Bon Om Touk
Bon Om Touk, also known as the Cambodian Water and Moon Festival, is celebrated in late October or early November, often corresponding with the lunar Mid-Autumn Festival. It marks the end of the monsoon season. The festivities are accompanied by dragon boat races, similar to those seen in the Lao Boun Suang Huea festival.
The festival is celebrated over the span of three days and commemorates the end of the rainy season, as well as the change in flow of the Tonlé Sap River. The festival attracts several million people each year. Some activities that take place at the festival are boat races along the Sisowath Quay riverfront, fireworks, and evening concerts.
Overview
The festival's celebrations occur over the span of three days, with the Royal Boat Race taking place on the first day. After the boat race, large lanterns are released as part of the "Bondet Bratib" ceremony at 6:00 pm as representatives from national institutions pray for peace from Preah Mae Kongkea or the Goddess Ganga. Each ministry has its lantern adorned with colorful lights and sets off fireworks to celebrate the river's rich glory.The goddess originates from Hindu mythology surrounding the Ganges river in India. There is no Ganga river in Khmer, but the goddess is viewed as the mother of seas, rivers, streams, creeks, and lakes. She protects and provides the water for human and animal husbandry as well as the flow of sediments and fish. Cambodia also has a sacred river, the Tonle Sap, and festival goers communicate their love and respect for nature to the goddess through prayers of gratitude for her compassion. Prayers give thanks for happiness and for fruitful fishing in daily life.
The second day of the festival is the day of Og Ambok and involves the worship of the Moon. It takes place at twelve minutes past midnight and involves a lantern lighting ceremony with prayers to Preah Purthisat, who invented the legend of the Moon rabbit. The Og Ambok ceremony involves playing a group game where members must make each other laugh; whoever lasts the longest wins and decides 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.
Royal Boat Racing Festival (Om Touk)
Historical event
Boat racing is believed to have been celebrated in Cambodia since at least the reign of Jayavarman VII in 1181 AD. This was likely to commemorate the heroic victory of the Khmer navy, which liberated their land from the Cham troops of the Champa Kingdom in a boat battle on the Tonle Sap Lake.Literary record
According to the record of Thach Pen alias "Piko " from the Khleang Province, Kampuchea Krom, in 1528 AD, King Ang Chan I ordered Ponhea Tat, the commander of the Khmer navy in the Bassac District of Kampuchea Krom, to prepare the Khmer army to defend the province of Preah Trapeang, which was under attack from the Đại Việt kingdom under Mạc Đăng Dung.The naval boats were divided into three groups:
- Group 1, called the "Toap Srouch", or vanguard, with boats shaped like modern racing boats called Ngor boats.
- Group 2, called the reserve army, with two rows of rowing boats shaped like modern stand racing boats.
- Group 3, called the Bassac Troops, was a large, very long open boat with a roof across the front, oars, and sails, shaped like the Bassac boat, called the Pok Chay boat. The boat was only used at night with lanterns, as a food supply boat for the army, delivering rice from Kampong Chhnang to Kampuchea Krom in Preah Trapeang Province until the Cambodian navy won.
French protectorate
As early as 1873, depictions of a Cambodian racing boat appeared in the French publication Le Magasin Pittoresque, and in 1887 the French magazine Les Colonies Françaises dedicated several pages to the meaning of the Water Festival. The festival had been celebrated occasionally after Phnom Penh became Cambodia's capital in 1866 during the French Protectorate period.After World War II, the Water Festival was also celebrated in Phnom Penh in 1945, and then in 1953, after the Independence of Cambodia from France. In the 1960s, the scope of the festival grew with double the number of boats participating in the Phnom Penh boat racing festival compared to prior years. The festival was suspended during the Cambodian Civil War, but has been celebrated since the 1993 General Election supervised by UNTAC, until now. However, it has frequently been suspended because of incidents, natural disasters, and most recently because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Dancing on the racing boats
The art of dancing on the bow of a boat has been around for many years. Locals believe it represents a boat keeper's soul or a boat spirit, which may be the spirit of the person who took care of the boat. The tradition of having women dance on the bow of the boat continues to this day. Boat bow dancing also features a man representing the boat's coxswain shouting for his team to operate in unison to reach their destination. Racing boats are always painted with eyes, which give the impression of the boat being alive, and represent dragons floating on the water.Winners of boat race (2010-2020)
The boat race ranking in the Royal Water and Moon Festival, and awards by the King of Cambodia.Festival of Illuminated Floats (Bondet Bratib)
Bratib (ប្រទីប)
"Bratib " refers to lanterns and lamps. In Khmer, small lamps without glass are used: light lantern frames or figurines are placed on a boat or raft. Some are illuminated floating water lanterns lined up in a row, in a frame, or vertically, shining brightly for the festival. The Cambodian Lantern Festival is similar to India's "Ganga puja" or "Ganga Dussehra," which is celebrated every year to pay homage to the Goddess Ganga. The Lantern Floating Ceremony is for Cambodians to remember their gratitude to the water that is essential to sustain their lives. Floating lanterns dedicated to both Hinduism and Buddhism are launched. In the Buddhist tradition, mentioned in the Pali Khmer version of Teathavong scripture Tathagata Pali, it is stated that the four glass jaws of the Buddha Samma Samputa are in four places:- In the Trāyastriṃśa, the paradise of the 33 devas
- In Nāga or Dragon World
- In Kandy, at Sri Lanka
- In Dantapuri, at Danthavarapukota India
Differences between Loy Bratib and Loy Kantong
Kantong (កន្ទោង)
កន្ទោង /kɑntouŋ/kantong/ 'Small container made of banana leaves.The term kantong, kom toek, and bratip are used exchangeable by the Khmer people.
LoyKantong Hindu Brahmin ritual originated during Water Chenla era of Khmer civilization. It was first practice along the banks of the Mekong river delta during the time period when Shailendra dynasty of Java ruled Water Chenla. Khmer and Javanese Hindu Brahmin priests trace their religious linage back to Utkala Brahmins of Odisha. The Boita Bandana or Dangā Bhasā festival rituals may have been one of the influences for creating LoyKantong.
LoyKantong are religious offerings for Hindu goddess Ganga to show gratitude and appreciation for the life giving waters of the Mekong river. Khmers still practice LoyKantong ritual even though they no longer believe in Hinduism. The ritual offerings are still practice during Bon Om Touk festival every year after the end of monsoon rain season.
Khmer Princess Neang Sikhara Mahadevi is believed to have brought the Loy Kantong ritual to Sukhothai when she married Pho Khun Pha Mueang, ruler of Sukhothai Kingdom.
The Khmer-Javanese compound word LoyKantong លយកន្ទោង /lɔɔy kɑntooŋ/ to make an offering to the spirits by floating small bowls made of leaves and filled with food, etc. out into the river.
The Khmer word Loy លយ /lɔɔy/ V. to float along, drift; to go with the current; to swim; to set adrift, launch, float something.
The Javanese/Malay loan word Kantong កន្ទោង' /kɑntouŋ/ N. small container made of banana leaves.
Og Ambok and Sampeah Preah Khae
Og Ambok
Og Ambok is a traditional flattened rice dish that forms part of the Bon Om Touk. During the festival, Khmers eat Ambok with coconut juice and bananas.Og Ambok is made by frying rice in its natural husks, then beating it in a pestle until soft before the husks are removed and mixed in with banana and coconut juice for flavor. This mixture is eaten when the clock strikes midnight or when the incense offered at the beginning of the gathering is consumed. Og Ambok remains a popular traditional dish and it is sold widely during the Bon Om Touk festival.