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Ok Om Bok - the Full
moon Festival
The biggest Khmer festival of the
Mekong Delta, the Ok Om Bok festival
is held in October or November. The
festival is the most imposing festival
of the calendar and shows the people’s
gratitude to the moon goddess. In the
Khmer belief system, the moon god-
dess is the one who cares for the crops,
aquatic resources and human life.
Ok Om Bok’s folk religion originates
from Buddhism. The festival opens with
a boat race. The racing teams from dif-
ferent towns, districts and provinces
create a noisy and stirring atmosphere.
The boat race is both a game and a
way to express the strength of consoli-
dation, as well as a traditional ritual to
see off the water god to the ocean after
the growing season. During the cele-
brations the people also commemorate
the snake god nagar, who once turned
into a lump of wood to help the Buddha
cross a river.
The boats are about 24 meters long
and 1.2 meters wide and they are able
to hold about 40 people. Sitting in two
lines, young Khmer men and women
row gently in harmony with the sounds
of gongs and waves.
During the night, Khmer family
members gather in front of the com-
munal pagoda or their houses and
prepare a special feast with green
rice flakes, ripe bananas, fresh peeled
coconuts and mangoes to offer to
the moon. An elderly man expresses
their gratitude to the moon and prays
for continued good crops and good
health. They pray to the moon for
bumper harvests all the year round,
prosperity and happiness.
A jubilant atmosphere prevails over
the celebration sites where large num-
bers of people gather to enjoy folk art
performances. Then, the village elders
will pick up handfuls of com dep to put
into the children’s mouths with a wish
for their strong and rapid development.
Tourists and locals walk in groups
around the area and enjoy local food
and buy souvenirs. All seem to forget
their tiring daily work and drift with
the melodies and sounds of folk songs,
diverse instruments and the dance of
the Khmer. The night is made more
exciting with ethnic games, traditional
contests of flying lanterns, traditional
fashion shows and the release of water-
lantern boats to wish for good luck and
happiness.
With a large population of over 1 million people living in the southwestern
provinces, the Khmer ethnic group has its own unique culture with a series of
brilliant and colourful festivals.
Hanh Dan
picks out some of the best.
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