Dousing is the practice of making something or someone wet by throwing liquid over them, e.g., by pouring water, generally cold, over oneself. A related practice is

ice swimming Winter swimming is the activity of human swimming, swimming during the winter season, typically in outdoor locations (open water swimming) or in unheated pools or Lido (swimming pool), lidos. In colder countries, it may be synonymous with ice ...

. Some consider cold water dousing to be a form of

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

ism.

Cold water dousing

Cold water dousing is used to "shock" the body into a kind of

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

. The body's reaction is similar to the

mammalian diving reflex The diving reflex, also known as the diving response and mammalian diving reflex, is a set of physiology, physiological responses to immersion that overrides the basic homeostasis, homeostatic reflexes, and is found in all air-breathing verteb ...

or possibly temperature

biofeedback Biofeedback is the technique of gaining greater awareness of many physiology, physiological functions of one's own body by using Electronics, electronic or other instruments, and with a goal of being able to Manipulation (psychology), manipulate ...

. Several meditative and awareness techniques seem to share similar effects with elevated temperature, such as

Tummo In Tibetan Buddhism, ''tummo'' (; ) is the fierce goddess of heat and passion. Tummo is found in the Mahasiddha Krishnacarya and the '' Hevajra Tantra'' texts. Tummo is also a tantric practice for inner heat, developed around the concept of ...

. Compare cold water dousing with

. The effects of dousing are usually more intense and longer-lasting than just a cold

shower A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers are set up to have adjustable temperature, spray pressure and showerhead nozzle angle. The si ...

. Ending a shower with cold water is an old

naturopathic Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturopaths. Difficult ...

tradition. There are those who believe that this fever is helpful in killing harmful

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

and leaving the hardier beneficial bacteria in the body.

National traditions

Burma

Thingyan Thingyan (/sɛŋkəmɑ/ ; , Old Mon language, Old Mon: သင်ကြာန် ), also known as the Myanmar New Year, is a festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan marks the transition from the old year to the new one, based on ...

(Water Festival) was celebrated from 13 to 17 April in 2001 and the rituals included dousing.

Japan

* Some Japanese

practices, as with

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

misogi is a Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body. Misogi is related to another Shinto purification ritual, ''harae''. Thus, both are collectively referred to as . Background Every year, many people take pilgrimag ...

practices, include dousing. This is seen, for example, with some

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

martialists.

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the Japanese martial art, martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Wakayama, Tanabe, Ueshiba studied a number of ...

was known to practice cold water

. * Kamakura, Japan has a temple whose

Nichiren Buddhist Nichiren Buddhism (), also known as ''Hokkeshū'' (, meaning ''Lotus Sect''), is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one of the Kamakura period schools ...

priests in training practice a ritual of 100 days of fasting, meditation and walking which ends with stripping to loincloths and dousing with ice cold water.

Poland

Śmigus-dyngus ''Śmigus-dyngus'' () or ''lany poniedziałek''; sr-Cyr, Водени понедељак, italic=yes () is a celebration held on Easter Monday across Central Europe, and in small parts of Eastern and Southern Europe. The Eastertide tradition i ...

(or Dyngus Day) is a festival held on

Easter Monday Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in more than 50 predominantly Christian countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Br ...

, traditionally celebrated by boys throwing water over girls.

Russia

Jumping in freezing lakes,

, is an old Russian tradition that goes hand in hand with going to

banya Banya may refer to: Places Australia * Banya, Queensland, a locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia Bulgaria * Banya, Blagoevgrad Province, a thermal spa and mountain resort in southwest Bulgaria * Banya, Burgas P ...

, a sauna-like bath. Some douse with a bucket of cold water. The bucket is filled with water and left out overnight. They then walk with it outside and spill it over themselves. Preferences include being barefoot outside on the earth, and performing dousing at certain times and more frequently when ill. For some, dousing accompanies

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

(absence of all food and water) as an alternate means for the body to obtain water. Some follow cold water dousing with air-drying outside or in wintertime taking a "snow bath" by rubbing handfuls of snow on the body or lying/moving in it. *

Porfiry Ivanov Porfiry Korneyevich Ivanov (Ukrainian: Порфірій Корнійович Іванов) (February 20, 1898 – April 10, 1983) was a Russian mystic whose beliefs have attained a cult status, with followers estimated in the tens of thousands. He ...

's health system includes cold water dousing. * Cold water dousing is practiced by some

Systema Systema () is a Russian martial art, since 1993. There are multiple schools of systems that began appearing after the end of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, with teachers claiming their respective "systems" (usually named after themselves). Tra ...

martialists.

Thailand

Songkran In many countries of South Asia and South East Asia, the traditional new year is calculated on the sun's entry into the constellation Aries as per the regional Hindu calendars or Buddhist calendars. The sun's entry into Aries is known as Sank ...

is a popular festival in April which includes dousing using water. It is also celebrated by the

Dai people The Dai people ( Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; ; ; ; , ; , ; zh, c=, p=Dǎizú) are several Tai-speaking ethnic groups living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

Province in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

during the traditional New Year.

References

{{Reflist Asceticism Bathing