As we rounded the corner I screamed. The cold dump of water jolted me upright.
‘Ok, ok, I’m now awake!’ I exclaimed to my friends who appeared somewhat pleased at my plight. I looked down at my chest as I wiped hair out of my eyes. I was dry no longer.
‘Ok, ok, I’m now awake!’ I exclaimed to my friends who appeared somewhat pleased at my plight. I looked down at my chest as I wiped hair out of my eyes. I was dry no longer.
They had been hit just a few minutes before, and again five minutes before that. My inner smirk at thinking I sat on the right side of the songthaew quickly evaporated.
I looked back down the road. Children of all ages laughingly watched as we disappeared from view.
‘We gotcha’ their faces explained with incredible glee.
Thai New Year. Songkran.
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| Songkran supplies in the 7/11 |
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| 7/11 Songkran supplies |
Its origins come from India, and the word ‘Songkran’ derives from the Sanskrit meaning to ‘change or transform’. Its the passage of the sun from one sign of the zodiac to another, and this particular change is celebrated when the sun enters Aries, also closely related to the Vernal Equinox. Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and northern India also have related festivities around this time.
The water aspects of this celebration come from a spring cleaning idea: once a year water is poured on images and statues of Buddha. Using the ‘blessed’ water from the cleaning of the images to tip on people is to bring good luck and fortune.
Most Thais consider the on-the-street water dumping a cleansing ritual to wash away the bad thoughts and deeds from the previous year. Buddha statues and monks continue to be symbolically bathed to pay respect.
Its now turned into a whole – of – country two day water fight.
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| Crowds of fun! |
We whizzed past a middle aged Farang. He stood up, facing us with a grin as wide as the toy gun he was holding. Squirting it, he caught some of the van. We laughed at his overt pure delight as he sat down, waiting for the next victims.
‘This is going to be fun.’
Fierce nodding, ‘A whole Island allowed to throw water on each other!’
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| The hello kitty hand gun |
We commenced a meander around the sectioned off streets of Thongsala, armed only with a ‘Hello Kitty’ water gun and a ‘Green machine’. The shops were closed, but the people were out. With tables, with buckets, with guns.
A Thai women smiles at my friends as they look hesitantly at her and then towards the other side of the street. She smiles some more, curling her fingers up, ‘Come, come, come.’
‘Uh oh…’ my friend giggles.
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| After my 40th splash! 🙂 |
She reaches into her bucket, a dull white clay substance oozes through her fingers, she reaches towards my friend’s face and smears the substance on her cheeks, both women smiling. She dips her hand in again, beckoning me, reaching to my face.
She spreads it on my blotchy, pasty skin, eyes sparkling. It smells fragrant and flowery, a distinct contrast to the murky alley water in the streets. This is actually one of the oldest Songkran traditions where white paste is smeared on faces and arms to both protect from and ward of evil.
As I move past her I feel the squirt of water on my face. I look up quickly to see a guy with a bright green and yellow pistol and hurriedly turned my eyes away.
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| People ready to pounce outside the 7/11 |
A few steps later a woman saunters up to me with a bucket in her hand, ‘Happy New Year!’ As she tips some over my head and shoulders, leaving a little for each of my friends.
Further on a guy holds a water balloon the size of a basketball and motions for me to come closer. Unsure what he’s about to do, I step a little closer. He presses the basketball onto me, grabbing my shoulder. The balloon shatters between us. Two more buckets of water follow quickly from different directions.
I realised my underwear was now fully soaked.
‘That’s why I didn’t wear any’ my friend smiles.
‘Very sensible, very sensible indeed.’
We head to a sectioned off area with loud music, and an eclectic bunch of Thai men on a stage with equally eclectic dance moves. The only common factor: they were dressed in different shades of black.
The crowds below were movements of bodies, water guns and talcolm powder. Tanks of water stood 6 feet off the ground with people climbing over them like flies on a honey jar.
Young, old, boys to men, girls to women, everyone let their joy emerge.
Permission not to work. Permission to have fun
Permission for everyone to be silly. And play with water.
Permission for everyone to be silly. And play with water.
So simple. Yet so much fun.
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