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APA Personalities Chinese Florida Hawaii Indiana Kentucky Pacific Islands Tennessee
MAY is ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH
AAPI program managers are providing a variety of information this month to celebrate.
We are posting it here for everyone to enjoy!Rattana saw a portion of New Year Baby, a documentary of Socheata Poeuv, a filmmaker, who went back to Cambodia (nestled between Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam) to trace her family roots. Her parents shared the memories of how they survived the Khmer Rouge genocide, escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand, and moved the family to Texas, USA. It’s a heartfelt documentary of what her parents went through to provide a better life for their children.
You can go to the below website to learn more. This is aired on the PBS/OETA network (www.pbs.org); you can check the schedule to find out the next airing of the documentary. Here’s the link to the site: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newyearbaby/index.html?campaign=pbshomefeatures_4_independentlensbrnewyearbaby_2008-05-28.
Elyse Benson shares her memories of China. (8MB's)
Manny Wei takes us to Vietnam.
Rattana Kittitornsup-Nantz's fabulous slide show of Thailand (6MB's)
Facts for Feature
Interesting information about Asians in the United States
Submitted by Peter P. Bautista, P.E.Take part in Asian Heritage Month festivities and events across the country during May.
Journey to China 1988
- by Melissa GutierrezPhoto Journal of South India
- by Elwood Holzworth
Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival in Thai
Date: May
Venue: Phya Thaen Park in the Northeastern province of Yasothon
The rocket festival, known in Thai as 'Bun Bang Fai,' is an ancient local festival that has been carried out continuously till modern times. It is popularly celebrated in Yasothon, a province in Thailand's northeast, and is usually held in the second week of May.
In Thailand, the month of May is the beginning of the rainy season and farmers are ready to begin planting their rice fields. The festival is associated with traditional beliefs in the supernatural powers that help promote the production of rice crops for the coming planting season.
The legend has it that once there was a rain god named Vassakan who loved to be worshipped with fire. The townspeople created a rocket or 'Bang Fai' to send to heaven, where the god resided. They believed that the god would hear their entreaties and bless them with plentiful rain for rice cultivation. So the celebration is entirely to the god of rain.
Like several other Thai festivals, Buddhist monks would be in attendance for the ceremony. The rockets, launch platforms and other decorations for this event are prepared for several weeks before the actual event. An average rocket is some nine metres in length and carries 20-25 kilograms of gunpowder
Originally the rockets were made out of natural materials, but these days, they are slightly more sophisticated. Rockets are packed with several kilos of gunpowder instead. In order to make the rocket festival much more fun, various competitions for the biggest and highest flying rocket are held, all conducted with the undying Thai spirit of 'sanook'.
On the festival day, rockets are paraded to the launch site. Villagers dress in colorful traditional costumes, playing, teasing and dancing, to accompany the procession.
The climax of the festival is the launch time. The rockets are fired from their launch platforms one by one. Noisy folk music and cheers can be heard for each liftoff. The rocket that reaches the greatest height is declared the winner. The owner of this rocket dances and pushes for rewards from the crowds. The owners of rockets that exploded or failed to fly are thrown in the mud.
Whether or not their wishes are granted as they believe, the festival helps strengthen and promote harmony among the villagers, which will be needed when the new crop season begins.Rocket on a float in Yasothon, Thailand, prior to a procession as part of the rocket festival.
In a country where agriculture and farming sustains the livelihood of over 70 per cent of the population, the festivals and ceremonies associated with a bountiful harvest are central elements of the way of life in the rural communities. Agricultural productivity and abundance are the principle objectives of both the royal as well as the folk traditions. These rituals performed on auspicious dates in the sixth lunar month (approximately in May) signal the beginning of the planting season.
Born of the traditional beliefs of the Isan people, the sprightly "Bun Bang Fai" Rocket Festival, the most celebrated of Isan's merit-making rituals, has been strictly observed by the residents of Isan for generations and is essentially an annual ritual to ensure that the seasonal rains fall at the appropriate time in the planting cycle. In this process, Buddhist merit-making traditions are also observed and reinforced.
