4 provinces send delegations to Khmer boat race in Ho Chi Minh City
Friday, April 21, 2023, 12:08 GMT+7
Nine teams from Ho Chi Minh City, Kien Giang Province, Binh Phuoc Province, Binh Duong Province, and Tay Ninh Province are slated to compete in the Ngo (Khmer) boat race festival this weekend in the southern city.
The teams will race on Sunday on a section of Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal between the Cong Ly Bridge and the Le Van Sy Bridge, according to the People’s Committee of District 3, which is the organizer.
The event is meant to celebrate Khmer ethnic people’s traditional New Year Festival Chol Chnam Thmay and Vietnamese Ethnic Groups Culture Day (April 19).
Aside from the boat racing festival, the event will also host cultural and culinary exchange activities featuring dishes cooked by ethnic minorities living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, such as Chinese, Khmer, Cham, and Tay people.
The boat race also aims to promote tourism in the four provinces and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as preserve the tradition of Khmer boat racing in the southern region.
Ngo boats are made of wood and are typically decorated with images of dragons, tigers, elephants, lions, and peacocks.
Chol Chnam Thmay is one of three major annual festivals celebrated by the Khmer people.
The other two include the moon-worshipping Oc Om Boc Festival and the Sene Dolta for remembering ancestors.
The Oc Om Boc Festival, which often takes place at the end of the harvest season when farmers can enjoy the fruits of their labor ahead of the rainy season, lasted from April 14 to 16 this year.
The Khmer people are one of the largest minorities in Vietnam, numbering over 1.3 million, according to census data on Vietnam’s 54 ethnic minorities as of April 1, 2019.
They mainly live in Vietnam’s southern region, particularly in the Mekong Delta.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
