With Khmer New Year around the corner, schools and public venues nationwide have been organizing a pre-Khmer New Year event, known as Sankranta, since the start of this month.
Cambodia is preparing for the 2024 Khmer New Year celebration held between April 13 and 16, a significant cultural event which sees locals and tourists participating in the traditional celebration.
According to Khmer belief, this year, the “angel”, Mohor Thak Ra Tevi, will arrive on earth at 10.24 p.m on April 13. She is the seventh daughter of Kabil Moha Prum and will dine on treay meat (a type of antelope).
A week before the Khmer New Year, universities such as University of Cambodia, Royal University of Phnom Penh and Royal University of Fine Arts, and schools have already started celebrations by organizing the “University Sankranta” festival.
Meanwhile, Phnom Penh Capital Hall has erected a golden dragon statue at Wat Phnom historical park, and other decorations along the street in the area and tourist sites to draw visitors on that day.
“We will organize Sankranta at Wat Phnom, featuring traditional dances and games, Lakhaon Bassac (traditional opera theater) and concerts to welcome the new year, and uphold our cultural heritage,” said Phnom Penh deputy governor Keut Chhe.
About one million tourists are expected to attend the Sankranta event in Wat Phnom.
In Battambang, deputy governor Leang Veasna told CamboJA News that the provincial administration is organizing the Battambang Sankranta, which features a concert, a cultural village and Khmer traditional games.
“In addition, all pagodas in Battambang and many schools are organizing Sankranta to welcome the new year,” said Veasna.
This year, the province has allocated a place for people to play water games without disturbance and to ensure public order, as well as 100 big jars of water. “It’s forbidden to throw water in an anarchic way, but you can pour water in the traditional way,” he said.
“I believe that national and international tourists will visit Sankranta of Battambang 2024, and other resort areas around Battambang. We expect no less than one million people,” Veasna added. Annually, 900,000 to one million people visit Battambang during Khmer New Year.
Although there is no large-scale Angkor Sankranta celebration in Siem Reap due to limited resources, Ly Vannak, director of the Siem Reap provincial administration, told CamboJA that the provincial administration is currently preparing the city for tourists. There will be smaller Siem Reap Sankranta events in various parts of the city.
In anticipation of Khmer New Year, the University Sankranta event brought together many students who enjoyed and played traditional games, such as leak kon saeng (hidden scarf game), danderm sleok chher (grab the leaf) and teanh prot (tug-of-war).
Students found the leak kon saeng game fun as players competed in two rounds, by hiding the scarf behind the person they wanted to compete with. One person starts by walking around a circle of people and selects the person they want to compete with and hides the scarf behind them. When that person finds that a scarf has been “hidden” behind them, they must chase after the “culprit” and use the scarf as a weapon to fight.
Teanh prot or tug of war enabled both teams to pool their strength to win over the other while danderm sleok chher or grab the leaf involves one person from opposing teams attempting to grab a tree branch placed in a circle. The loser has to join the opponent’s team and loses his turn.
Recently, Prime Minister Hun Manet said it is important to preserve tradition, culture and religious practices. A lot of preparation should be made for traditional games by preparing the place and equipment, he remarked, encouraging youths to participate in the traditional games.
Sak Srey Nich, a third-year undergraduate of Royal University of Phnom Penh, told CamboJA that she felt happy joining the University Sankranta event as she can meet her old friends and witness traditional games played during Khmer New Year.
“I think it’s a good [effort] because it helps to preserve our culture. If we do not create an event like this, we may forget [traditional games],” she said.
Toem Theara, a Cambodia Scouts at the same university, said many students took part in the traditional games, which he believed helped students to remember and preserve the culture.
“I was very happy when I saw young people playing games and dancing traditional Khmer dances. It is our identity, we should preserve what our ancestors passed down to us.”
Ream Chanrotha, a first-year student majoring in accounting at Vanda Institute, felt that the celebration of Sankranta in universities creates fun as students get to play traditional games which promote Khmer culture.
However, she was also worried about her safety. “Many things go missing in the university as there are many people. The management [of the event] is not good yet,” she said, urging those in charge of the event to enhance safety and cleanliness.
Recently, University of Cambodia celebrated Khmer New Year with their lecturers, management staff and students. The celebration was divided into three parts. In the morning, there was a religious program as well as Khmer traditional games, followed by more games in the afternoon and a concert ending the day with performances by Cambodian celebrities.
“Overall, over 2,000 people are estimated to have participated. But based on what we saw, there could have been more,” said Norm Sinath, director of the human resource office at the university. “University of Cambodia celebrates Khmer New Year every year to preserve our culture, which has been passed down by our ancestors, while strengthening our cultural heritage.”
In terms of safety, the university worked closely with the authorities, who were present at the event. There was an ambulance, a fire engine and 40 to 50 policemen who were on standby. Students were not allowed to bring talcum powder, weapons, or illegal substances into the university, Sinath said.
Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts spokesman Sum Map said on the occasion of the new year, people from all over the country travel to their respective home provinces, as young people celebrate it in their own way.
“The government has asked the local authorities to ensure people’s safety and security so they can be happy,” Map said, noting that the relevant authorities have already put in place safety measures.
Pa Chanroeun, head of the Cambodian Institute for Democracy (CID), said it was great that many schools and organizations celebrated Sankranta, which meant that they were continuing the tradition and culture.
“From my observation, the celebration of Sankranta or New Year is good. First, it raises an awareness of Khmer tradition and second, it creates a happy atmosphere and goodwill while promoting unity among Cambodians and other nationalities.”
However, he did not support activities which harmed people’s dignity and safety, or those that promote alcohol.
During the Chea Sim Samaki High School’s Sankranta event earlier this month, youths, including students from the school and other schools, engaged in unruly behavior, throwing water and powder on people, harassing women and riding motorcycles in groups.
With regards to people’s safety and security, Phnom Penh deputy governor Keut Chhe said the Phnom Penh City Hall is ready to manage security so that people can celebrate the event happily.
National Police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun told CamboJA that instructions have been issued to all provinces to prepare a security plan for the new year and measures to stop people from throwing water and powder.
“All these plans have already been put in place to ensure security for the entire New Year, especially at entertainment sites, pagodas and Sankranta locations,” he said.
“On preventive measures to stop the throwing of water and powder, we have instructed the commissioner to cooperate with the local authorities to educate the people, especially youths, to avoid playing with anything that harms others.”