Highlights of the annual Bun Bang Fai celebrations being held this year include a procession of old-style rockets mounted on traditional carts, a beauty pageant, and cheerleader and photo contests, and a traditional 'Palaeng' I-san style dinner.
The festival which is held over a period of three days strengthens community spirit. The first day known as "Wan Sook Dib" features lively processions as rocket teams transport the "May 13-15, 2005" rockets in a procession and perform a ritual to pay homage to Chao Pu, the spirit of the city pillar. Each is escorted by a colourful dance troupe.
The second day is the rocket procession day. Modern-day rockets are mounted on vehicles or traditional carts to be drawn in the parade. The "Bang Fai" rockets come in different sizes. For example, the Bang Fai Kilo is packed with one kilogram of nitrate, while the Bang Fai Meun - 12 kilograms, and the Bang Fai Saen - 120 kilograms of nitrate. The rocket-making technicians play a vital role in deciding the right amount of nitrate to be mixed with the charcoal. With the wrong formula, a rocket could blow up prematurely before it is launched high into the sky. The rocket cylinders are usually made from the bottom half of the bamboo.
It is also a day for the ordination of novices with festive celebrations follows merit-making rituals. Dance, music, song and revelry are integral elements of the processions as the parade of beautifully decorated rockets wind their way through the village on their way to the temple offering an opportunity for the residents and visitors to admire the impressive works of art.
The rockets are finally launched on the third day in which various rocket contests are held. With the launch of the rockets, predictions are made with regard to the fortunes of the coming harvest. The Rocket Festival in Yasothon Province is spectacular and provides a tremendous opportunity to experience Isan-style festive fun.
The Rocket Festival stems from the belief that when this merit-making ceremony is held, gods and spirits will reciprocate with seasonal rain and a bountiful harvest.
Information and pictures retrieved from Google search engine, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the Tourism Authority of Thailand at www.tatnews.org, and http://www.thailand.com/travel/festival/festivals_bunfai.htm.
Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and together with Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival forms one of the three major Chinese holidays. Since the summer is a time when diseases most easily spread, Dragon Boat Festival began as an occasion for driving off evil spirits and pestilence and for finding peace in one's life. The festival was later enriched by the legend of the patriot Chu Yuan.
Dragon Boat Festival is highlighted by the dragon boat races, in which competing teams drive their boats forward rowing to the rhythm of pounding drums. This lively and colorful tradition has continued unbroken for centuries to the present day.
The festival's significance as a time for warding off evil and disease is symbolized by a number of customary practices such as hanging calamus and moxa on the front door, and pasting up pictures of Chung Kuei (a nemesis of evil spirits). Adults drink hsiung huang wine and children are given fragrant sachets, both of which are said to possess qualities for preventing evil and bringing peace. Another custom practiced in Taiwan is "fetching noon water," in which people draw well water on the afternoon of the festival in the belief that it will cure illness. And if you can successfully stand an egg on its end exactly at 12:00 noon, then the coming year will be a lucky one.
The most popular dish during Dragon Boat Festival is tzung tzu, originally eaten in memory of the patriot Chu Yuan, but gradually evolving into a snack eaten during normal occasions as well.
Of all the major holidays celebrated in China, Dragon Boat Festival has the longest history. Occurring at the beginning of summer when insects thrive, the festival was distinguished from other occasions in earlier days as a time for reminding family members to take care of their health. The Chinese continue to heed this wisdom, however, by replacing the traditional customs of hanging calamus and moxa, drinking hsiung huang wine, and giving sachets, with more advanced methods for protecting one’s health.
The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in many cities throughout the North America and numerous other countries, such as, the UK, Asia, and Australia, and New Zealand.
http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/dragon_e/dragon.htm
Photo courtesy of http://www.uscg.mil/d14/units/kukui/Dragon%202002.htm
Start off with a tour of Guam with Angela..
In the saga of American immigration, the Chinese experience is relatively unknown. But it's a dramatic story of struggle and triumph, progress and setbacks, discrimination and assimilation.
Check out this great website to learn more.
"Suffering under a Great Injustice"
A photographic documentary of the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California and the Japanese Americans interned there during World War II.
