Editing Libation (section)

==== Burmese Buddhism ====

In [[Burmese Buddhism]], the water libation ceremony, called ''yay zet cha'' ({{lang|my|ရေစက်ချ}}), which involves the ceremonial pouring of water from a vessel of water into a vase, drop by drop, concludes most Buddhist ceremonies, including donation celebrations, [[shinbyu]], and feasts. This ceremonial libation is done to share the accrued [[Merit (Buddhism)|merit]] with all other living beings in all 31 planes of existence.<ref>{{cite book |title=Burmese supernaturalism |last=Spiro |first=Melford E. |year=1996 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-1-56000-882-8 |pages=44–47 }}</ref> The ceremony has three primary prayers: the confession of faith, the pouring of water, and the sharing of merits.<ref name="dpb">{{cite book|title=ဝတ်ရွတ်စဉ်|publisher=သီတဂူဗုဒ္ဓဝိဟာရ|location=Austin, Texas|year=2011|pages=34–35|url=http://www.sitagu.org/downloads/Daily%20Recitation%20Ebook%202011.pdf|language=my|access-date=2012-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018030937/http://www.sitagu.org/downloads/Daily%20Recitation%20Ebook%202011.pdf|archive-date=2011-10-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> While the water is poured, a confession of faith, called the ''{{lang|my-Latn|hsu taung imaya dhammanu}}'' ({{lang|my|ဆုတောင်း ဣမာယ ဓမ္မာနု}}), is recited and led by the monks.<ref name="spi">{{cite book |title=Buddhism and society: a great tradition and its Burmese vicissitudes |last=Spiro |first=Melford E. |year=1982 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-04672-6 |pages=213–214 }}</ref>

Then, the merit is distributed by the donors (called ''ahmya wei'' {{lang|my|အမျှဝေ}}) by thrice saying the following:<ref name="dpb"/>

{{blockquote|(To all those who can hear), we share our merits with all beings<br />''{{lang|my-Latn|(Kya kya thahmya), ahmya ahmya ahmya yu daw mu gya ba gon law}}''<br />({{lang|my|(ကြားကြားသမျှ) အမျှ အမျှ အမျှ ယူတော်မူကြပါ ကုန်လော}})}}

[[File:Yezetcha ceremony.PNG|thumb|upright=1.5|Burmese Buddhist water libation ceremony in 1900]]
Afterward, in unison, the participants repeat thrice a declaration of affirmation: ''{{lang|my-Latn|thadu}}'' ({{lang|my|သာဓု}}, ''{{lang|my-Latn|sadhu}}''), Pali for "well done", akin to the Christian use of [[amen]]. Afterward, the libated water is poured on soil outside, to return the water to [[Vasudhara]]. The earth goddess [[Vasudhara]] is invoked to witness these meritorious deeds.<ref name="spi"/>

Prior to colonial rule, the water libation ceremony was also performed during the crowning of Burmese kings, as part of procedures written in the ''Raza Thewaka Dipani Kyan'', an 1849 text that outlines proper conduct of Burmese kings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://portal.aungzay.org/content/view/38/18/ |title=The AungZay Institute Inc. - Notes on Statecraft |access-date=2010-06-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525211535/http://portal.aungzay.org/content/view/38/18/ |archive-date=2009-05-25 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/showfile.asp?eventfileid=304 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-01-05 |archive-date=2011-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727183313/http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/showfile.asp?eventfileid=304 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Although the offering of water to Vasudhara may have pre-Buddhist roots, this ceremony is believed to have been started by King [[Bimbisara]], who poured the libation of water, to share his merit with his ancestors who had become [[preta]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Traditions of Buddhist Practice in Burma |last=Houtman |first=Gustaaf |year=1990 |publisher=ILCAA |pages=53–55 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usamyanmar.net/.../Life%20of%20Gotama%20Buddha.ppt |title=Archived copy |website=www.usamyanmar.net |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308222820/http://www.usamyanmar.net/.../Life%20of%20Gotama%20Buddha.ppt |archive-date=8 March 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.budsir.org/E_hist43.htm|title=The king performs merit in the name of his ancestors reborn as petas (hungry ghosts); the peta rejoice in the act and receive a share of the merit|year=2002|work=Mahidol University|access-date=28 February 2012}}</ref>

This ceremony is also practiced at the end of Thai and Laotian Buddhist rituals to transfer merit, where it is called ''kruat nam'' (กรวดน้ำ) and ''yaat nam'' respectively.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hayashi|first=Yukio|title=Practical Buddhism among the Thai-Lao: religion in the making of a region|publisher=Trans Pacific Press|year=2003|pages=146–147|isbn=978-4-87698-454-1}}</ref>
<gallery widths=180>
File:MET 19 135 29.jpg|Nepalese ewer for water oblations, 19th century
File:Clevelandart 1960.42.jpg|Bronze Chinese libation cup ''([[Jue (vessel)|jue]])'', late [[Shang dynasty]], ca. 1210 BCE
File:China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi reign - Libation Cup - 1920.424 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|[[Jade]] libation cup, [[Qing dynasty]], 1661–1722 CE
File:Miki in Itsukushima Shrine 2.jpg|Sake offerings as ''[[omiki]]'' at [[Itsukushima Shrine]], Japan, 2017
</gallery>