Traditional Cambodian Fish-Catching Ceremony
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:17 pm
No hooks, lines or sinkers: Cambodians go traditional in fishing ceremony
10 Feb, 2019
CHOAM KROVEAN, CAMBODIA (AFP) - Wielding handmade bamboo baskets and nylon nets, hundreds of people waded thigh-deep into a muddy lake in eastern Cambodia on Sunday (Feb 10) for an annual fish-catching ceremony where only traditional tools are used.
The ceremony is held each year in eastern Tboung Khmum province after the crop harvest to commemorate the country's proud fishing history, said local chief Uch Yoeun.
The event - held in Choam Korvean commune, about 250 kilometres from the capital Phnom Penh - attracts hundreds of farmers from surrounding villages.
They carry weaved baskets of different shapes, eager to try their hand at trapping the freshwater catfish and snakehead fish in the muddy Boeung Kroam lake.
"It has been a tradition since our ancestors' time," Mr Uch Yoeun told AFP, adding that only one rule applies in this mass fishing event.
"We only allow traditional fishing tools to be used."
Authorities guarded Boeung Kroam lake for more than a month before the event - to prevent illegal fishing and ensure there would be enough to catch at Sunday's event.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-as ... g-ceremony
