Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Songkran (Encore)

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey everyone, this is Gary. I'm off for the next few days to hopefully see the solar eclipse, which is going to be passing over the United States, weather permitting. And while I'm away, I've lined up some encore episodes that, statistically speaking, most of you haven't heard before. I'll be back in just a few days with fresh new episodes for you to enjoy. Song Kran is the traditional festival celebrated in Thailand that marks the start of the Thai New Year. It's also known as the Water Festival, as it involves splashing water on one another as a symbolic gesture of cleansing and washing away the sins and bad luck of the previous year. However, it has since evolved into something much more than a religious observance.

Starting point is 00:00:40 It has become the world's biggest water fight. Learn more about Songran, the Thai New Year celebration on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now.

Starting point is 00:01:19 Time travel with us every week on the Thuline podcast from NPR. I will often toss a personal anecdote into episodes, but for this episode, I want to start with one. In 2010, I was in Bangkok on the first day of Sankran. I walked out of my hotel in the morning to walk over to a convenience store one block away. I knew it was Sondkran, but I had. had no idea what that really meant. As I was walking down the street, a woman who I had never seen before in my life walked up to me, pulled the collar of my shirt out, and then proceeded to dump a

Starting point is 00:01:58 bucket of water down my shirt and said in English, Happy New Year. I found out in my first steps out the door just what Sondcran was about. Getting water dumped down my shirt was the first of many wet Sondcran experiences I had over the next several days. So what exactly is the same? So what exactly is Songkran and what does it have to do with dumping water on strangers? The Thai New Year celebration actually has ancient roots. Mainland Southeast Asia has often been referred to as Indo-China. It's a term that isn't used as much anymore, but it reflects the fact that India and China have heavily influenced the region. However, all of the countries in the region weren't influenced by India and China equally. Countries like Vietnam were more influenced by China, mainly due to geography.

Starting point is 00:02:46 Countries like Burma and Thailand were more influenced by India. The traditional New Year's Day in India was calculated when the sun entered the constellation of Ares. Centuries ago, this occurred right around the spring equinox, so determining the new year by calculating the position of the sun against the constellations made sense. Over time, however, the procession of the earth resulted in the sun entering the constellation Ares weeks after the equinox. They stuck with the movement of the sun as the definition of the new year, not the equinox. The name of the sun's entrance into the constellation Ares in Sanskrit is

Starting point is 00:03:22 Mesa Senkrati, which is the origin of the word Sankran. As Hinduism spread eastward into Southeast Asia, the tradition of determining the New Year came with it. Today, almost every Buddhist and Hindu country in South and Southeast Asia has some celebration around the same time. In Thailand, at Songkran. In Myanmar, it's Thinian. In Cambodia, it's Chul-Tanamthamai. And in Laos, it's Pai-Mai. Some of you might be wondering, but Gary, Southeast Asia, isn't Hindu, it's Buddhist. To which I would reply, you are correct, but the entire region used to be profoundly Hindu. Angkor in Cambodia, the Mysong Sanctuary in Vietnam, and Prambanod in Indonesia, were all ancient Hindu temples. The last vestiges of Hinduism in the

Starting point is 00:04:12 region are on the island of Bali. Buddhism has existed in the region almost since the religion began, but it was only in the last thousand years or so that Theraveda Buddhism became dominant in places such as Burma and Thailand. The Buddhists kept the practice of celebrating New Year when the sun entered the constellation of Ares. While Buddhists kept the date, they added more traditions to the New Year celebrations. In particular, for the purpose of this episode, they use the New Year as an opportunity to clean temples as well as the statues of the Buddha. In particular, they used water to clean the statues, as water is a way to wash off the old year. Temples and statues aren't the only things clean during Sankran. It's an excuse to clean homes,

