Bon Om Touk

The Royal Water Festival celebrates a rare natural phenomenon known as the reversal of the Tonle Sap River. In November, at the end of the annual monsoon, the Tonle Sap lake reaches its maximum size. As the Mekong River is at its minimum flow around this time of the year and its water level falls deeper than the Tonle Sap Lake, the Tonle Sap River and surrounding wetlands drain into the Mekong. As a result the Tonle Sap River (length around 115 km/71 mi) flows six months a year from southeast (Mekong) to northwest (Tonle Sap lake) and six months a year in the opposite direction in a system of extreme hydrodynamic complexity in both time and space.[4][5]

The Ganges is the sacred river of many religions in India, especially the Hindus. As the Ganges does not flow through Cambodia, the Tonle Sap river has been considered the local sacred river. Though it is not a seafaring river, it is an important source of water for raising livestock, and provides Cambodia with an abundance of silt and fish stocks. In Hindu mythology, Preah Mae Kongkea is personified as a young woman wringing the cool waters of detachment out of her hair to drown Mara, the demon sent to tempt Gautama Buddha as he meditated under the Bodhi Tree. In a similar way, the reversal of the Tonle Sap will provide the fishers and farmers with fresh water, food, and life. Making a small offering of bratip as a grateful sacrifice to the Preah Mae Kongkea is seen a good omen for happiness and fishing as a daily livelihood on the Tonle Sap.

Cambodian seven-headed naga or Mucalinda at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

Another popular Hindu legend concerns the theomachy of Makara and the goddess Ganga. This battle followed the accidental fall of one hair of the Ganges goddess, or "Kong Kea" in khmer. Her hair fell down from paradise to the center of the earth made the sea dragon or water-monster Makara or Makor in khmer, more powerful than any other animals in the world. Makor swallowed all the other animals and therefore the humans begged goddess Kong Kea for help, that she would come down to earth and take control over Makor again. Makor start swallowing the seven-headed dragon Mucalinda but did not succeed. Goddess Kong Kea asked Shiva, or Eyso in Khmer, to catch Makor in return of which she would marry him. Eyso came down to the earth and starter a battle with Makor. After three days of fighting, the battle was a tie. Kong Kea then hid the hand of Eyso using her hair to dry up the water. Makor, growing tired, and surrendered to Eyso, who used Makor as his vehicle to ride to goddess Kong Kea and marry her. Makor changed names to "Koch Jor Sey" which is related to "Reach Sey", the King Lion, protector of Kingdom of Cambodia. The dragon boat races can be seen as a reenactment of these mythological battles.

On the second day of the Royal Water Festival, a special commemoration of Lord Indra is celebrated. The reversal of the Tonle Sap suggests why a parallel could be drawn by the Khmer people with Lord Indra. Indra is the one who releases the water from the winter demon. This is the most common theme of the Rigveda concerning Lord Indra: he as the god with thunderbolt kills the evil serpent Vritra that held back rains, and thus released rains and land nourishing rivers.[6] For example, the Rigvedic hymn 1.32 dedicated to Indra reads:

King Barom Reachea I also known as Bormin Reachea in the year (1568 AD) is said to have seen in the dream the place of this battle between Indra in Vritra as the Tonle Sap River in front of the Royal Palace.

The boat races are believed to have been held from the ancient times during the reign of Jayavarman VII in 1181 AD until now. It is said to commemorate the heroic example of the Khmer Navy who liberated their land from the oppression of their enemies, namely the  Champa kingdom, in a battle which took place on the Tonle Sap.[9]^:120–121

In 1528 AD, King Ang Chan I ordered Ponhea Tat, commander of the Khmer navy in the Bassac District of Kampuchea Krom, to prepare the Khmer army to invade the province of Preah Trapeang (modern-day Tra Vinh, Vietnam), which was under the rule the Đại Việt under Mạc Đăng Dung.

Soldiers were divided into three groups, two land squadrons, and a third squadron on boats. Like the current race boat, called the Second Sailor, called the Combat Troops and the two rows of rowing boats in the form of a race boat today. And the third group, called Bassac battalion, is an ark, with a sailboat, like a sailboat, called the jungle boat, and a sharp shoot Long, there is a single roof overlooking the wall without using the wall, but at night, with a candlelight, a food basket for an army called the Bratip, a rice hunt from "Kampong Chhnang" to Khmer Krom in "Preah Trapeang" province Until the Cambodian navy won.

After the victory, King Ang Chan I set up a plaque and gratified a monk to celebrate the victory over Vietnam in southeast Cambodia. Every year he commemorated the victory with an on-water candlelight naval process at night to celebrate the victory and to thank Preah Mae Kongkea.

The word Loy Bratip (លយប្រទីប) in Cambodian is a combination of the word Loy (លយ) in Thai language and Bratip (ប្រទីប) borrowed from Pali language, thus Loy Bratip is equivalent to Loy Krathong in Thai.

