La fête du retrait des eaux a Phnom Penh (1968) [Festival of the Flood Waters Receding, 1968]

How was celebrated Water Festival បុណ្យអុំទូក Bön Om Tuk in independent Cambodia, at the peak of the ​“Golden Sixties”? In these dispatches of the official news agency Agence Khmere de Presse (AKP), we find striking similarities in the way boat races and Kattik moon-related ceremonies were conducted at the turn of the century, as described by Adhemard Leclere in 1901, and nowadays. With a few variations that allow us to contribute to the history of Cambodian festivals in modern times.

Origins 

King Norodom Sihanouk was the first Cambodian sovereign to seek a direct connection with Angkorian kings, in particular Jayavarman VII. However, the current interpretations of Bön Om Tuk as an ancient celebration of the naval battle 1181 naval battle against the Cham armies was not alluded to in 1968, indicating that this new take on Water Festival can be described as ​“invented tradition”, a phrase coined by sociologists in the 1980s [ADB Input: ​“traditions” reinvent themselves constantly, especially in a syncretic country as Cambodia is, with a national history constantly in need of reexploring itself.]. Here’s the 1968 official background for this colorful and meaningful festival:

Suivant une tradition plusieurs fois millénaire, le Cambodge, où, de toutes parts, verdoient sur l’immense plaine les moissons prochaines, fête son annuel renouveau. Grossies de celles du majestueux Mékong, les eaux du Tonlé Sap qui, récemment encore, remontaient vers le nord, du Chakdomukh — les Quatre Faces — jusqu’au Grand Lac, renversent aujourd’hui leur cours pour aller vers le sud, confondues à celles du Grand Fleuve, se jeter à la mer. Avec elles s’en vont, ayant accompli leur mission, les Naga qui, durant la mousson de suroît, régnaient sur la plaine, plaine qu’ils fécondèrent du limon porté par l’onde dont ils sont les génies tout à la fois bienfaisants et redoutés.

Ainsi l’antique royaume de Neang Neak, la princesse Nagi, la fille du grand Naga, puissant souverain du monde marin, et l’épouse de Preah Thong, le divin Thong, qu’elle séduisit par sa beauté, a retrouvé son éternel sourire.
La lune de Kattik, alors à son apogée, marque ce renouveau. Pour célébrer le départ des Naga, les remercier de leurs bienfaits et les rendre favorables pour la saison prochaine, trois après-midi de suite, les quatorzième et quinzième jours de la lune montante et le premier jour de la lune descendante de Kattik — soit, cette année, les lundi, mardi et mercredi 4, 5 et 6 novembre 1968 — deux cents deux longues, fines et élégante pirogues tirées de l’ombré des monastères de la région, riverains des Tonlé Mékong, Tonlé Sap et Tonlé Bassac, pirogues amoureusement parées, montées par des équipages d’une quinzaine à une cinquantaine de pagayeurs ou de rameurs, que les esprits des Naga sont venus habiter au cours de cérémonies rituelles célébrées avant leur mise à l’eau, se livrent à des courses sur le Tonlé Sap.

[Following a several thousand years old tradition, Cambodia, where everywhere the coming harvests are coloring the immense plain in green, celebrates its annual renewal. Swelled by those of the majestic Mekong, the waters of the Tonle Sap which, until recently, rose towards the north, from Chakdomukh — the Four Faces — to the Great Lake, today reverse their course to go towards the south, merged with those of the Great River, to flow into the sea. With them go, having accomplished their mission, the Naga who, during the southwest monsoon, reigned over the plain, a plain which they fertilized with the silt carried by the wave of which they are the geniuses at once benevolent and feared.

Thus the ancient kingdom of Neang Neak, Princess Nagi, the daughter of the great Naga, powerful sovereign of the marine world, and the wife of Preah Thong, the divine Thong, whom she seduced with her beauty, has found her eternal smile again. The moon of Kattik, then at its peak, marks this renewal. To celebrate the departure of the Naga, to thank them for their blessings and to make them favorable for the coming season, three afternoons in a row, on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the waxing moon and the first day of the waning moon of Kattik — that is, this year, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, November 4, 5 and 6, 1968 — two hundred and two long, thin and elegant pirogues pulled from the shadow of the monasteries of the region, bordering the Tonle Mekong, Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac, lovingly adorned pirogues, manned by crews of fifteen to fifty paddlers or rowers, which the spirits of the Naga came to inhabit during ritual ceremonies celebrated before their launching, engaged in races on the Tonlé Sap.