Starting point is 00:04:56 offices, and schools as well. And it's also the time of year when people will travel to be reunited with their families. People will visit temples, make offerings of food, as well as give food to monks. Different regions in Thailand will have their own particular tradition surrounding Sankran. In the east, pagodas or stupas made out of sand will be constructed. These can be enormous structures that are only temporary. In other places, they will have colorful parades and instill other regions the practice of releasing fish and birds into the wild takes place. Songran became so popular in Thailand that the government officially expanded Sankran to three days,

Starting point is 00:05:34 setting the dates from April 12th to the 14th in most years. However, the starting and ending dates can vary by a day. The celebrations which are held around South and Southeast Asia all occur on April 13th or 14th, depending on the country. Many of the celebrations, especially those in Southeast Asia, are very similar to the traditions found in Thailand. However, none of what I have mentioned so far can explain why someone would walk up to a stranger and pour a bucket of water down their shirt. All of the things I've mentioned so far are traditions that are not very visible. If you happen to be in Thailand during Sankran, you will definitely know that something is happening, but it isn't for any of the reasons I've just said.

Starting point is 00:06:19 In addition to washing statues with water, it's considered good luck to sprinkle water on someone's head. This tradition has somehow morphed and escalated into the entire country becoming a three-day giant water fight. A massive aquatic battle of everyone versus everyone. No one is safe, and there are no excuses. The weapons in this water fight include everything from buckets and hoses to super-soakers. When I walked down the street during Sondkran, I became an unwitting combatant in a water war that I didn't know was taking place. If you're driving down the street on a motorbike, someone will probably hit you with water,

Starting point is 00:06:59 even though they probably shouldn't, more on that in a bit. There are people set up on some streets who just try to hit passers-by with water by whatever means possible. It doesn't matter if you have electronics on you that might be damaged. If you want to protect them, do not carry them out in public during Sankran. When I was there in Songran in 2010, I went to participate in one of the biggest Songran events on Kosen Road. Kosan Road in Bangkok is normally a shady place where backpackers stay, and I usually did my vest to avoid it. During Sankran, almost all the businesses on Kosan Road shut down as it has turned into the biggest street party in the city. Everyone has some sort of squirt gun.

Starting point is 00:07:39 I brought my camera with me to photograph it, but nobody cared that I was carrying a sensitive piece of electronics. I had to jerry-rig water protection for my camera by putting it in a plastic bag and then attaching the opening of the bag around my lens hood. Thousands of people moved up and down the street, getting hit with water from every direction, including people with hoses from the sidelines. In addition to the water, many people will also create a type of paste out of water and talcum powder and smear that on people as well. While Kosan Road was the epicenter for this in Bangkok, this was happening all over the country. When I was there in 2010, it was in the middle of a massive political event known as the

Starting point is 00:08:19 Red Shirt protests. Hundreds of thousands of people had descended on Bangkok to protest the government. Before everything died down in May, dozens of people would be dead. dead and thousands injured in political violence. However, despite what was happening, both sides seemed to have come to an effective ceasefire during Sankran. Driving around the city, I saw impromptu musical performances on street corners, as well as the ever-present water guns. The same scene was taking place in cities all around the country. I should note that there is a dark side to Sankan as well. You probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that traffic fatalities usually

Starting point is 00:08:57 double during Songkran each year. 70 to 80% of those fatalities happen on motorbikes. Thailand is a very popular tourist destination. However, during Songkran, it becomes extra busy as people come to take part in the festivities. I can't say I blame them. I wasn't in Thailand for Songkran, but being there for it was a unique experience and one that I'll never forget. If you're the sort of person that doesn't like having water dumped on your head by strangers,

Starting point is 00:09:25 and I can totally understand. understand if that's the case, then by all means, avoid Thailand during Sankran. However, for those of you who are in Thailand or are celebrating the New Year's festivities in any of the neighboring countries, just let me say a hearty, Sawa di Pai Mai. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Kiever. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers.

Starting point is 00:09:57 Your support helps me put out a show every single. day. And also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters. If you'd like to talk to other listeners of the show and members of the Completionist Club, you can join the Everything Everywhere Daily Facebook group or Discord server. Links to everything are in the show notes.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Songkran (Encore)

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