Songkran.
A Sanskrit word meaning crossing, transition, passage.
It’s a new year. I never thought you’d be attending a New Year’s celebration in April.
On Monday, the morning after the Hungarian elections, I thought that maybe a new year is beginning for us, for Hungarians too. As a Hungarian here, I experience the new several times.
New year. A wonderful harmony in the symphony of life. Outside and inside. Far from home and at home.
Pi Mai Lao
Many people think that Songkran is here as well as in Thailand. It’s true that it’s the same holiday period and the same holiday, but here it’s called Pi Mai Lao.
Laotian New Year.
Pi Mai Lao is the traditional New Year’s celebration of Laos, which symbolizes the renewal of the year according to the Buddhist calendar. People go to temples, clean Buddha statues, and sprinkle water on each other, symbolizing purification and a new beginning. The holiday is both a spiritual and a liberated community experience, where water games, music, and smiles dominate the streets.
It’s an incredible experience to experience it here.
I didn’t see temple visits this time, just like I don’t usually see them here in Asia. There are no special days or times. I’ve never seen people go to temples en masse. However, I did see people entering temples at almost every hour, because I’ve visited many temples, at all times of the day. The people I saw were praying as simply as possible, without any decorations, near me.
I often think of an idea that I read somewhere during my preparation period. The thought foretold that here in Asia I would not recognize a religious person by the fact that he goes to church on Sunday, but by the way he behaves with his fellow human beings – including me.
There is truth in this, this is my simple experience.
I did not see the statues being cleaned either.
But all the rest is reality.
Water, water, more water, and of course, talcum powder
I’ve been in this crazy party frenzy for three evenings and nights now. Today I still have a farewell from your colorful mess to say.
Now I’d rather draw a picture of how this celebration goes than write a chronological presentation. The memories of the past nights are swirling in my head, heart, and body.
This celebration is a very personal experience. The best thing to do is to throw yourself into the middle of the crowd.
But before you get there, you have to pass by a lot of places where you can get free water. Even if you don’t ask for it. You can avoid it by crossing to the other side of the road or going around the block. But maybe it’s better not to try to escape. You don’t have much chance of that.
People are waiting by the side of the road. Well, not just by lying in wait there. They’re organizing a little garden party in front of the houses. Chairs, tables, ovens, ice, beer. And of course, speakers. Music is playing everywhere. Not quietly.
And there are a few other must-have accessories for a garden party. For example, inflatable pools. Barrels. Hoses and water guns. Or rather, water cannons. The pool is not really for swimming, although it can be. The hose is constantly running, and everyone dares to splash water from the pool and the barrel on passersby. The more modest ones use glasses, the braver ones use bowls, and the real big-gun competitors use buckets.
Passersby respond with water guns. And water grenades, i.e. water filled in balloons. Some people just smile and stand there pouring it on their necks, faces, and backs. Some fight back. Small, friendly battles break out. No one takes it badly, everyone walks the streets with this in mind. The pros carry waterproof bags. The amateurs dry the banknotes.
If you think this can be avoided, you might be right. You just have to cross to the other side of the road. If you’re lucky, there’s no other party there. Because mobilized armies are deployed in a lot of places.
A well-equipped army also deploys helicopters. Well, these appear on the streets in the form of pickups. You can easily put a few hundred liters of water and a deployable team on a platform. The fiercest battles are between roadside posts and cars. The road is full of slag, and buckets are fired, they spray everything they have from cars. High-pressure hoses are often used.
And the shelling is continuous. There are innocent victims who have their head in the wrong place at the wrong time and can easily get a water bomb in the face.
If you manage to reach the city center dry despite all your precautions, you will surely fall there.
Part of the celebration is the crazy city center. There, on every corner, there is a stage with a large concert volume. DJs spin records at a thousand speeds. They shoot foam. Laser shows and hundreds of lights color the battlefield.
As usual, everyone is spraying everything here. This is necessary, because if you get here, you will turn into a herring, you will need water to survive. In the thick of the crowd, you can only dance and crawl. Progress is a difficult task even for one person, despite this, scooters and cars are constantly trying to do it. The cars are in helicopter mode as part of the party. But you can also see that the window of a normal car is only slightly lowered and the barrel of a huge water cannon is peeking out from inside.
Drifting with the crowd, stopping to dance with people, or just moving along: a different kind of meditation on the world.
In battle, we must not forget about chemical weapons. Here we use gunpowder for this. On the street at this time, vendors actually sell 3 things: water guns, gunpowder and beer.
The powder can also be used dry, I have seen in several cases that they simply sprinkle a large amount on someone’s head. But most people use it mixed with water. They carry glasses, small buckets, with the powder mixed with water in them. And people use it to smear each other’s faces, clothes, and bodies.
They caress each other’s faces with a kind smile and smear the clay-like substance on them. If both of them carry it with them, then mutually.
And in the meantime, Happy Lao New Year wishes are heard from everywhere.
You don’t have to worry about the powder. They usually use very nice-smelling powders. Menthol, baby scented, etc. If the experience is intense and it goes into your nose, you spit it out. If it stings your eyes, a bucket of water will wash your eyes out in the next few meters. But people pay attention to each other and use the substance with respect. No one wants to push the other person away.
It’s not just people who are smeared. If your car is parked on these streets, you can take it to the car wash the next day. If you come onto the street with a motorbike, the motorbike will also get painted, not just you. But no one has a problem with that. It’s part of the holiday.
I’ve seen brave drivers who rolled down their windows while they were driving. That way they got a face mask too.
Sometimes the dust comes up, sometimes it washes off. If you immerse yourself in the experience, every touch is friendly, every well-wish is happy and sincere.
That’s what I did. I was completely immersed.
I’ve already survived three battles, today I’m going to the final battle. If I don’t show up tomorrow, I’ve failed.
Part of the experience is that on the second night I got another random invitation to a party. Then I spent a good time here the next night.
That’s how I had the opportunity to stand by the road. To fight with passersby. Fighting helicopters. Getting soaked to the skin, drying off, getting soaked again.
Drinking beer. Lots of it. Eating, because the invitation also comes with food. The first night, he ate a small egg with a bird in it. The second night, they wanted me to taste the chicken egg. I didn’t object here either. They were delicious dishes too.
As we enjoyed the holiday with this company, as I walked the streets alone and yet not lonely in the huge noise of the city and became part of the crowd, I was touched by how irresponsibly happy the people here are. Together, in one place. With respect and friendship.
I think a Rio carnival could be like that too. I’ll check that out too.
In the meantime, I’ll keep this first Buddhist New Year’s cavalcade among my eternal memories.
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