Tra Vinh celebrates intangible heritage Ok Om Bok festival

The southern province of Tra Vinh celebrated Ok Om Bok festival, and received the certificate of the recognition of the moon worshipping ritual of the Khmer ethnic minority group as the national intangible cultural heritage on November 6.
The southern province of Tra Vinh celebrated Ok Om Bok festival, andreceived the certificate of the recognition of the moon worshippingritual of the Khmer ethnic minority group as the national intangiblecultural heritage on November 6.

Local authorities, monks from all 142 Khmer pagodas in the province and thousands of people attended the event.

Ok-Om-Bokis one of the three main festivals –Sene Dolta and Chol Chnam Thmay-they celebrate every year. The Khmer believe the moon is a God whocontrols the weather and crops throughout the year.

The festivaltakes place at full moon in the 10th lunar month. On this occasion, thelocal residents provide offerings to show their gratitude for the Godfor giving them good weather conditions and fruitful harvests.

Eachvillage organises their own festival in the courtyards of their localpagodas, while the large provincial festival is held at Ba Om pondcultural relic site. The festival features a number of entertainmentopportunities, including art performances, traditional sports challengesand folk games.

Tra Vinh is currently home to 320,000ethnic Khmer, accounting for 32 percent of the province’s totalpopulation. During the moon worshipping festival, Ba Om pond culturalrelic site attracts thousands of local inhabitants and tourists.-VNA

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