VO Boat racing festivities mark the end of Lent in Laos
INTRO: Lao people across the country flocked to their nearest temples yesterday morning or travelled further afield to join relatives in their home towns to present offerings to monks and mark the end of Buddhist Lent locally known as Boun Ork Phansa .
STORY: In the early morning most of the temples were packed with devotees, with both the young and old arriving in traditional dress to give alms and baskets of offerings. Some parents brought their youngsters along to share in the Buddhist ritual, so they could learn about living in peace.
This annual festival serves as a reminder to farmers that the rainy season is over for another year, so they can begin harvesting and preparing their soil for the next planting season.
According to tradition, during Lent monks are not allowed to travel so they don't accidentally step on insects or damage villagers' rice paddy walls and the end of Lent allows monks to leave their temples overnight to visit relatives after three months of immersing themselves in Buddhist teachings.
Other highlights of the day included the selection round for the sports boat racing event and women's traditional boat racing events, while the modified boat racing events and men's and women's traditional boat racing events will take place today.
This year there are 27 men's teams (12 rowers) from Vientiane who will fight it out in the sports boats racing events over distances from 400-500 metres and five women's teams and 13 men's teams (45-55 rowers) competing in the traditional boat racing event over distances ranging from 800-1000 meters.
On the evening of the festival in Vientiane, candlelight processions were held around temples while the Lai Heua Fai ritual took place to pay homage to the river.
The Mekong River lit up as people set adrift their Heua Fai boats made of banana leaves, decorated with flowers and carrying candles to glow in the evening darkness down the Mekong River.
Apart from those ritual activities many people also took part in watch of another extraordinary natural phenomenon called Bangfai Phayanak (Naga fireballs), which occurs on a section of the Mekong stretching over 20km between Pakngum district, about 80km south of Vientiane, and Phonphisai district in Nong Khai province, Thailand on the other side of the river.
Apart from the Vientiane boat racing festival, there are also similar celebrations in Phongsaly, Xayaboury, Savannakhet and Champassak provinces which include many traditional activities such as beauty contests, firework shows and lantern processions.
