Bangkong Villagers Maintain a Tradition of Catching Fish Together to Prepare Food for a Traditional Spiritual Ceremony
AKP Phnom Penh, February 01, 2023 --
Every year, after finishing the rice harvest, the villagers in Bangkong village, Ampil commune, Prasat Bakong district, Siem Reap province, always gather to fish together to prepare food for a traditional ceremony, said the APSARA National Authority’s news release this afternoon.

This fishing ceremony takes place in an ancient pond where the villagers preserve the fish from overfishing, leaving it only for fishing together during the traditional spiritual ceremony, the same source added.

Mr. Pich Khin, Chief of Bangkong village, said that in 2023, the fishing ceremony is held on Feb. 1. This year, the water in the lake has not decreased yet, but there are lots of fish in the pond, so the villagers are happy to catch fish to cook or make Khmer noodle soup for the ceremony.

He said that in the early morning, hundreds of elderly people, boys, and girls, holding fishing nets and cages, gather together. Every year, the organising committee has set up a place in the pond to catch fish to eat and cook for the monks in the spiritual ceremony, while the fish caught in the pond, people can take them home as well.

He added that only the villagers in this community are allowed to catch fish from the pond today while those from other villages can fish in the pond the next day.

Mr. Yoeun Dara, a 24-year-old resident of Bangkong village, said that the joint fishing ceremony in this ancient pond has been a tradition of Bangkong villagers since ancient times because he has seen villagers do so since he was a child. As the next generation, we are committed to preserving the cultural traditions that our ancestors left behind forever to leave for future generations, he stressed.

The people of Angkor to this day continue to preserve the cultural traditions, both tangible and intangible, left by their ancestors. Every year, they always come together to celebrate various events around Angkor, such as Lerng Meak, Lerng Neak Ta, Ko Chup ceremony and many other religious ceremonies, all of which are the tradition and the identity of Angkor.
- AKP