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![\"Ok](\"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ok-om-bok-1024x684.webp\")
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Among the countless festivals of the Khmer people throughout the year, three are the most important: Chol Chnam Thmay, Dolta, and Ok Om Bok. But Ok Om Bok is celebrated with the greatest excitement and vibrancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Ok Om Bok Festival in various places usually begins with the ghe ngo boat race (\u201cUm Tuk Ngua\u201d). The ghe ngo is about 24 meters long and 1.2 meters wide, hollowed from a single sao tree trunk, shaped like the sacred Naga serpent\u2014the guardian spirit of the Khmer people. Each boat holds around 40 rowers. The bow and stern curve upward gracefully. The hull is decorated with vibrant patterns, and even the paddles are meticulously adorned. The Khmer regard the ghe ngo as a sacred object, used only for major ceremonies like Ok Om Bok. The head monk and community members carefully select strong young people as \u201cCh\u2019r\u00f2-wa\u201d (rowers), and appoint a respected elder as \u201cChih-khbal\u201d (helmsman) along with \u201cY\u00f4ng-lith\u201d (assistant helmsman). Sitting in two long rows inside the boat, young Khmer men and women in beautiful uniforms paddle in perfect rhythm to the whistle or gong of the leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Under the blazing sun or in pouring rain, the rhythmic sound of gongs and whistles beats like a heartbeat, blending with the deep splashes of paddles cutting through the frothy water, propelling the boat forward amid thunderous cheers from tens of thousands of spectators. Today, the ghe ngo race is seen as a shared festival of the three ethnic groups\u2014Kinh, Khmer, and Hoa\u2014bringing everyone together to enjoy beauty, strength, heroism, and the skillful artistry of the rowers competing on the river. It embodies the spirit of sport, unity, and joy. The race lasts until late afternoon, and though there are winners and losers, all the rowers leave happy and proud in a spirit of solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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In the late afternoon, people in S\u00f3c Tr\u0103ng head to H\u1ed3 N\u01b0\u1edbc Ng\u1ecdt (Freshwater Lake), while in Tr\u00e0 Vinh, crowds gather at Ao B\u00e0 Om to participate in the Moon Worship ceremony. Ao B\u00e0 Om is a unique scenic spot in Tr\u00e0 Vinh, famous throughout the South for more than a century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A well-known folk song in Tr\u00e0 Vinh praises two famous local attractions and is still sung today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bi\u1ec3n Ba \u0110\u1ed9ng n\u01b0\u1edbc xanh c\u00e1t tr\u1eafng \nAo B\u00e0 Om th\u1eafng c\u1ea3nh mi\u1ec1n T\u00e2y \nXin m\u1eddi du kh\u00e1ch v\u1ec1 \u0111\u00e2y \nVi\u1ebfng qua th\u00ec bi\u1ebft ch\u1ed1n n\u00e0y th\u1ea7n ti\u00ean!\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n(Translation:
Ba \u0110\u1ed9ng Sea with blue water and white sand
Ao B\u00e0 Om \u2013 the beauty of the West
Come visit, dear guests, come here
One visit and you\u2019ll know this place is paradise!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ao B\u00e0 Om is located in Kh\u00f3m 3, Ph\u01b0\u1eddng 8, about 5 km from the center of Tr\u00e0 Vinh Town along National Highway 53 toward the southwest. In the past, the roads leading to the lake were muddy paths in the rainy season and sandy trails in the dry season, winding through Khmer hamlets hidden under the shade of green trees. Over the years, the access road has been widened, paved smoothly, with two-way traffic and beautiful flower-lined medians. Ao B\u00e0 Om is rectangular in shape, often called \u201cAo Vu\u00f4ng\u201d (Square Pond), covering about 10 hectares. Its clear, calm water is covered with lotus and water lilies, their leaves swaying gently and pure white flowers rising gracefully. Four sandy mounds surround the lake, dotted with ancient sao and d\u1ea7u trees providing cool shade. Most captivating are the giant roots of some ancient trees protruding above the ground\u2014some taller than a person\u2014with bizarre yet unique shapes found nowhere else. In places, two old trees grow close together, their branches intertwining to create a \u201cconnection\u201d and unity\u2014a rare and wonderful sight. Many compare Ao B\u00e0 Om to \u0110\u00e0 L\u1ea1t of the Mekong Delta because the towering sao and d\u1ea7u trees around the lake constantly rustle like spring music, creating a cool, refreshing atmosphere. On August 25, 1992, Ao B\u00e0 Om was recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a Historical-Cultural Site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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On festival night, the four dirt roads encircling Ao B\u00e0 Om, the slopes, and the paths around the lake are packed with people. Some sit in groups, others stroll leisurely, enjoying local rustic dishes or buying souvenirs sold everywhere. As night falls, \u201cbarefoot artists\u201d bring the crowds to life with lively L\u00e2m Th\u00f4n dances, R\u00f4 B\u0103m and D\u00f9 K\u00ea singing, \u00c0-day love songs, snail-shell chess matches, martial arts displays, tug-of-war, stilt-walking, ethnic costume performances, and tasting early-season flattened rice (c\u1ed1m d\u1eb9p)\u2026 The sounds of xa-d\u0103m drums, horns, gongs, and cymbals fill the air, making you forget all worries and cares, immersing you in the vibrant, joyful, and lively festival. You lose track of who you are, joining the mesmerizing L\u00e2m Th\u00f4n dance steps or the romantic \u00c0-day courtship songs between young men and women\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The joyful Ok Om Bok night continues with songs blending into the music of various instruments and dances, creating a romantic \u201cwhite night\u201d that captivates everyone and leaves an unforgettable memory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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According to B\u00e1o H\u1eadu Giang<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Ok Om Bok Festival, also known as Phochia Praschanh som paes khee, is the Moon Worship Festival. This celebration takes place in almost every province where Khmer communities live in the Mekong Delta, but it is grandest and most well-known in S\u00f3c Tr\u0103ng City (S\u00f3c Tr\u0103ng Province). In recent years, the festival has also…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[652],"tags":[876,877,878,874,879,752,821],"location":[],"class_list":["post-2455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-dua-ghe-ngo","tag-le-cung-trang","tag-le-hoi-khmer","tag-le-hoi-nguoi-khmer","tag-le-hoi-ok-om-bok","tag-soc-trang","tag-tra-vinh"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2488,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455\/revisions\/2488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=2455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}