Of boats, men and women

The number of boats racing in Phnom Penh, coming from all provinces, is a good indicator of the general mood of the population, and of how far Cambodian authorities want to go along the public fervor. As a side remark, let’s remember that the 2010 tragedy on Koch Pech (Diamond Island) bridge affected the collective approach to the festival, and that boat races have been cancelled in 2015 and 2016, and later during Covid years. In this 1968 report, we can measure the vitality of the festival at the peak of the Sangkum era, and the appearance of oarswomen as integral part of the celebration [The short-lived Phnom Penh Rowing Club, featured in films at the time, was attended by women.]

Cette année 136 pirogues, soit 68 couples, sont montées par des pagayeurs et 66, soit 33 couples, par des rameurs. Avec les réserves, l’effectif des équipages s’élève à 11 871. L’année dernière, 197 pirogues seulement et 8 160 hommes d’équipage avaient pris part à ces joutes nautiques. En 1966, ces chiffres étaient encore plus bas — 169 embarcations et 6 387 hommes (certains équipages sont également féminins, en totalité ou en partie) — et plus bas encore les années d’avant: 1965 : 134 — 6 387 | 1964: 123 — 5 600 | 1963 : 103 — 4 700.

[This year 136 dugouts, or 68 pairs, are manned by paddlers and 66, or 33 pairs, by rowers. Including back-up teams, the number of crews amounts to 11,871. Last year, only 197 canoes and 8,160 crewmen took part in these nautical jousts. In 1966, the figures were even lower — 169 boats and 6,387 men (some crews are made of women, in whole or in part) — and lower still in the years before: 1965: 134 — 6,387 | 1964: 123 — 5,600 | 1963: 103 — 4,700.]

And the author to mention the names of some of these graceful crafts, reflecting the Khmer poetic mind: ​“Kralan phkay prek”, Étoile du matin [Morning Star] | ​“Ratanak koma”, Petit chéri [Little darling], ​“Toun say” Lapin [Rabbit] | ​“Sovann kiri”, Montagne d’or [Hill of Gold] | ​“Thnou sâr”, Arc blanc [White Arrow], ​“Pmoch pech”, Flèche de diamant
[Diamond Arrow] | ​“Sovann machhar”, Poisson d’or [Golden Fish]…

The raise of Cambodian ritual traits

In Leclere’s 1901 account (published in 1904), the Baku, descendants of the Angkor Brahmanic families, were the real masters of ceremonies at Water Festival: ​“Le Prohm Čei (sanscrit Brahma Jaya), assis à la cambodgienne dans une pirogue montée par sept rameurs, la main armée d’un sabre neuf, se dispose à couper le práh prat” [“The Prohm Čei (Sanskrit Brahma Jaya), seated Cambodian style in a pirogue manned by seven rowers, his hand armed with a new saber, readies himself to cut the práh prat”, he noted, adding that ​“le bakou actuellement en fonctions est, en ce moment et depuis douze ans déjà, un nommé Kèv (prononcez Kêo) [The current Baku official is, at the moment and for the past twelve years, a man named Kèv (pronounced Kêo)]. 

In this 1968 relation of ceremonies, we read:

“Preah Tineang Prek Ampil”, l’une des plus longues pirogues (23,60 m) et la plus ancienne aussi — elle fut lancée en 1903 et offerte au Trône -, montée par un équipage de cinquante pagayeurs, avait pris en proue le « Prohm Chey » Keo Mak, brahmane gardien des glaives des quatre « Sdach Kranh » qui jadis, gouvernaient au nom du souverain quatre des « Cinq Terres » du royaume. Agé de quatre-vingt-six ans, le Phrom Chey Keo Mak accomplit, depuis les premières années du siècle, le ​“kat proat”.

