“The Royal Water Festival” is a major national festival that Cambodians across the country celebrate every year. Because this is a national festival organized by the Royal Government, the main center for the ceremony is in Phnom Penh, Chaktomuk river in front of the Royal Palace. In the provinces, villages, districts and pagodas, this ceremony is also held according to their ability and resources. Every year, the Water Festival is held on the 14th Kert, 15th Kert and 1st Roach day of the Kadeuk month (lunar calendar), and people from everywhere come to participate in this festival in large numbers. In this festival, there are 3 big events: boat racing, lantern floating ceremony, and Ok Ambok ceremony to worship the moon god. Boat Race: Boats that are used for racing are called “Tuk Ngor” which consist of two types of boats: Tuk Ngor and Tuk Chev. Today, most pagodas have Tuk Ngor. Some pagodas have only Tuk Om or Tuk Chev and some pagodas have both types of boats. Touk Ngor is a village or a community’s property. Since it is a communal ‘s property, the Touk is placed and taken care of by monks and the pagoda. Villagers will train and join the race. Before the Water Festival arrives, villages are gathered to train because the racers are not professional athletes. They usually do work for a living and come to train only when the race is approaching. During the Water Festival in Phnom Penh, they have to do the selection from their own village. Some pagodas or villages in the district hold this boat race during Pchum Ben and some race on the day of Chenh Preah Vossa for people to watch and celebrate the festival. On the day of the Water Festival, only the winning boats for each village and district representative will be taken to join the race in Phnom Penh. The boat race lasts for 3 days. In general, the number of boats participating in the race each year is about 400 to 600 boats, and each boat is drawn to select a competitor organized by the race organizing committee. Each boat requires to race twice, once in the outer stream and against the inner stream. The race starts from Chroy Changvar Bridge and runs along the water in front of the Royal Palace at Dum Nak Pear (royal port), which is the final and the place where the King and his entourage sit and watch. The winning boats from the first day and the second day must go to the race on the third day, which is the final day. At the end of the race, there is an important task called“Cut Proit" celebrated by the Baku Brahmins at the Royal Palace. The sword for the cut consists of the swords kept in the Royal Palace and four other swords kept by the Brahmin family in Baray District, Kampong Thom Province. Each day the king came to be the preside and watch the boat race at the port pavilion in front of the royal palace. Besides, there is also the royal Family, prime ministers, the president of the national assembly, diplomats, and many more dignitaries. Lantern Floating Ceremony: Every night of the Royal Water Festival, there is always Pror Tip Jvea Lea floating on the water for people to visit and enjoy. The figure decorated with lights are usually arranged on boats or large ships, designed as symbols of ministries or institutions or of private companies, and decorated with colorful light bulbs. In some rural areas, people also float lanterns along rivers, lakes or ponds in pagodas, etc. The small lanterns are made of banana trees or banana leaves decorated with flowers and candles. Ork Ombok Sompeah Preah Khae ceremony: On the night of the middle of the Royal Water Festival, which falls on the full moon day, there is another important ceremony, "Ok Ambok Sompeah Preah Khae”. Whether it is a house, a pagoda or a royal palace, offerings are always prepared for the ceremony. The main offerings were Ambok (pounding rice grain), banana, coconut, and sugar cane, as well as candles, incense, and flowers. In the countryside, many villagers Dal (pounding) the Ambok by themselves. In addition to preparing offerings at home, the villagers bring bananas and young coconuts to the abbot in the temple, and the abbot also arranges the Ambok on a pedestal dish and five young coconuts for the monks. Then the monk began to pray and spread the Ambok to young and old Buddhists is a sign that the fruits are abundant. When the monks finished chanting, the Buddhists came out to celebrate the Ok Ambok ceremony. Traditionally, the Ok Ambok ceremony begins at midnight, when the full moon rotates above the head. But today, in pagodas, people often start the Ok Ambok ceremony late at night, as Buddhists will soon return home. Before the Ok Ambok ceremony begins, one of the most important tasks is to "drain the candles." This is done at the Royal Palace and in the pagodas across the country. The