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“Community” refers to a group of people living in the same village or several nearby villages, although there is a geographical boundary. Therefore, some properties, for example, temples, pagodas, Barays, lakes, ponds, canals, streams, forests, fishery resources, etc., although located in any village, are considered the property of the community or the nation as a whole.
According to locals in the Angkor area, in the past, in some villages, there was always a pond or lake for the community to catch fish together to cook for various festivals, especially “Lerng Meak” festival. But now, among more than 1,550 villages in the Angkor area, only one village still has the tradition of community fishing in a lake, which locals call "Boeung Bang Kong pond ", located east of Angkor or north of Prasat Lolay. In fact, the pond of Boeung Bangkong is an ancient pond, as you can see the remains of the stone sculpture on it. On the back of the lake, there are old Neakta huts in all four directions. The villagers have a strong belief in this pond. If a cow is lost, the villagers always come to pray for the Neakta in this pond to help. In addition, pregnant women are not allowed to walk on the dam because it can cause miscarriage.
Traditionally, every year, the elders in Bangkong village bring fish to Boeung Trapeang Bangkong to eat and cook during the Lerng Meak or ancestor ascension ceremony, which took place on the back of the Boeung Trapeang Bong Dam. However, since 2005, since the villagers built Sala Chor Tean, a communal building, in the center of the village, the elders celebrate the festival at the Sala, instead. The following is the fishing tradition of the Bangkong community for the "Ancestor Ascension Ceremony" which took place on the 7th of Roach Khemak, the year of Pansak BE 2557, which is on the 20th of February 2014 (this year's ancestor ascension ceremony is later than the village Other 3 days).
This community fishing ceremony starts in the early morning (about 7 o'clock) when the villagers and the community committee have a village chief, acharya and elders come together. In this village, there are also some rules and regulations, such as not allowing other villagers other than the villagers to catch fish or use the lake, not to use nets or nets that are too small, except for some fishing tools such as nets and other fishing traps. Fishing in the lake is divided into two periods: in the morning, the villagers can catch fish by individual families or groups in the whole lake, except for some banned parts. The fish caught in the morning can be grilled or grilled, eaten on the spot immediately, and can be taken home. In the afternoon, all the villagers can catch fish at the place where the group kept the fish, but the fish caught now are not taken home or kept for personal use, that is, to be prepared for cooking during the festival. The food usually made for the ceremony includes barbecue, fried noodles, noodles, pickles and spices. It is not until 2 or 3 pm tomorrow that the Ancestor Ascension Ceremony begins, as in other villages in the Angkor area.
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