Made in the same style, the brightly-colored boats sit low on the water and are manned by anywhere from thirty to eighty people, with a captain who dances to the rhythm of the drums on the bow as encouragement to the rowers as they move swiftly through the water.
Historically, the boat races were a chance for the Angkorian people to train and prepare for battle, with the King selecting the champions to help defend the Kingdom. Every villager takes pride in preparing for the Water Festival, painstakingly hand carving out the boat and training for months before pulling together all their savings and making the long trek to the capital to demonstrate their strength and stamina in front of the King.
Water Festival at night. The Three Ceremonies As well as the boat racing, there are three other traditional pillars of the Water Festival to celebrate and give thanks to both the land and water.
Loy Prati p: an illuminated fluvial parade. Historically a candle-lit naval procession, these days this is a spectacle in its own right, where beautifully bedecked boats drift up and down the waterways Sampeas Preah Khe: the full moon ceremony. The streets are lined with pop-up food stalls, funfairs, and open-air live concerts, and the city is decorated with colorful bunting and banners.
As night falls, the city comes to life. The Royal Palace is illuminated with a series of gold lights and brilliant fireworks light up the dark sky as the flotillas glide down the river. For these three days, the capital is transformed.
With the huge crowds on the riverbank cheering for all the teams as they sprint downstream, there is a huge sense of sportsmanship and camaraderie and for Cambodians, who love any excuse to celebrate, the Water Festival is the perfect time to let their hair down and enjoy spending quality time with family and friends, old and new.
Magic Water Festival. Very auspicious beginning for a stay in Cambodia! During this time of Angkorian rule from the capital of Siem Reap in southern Cambodia, the Khmer Empire possessed a mighty naval army.
This army achieved many victories against the Cham people of modern-day Vietnam and the Siam people of modern-day Thailand. It is said that the king organized a water festival in Cambodia for the dual purpose of selecting a champion of the navy from the boat races, and preparing his elite naval forces for battle. Later, in the 16th century when the capital was moved from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, the boat races were relocated to the junction of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers, where they are still held to this day.
Over the course of time, the purpose of the festival became less military and more celebratory, as the people gave thanks to their gods for the bounty that the water brings for fishermen and farmers. Through the years, the festival has proved a time of relief, solace, and happiness through troubles and turbulence in Cambodia. The brutal killing fields and totalitarian regime of the Khmer Rouge are still fresh in the minds of a generation of Cambodians, and oftentimes of adversity lend festivals and moments of relief like this extra importance.
There are pros and cons to both — so perhaps this will help you decide. You can expect the festival in Phnom Penh to be much busier. The boat races are truly an incredible spectacle here, and the festival atmosphere is electric. Stalls line the banks of the river selling everything from street food to mobile phones and there are many musical concerts with bands playing and people dancing. You can join the large crowds for the boat races at Sisowath Quay , or you can walk to the more sedate riverfront across the Japanese bridge at Chroy Changva and watch from the peninsula there.
It is important to be vigilant for petty thievery in large crowds, as it is quite common in the capital. You would also have the chance to check out the french colonial architecture characteristic of the capital, and visit tourist attractions such as the Silver Pagoda , Wat Phnom , the National Museum , and the Royal Palace. While nowadays the infrastructure is better, there have been safety issues in the past with the festival in the capital.
In , people were tragically killed in a stampede on an overcrowded bridge during the final night of the festival. This led to proper security and crowd control measures being introduced and the festival is now much safer. If you are looking for a slightly less chaotic and busy experience of the festival, Siem Reap may be for you.
Although the town is still very busy with festival celebrations, the boat races are much smaller and the infrastructure is geared more towards tourists.
This is the city where the festival originated in Angkorean times and maybe a better choice if you want to tie in your visit to the festival with a visit to the Angkor Wat temples.
Many of our river cruises visit Siem Reap , so you may be able to sync up a cruise with a visit to the festival. Check out our Mekong cruises for details on visiting Siem Reap. The custom of this is to have from then up to the present. On the other hand the water is celebrated every years in November to honor the victory of Cambodian Naval forces in the reign of King JayvarmanVII , during Angkor period of the 12th century.
And this ceremony is to history about military exercise of our navy force in the course of national defense and to express thanks to the 3 Buddhist symbols Gods and holy thing which helped us and agriculture field and serves as an opportunity to pray for our lord for the happiness and sufficient rain for rice cultivation. Besides the regatta, the water festival also includes three other ceremonies: Illuminated float Loy Pratip , Moon salutation Sampeas Preah Khe and the eating of pestle new special rice with banana or coconut juice Ork Ambok.
The ceremony last three days to provide opportunity for people to by part in competition that there were to types of boats from near and far of provinces, taking part in the races, the pirogue and the rowing boat.
Each boat was manned by about thirty to forty men or women. The boat with a man or a woman dancing softly and gracefully to the rhythm of the drums on the bow as an encouragement to the rowers moved swiftly through the water. There as the race winners will be rewarded a lot of good such as: drink, money, clothes, rice, cigarettes and the commission of the boat racing day must seek donations in order to provide this prize for participants.
During the nighttime at about seven o'clock the river was lit by jazzy illuminated boats, which floated slowly, and smoothly on the water's surface. Each of them was equipped with thousands of flashy neon lights arranged in different colorful, fancy patterns representing state institutions, ministries and services. After a little time fireworks and multi color were lit to entertain people.
Some of people made loud noises. They burst into different shapes and colors in the sky under the clapped and cheered with joy each time at the sight of the fireworks. Finally the water festival is the festivity for the Cambodian people who celebrated every years and going for a walk during the ceremony days really refreshed our mood. The lively festive atmosphere helped relive our tension and trouble.
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