VietNamNet Bridge – Among the annual festivals of the Khmer ethnic minority in Southern Vietnam, Chol Chnam Thmay, Dolta and Ok Om Bok are the most important and Ok Om Bok, also called Phochia Praschanh som paes khee, is the most imposing.

Ok Om Bok features folk religion originated from Buddhism. The festival opens by a ngo boat race (Um Tuk Ngua in the Khmer language), one of the most attractive activities of the Khmers.

Ngo boat (tuk ngua) is made from timber in the shape of a nagar snake, the sacred object of the Khmer people, has a pointed bow and elevated stern and a colorful hull decoration. It is honored as a sacred relic, used only in essential festivals like Ok Om Bok and is kept and preserved carefully in local pagodas.

The boat is about 24 meters long, 1.2 meter wide and is able to hold about 40 people. Sitting in two lines midway along the sides, young Khmer men and women move gently in harmony with the sounds of gongs and waves. As the first boat crosses the finish line, the crowds on both riverbanks cheer loudly and enthusiastically for their victory.

The festival is held in many places in the Mekong Delta but mostly in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh Town. When night falls, people hustle to Nuoc Ngot pond in Soc Trang and Ba Om pond in Tra Vinh to celebrate moon worship.

At the festive nights, tourists and locals walk in groups around the ponds and enjoy local cooking and buy souvenirs. All seem to forget tiring daily work and drift with the melodies and sounds of folk songs, diverse instruments and dance of the Khmer.

The night becomes more exciting with ethnic games and traditional fashion shows. Some join a contest of flying lanterns and silently contemplate the colors.

A flying lantern is made with a bamboo frame pasted with paper, in which tinder is tied under the frame then lit, making it fly high in the air. The flying lantern rises higher and higher in a mysterious and romantic breeze as if bringing the hopes and beliefs of the Khmer people to the Moon God.

The event also features water-lanterns made from bamboo and paper in the shape of a boat with colorful decorations.

People make a line with a drum band ahead, whisper their prayers to God and gently drop paper-boats on the water. The river is indulged in peaceful and fanciful scenery. This is also the traditional time for couples to pray for their love and destiny.

(Source: SGT)