About Tai(Shan) New Year (Part-1)

author by Mawkmoonmai

“The New Year” means the time, that previous year had past and a new year has restarted. A year can be determined because there are calendars or calculation. The Shan has also a calendar since ancient days.

It was called “Parg-yiem-wan”, meaning “a pattern to examine”. Our people had known for a long time. That the New Year is after the water festival that was in the fifth month of the Shan calendar.

So, some were puzzled, why the new year would fall on the fifth month and why there are two new year in a single year. Actually “the new year” in the fifth month, after the water festival it the “Buddhist New Year” which the Shans accepted with their religion.

The “Lern Seign” the first month, is the true Shan New Year according to the Shan Calendar. According to the old writing, there are three reasons about this existence of the Shan year.

The Shan Kingdom of “Muang Mao or Murng-mao” was forunded in 94 BC, which was the 450 Buddhist Era. The “Muang Mao” was also known as “Sueng Mong Keng Wi” or “Mong Long Poong Tai”.

And the Shan year was reinstituted since that time. So, the Shan year (Pi Tai) was based on the 450 BE. There for the year BE – 450
e.g. BE 2554 (in 2009) – 450 = Tai Era 2104 (in 2009-2010)

As Buddha's Era, and this “Pi Mong” was widely used in most Tai groups. It is also used in Burma, and was also known as Koja or Burmese Era. So, the Shans had two calendars, the Shan and the “Pi Mong or Koja” in which the latter was more commonly used.

The “Pi Mong” was the based on the old year in the Indian calendar, but due to the astrologer’s foretold the future of the state, the year was revised down or adjusted down and restarted.

Note- already posted by Shaninformation.org
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