main purpose of the candle draining is to predict the rain and agriculture harvesting in the coming season. The way to drain a candle is to insert a row of candles, about one inch apart, on a long candle holder made of bamboo or wood, and at the northern end, there are often carved dragon heads. The candles in the Royal Palace depend on the number of provinces. There can be 24 or 25 candles, that is, after the Brahmins have finished praying, they light them. The candles are turned upside down. If the candles representing the province burn the most, it is predicted that the province will have lots of rain. But in some areas of the countryside, there may be many candles, all of them 108, which is a very lucky number in the ancient Khmer tradition. At other pagodas, for example at Wat Taing Krasang (Brorsam village, Kampong Cham province), there are five candles, but only three are considered important, as the other two candles are smaller. The three candles represent the beginning, middle, and end of the year. After the end of the candle draining ceremony, the Ok Ambok ceremony began. At that time, young and old, men and women, took the Ambok and gave it to each other happily. Therefore, the Ak Ambok Sompeah Preah Khae ceremony refers to the same idea, that is, to have abundant harvests, and only until there is enough rain, the fruits can be reaped.

"Prahok" is an essential reserve food for Cambodian farmers in rural areas because it is a kind of fermented food that can be stored for a long time. There are many Khmer dishes that use prahok as an indispensable ingredient, such as Kor Ko and Teuk Kreoung. Apart from being an ingredient, Prahok can also be made into a separate dish, by adding some ingredients to your liking, such as grilled Prahok, Prahok Ktis, Prahok Kreoung, raw Prahok, sour prahok, etc. Making prahok for ready-to-eat food has been a tradition for a long time. Most of the villagers, especially the residents living near the rivers, canals and lakes, during the low water season, which is the rich fish season, that is, from the month of Bos to the month of Phalkun or the month of Chet, they often travel by cart to the river to do fishing or buy fish to make Prahok. Therefore, there is rarely a family that does not make prahok, although some people are short of money, they try to make Prahok as much as they can afford; while some even borrow money from others to make Prahok. Some locals buy fish to make at home, while others stay by the river until the Prahok is ready before returning home. Not only Prahok makers but also fishermen have to stay there to fish day and night as it is a lucrative opportunity. Therefore, as long as it is the season for Prahok fishing, they often see many shelters along the river. Most of the fish used to make Prahok are small fish, such as Riel fish or Lihn fish. But some rich people also use big fish like Ros fish, Chdor fish, Kha Ek fish, Sorn Dai fish ... to make Prahok. It is a kind of meat Prahok (boneless Prahok) that is delicious and expensive. There are only two main ingredients for Prahok: fish and salt. First, the fish has scraped off the scale, the head is cut off, the abdomen is removed, and then the fish is placed in a Jeal or Kom Broang or jar. Prahok makers will step on it with their bare feet to remove the scale fish and fish oil in a nearby river or stream. Cleaning by stepping on it is an important step because if the fish oil is not completely removed, Prahok will smell bad and be unable to eat. Therefore, the washing process must be done several times until the fish is white. This cleaning requires a lot of water and this is also the reason for those who make a lot of prahok to stay by the river to easily wash the prahok. After washing, the fish are extracted and placed in a bamboo basket with small cells to keep the fish dry. When the fish is dry, the fish is salted. Spilling salt is not done all at once, it is done three times. First fermentation leaves it overnight to harden the fish. The next day, they put the fish under the sun for two hours. Then it is salted for the second time and then left to soak for 4-5 days, then it is salted for the third time and stuffed into a jar or jar using Ang Re, pestle. In order to make the Prahok stuffy and not cracked, you have to take a bamboo stick and snap it on top and pour salt water in. It is usually stored for 5-6 months before the Prahok tastes good and smells good. For the sellers, they shorten the storing period to 1-2 months old, which is caused the Prahok smells stinky and doesn’t taste good when it is cooked. When we take Prahok from the jar to eat, we have to press it back and sprinkle more salt on it so that it does not absorb air. Properly made Prahok can usually be stored for up to 4 or 5 years.

