The Myanmar Student Association, in partnership with the Union Board, Hamilton Lugar School Living-Learning Center and the ASEAN Studies Program, hosted their annual Water Festival on Saturday at the Indiana Memorial Union. The event commemorated the culture of Myanmar and brought together friends and family to celebrate the new year.
Myanmar’s traditional new year celebration, known as Thingyan, takes place over four-to-five days each April, marking the shift from the old year to the new, according to the lunisolar calendar.
At the heart of the festival is the playful yet meaningful act of splashing water on one another to symbolize the cleansing of past misdeeds and misfortunes. Neighborhoods turn into water-soaked arenas with water guns, hoses and buckets, complete with traditional performances of song and dance.
Beyond the revelry, Thingyan is a time for doing good deeds. Burmese citizens offer food to monks, release animals like fish and birds as a gesture of compassion and spend time at monasteries. Thingyan coincides with a wave of new year water celebrations across the region like Songkran in Thailand, Pi Mai in Laos and the Cambodian New Year.
Originally set to be held around the Showalter Fountain, the festivities were moved indoors to the Whittenberger Auditorium due to adverse weather conditions. At the entrance of the auditorium, participants were welcomed in with a flower to tuck behind their ear.
Booths were set up along the entrance for people to engage in the culture of Myanmar. Participants could look at cultural artifacts and instruments on display, learn about the country’s political history, indulge in traditional snacks, write their name in Burmese, paint their own pathein umbrellas — miniature parasols made from bamboo — and take pictures against a decorated backdrop.
Sam Thant, co-president of the Myanmar Student Association, said a major goal of this year’s celebration was to bring awareness to the current situation in Myanmar.
“There’s a lot going on in the country,” she said. “So we’re using this as a way to combine entertainment with cultural awareness and advocacy.”
The event shed light on the February 2021 military coup d'état, which plunged the country into ongoing political unrest, armed conflict and humanitarian crises, leaving many communities grappling with displacement, shortages and violence.
On March 28, 2025, a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, causing over 3,600 fatalities and 5,000 injuries. The widespread destruction also left over 200,000 people homeless and facing shortages of water, food and shelter.
The booths featured an urgent relief fundraiser and MSA’s fundraiser to support the rebuilding efforts in Myanmar, with all proceeds going towards the Narra Foundation, a Bloomington-based nonprofit dedicated to disaster relief.
The main show at the auditorium started at 1:30 p.m., with nine performances after the introductory speech. The hour that followed treated the audience to traditional dances from Burmese culture, starring a few guests representing Burmese organizations from across the Midwest like Fort Wayne and the University of Illinois, Chicago.
"Our Burmese organizations in the Midwest, I feel like they are very fragmented,” Thant said. “I feel like this could be a good way to kind of bring everyone together, so we reached out to a lot of other organizations via Instagram.”
The performances concluded with a vibrant fashion show, as students took to the stage dressed in a variety of traditional attire. The festivities continued into the Club Hub, where participants could eat Burmese food catered from Kimu Asian Restaurant in Bloomington.
Monisha Mansukhani, an IU graduate student, said she attended the event to get an idea of what Burmese culture is like.
“It was really interesting to see all the cool authentic artifacts displayed and listen to the organisers talk about what’s happening Myanmar,” she said. “I had so much fun painting the little paper umbrella and trying all these amazing new delicious dishes.”
Outside the Whittenberger entrance, participants could pick up water guns and water balloons to engage in lively water fights. The downpour only added to the excitement, turning the moment into a joyful, rain-soaked celebration.
Hau Piang, a Burmese IU student, said he was part of the MSA and helped organize last year’s event.
“I think the Water Festival is way better this year because it’s more indoors,” he said. “And it has more stuff than last year.”
Thant said it was only last year that the MSA incorporated water activities into their new year celebration.
“I know we didn't collaborate with the other countries that do celebrate the same kind of custom,” she said. “So maybe in the future, I do want to see the IU campus being united over an even bigger Water Festival with other cultural organizations.”
