Word: oneness
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...once custom to lightly sprinkle, not douse, one's family and neighbors with flower stems and tree branches that had been dipped in water as a sign of reverence. "When I was young, first we had to splash our grandparents and parents to show our respect," says Mie Duc Hong, a 40-year-old Dai woman who lives in the Yunnanese village of Manchunman. "Then we could go splash our friends. It was a lot of fun. But it wasn't like it is now where people get so wet. We just sprinkled them with drops of water, not whole...
...Minority Park, an "ethnic theme park" that actually encompasses five Dai villages (Mie Duc Hong's community is one of them), the annual tradition has strayed furthest from its tranquil origins. There, the water-splashing portion of the festival is organized in a shallow pool every day at 3:30 p.m. Cable describes the spectacle as a "large-scale wet-T-shirt contest." For $5, tourists can rent plastic basins for splashing each other and scantily-clad Dai women. "Authenticity is much less important than entertainment in China," says Cable. "Tourists don't come to see authentic rituals. They come...
...this time the gods are so close, it is also an opportune moment to ask for precipitation; splashing therefore becomes a way of praying for plenty. By sprinkling water, the Dai, like the Indians before them, should be attempting to entice rainfall. It is a most basic appeal, but one that is easily forgotten in the disorder of the holiday. Perhaps not this year, though. "When it rains during the New Year's festival, it's particularly auspicious," says Cable. "It's supposed to mean that the Dai will have a bountiful harvest in the coming year." The drought...
...Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the new Kyrgyz government would abide by previous agreements to let Manas operate. But the Russian government has lobbied hard to force Kyrgyzstan to evict it, with a senior Russian official telling reporters on April 8 that "in Kyrgyzstan, there should be only one base - Russian." Since last Wednesday's upheaval, operations at the U.S. base have twice been shut down for two days amid deep concerns over security, and troops stationed there have been forbidden from leaving the base...
...One of the main threats to stability now, says Quinn-Judge, is a rift in the ruling government, which lacks a charismatic leader and "is not speaking with one voice." The more hard-line elements in their ranks are calling for harsh methods to gain full control of the country and put Bakiyev on trial. "I very much hope the regime is not going to move against him. The last thing a very fledgling and inchoate regime needs is to start relying on shooters," Quinn-Judge said by phone from Bishkek. Whether the opposing forces turn to violence...