Festivals and Celebrations

Festivals and celebrations:-

Ramlila-A type of play

Hanuman is a central character in theannual Ramlila celebrations in India, and seasonal dramatic arts in southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand; and Bali and Java, Indonesia. Ramlila is a dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana or secondary literature based on it such as the Ramcharitmanas. It particularly refers to the thousands of dramatic plays and dance events that are staged during the annual autumn festival of Navratri in India. Hanuman is featured in many parts of the folk-enacted play of the legendary war between Good and Evil, with the celebrations climaxing in the Dussehra (Dasara, Vijayadashmi) night festivities where the giant grotesque effigies of Evil such as of demon Ravana are burnt, typically with fireworks.

Dussehra Celebration-Ravana burnt with Fireworks

The Ramlila festivities were declared by UNESCO as one of the "Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity" in 2008. Ramlila is particularly notable in the historically important Hindu cities of Ayodhya, varanasi, Vrindavan, Almora, Satna and Madhubani – cities in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Hanuman's birthday is observed by some Hindus as Hanuman Jayanti. It falls in much of India in the traditional month of Chaitra in the Junisolar Hindu calendar, which overlaps with March and April. However, in parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Hanuman Jayanthi is observed in the regional Hindu month of Margazhi, which overlaps with December and January. The festive day is observed with devotees gathering at Hanuman temples before sunrise, and day long spiritual recitations and story reading about the victory of good over evil. Intricate carvings on the walls of Angkor Wat depict scenes from the Ramayana including those of Hanuman.

Hanuman statue at Bali, Indonesia

In Cambodia and many other parts of southeast Asia, mask dance and shadow theatre arts celebrate Hanuman with Ream (same as Rama of India). Hanuman is represented by a white mask. Particularly popular in southeast Asian theatre are Hanuman's accomplishments as a martial artist Ramayana.

Indonesia:-

Hanuman is the central character in many of the historic dance and drama art works such as Wayang Wong found in Javanese culture, Indonesia. These performance arts can be traced to at least the 10th century. He has been popular, along with the local versions of Ramayana in other islands of Indonesia such as Java.

In major medieval era Hindu temples, archeological sites and manuscripts discovered in Indonesian and Malay islands, Hanuman features prominently along with Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Vishvamitra and Sugriva. The most studied and detailed relief artworks are found in the candis Panataran and Prambanan.

Above is a Thai iconography of Hanuman. He is one of the most popular characters of Ramkien.

Hanuman, along with other characters of the Ramayana, are an important source of plays and dance theatre repertoire at Odalan celebrations and other festivals in Bali.

Thailand:-

Hanuman has been a historic and popular character of Ramakien in Thai culture. He appears wearing a crown on his head and armor. He is depicted as an albino white, strong character with open mouth in action, sometimes shown carrying a trident. In Ramkien, Hanuman is a devoted soldier of Rama. Unlike in Indian adaptations, Ramakien is one of the illogical versions, "Hanuman" also known as Celibate God. But Ramakein not mentioned about he is celibate, because the reason is "Ramayana" & Ramakein are totally different Ramayana is the part of Devotion Sanatana Dharm it's a culture of India, but Ramakien & other non-Indian versions of the Ramayana are rewritten by the poets. Ramakien is not acceptable version on India because it have lot of false stories about the current characters according to Paula Richman. Hanuman plays a dominant role in the Thai version of the Ramayana epic.

As in the Indian tradition, Hanuman is the patron of martial arts and an example of courage, fortitude and excellence in Thailand.