The Thai New Year is called Songkran. It is THE holiday of the year, stretching over a 10-12 day period, celebrating the first moon after spring
equinox. As it is a festival of fertility and a new cycle about to start it is done with water thrown, poured, sprayed, splashed, hosed and hurled on
anyone moving in public space.
In an agar culture a ceremonial tradition of wishing good luck and prosperity in the coming year, was properly done with water. Originally an act of
symbolism were scented water was poured over the hands or shoulder of the one receiving the greeting.
Today is very far from the symbolism and any reverence to the heavenly benefactors is long lost. BUT it is a good show and the back packers seem to
like it. One time a year you can get completely loose and virtually free to kill somebody by accident. Which sure does happen.
The solely traditional way of celebrating is no more than 20-25 years back, so something indicates the step up to drive it into hooliganism could stem
from tourist approval and engagement.
Traditional ways are still taught and practiced in schools and institutions.
Children love it.
But there's not far from the inhibiting rules of tradition to raids down the lawlessness of the road ... and it's not just for children.
Here's a couple of well grown and well equipped revellers surging the roadside. Seems to be farangs (westerners).
Of course lots of accidents happen. A normal death-toll for the 10 day period is about a 1000. Bad years are as high as 5000.
Authorities have tried regulating the phenomena, but are unable to deal with the core problem, that the actions of someone's "sanuk-sanan" are the
cause of death and mayhem to others.
'Sanuk-sanan' means 'feeling good', 'having a good time'. That the police cannot do any thing are in the nature of the festival, which is first
of all to have a good time. Next, the East Asian concept of guilt has to do with your actions. If you get killed because someone hurls water at you so
you crash and die, then it is your own fall, because only you decided to go on motorbike that moment on that particular road when a bucket of water
was hurled at you motorbike.
Impossible to address the problem itself, police have tried to make regulations concerning the water that's hurled, speedlimits on on the vehicles
cruising with water throwers and even set limits on the pressure from the water guns. Ice water has been banned too, to the regret of hardcore
pranksters, as the victims stiffened as they crashed. Some literally did... get heart seizure.
One year they decided wet t-shirts was a hazard to traffic. Old farangs (westerns) on motorbikes crashed because they were distracted by all the wet
t-shirts and didn't keep their eyes in the traffic, the presumption went.
Something there could be about it, it's always about sex in Thailand. Even in tourist promotions of the event they join the sex image with tradition.
These 'guys' in this pic I wouldn't touch though -- they are cute, but they are 'katoy', transvestites, drags when they're best.
Besides water, talcum powder is a popular ingredients to mix in the water or to throw by itself. Makes a lot of mess too. For some reason it's on the
ban list this year. It could be anthrax or something.
[edit on 15-4-2007 by khunmoon]