The Belief and Teaching Dhamma Appeared New Year Tradition in Lanna

Abstract

This research entitled ‘Beliefs and Buddhist Teaching appeared in the Lanna Songkran Festival tradition has three aims 1) to study the history of the Lanna Songkran Festival tradition, 2) to study beliefs appeared in the Lanna Songkran Festival tradition and   3) to study Buddhist Teaching appeared in the Lanna Songkran Festival tradition. This study was a qualitative research by collecting data from documentary appeared in Tipitaka scripture, text book concerning about this study and presented the data in from of descriptive writing.

The research findings were as the follows;

The counting the number of day of New year day of the people in pass time depended on the expertise about astronomy or observing from the star on the sky. When the people in the pass had seen these stars on the sky, they thought of the various pictures of those stars that one of these stars will be in the suppose level of the Sun way or pass into. This thing had symbol of curve that same the egg from the North to South by calling solar system. These solar systems have 12 parts by calling 12 dignities that each dignity had one group of the star. When the first of Sun passed in the point of some group, it was called the month of Songkran. Songkran means passing or move in because the period of the time from the Sun rise to the dignity until it had passed already and it come to the dignity again. It was one month and when it had passed around the dignity until finished 12 dignities. It means one year that hold our world for establishing the universal. It was not hold the Sun for establishing the universal.      

In term of the beliefs appeared in the Lanna Songkran Festival tradition consists of five aspects namely; 1) the belief in the pass of age, 2 )  the belief about the carrying sand come to the temple, 3 )  the belief in putting the holly water to the senior,  4 )  the belief about the exorcising the unfavourable  things from their life and 5 ) the belief about making the long life.

The Buddhist Teaching appeared in the Lanna Songkran Festival tradition were four aspects namely; 1) Tilakkhana, 2 ) Saddha, 3) Puññakiriyã-vatthu, 4) Sangahavatthu, and 5)  Kataññukatavedi, These Buddhist Teachings aimed to teach Lanna people to become the good member of families, communities and social according to tradition and culture in Lanna society.