[“Preah Tineang Prek Ampil”, one of the longest canoes (23.60 m) and the oldest too — it was launched in 1903 and offered to the Throne -, manned by a crew of fifty paddlers, had taken in the prow the ​“Prohm Chey” Keo Mak, Brahmin guardian of the swords of the four ​“Sdach Kranh” who formerly ruled in the name of the sovereign four of the ​“Five Lands” of the kingdom. Aged eighty-six, the Phrom Chey Keo Mak has been performing the ​“kat proat” since the early years of the century.] 

This opens a significant avenue in historiographic research on modern Cambodia, but before going there let’s quote another part of the 1968 text:

Dans la nuit de mardi quatorzième jour de la lune croissante de Kattik, l’année du Singe, 2512 de l’ère bouddhique, à partir de minuit, alors que la lune dans tout son éclat resplendissait au zénith — pour l’Occident commençait le mercredi 6 novembre 1968 — fut célébrée, dans le grand salon de la Maison flottante royale, la cérémonie aux rites plusieurs fois millénaires dite ​“Sampeah Preah Khè” — ​“salutations à la lune”, — cérémonie à laquelle présida le Chef de l’État, Samdech Preah Upayuvareach (Samdech l’ancien roi). Sur la moquette pourpre, devant les offrandes : bananes, noix de coco et « ambok » (grains de riz nouvellement récoltés, pilés, aplatis et légèrement grillés, prémices des moissons prochaines), disposés sur trois larges plateaux à pied, Samdech, son épouse, les princes, princesses et quelques autres personnes présentes prirent place face à l’Est, en direction du fleuve.

Après l’hommage au Triple Joyau — le Bouddha, Sa doctrine, Ses moines -, l’assistance récita les versets dits ​“Akasatha”, formulant transmission des mérites de la cérémonie aux mânes des anciens souverains. Ces rites préliminaires accomplis, l’ « achar » (maître officiant) invoque ces mânes royaux et les puissances surnaturelles, génies ou esprits qui hantent la plaine, la forêt, les montagnes et les eaux, ou qui protègent les populations des villes et des moindres villages du royaume, il invoqua enfin les puissances gardiennes du Trône et de ses attributs. «Daignent, ces mânes augustes et ces puissances, agréer les fêtes organisées en leur honneur et ces humbles offrandes. Qu’elles protègent ceux qui les offrent : Sa Majesté la Reine et Samdech Preah Upayuvareach, chef de l’Etat. Que tous les deux restent cent ans «l’ombré sous laquelle s’abrite le peuple khmer».

[On Tuesday’s night, the fourteenth day of the waxing moon of Kattik, year of the Monkey, 2512 of the Buddhist era, starting at midnight, when the moon in all its splendor shone at its zenith — for the West it began on Wednesday, November 6, 1968 — the ceremony with its millennia-old rites called ​“Sampeah Preah Khè” — ​“salutations to the moon” — was celebrated in the grand salon of the Royal Floating House — a ceremony presided over by the Head of State, Samdech Preah Upayuvareach (Samdech the former king). On the purple carpet, in front of the offerings: bananas, coconuts and ​“ambok” (newly harvested rice grains, pounded, flattened and lightly grilled, the first fruits of the next harvests), arranged on three large trays on foot, Samdech, his wife, the princes, princesses and a few other people present took their places facing the East, towards the river.

After the homage to the Triple Jewel — the Buddha, His doctrine, His monks -, the audience recited the verses called ​“Akasatha”, formulating the transmission of the merits of the ceremony to the spirits of the former sovereigns. These preliminary rites accomplished, the ​“achar” (officiating master) invokes these royal manes and the supernatural powers, genies or spirits who haunt the plain, the forest, the mountains and the waters, or who protect the populations of the cities and the smallest villages of the kingdom, he finally invoked the guardian powers of the Throne and its attributes. ​“Deign these august manes and these powers accept the festivals organized in their honor and these humble offerings. May they protect those who offer them: Her Majesty the Queen and Samdech Preah Upayuvareach, head of state. May both remain for a hundred years ​“the shadow under which the Khmer people shelter.” [Queen Kossamak and Prince Norodom Sihanouk, his son, who had renounced the throne to become Head of State].

It is the achar who pronounces the solemn words, and the Brahmanic rite related to the ​“sacred rope” is now limited to its cutting. No more ​“sacrifice” or ​“hanging” of the rope. Modern Cambodia redefines its rituals and symbols.