NEW TRIBES MISSION  |  planting tribal churches

4 MILLION ATTEND FESTIVAL

4 MILLION ATTEND FESTIVAL

In the Regatta Festival dragon boats compete for the king`s praise.

November 17, 2008

by David Bell

Cambodia's Water and Moon Festival is a cultural event that missionaries Ron and Sally Carraway couldn't pass up last week. Neither could some 4 million others.

This year's celebration was considered the largest festival ever with 434 boats competing in a regatta.

The three-day event that draws millions to the capital city is actually four separate ceremonies -- the Regatta, the Procession of Illuminated Floats, the Festival of Salutation to the Moon and the Offering of Bananas and Om Bok, which are special cakes.

The Water and Moon Festival has traditionally marked the end of the harvest season and the end of seasonal work. It also coincides with the end of the rainy season and the reversal of the Tonle Sap River.

The Tonle Sap water system reverses its course with the onset of the rainy season -- around April -- flooding the Great Lake to the north of the capital city. When dry season arrives the river returns to its southward course, draining the lake back into the Mekong River.

The river system is Cambodia's lifeblood and the Water and Moon Festival is also a time to give thanks to the rivers.

The most famous of the ceremonies is the Regatta Festival, where hundreds of dragon boats -- with crews of more than 50 men -- compete for the king's praise. The festival commemorates a naval victory that took place in 1178.

On the final day of the festival -- the evening of the full moon -- the Festival of Salutation to the Moon and the Offering of Bananas and Om Bok are held. Cambodians gather at pagodas throughout the country to make their offerings.

Please pray for the Carraways and other missionaries serving in Cambodia, that they will be avid learners of the cultures and languages of the people and have a fruitful ministry of presenting the King of kings to the people.

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