Story: Ta La Ca
Photos: Phuong Mien Tay
As the harvest season draws to a close, Khmer communities in Can Tho look to the moon, the water, and age-old traditions to celebrate abundance and community.
As the full moon of the 10th lunar month shines over the fields after the harvest, Can Tho once again enters a lively festival season. From moon-worship rituals and seasonal produce to Ngo boat races, these celebrations express long-standing gratitude for nature, the harvest, and a strong sense of community.
Festivities under the moonlight
Ooc Om Boc, or the Moon-Worshipping Festival, is one of the most important spiritual celebrations in the Khmer community. Held on the full moon of the 10th lunar month, it marks the end of an agricultural cycle.
Families select their finest glutinous rice and pound it into com dep, or flattened young rice, which they present with local produce, including bananas, sweet potatoes, coconuts, and other seasonal produce as offerings to the Moon. The ceremony may take place in the family’s courtyard, within the village square, or on temple grounds, expressing reverence for nature and the belief that the Moon bears witness to their gratitude.
Rooted in an ancient agricultural tradition, the ritual reflects the close relationship between people and nature. The community gives thanks to the Moon deity, believed in folk traditions to protect the crops, bring favorable weather, and bless people with abundance.
Under the full moon, a respected elder or an invited monk presides over the ceremony. After the prayers, adults feed com dep to children, ask about their wishes, and offer blessings. A small handful of flattened young rice is more than a product of the harvest: it is also a way for one generation to pass blessings and cultural memories to the next.
After the ritual, people gather to enjoy folk dances, traditional songs, five-tone orchestral music, and community games. Under the moonlight, the festivities run late, bringing people closer together.
Community spirit on the water
While Ooc Om Boc draws people’s gaze toward the sky, Ngo boat racing brings the festival back to the water, which is closely tied to the livelihoods, trade, and daily life of Khmer people in southern Vietnam.
Traditionally, these races were also held to express gratitude to the water deity after the harvest and in hopes of a peaceful and prosperous new year. The sound of festival drums signals not only the start of the competition but also a sacred moment of seasonal transition.
Ngo boats are long and slender, elaborately decorated with patterns and symbols tied to Khmer beliefs. Each boat bears its own emblem, expressing the strength and faith of the community it represents. Distinctive bow designs, along with painted and carved hull details, reveal the boat’s identity and make it stand out on the water.
Each Ngo boat is associated with a temple and represents the memories, honor, and pride of its entire community. During a race, the person sitting in the bow leads, blows a horn, and directs the boat, while more than 60 rowers behind move in practiced unison and maintain a synchronized rhythm.
Ngo boat racing is more than a sporting contest. It is a distinctive cultural practice of the Khmer community in southern Vietnam. Today, the Ngo Boat Racing Festival of former Soc Trang Province, now part of Can Tho, is recognized as national intangible cultural heritage and honored as an important symbol of Khmer cultural identity in the region.
Gratitude for the harvest is not only felt beneath the moon or during the boat races on the river. It continues in contemporary life, as rice from the southern fields sustains communities and funds ongoing development in the Mekong Delta.
During the southern moon festival season, one may wander past Khmer temples, hear five-tone music drifting from festival grounds, watch Ngo boats race over the water, and realize that some forms of heritage are more than mere memories. Here, heritage continues to live, move, and tell stories through moonlight, drumbeats, the sound of the horn, flowing water, and grains of rice.
The 2nd Vietnam International Rice Industry Festival – Can Tho 2026 is scheduled to take place from November 23 – 26, under the theme “Vietnam Green Rice – Reaching the World.” The Can Tho Ooc Om Boc – Ngo Boat Racing Festival 2026 is expected to open at 8:00 p.m. on November 22 at Bach Dang Square, Phu Loi Ward. Ngo boat races will be held on November 23 and 24 at the Ngo Boat Racing Grandstand in Soc Trang Ward.
