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In late October-early November, the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam prepare for one of their most significant festivals — Ooc Om Boc.
The festival, which is held on the 15th day of the 10th lunar month, is dedicated to the Moon deity, who the Khmer believe is responsible for good harvests and rains.
THE KHMER PEOPLE comprise about 1.37 per cent of Vietnam’s population and are counted among the country’s 53 ethnic groups. Settled primarily in the Tra Vinh and Soc Trang regions of southernmost Vietnam (the Mekong Delta province), the Khmer have rich folk and cultural practices that have been passed down over generations. Among them is their celebration of Ooc Om Boc.
For the Khmer, Ooc Om Boc signals the end of the old, and the start of a new year. Most families begin preparing for it at least a week in advance. Fronds of bamboo are woven together into a canopy or “gate”. An altar is set up under this canopy; this is where the offerings to the moon are placed on the day of the festival.
The offerings are carefully chosen: yam, sweet potatoes, fresh fruits, all of which signify a bountiful harvest. The most important offering perhaps is new sticky/glutinous rice, a symbol of good fortune in many Asian cultures.
The festival marks the changing of the seasons, from wet to dry. Every aspect of the celebration ties in with a different belief surrounding this natural phenomenon.
Cambodia also has a version of this festival; it is called Bon Om Touk.
The rice that features in the Ooc Om Boc festivities though is not the same as the one offered during Tet, Vietnam’s biggest festival. For Tet, you will find sticky rice that is a deep shade of orange-red, a hue imparted by the gac fruit (also known as “baby jackfruit”). Along with the fruit, coconut milk and sugar are added to white rice to make the sweet delicacy, which locals call xoi-gac.
During Ooc Om Boc, it is not xoi-gac but “cốm dẹp” that is the mainstay. It is made with flattened green rice flakes (it resembles poha, but of a pistachio green colour), fresh coconut, ripe bananas. Sugar, coconut milk, green food colouring or pandan extract may be added to some recipes. If neighbours, family or friends come visiting for the festival, it is customary to give them some cốm dẹp. As mentioned earlier, it is also a prominent part of the offerings to the moon.
People gather in the local pagoda or their own courtyards for the Ooc Om Boc prayers. Elders in the family or community feed children a fistful of the cốm dẹp with their hands, and ask them to make a wish for the new year. Sometimes, a pot of tea is kept on the altar as well, and everyone says a prayer as they pour out a glass of it, in the course of performing their genuflections.
Apart from the cốm dẹp, the most visible and well-known part of the Ooc Om Boc festival is the traditional boat races that take place on the Ao Ba Om (pond) and other local rivers and tributaries. The boats are stored in the pagodas during the year and only brought out during the festival; they’re meant to signify the “seeing off” of the Water God to the ocean. The prow of the boat is decorated with animal figures, and the winners of the race are hailed as local champions. It is said that the boats are dedicated to the Snake God who transformed himself into a plank of wood in order to help Buddha cross the river during his travels.
There’s less strenuous activity as well. People set off lanterns — both floating and flying ones. There are folk dances and music. An array of food is on offer, and for Theravada Buddhists, this is also the time to fulfil the “Kathina” ceremony — offering of robes to monks as a sign of gratitude for a prosperous cycle. And of course, there are games to play and knick-knacks to buy if one is so inclined.
With myriad customs on display and so much to experience, it isn’t any wonder that hundreds of tourists — both domestic and international — descend on Tra Vinh and Soc Trang during this time.
