Bon Om Touk (Boat Racing Festival), or Cambodian Water Festival, is a Cambodian festival. It is celebrated in late October or November, corresponding to the Mid-Autumn Lunar Festival. The festival lasts for three days and commemorates the end of the country's rainy season as well as the change in the flow of the Tonle Sap River.
Bon Om Touk (Boat Racing Festival)
The festival attracts several million people every year. Some of the activities that take place are boat races along the Sisowath Quay River, fireworks and concerts in the evening.
The Water Festival is one of Cambodia's major national festivals. It takes place every November, but sometimes falls in late October, depending on the rainy month of the fishing season. The festival is a celebration that marks the reversal of the flow of water from the Tonle Sap River of the Great Lake to the Mekong River in Phnom Penh, which is the conjunction of four rivers, known as the Chaktomuk.
The festival celebrations take place over three days, with the Royal Boat Race on the first day. After the boat race, large lanterns are released in the “Bondet Bratib” ceremony at 6pm as representatives of national institutions pray for peace to Preah Mae Kongkea or the goddess Ganga. Each government department has its lantern adorned with coloured lights and sets off fireworks to celebrate the rich glory of the river.
While the goddess originates from the mythology Hindu surrounding the Ganga River in India and there is no Ganga River in Khmer, the goddess is considered the mother of seas, rivers, streams, creeks and lakes. She protects and provides water for human and animal husbandry and the flow of sediment and fish. The Khmer also have a sacred river, the Tonle Sap, and festival-goers communicate their love and respect for nature to the goddess through prayers of gratitude for the goddess' compassion. The prayers give thanks for happiness and fruitful fishing in daily life.
The second day of the festival is Og Ambok Day and involves the worship of the Moon. It takes place at twelve past midnight and invokes a lantern lighting ceremony with prayers to Preah Purthisat, who invented the legend of a moon rabbit. The Og Ambok ceremony involves playing a group game where members must make each other laugh; the one who lasts the longest wins and decides who is the loser. The loser must then eat Ambok with bananas until the end of the day.
On the last day, a ribbon is cut, signifying the end of the boat race and the Water and Moon Festival.
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Today, Cambodians celebrate Bon Om Touk, the dragon boat racing festival marking the end of the rainy season. This festival is one of the most important in the region. It lasts three days and has many cultural demonstrations, including the famous dragon boat race. #mythology #myth #legend #calendar #cambodia #bonomtouk #festivaldeleau
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