Songkran 2025
Monday 14th April marks the start of the Songkran festival in Northern Thailand, while in Central Thailand it started on the previous day.
This festival is well known as the traditional Thai New Year following the solar calendar and the word Songkran comes from the Sanskrit word Sankranti and literally means "going from one place to another, transference, course change, entry into" particularly in the context of sun or planets. In this case in reference to the Sun entering into the zodiac of Aries.
The passage of the sun into Aries is one that is fraught with danger for the world at large and as a means of prognostication there is the “…tradition that at dawn a Songkrant angel arises in the eastern sky and by her appearance signifies what the future holds. The inscriptions forming the well-known encyclopedia in stone of Wat Po, Bangkok, ascribe the tradition to Pali sources coming from the Mons of Burma. They tell of the Brahman sage Kapila and how he lost his head in a wager. The head had to be borne aloft, and each year as the sun enters Aries one of his seven daughters as the Songkrant angel flies round Mount Meru bearing her father’s head… All of which really depends, or so says our treatise, on which day of the week is 13th April.
Sunday. The angel is named Dungsa (Lanna: Paenshri), she wears pomegranate flowers behind the ears, is adorned with precious stones and is eating figs. In her right hand she has a discus, in her left a conch, and she rides a Garuda. That year cultivated rice will not do very well.
Monday. The angel is Goraga (in Lanna tradition: Manora), and she wears behind the ears the flowers of Mayodandron sp. (Bignonacea), is adorned with pearls and eats butter. In her right hand she has a sword, in the left a staff, and she rides a tiger. That year there will be trouble for ministers and nobles.”
(Pg.123, Quaritch Wales, H.G. (1983) Divination in Thailand: The hopes and fears of a Southeast Asian people, Curzon Press: London)
Songkran is usually considered to consist of three days.
The first is Wan Songkran which is regarded as the last day of the year and the hottest day of the year when night and day last exactly 12 hours each. On this day, the whole family cleans the home from top to bottom and it usually this day in which water fights start too.
“The second day, Wan Now, is seen as the day between the old year and the new one. It is a time to exercise caution in behaviour and speech. Speaking ill of others or cursing will bring bad luck throughout the year… In the afternoon, communities band together to carry sand into the temple compound to build a model stupa which is decorated with small brightly coloured flags on bamboo slivers…
The third day, Paya Wan, is New Year’s Day. Early in the morning, people converge on the temples with food and offerings for the monks. Also on this day, Buddha images both in temples and in people’s homes will be washed and polished and then sprinkled with scented water, which once again is an occasion for merit making. Then free-for-all water fights erupt once more. Later this same day, younger family members will pay formal visits on their elders, often taking small gifts of food or clothes. Kneeling, they will trickle scented water into the cupped hands of their seniors while asking for their blessings. Once these have been bestowed, they hurry back to the fray.”
(Pg.106 Walton, G. & Tudsawan, D. Songkhran and Loy Krathong: Some Myths and Legends of Origin, in Walton, G. (1989) A Northern Miscellany: Essays from the North of Thailand, Jareuk Publications: Chiang Mai)
On the fourth day sometimes in Lanna there are more celebrations and the “…day is “Wanpakpi”, there are series of rituals such as remove one’s bad luck ceremony, prolong one’s life ceremony, make merit for the four gods (Worshipping the angels from each direction), and light the life candle in the house.”
(Pg.45 Department of Cultural Promotion (2562) Songkran Festival, Ministry of Culture Thailand)
Chanting for Pouring Water on the Buddha Image
namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa x3
ukāsa ratanattaye pamādena dvārattayena kataṁ
sabbaṁ aparādhaṁ khamatu no bhante ||
ukāsa bhante bhagavā ayaṁ kālo gimhanta utu
kāla sampatto icchāma bhagavantaṁ abhisiñcituṁ
sakkaccaṁ ārādhanaṁ karoma ||
(This chanting is to invite the Buddha to the place to bathe. Use it to move the images from the shrine.)
iminā siñca neneva rogo soko upaddavo
nibbantu sabbaso ete sukhī hontu nirantaraṁ ||
(This chant is to bathe the images and wash the sanctuary and remove any obstacles, diseases, sadness etc.)
namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa x3
ukāsa ratanattaye pamādena dvārattayena kataṁ
sabbaṁ aparādhaṁ khamatu no bhante ||
(This chanting is to recognise one ̍s flaws towards the triple gem and make amends. This is to return the images to the shrine.)
