Songkran Festival… Thai Citizens Celebrating Home Away From Home
FOR many Thailand citizens, families and friends, the Songkran Festival held recently in Lagos, was a unique opportunity to celebrate Thailand’s New Year and culture.
The event was a blend of fun reminiscent of a yearly festival that adult Thai citizens in Nigeria had grown up with, while for the children, it was an event that linked them to their roots.
It was also an opportunity to experience Thailand food and culture, especially by the non Thailand citizens, who participated in the activities.
Aside from the splashing and bathing with water, which is synonymous with the festival, there were a lot of foods and drinks, especially local Thailand foods and drinks for participants.
There were water guns that participants used in spraying one another water as they engaged in water fight, an activity synonymous with the festival. While some came prepared with plastic water guns, the organisers also offered for sale plastic water guns to interested buyers.
It was all fun as friends and family members ran after one another spraying water on themselves using the plastic water guns.
At some points, some of the participants abandoned the water guns for bowls in throwing water and bathing each other. Throughout the ceremony, there were lots of dance, songs, foods and water play. There was also enough water to play with. It was observed that there was a blend of culture already, as some of the Thai dances were performed using afrobeats by Nigerian artistes.
The event, tagged, ‘ Songkran Water Warfare Festival’ was organised by Orchid House Thai Restaurant in partnership with Thailand community in Nigeria to foster cordial relationship with Thai people and with their friends in host countries.
So, the festival sought to promote the values including, ‘ food and culture’ of the Thai people, with splashes of water that was not meant to disrespect, but strictly showcase patriotism to the great Asian nation even in a ritual manner on the other land.
That, precisely, was achieved at the Orchid House Thai Restaurant, the venue chosen by the Thai community in Victoria Island, Lagos for the all- important festival.
Nattanee Booncharoen ‘ Madam Tukie’, Chief Executive Officer of Orchid House Thai Restaurant, who led the celebration in Lagos, said Thai people are such hospitable persons that have also found in their Nigerian hosts the hospitality by which they have thrived, “especially for the 30 years I have lived in Nigeria.”
She said: “People call me ‘ Tukie’. I have been in Nigeria for about 30 years now and had been in import business until the naira fell to N300 per a dollar and I stopped to import. Now, I am into restaurant business by name Orchid House Thai Restaurant. My first restaurant was in Apapa, the second one in Victoria Island and the third one in Ikeja.
“The Songkran Water Festival is now very popular. If you look at social media, Facebook or the news; CNN, everywhere they talk about Songkran in Thailand, because Songkran is like a pan- traditional New Year.
“This year, we had a big event, because we joined hands together with Thai community. We have small community here in Nigeria, but we are really proud to be seen. So, we join hands together and we want to make this festival exactly like it is done in Thailand much as we can.
“That is why you should come and you will see our traditional people, you will see our ‘ fighting war’ and you will see what we are doing and you will see what the Thai food tastes like.
“We are talking here about Thai food, about Thai culture, that is very important focus to us. And the special thing is that UNESCO gave us certificate this year about our water festival. That is what made us to celebrate this year more than every other year we have done.
“That is why we Thai people, mainly here in Lagos, want to do this also to promote our Songkran. If you Google the Internet, you will find out that over 20 million people globally focus now on Thailand. We have run it here in Nigeria for four years now, even next year we will make it bigger.”
On the future of the festival in Nigeria, she said: “In the future, we want streets to wear Thailand national colours, with restaurants attracted here to join us to make it bigger in the future. Maybe from next year or two years, all these streets will be full with people. That is what we are planning. This year, we want people to see what we are doing and what we can do.”
Explaining the water fight in the festival, she said: “The water washes away the bad omen of last year and make you come free for the New Year. It is like a culture where you pour water on your people with similar meaning like that. But this one we do for long, long years back in Thailand.”
At the event were some Nigerian elite and members of the diplomatic corps that includ - ed Senator Daisy Danjuma, wife of Lieutenant General Theophilus Y akubu Danjuma, Nigeria’s former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defence; and veteran journalist, Mrs. Remi Agbowu.
Speaking, Danjuma provided insight on her participation, saying: “I am here to celebrate with my Thai friends. It is ver y important day for them, their New Year.
“So, we ( Nigerians) celebrate our independ - ence, they celebrate with us, therefore, we, their friends, should celebrate with them as well.
“We have a large community of Thai people in Nigeria, Asian people generally, and since it is their day, you can see everywhere is bright with multiple colours, we are all having fun. It is a great day for them and for us as well, who are their friends.”
On relationship with Thai people Danjuma said: “The relationship is very cordial and we have a few things in common; they love pepper, we love pepper a lot and they are very hospital people. Like you know, we are headquarters of hospitability. They love to celebrate, Nigerians do that as well. We have a lot of things in common. Whichever way the Europeans tend to class us, we are all happy together.
“I wish them a very joyous celebration. We are all here to celebrate with them and it’s been fun. You can see for yourselves that everybody is happy and I wish them all the best wishes and a stronger bond for both countries; Nigeria and Thailand.”
According to one of the coordinators of the event, Mr. Nawapad Wichitchan, “the Songkran, Thai’s New Year, is marked by the coming together of Thai families to celebrate the New Year. This is the hottest day in the year in Thailand, so, the water fight while cooling the temperature signifies the passing of the hot season and the transition to the rainy season.”
Another member of the organising team, Ms. Nayufa Dangprasittiforn, explained that as immigrants in Nigeria, the festival is an opportunity for cultural exchange. She added that yearly, invitation is thrown open to other nationals to participate.
“It is an event in Thailand and the United Nations recognise it as an avenue for cultural exchange. It is important for Thai nationals to celebrate this even if they are far from home and we have a big Thai community in Lagos. People from other nations can participate, enjoy the food, the water fight and give a blessing to each other.”
She said that while the most exciting part of the Songkran is the water fight which has been modernised from its original state, the significance of the ritual as an avenue for blessing loved ones remains. “Originally, we just pour the water on the of older people softly to give a wish or a blessing. That is the traditional way but it has been developed into a water fight,” she said.
Commenting also, one of the Nigerian participants, Mr. James Emoka, said the festival is an opportunity to take a break from life’s realities.
“I love to play with water guns. I’m a kid at heart. Though I’ve known about the Songkran but it’s my first time participating. It’s exciting, mind rejuvenating and quite refreshing. It’s very good as it just helps you forget what you are going through in life, you know how sometimes life can be rocky.”