The southern province of Tra Vinh has submitted a document to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism asking for it to recognise the Ok Om Bok Festival, a moon worshipping ritual of the Khmer ethnic minority group, as a national intangible cultural heritage.
Ok Om Bok is one of the three main festivals that the Khmer celebrate every year. In their religious beliefs, the moon is the god managing the weather and crops during the year.
The event takes place on the 15th day of the 10th lunar month – when it changes from the rainy season to the dry season.
Each village organises the festival in the yard of a local pagoda, while the whole province’s festival is held at Ba Om pond.
At night, when the moon rises, locals give their worship offerings, which are usually agricultural products they have just harvested such as rice, banana and sugarcane. This shows their gratitude when they pray for favourable weather conditions and bumper harvests.