“Community” refers to a group of people living in the same village or several nearby villages, although there is a geographical boundary. Therefore, some properties, for example, temples, pagodas, Barays, lakes, ponds, canals, streams, forests, fishery resources, etc., although located in any village, are considered the property of the community or the nation as a whole. According to locals in the Angkor area, in the past, in some villages, there was always a pond or lake for the community to catch fish together to cook for various festivals, especially “Lerng Meak” festival. But now, among more than 1,550 villages in the Angkor area, only one village still has the tradition of community fishing in a lake, which locals call "Boeung Bang Kong pond ", located east of Angkor or north of Prasat Lolay. In fact, the pond of Boeung Bangkong is an ancient pond, as you can see the remains of the stone sculpture on it. On the back of the lake, there are old Neakta huts in all four directions. The villagers have a strong belief in this pond. If a cow is lost, the villagers always come to pray for the Neakta in this pond to help. In addition, pregnant women are not allowed to walk on the dam because it can cause miscarriage. Traditionally, every year, the elders in Bangkong village bring fish to Boeung Trapeang Bangkong to eat and cook during the Lerng Meak or ancestor ascension ceremony, which took place on the back of the Boeung Trapeang Bong Dam. However, since 2005, since the villagers built Sala Chor Tean, a communal building, in the center of the village, the elders celebrate the festival at the Sala, instead. The following is the fishing tradition of the Bangkong community for the "Ancestor Ascension Ceremony" which took place on the 7th of Roach Khemak, the year of Pansak BE 2557, which is on the 20th of February 2014 (this year's ancestor ascension ceremony is later than the village Other 3 days). This community fishing ceremony starts in the early morning (about 7 o'clock) when the villagers and the community committee have a village chief, acharya and elders come together. In this village, there are also some rules and regulations, such as not allowing other villagers other than the villagers to catch fish or use the lake, not to use nets or nets that are too small, except for some fishing tools such as nets and other fishing traps. Fishing in the lake is divided into two periods: in the morning, the villagers can catch fish by individual families or groups in the whole lake, except for some banned parts. The fish caught in the morning can be grilled or grilled, eaten on the spot immediately, and can be taken home. In the afternoon, all the villagers can catch fish at the place where the group kept the fish, but the fish caught now are not taken home or kept for personal use, that is, to be prepared for cooking during the festival. The food usually made for the ceremony includes barbecue, fried noodles, noodles, pickles and spices. It is not until 2 or 3 pm tomorrow that the Ancestor Ascension Ceremony begins, as in other villages in the Angkor area.

