TL;DR: Ok Om Bok, also known as Oóc Om Bóc, Moon Worship Ceremony, Flat Rice Feeding Ceremony, Oóc Om Bóc Festival, or Ngo Boat Race, is a traditional moon worship festival of the Khmer people in the Mekong Delta, held annually on the full moon of the tenth lunar month. The festival expresses gratitude to the Moon deity and is an occasion for the community to celebrate, with the highlight being Ngo boat races on the river, where each long dugout boat, measuring from 20 to over 30 meters, is a sacred asset of the pagoda. The festival is held in many provinces, notably Sóc Trăng (now part of Cần Thơ) and Trà Vinh (now part of Vĩnh Long); in Trà Vinh, the festival has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
What is the Ok Om Bok Festival?
Ok Om Bok, also known as the Moon Worship Festival, is one of the three largest folk festivals of the year for the Khmer people of the South, alongside Sen Dolta and Chôl Chnăm Thmây. This is an occasion for people to express their gratitude to the Moon deity, a deity whom folk belief regards as having protected the crops, regulated the weather and brought a life of plenty.
Table comparing the Khmer festivals and rituals of the South mentioned in the article.
| Name of festival or ritual | Time of celebration | Place of celebration | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ok Om Bok | the full moon day of the tenth lunar month | at home and at the pagoda | moon worship, ghe ngo boat racing |
| Sen Dolta | one of the three largest folk festivals of the year | ||
| Chôl Chnăm Thmây | one of the three largest folk festivals of the year | ||
| Monthly moon worship | on the full moon day | at home | praying to the deity to protect the rice so the granary is full |
| Monthly ceremony at the pagoda | on the full moon day and the thirtieth day of the lunar month | at the pagoda | listening to sutras, chanting Buddha's name and praying to the deities |
| Worship ritual at home | in the late afternoon and evening, when the moon rises | in the front yard | the household head lights incense, prays and gives thanks to the Moon deity |
| Ritual at the pagoda | at the pagoda | presided over by monks, who chant sutras and pray | |
| Ghe ngo boat racing | on rivers and canals | the lively festive part, boats more than 20 metres long | |
| Releasing water lanterns and sky lanterns | carrying wishes for a better life | ||
| Folk games | tug of war, smashing clay pots, sack races, stick pushing, volleyball, climbing the dầu tree |
What is the origin and spiritual meaning of the Ok Om Bok Festival?
In the belief of the Khmer people, the Moon deity (Peareach Peasey) is the deity who governs crops and weather. This belief originates from a long-standing wet-rice agricultural civilisation, when people depended heavily on nature. Every month, on the full moon day, the Khmer people usually hold a moon worship ritual at home to pray to the deity to protect the rice so the granary is full.
When Theravada Buddhism was introduced and spread widely, the Khmer people still maintained the custom of moon worship but combined it harmoniously with Buddhism. On the full moon day and the thirtieth day of each lunar month, they go to the pagoda to listen to sutras, chant Buddha's name and pray to the deities, among them the Moon deity, hoping for a full and prosperous life.
The Ok Om Bok Festival is held on the full moon day of the tenth lunar month, that is, the fifteenth day of the month of Ka-Đât in the Khmer calendar. This time coincides with the end of the harvest season, when people have finished reaping the main rice crops. This is when they give thanks to the deities who have blessed them with an abundant harvest, and at the same time pray for a new year of favourable rain and wind.
How are the moon worship rituals at home and at the pagoda carried out?
The Ok Om Bok Festival includes rituals held both at home and at the pagoda, deeply marked by the community spirit of the phum, sróc (Khmer villages and hamlets).
Worship ritual at home
In the afternoon, each family prepares offerings that are mainly agricultural products they have produced themselves, such as flattened green rice, bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, cassava, oranges and tangerines. Flattened green rice is a dish made from young glutinous rice that is roasted and then pounded flat, after which it is mixed with grated coconut and palm sugar. Besides flattened green rice, many households also boil sweet potatoes and cassava to offer to the Moon deity. When night falls and the moon has just risen above the bamboo tops, people arrange the offerings on a table covered with a clean cloth placed in the front yard.
