Culture - Sports

Boat race within Ok Om Bok Festival opens in Tra Vinh province

The traditional Ngo (Khmer boat) race in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh opened on November 6 as part of the Ok Om Bok Festival.
Boat race within Ok Om Bok Festival opens in Tra Vinh province ảnh 1Ngo boat teams before the competition begins. (File VNA)
Tra Vinh (VNA) – The traditional Ngo(Khmer boat) race in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh opened on November 6as part of the Ok Om Bok Festival.

The tournament, to last until November 7, bringstogether eight teams with more than 800 athletes from seven districts and TraVinh city, and guest athletes from Rong Giang district in the Mekong Deltaprovince of Kien Giang.

According to Duong Hoang Sum, Director of Tra Vinh’sDepartment of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ok Om Bok Festival wasrecognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as national intangiblecultural heritage.

The annual boat race attests the strength ofsolidarity as well as special culture of Khmer people in the southern regionand Tra Vinh in particular, he noted.

On this occasion, Tra Vinh has launched a cultural andtourism week and a southern cuisine festival from November 2-8 with an array ofart and sport activities.

The Ok Om Bok (moon worshipping) is one of the threemain festivals, along with Sene Dolta and Chol Chnam Thmay, that Khmer peoplecelebrate every year. It often takes place around the full-moon period of the10th lunar month, after the harvest season.

Khmer people believe the moon is a god who controlsthe weather and crops. The worship aims to thank the moon for granting themgood weather and bumper harvests, and to pray for better crops in the followingyear.

Tra Vinh is home to nearly 330,000 Khmer people whoaccount for 31% of its population./.
VNA
#Ngo boat race #Khmer boat #Tra Vinh #Ok Om Bok Festival #vietnam #vietnam news agency #vietnamplus Tra Vinh
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