In traditional Khmer belief, "The Medium" refers to ghosts that have spiritual power and often live in seas, rivers, lakes, creeks, streams, and ponds. Others live in trees, bushes, and mountains, and have their own more or less power. When traveling in the forest or crossing the lake, travelers must mind their words and speak carefully because some words may interrupt or annoy the spirits guarding the place, yet it will cause illness or other disasters. Another type of ghost refers to the souls of ancestors who are believed to be dead, but the soul or spirit does not die with the body. They are around to help take care of and protect children, but sometimes those souls are also angry and punish their children if they make a mistake and do something wrong. It is believed that if a person is “Arak Kach” there are weird signs such as the person is sick, trembling with fear, mouth paralysis slurred speech, or inability to walk…etc.) Although today's society is evolving to a more modern level, including modern medicine, Cambodians, especially those living in remote areas, are still seeking traditional treatment such as ghost possession. Therefore, if there are any disasters such as disease, eradication, drought, or lost cattle, and lost property for no reason, the locals will seek help from “Kru Hmor” to predict or use a method called “Bol” or summon a spirit called “Ban Jorn Arak”, each of the methods can tell the locals about a root cause behind the incidents that happened. After they found out the cause, they had to organize a "Leang Arak" ceremony, or “Ban Jorn Roub” and make an offering for Arak spirits to keep a promise. In some areas, when a male or female is possessed by a spirit, people believe that the spirit is an Arak. But in other areas, such as in the north of Siem Reap, Angkor people called a spirit that possesses a male and female body differently. If the spirit possesses a male body is called Arak, whereas a spirit that possesses a female body is called "Memot". That is why sometimes we hear people call "Pithi Leang Arak" and sometimes we hear "Pithi Leang Memot". The ritual is organized by an individual, a family, or a community to pray for a well-being for everyone. As for the date, protocol, and agenda in Pithi “Leang Arak”, we observe that they vary slightly from region to region. As mentioned above, the residents of Angkor (north against Phnom Kulen and south against Tonle Sap Lake), especially the village north of Angkor Thom (Nokor village, Pronit village, Prasatchar village, Phlong village, village Leang Dai, Daun Ov village, Tak village and Samrong village, etc.) call a spirit possesses male body is called Arak, whereas a spirit that possesses a female body called "Memot", but from time to time, we also see one or two Arak spirits to join Leang Memot with Memot spirit too. The locals in this area hold this ritual once a year, during Meak month to commemorate the Memot, who helps to cure the villagers' illnesses and make them happy. The ritual was held with ten to fifteen people who are ready to be possessed by Memot and one Memot Master. Locals believe that each person has her own birth teacher spirit “Kru Komnert” who looks after her life. Therefore, they have to install an altar and prepare offerings or Jorm Komnert for the spirit. Some install the altar on the head of the bed. There are two types of Jorm Komnert, one is made of a ripe coconut and another is made of carved wood with legs in the shape of monkeys and other animals. During the Leang Memot, participants have to bring Jorm Kru Komnert and Jorm Memot to put on a tray together. For those who have just joined or their, Jorm is torn and old, they have to make a new one that day before the ritual begins. The offerings and utensils were also prepared on the day of the ritual, including a basket of rice for storing rice, and on the basket of rice was a tray of offerings such as a banana, orange juice, fruit juice, water perfume, ten incense sticks, five candles, cigarettes, Mlu, Sla, Bay Srey Pak Cham. These items are stacked under the tray of Jorms, which is placed in front of their respective seats. At around 7 pm, the Leang Memot ritual begins. At that time, the Arak music band began to pay homage and then began to play music for Main Memot to possess the body. After playing two or three songs, the Memot spirit begins to possess and make strange gestures, some wearing a scarf on his head or tying his waist, while others wear a skirt (usually a Hol), pulling a sword or carrying a pole to dance rheumatically, the locals realized that the Arak spirit is possessing Memot body, so they shouted and clapped their hands to make the Memot dance happily, it continued until 11 PM which made the ritual very noisy. Until all the bodies are possessed by Memot, they would together joyfully. Finally, Memot Thom prays, then the villagers take the offerings “Pe Sam Neann” (Offering) and throw them away in order to avoid any misfortune or other diseases. In other parts of the region, Leak Arak ritual may be held in private, arranged by relatives of a patient in order to find out the root cause of the sickness. The most common offerings are Bay Sey, Sla Tor, Pe, candles, incense sticks, and flowers. The food offerings include rice, soup, bananas, boiled chicken and pork heads...etc. In addition, there is an Arak music band, and especially there is a messenger called “Snom”, a woman who interrogates and interprets to the spirits that possess the body and she also helps facilitate the ritual. When the ritual begins, Arak music is played to summon the spirit to possess the body. When the spirit possessed the body, the woman start to ask questions and find the root cause of the sickness. What has the patient done wrong? and plead the spirit to cure the patient with a promise to offer a steam chicken and port head to let the demons help heal the sick by promising a rooster, a pig's head, offering music, or whatever the ghost commands.