What is 'Thidingyut' Festival?
October 18th, 2013.
(FRIDAY).
ME-1375, the 14th
waxing day of Thidingyut
Myanmar is famous for its
festivals such as 'Thingyan' and 'Thidingyut' festivals. 'Thidingyut' festival
is also well known as "Maha
Pa-wah-rana"(Maha Pãvāranã). It is the lighting festival that is
observed on Thidingyut full moon day every year. Thidingyut full moon day is
known as "Abhidhmma Day" or
"Maha-pa-wah-rana Day".
Thidingyut festival is a nationwide festival in Myanmar, so five or more holidays are declared by the government to observe the festival.
During those holidays, people go to their parents, grandparents and teachers to pay obeisance. They show their respect by giving some food and some kinds of medicine to them. Moreover, the 'Maha-pa-wah-rana' festival is also observed in some towns. People arrange to offer some suitable objects, such as clocks, robes and bowls, to the Buddhist monks. (Nowadays, some people offer modern appliances, such as fridges and coolers, and some kinds of furniture such as cupboards.) They hang those small objects on some wooden frameworks of different shapes. Those frameworks are known as "Pa-dae-thar-pin" and four people can lift them easily. 'Pa-dae-thar-pin' means 'tree of multiple objects'. Some small objects and money are hang on Pa-dae-thar-pins. From all different wards and quarters, people do their Pa-dae-thar-pins very pretty to compete with others'. On the 13th and 14th waxing days of Thidingyut, people send them to the monastery where there is 'Maha-pa-wah-rana' Hall. Some funny people group each other to dance some traditional dance, such as 'U Shwe-yo' and 'Ta-nge-daw' dances, playing the Owe-si, Doe-pat, Bamboo Claps and other instruments on the way to the monastery. ('U Shwe-yo' dance is a type of two performers' dance to play at being as the couple of U Shwe-yo and Daw Moe. 'Ta-nge-daw' dance is a dance that a dancer dances and performs as a young boy. 'Owe-si' is a type of long drum, 'Doe-pat' is a type of short drum and 'Bamboo Clap' is a musical instrument that is made by bamboo and it is like a clap.)
On
Thidingyut full moon day, all Buddhist monks in the town come to the 'Maha-pa-wah-rana' Hall and do 'Maha-pa-wah-rana' or 'Maha-pa-wah-rana kama' all together in
the afternoon. 'Maha-pa-wah-rana kama'
is an act of making a request for forgiveness to each other if they mistook
each other during three 'Wah' months.
After doing the act of 'Maha-pa-wah-rana',
they come out of the Hall. People take off the objects from the Pa-dae-thar-pins and arrange all lucky
draws for all monks while they are doing the 'Maha-pa-wah-rana' act. When the Buddhist monks come out of the
Hall, they walk along the passageway to accept the offers by drawing the
tickets. Along the walkway, people from all different wards offer the wining
objects to the monks. Some people offer isolated objects to the monks.
At
night, people light oil lamps in front of their houses and on the brick walls
of the enclosures as the offers. (Nowadays,
candles are used instead of the open oil lamps.) They send up hot-air
balloons to offer the lights to the Buddha. Their children explode fireworks
and firecrackers to enjoy the festival. Moreover, people light one or more
thousand open oil lamps at the pagodas or monasteries as an offer. 1The essence of Thidingyut
lighting festival is that people aim at offering the lights to the Buddha.
According to the Buddhist scriptures(i), the Buddha went down to Sin-gat-sa-nago(ii) from the Ta-va-tain-sa divines' realm(iii)
on Thidingyut full moon day after he had taught San-toat-sita(iv) and other divines Abhidhmma(v) during three Wah months(vi). When he came down there in the evening, many
people welcomed him to the town by lighting lamps. People were delighted at the
sight of the Buddha's appearance with the delightful aureole in the sunset.
From that moment on, people have loved to offer lamps at night. Myanmar people
have lit open oil lamps on Thidingyut full moon day every year because of this
purpose. Moreover, the aim of sending up hot-air balloons is also to offer
light to the Buddha. (Thidingyut festival
is not the same as Ta-saung-taing festival in Myanmar.) Even those
children, who set fireworks and firecrackes off, enjoy the festival not only
for fun but also for this purpose, in general. { (i) The Buddhist scriptures are known
as 'Pitakas'. (ii) Sin-gat-sa-nago was a city in the
Era of the Buddha. (iii) Ta-vain-tain-sa divines' realm is
one of the six realms of divines and the second level realm where is the second nearest to the World of Human Beings and is situated on
Mount. Meru, according to the
Buddhist scriptures. (iv) San-toat-sita is a divine from Toat-sita Realm that is upper than the
level of Ta-va-tain-sa Realm. According
to the scriptures, Maya, the Buddha's
mother, became Sam-toat-sita divine in
the hereafter after her death. (v) Abhidhmma is the third doctrine in
the Pitakas and it has seven parts;
the observers and Buddhist monks often say it the deepest in thoughts. (vi) Three
Wah months are Wah-so, Wah-khaung
and Taw-tha-lin in general. It is, in other words, a period of
the monsoon retreat when the Buddhist monks stay at the designated monastery
and they don't go far anywhere else because they observe a lot of percepts of
the monks during this period. It is a long period of sabbath, too. The period
starts on Wah-so full moon day and its end is on Thidingyut full moon day.