The Royal Water Festival, which lasts for three days, was recorded for the first time under the reign of King Sisowath in 1914 and follows a precise ritual. Dragon boats, from every major pagoda in Cambodia, come to Phnom Penh and compete for three entire days during daylight in elimination rounds until the final race on the third day. In the evening, at the sunset, around 6:00 pm, a prayer is said for peace to Preah Mae Kongkea and a candle is lit by the King. Following this prayer, illuminated floating boats parade on the Tonle Sap, accompanied by fireworks. The illuminated floating boats represent the various royal ministries of Cambodia.

It is difficult to make a precise list of the various dragon boats involved in the race. The earliest French documents show boat carvings from the temples of Banteay Chhmar and the temple of Bayon. Khmer architecture is used to design various types of boats, such as:

World's Longest Dragon Boat
Cambodia breaks Guinness World Records for World's Longest dragon Boat (Kambojika Putta Khemara Tarei)

• The Makara boat
• The Naga boat
• The Naga head five boats
• The Elephant boat
• The Crocodile boats
• The Hanuman boat riding giant
• The Sovanmachha boat or Mermaid boat
• The Swan boat or (Hong boat)
• The Peacocks boat
• The Garuda boat.

Phnom Penh resumed Water Festival celebrations in 1990,[10] following a 20-year break under the Lon Nol regime and then the genocidal Khmer Rouge. A few of Phnom Penh's many foreign residents started participating in the featured boat races in the mid-1990s, though in the first year of participation their boat capsized, along with two other teams, in the wake of a larger ship.[10] In 2008, five rowers drowned and a single rower drowned in 2009 during the boat races.[11]

The celebration turned tragic in 2010, when thousands became trapped and stampeded off the bridge between Phnom Penh and Diamond Island, killing 351 people and injuring 395 more.[12] Rumors spread that it was caused by fear of a coming storm or electrical shock from faulty wiring, and authorities ultimately laid blame on the swaying of the bridge.[13]

Phnom Penh authorities came under fire in 2016 for sanitation, after videos of cleaning crews sweeping trash into the Tonle Sap incited anger on social media.[14]

Upriver dams and a devastating drought in 2019 brought the Mekong to its lowest level ever recorded. The combination has left the Tonle Sap Lake, Southeast Asia's largest fresh-water lake, in crisis. Instead of months, the reversal of the Tonle Sap river lasted just six weeks, which may have consequences on fishing in the region.[15]

The image of a rabbit and mortar delineated on the Moon's surface

In the Buddhist Jataka tales called Cheadok in its Khmer version, Tale 316 relates that a monkey, an otter, a jackal, and a rabbit resolved to practice charity on the day of the full moon (Uposatha), believing a demonstration of great virtue would earn a great reward.[16] According to the Khmer version of the popular legend in the Sovannasam Cheadok (ជាតក), this rabbit is called Pouthesat. Every full moon, this holy rabbit would offer his life to someone who wanted to become a Buddha. One full moon, the god Preah Ean found out about this. He presented himself under the appearance of an old man, and asked Pouthesat if he could eat him. The rabbit agreed to give his life to the old man for food. But the old man said, "This rabbit has observed moral precepts for a long time, so he cannot be killed." Then the rabbit told the old man to make a fire, and then jumped into the fire to kill himself, so that the old man could eat him. But before he jumped into the fire, he quietly wished that he could stay in the moon forever after his death. According to this legend, we can still see the rabbit in the middle of the moon today.

The Sampeah Preah Khae (Khmer: សំពះព្រះខែ, IPA: [sɑmpeəʰ preəʰ kʰaːe]; "moon salutation") is a Buddhist religious festival which is dedicated to the moon which coincides with the Royal Water Festival. Sampeah Preah Khae takes place on the last day of the Royal Water Festival. Cambodians usually set up an array of offerings in the form of fruits that are popular with rabbits, such as Ambok, banana, coconut, yam or sweet potato, as well as drink and incense in front of their homes at night before gathering at pagodas at midnight for the third ceremony, Ak Ambok.[17] They remember the life of Pouthesat the moon rabbit. The full moon determines actual date of the entire water festival. Cambodian people celebrate these two festivals around this time also because this is when bananas, coconuts, yam and sweet potatoes are in abundance.[18] After the Sampeah Preah Khae ceremony, devout Buddhists gather at a pagoda at midnight for the rites associated with Ak Ambok.[19]

Ak Ambok
Traditional rice dish of the Cambodian Bon Om Touk Festival, served with coconut and grapes in an ordinary Khmer household.

Ak Ambok (Khmer: អកអំបុក, IPA: [ʔɑk ɑmboːk]) is the traditional rice dish which forms part of the Bon Om Tuk ceremony. During the festival, it is traditional to eat Ambok with coconut juice and banana.[20]

Ak Ambok is made by first frying the rice in its natural husks, then beating it in a pestle till soft, and finally, the husks are then 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. Ak Ambok is still to this day a very popular tradional dish and it is for sale everywhere during the Bon Om Touk festival.[21]

In the middle of the night, household usually gather to burn incense first, and make small offerings such as ambok, coconut juice and bananas. Once consumed, adults usually take a handful of ambok to feed it into the mouth of younger children as a sign of care and goodwill. While holding their noses, children open their mouth and look at the moon usually making a wish, remembering the generosity of the altruistic rabbit as a model. Apart from these domestic rituals, Khmer people usually enjoy gambling as a group during the festival.[22]