in their orange kasayas, bargaining for goods, talking to beautiful Dai girls, and taking part in all kinds of activities, adding to the fascination of this whole scenario.

At the Water-Splashing Festival itself, those unfamiliar with local customs will be told that they may splash water on anyone other than senior citizens, small children, and policemen on duty. In Jinghong's Manting Park, there is a standing statue of Premier Zhou Enlai in a Dai style jacket, holding a jar full of water -- the emblem of good luck and happiness -- in his left hand, and, using a twig, splashing it with his right. In contrast to Premier Zhou's elegant carriage, the local people's manner is impulsive and uninhibitedly joyful.

On the morning of the festival, people gather along the roadside with buckets and basins of water, and attack each other with ladles of water, whether or not they are acquainted, and all cares are forgotten in an orgy of laughing, running and splashing.

A main feature of the festival is a float parade, when girls and boys sitting on floats splash water on the crowd, getting drenched themselves in the process. There is also a parade of three to five elephants wearing wreaths, and carrying rattan seats on their backs on which beautiful smiling girls sit, waving to the crowd. Before long, elephants and girls alike are wet through, but the girls smile as happily as ever, and the elephants wave their trunks in delight. Dai men in the song and dance parade beat elephant foot drums and dance to the rhythm, while Dai women splash water on the crowd. Soldiers, wearing green trousers and white waistcoats, carrying white basins, are also highly visible among the spectators, and take obvious pleasure in being a part of the festivities.

After a full morning of carnival fun, the tired people go home for a rest, and it is only pools of water left on the street, and rivulets running down from the treetops, that remain of the Water-Splashing Festival. (Source: China Today)

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