Sometimes, the period lasts four months in the leap years according to the
Burmese lunar calendar; the first Wah-so,
the second Wah-so, Wah-khaung and Taw-tha-lin. }
The
reason, why Thidingyut full moon day is also well known as 'Maha-pa-wah-rana Day', is that the Buddhist monks do Maha-pa-wah-rana act on this full moon day after three Wah months. It is 2the essence of Maha-pa-wah-rana festival and
that people offer some objects to them. Especially, in some towns in Myanmar,
people observe this festival as the Town festival. People do 'Pa-dae-thar-pins' and send them to the
monastery of Maha-pa-wah-rana hall to
celebrate the festival. Although people do Pa-dae-thar-pins
in Ka Htein or Ta-saung-taing festival1, it
is not the same as of this festival.
People
remember the special event of 'Abhidhmma
Day' when the Buddha had taught the divines Abhidhmma in the Ta-va-tain-sa
Realm during three Wah months and it
was finished the act of giving the teachings on Thidingyut full moon day. 3The
essence of Abhidhmma Day is to be
grateful very much to our parents because the Buddha taught Sam-toat-sita Abhidhmma as a deep sense of gratitude. Our parents have
the great consideration in fulfilling their children without any expectation
that their children will give something back to them, so we should have and
give a consideration back in their benevolence, i.e., we should have a deep
sense of gratitude to them. That is why, the Buddhist people go to their
parents houses and pay obeisance to them
on Thidingyut full moon day. Moreover, they pay obeisance to their
elders who have the great consideration in their needs.
(The Buddha also taught Ven.Sarri Potta Abhidhmma near Lake Anaw-dabba
in the Himalayan forests every morning during three Wah monts while he was
teaching the divines Abhidhmma in Ta-va-tain-sa realm. According to the
Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha went down to Lake Anaw-dab in the Himalayan
forest every morning during three Wah months for his ablutions. Then, he went
to Ottara-kuru for his meal before noon. He came back to Lake Anaw-dab and had
his meal near that lake. Ven.Sarri Potta came to him and the Buddha taught him
Abhidhmma again. He taught it to the other 500 monks again, thus we can learn
Abhidhmma nowadays. However, the Abhidhmma scriptures we learn today is just
the brief of Abhidhmma that the Buddha taught Ta-va-tain-sa divines.)
The Thidingyut seasonal music
diffuse in all streets and roads in those towns that observe Maha-pa-wah-rana festival. People enjoy
the festival very much by acting different performances and dances. They go
round the town, sing many songs, dance and act performances. Especially,
Thidingyut Maha-pa-wah-rana festival in some towns is famous for its Tham-chats1. (1. Tham-chats are the antiphonal chants sung
by a group of people about matters, such as prices, social reforms and
politics. It is a type of chants usually sung to make a positive critical
remarks honestly and to make a stand against losses of people what are
happening in the country.) Tham-chat groups
go round the town and sing those antiphons on decorated Thidingyut floats. (A Thidingyut float is like a Thingyan float.)
They compete each other to get the gold medals or prize. The town committee
awards the first prize to the best 'Tham-chat'
band. It delights the people that the groups wish each other 'Good luck!', 'Be healthy!' or 'Be successful!' saying each other's
names when the floats face each other in streets and roads in the town.
Thidingyut festival is also known
as "Ta-va-tain-sa festival"
or "Myin-mo festival". (Myin-mo festival means 'Meru festival'.)
Welcome to Myanmar and enjoy Thidingyut
festival!!
Don’t forget, please! Visit
Chaung-U where is famous for its Maha-pa-wah-rana festival. It's my native
town!! J
Visit there once! You'll enjoy it
so much and never forget it!!
Happy Thidingyut!
Posted
by
Zaw
Win Htet (Chaung-U).
Websites you should visit;
http://www.interstartours.com/myanmar-festivals.html
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