BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA
About 450 boats have been prepared for entry into the three-day competition to celebrate the Water Festivals. They will be held on November 11-13, 2008 at the riverside, in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, according to a government official in charge of National and International Festivals Committee.
Chea Kean, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Committee for Organizing National and International Festivals (NCONIF), said that in 2007, a total of 434 boats participated in the races and 409 boats in 2006.
Kean said, “I noted that the number of crews registering for the Water Festival has increased every year. This is a result of peace, progress and political stability in Cambodia.”
Kean continued, “Every year, the competition aims to select the best boat racers from different provinces across the country to win the title Cambodia’s National Champions for the year. It is also to promote and conserve the boat race which is a traditional event and a reminder of our brave soldiers who used the boats in conflicts of the past.”
“I hope that with these racing events, our boat racers will gain more experience in rowing at international competition level. Finally, we can develop and conserve our traditional culture for future generations,” he said.
He told the Cambodia Weekly on October 23, that this year, the Water Festival would be graced by the presence of Preah Koruna Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihamoni, the King of Cambodia.
He said that the Water Festival would also include fireworks, 23 decorative light boats and night time concerts.
He also said that the boat races would be featured live on TVK (Television of Kampuchea) and other private TV channels so that enthusiasts further a-field who cannot make the events in person can catch all the action as it happens.
He said that at least one million Cambodians are expected to crowd the Waterfront to witness the spectacle.
Mann Chhoeun, Deputy Governor of Phnom Penh Municipality, said that to attract more foreign tourists to the festival, there were plans to decorate sites of historic interest, as well as organizing other entertainments including traditional theatre, displays of classical dance, music and concerts.
Chhoeun said that the Phnom Penh Municipality would also work with local and international companies to organize trade fairs and other business activities during the Water Festival.
He told The Cambodia Weekly by telephone that the authority would also prepare rubbish bags and toilets for visitors to keep the festival environment clean and hygienic.
“I hope that with these activities, we can attract hundreds of thousands of people, united in their enjoyment of this year’s Water Festival”, he said.
Last year, approximately two million people watched the races and other entertainments organized in Phnom Penh.
Brigadier General Touch Naruth, Phnom Penh Police Commissariat Chief, said that to provide security for spectators during the Water Festival, the Police Commissariat planned to deploy a total of 5,449 armed officers from both the civilian and military police forces.
General Naruth said that the Authority will also prepare a total of three motor launches to rescue crews who may find themselves in difficulties as the races progress.
He pointed out that these forces would be deployed at all important checkpoints and crowded streets in Phnom Penh to help travelers beat traffic jams and avoid other problems.
According to Cambodian documents and history, the Water Festival in Cambodia takes place each year in October or November, at the time of the full moon, and is the most extravagant and exuberant festival in the Khmer calendar, outdoing even the new year celebrations.
The festival marks the changing of the flow of the Tonle Sap River and is also seen as thanksgiving to the Mekong River for providing the country with fertile land and abundant fish. It is at this time when the river flow reverts to its normal down-stream direction. In a remarkable phenomenon, the Tonle Sap River earlier reverses its course as the rainy season progresses, with the river flowing "upstream" to Tonle Sap Lake. When the rainy season tapers off, the river changes direction once again and the swollen Tonle Sap Lake begins to empty back into the Mekong River. Vast quantities of fish are revealed as a result of this change in flow.
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