The household head acts as the officiant, lights incense and reverently prays, giving thanks to the Moon deity for having blessed the family in the past year with peace, health and an abundant harvest. They also pray to the deity to witness their sincerity and to continue to bless the family in the coming year. A common custom is that adults pick fresh rice stalks, mix them with flattened green rice and give them to the children to eat, with the wish that the children will be well-fed, healthy and grow up quickly.
Ritual at the pagoda
Unlike the family ritual, moon worship at the pagoda is held on a larger scale, with a community character, attracting a large number of people from the phum, sróc to take part. The monks preside over the ceremony, chanting sutras and praying for the people to be safe and for the country to be at peace and the people to prosper. The atmosphere at the pagoda becomes solemn but also warm, bonding the ties of neighbourhood and village.
What meaning does ghe ngo boat racing have in the festival?
If the moon worship ritual is the ceremonial part, then ghe ngo boat racing is the most lively and exciting festive part, regarded as the soul of the Ok Om Bok Festival. On the rivers and canals, ghe ngo boats more than 20 metres long with their unique shape are carefully prepared by teams from all the phum, sróc.
A ghe ngo is a dugout canoe, usually from 20 to more than 30 metres long, its hull carved out of a single large tree trunk, usually sao wood or dầu wood. The bow is carved with the image of the Naga serpent deity or the Krud bird deity, then lacquered and gilded. Each boat has from 40 to more than 50 rowers, and the commander stands at the bow to call the rhythm for the whole team. In the traditional culture of the Khmer people, a ghe ngo belongs to the pagoda, is a sacred asset and is the face of the pagoda and the phum sróc. Each pagoda usually has one or several ghe ngo boats.
A racing team usually consists of dozens of strong rowers, wearing colourful traditional costumes, coordinating smoothly to the sound of drums, gongs and the calls of the commander. The ghe ngo boats are beautifully decorated, and the bow is usually carved with a sacred image. The teams compete fiercely over a long distance, creating an extremely lively scene that attracts thousands of spectators standing along both banks to cheer.
What role does the ghe ngo have for the Khmer people?
The ghe ngo is a sacred asset of the pagoda and of the whole phum sróc, not a personal item. Therefore, ghe ngo racing is an occasion for the pagodas to show the strength and solidarity of their community, and it is also a source of pride for the people in the phum sróc. Building a new ghe ngo or repairing one usually mobilises the joint efforts of many families, so when the boat goes out on the river to compete, the whole community stands behind it to cheer.
What other cultural activities take place during the festival?
Besides ghe ngo boat racing, the Ok Om Bok Festival also has many other cultural activities and rich folk games, such as releasing water lanterns and sky lanterns. The lanterns released into the sky and down the river carry people's wishes for a better life. Visitors can also join in folk games such as tug of war, smashing clay pots, sack races, stick pushing, volleyball or climbing the dầu tree.
Where is the largest Ok Om Bok Festival held?
The Ok Om Bok Festival is held in many provinces with large Khmer communities, among which Sóc Trăng and Trà Vinh are two outstanding localities in terms of scale. In Sóc Trăng (before July 2025 the province of Sóc Trăng, now part of Cần Thơ city), the Oóc Om Bóc Festival and ghe Ngo racing have been raised to provincial scale and last for many days with many rich activities. According to information from TTXVN, the Oóc Om Bóc Festival and ghe Ngo racing of Sóc Trăng province in 2023 were held from 25 to 27 November 2023, to honour the traditional cultural beauty of the Khmer people and to meet the needs of the spiritual and cultural life of the people of the ethnic groups in the province. Cần Thơ is also a place where this festival is held.
What is special about the Ok Om Bok Festival in Trà Vinh?
In Vĩnh Long province (before July 2025 the province of Trà Vinh), where nearly 32% of the population is Khmer, the Ok Om Bok Festival is held very solemnly. The festival was included by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014, becoming the fourth national-level heritage of the province. The event usually takes place at the Ao Bà Om Culture and Tourism Area, a national-level scenic site. Since 2024, the province has also organised a Culture and Tourism Week linked to the festival, including a trade fair, a Southern culinary space, a Khmer ethnic dance festival and sports tournaments, attracting tens of thousands of participants.
