The traditional Sanggreng water festival, one of the major celebrations of the Rakhine community, has begun in Cox’s Bazar. According to the Rakhine calendar, the year 1387 ended on Thursday (April 16), and the new year 1388 began on Friday (April 17). The community is celebrating the seven-day festival, as it does every year, to mark the end of the old year and the start of the new one.
In keeping with social customs, the festival’s formalities begin on April 14. Buddhist monasteries observe the first few days with religious rituals. The three-day water festival, the main attraction, begins on the first day of the new year.
Director of Cox’s Bazar Cultural Centre, Mong Chen Hla Rakhine, stated that on occasion, children, youths, and elders from Rakhine villages participate in processions to Buddhist monasteries in the morning. Teenagers carry clay pots, while elders carry symbolic items. After the religious rituals, youths gather in groups in the afternoon and participate in the water festival at various pandals with music and dance.
He added that each panda is decorated with flowers and colourful paper. Water-filled drums are placed at the centre, with young men and women standing on both sides. Through music and dance, they splash “auspicious water” at each other. They believe this act washes away the sorrow, negativity, and misfortune of the past year.
This year, the festival is being held at around 37 pandas across the district, including East and West Fish Markets, Phulbag Road, Kyangpara, Hangorpara, Tekpara, Burmese School Road, Buddhist Temple Road, and Chaulbazar. In addition, more than 50 pandas have been established in various parts of the district, including Maheshkhali, Teknaf, Chakaria, Harbang, Ramu, and Chowfal Dandi.
Authorities have taken various measures to ensure overall security during the festival. Cox’s Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Debdut Majumdar said police have been deployed at every panda,l and increased plainclothes surveillance has been stepped up. He expressed hope that the event would conclude peacefully in a festive, harmonious atmosphere.
Organisers have invited everyone to enjoy the colourful Sanggreng festival of the Rakhine community.
By Abdu Rashid Manik
Photo: Abdu Rashid Manik
