With a population of 1.3 million, Khmer people have settled down in the Mekong Delta for a long time, and particularly occupied An Giang Province, Kiên Giang Province, Trà Vinh Province, and Sóc Trăng Province. The people are rich not only in history, but also in cultural and spiritual life. Among the clearest features about their spiritual life is celebrating big festivals, one of which is Sen Dolta Festival or the festival of worshiping their ancestors. Accordingly, Sen Dolta is also an occasion when Khmer people show their deep gratitude to ancestors, grandparents and parents, praying for dead people and asking for luck and prosperity. If you have known about the Filial Piety Ceremony in Vietnam (the 15th of the 7th lunar month), Sen Dolta is actually that kind of ceremony of the Khmer community.
When is Sen Dolta Festival?
There are three largest annual festivals among the Khmer community in the Mekong Delta.
- Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year Festival of Khmer people): the festival is often held in April and lasts 3-4 days.
- Ok Om Bok (the festival of worshiping the moon): the festival typically takes place on the 15th day of the 10th lunar month. Locals often ask for good weather all year round and abundant harvests.
- Sene Dolta (the festival of worshiping the ancestors): the festival takes place from the 29th of the 8th lunar month to the 1st of the 9th lunar month. The festival is often after growing the last rice crop of the year (consisting of growing and transplanting rice seedlings).
The history of Sen Dolta Festival
When it comes to the history of Sen Dolta Festival, locals will introduce us to two possibilities which help explain why they have this kind of festival every year.
The first explanation the about history of Sen Dolta
In the past, Khmer people always associated their life with wet rice cultivation. From the 4th lunar month to the 8th lunar month was the time of planting and transplanting rice seedlings. After that work, they realized that it started raining and flooding, and they couldn’t do any other farming activity. Therefore, they took that length of time to visit their grandparents and parents in remote areas. By that time, transport didn’t develop as it does nowadays, so the journey could last many days. They prepared a lot of things for their beloved people, but upon arrival, they discovered that those people had passed away. Gradually, all the people who had lost their grandparents and parents met together later and began celebrating a ceremony to worship their beloved ones. And this ceremony has become Sen Dolta as we see nowadays.
The other explanation about the history of Sen Dolta
This explanation is related to Buddhism – the religion Khmer people follow. Legend has it that in the Buddha’s time, King Bimbisāra often dreamt about many screams from somewhere. The king was so scared that he must ask for the Buddha’s help. The Buddha later told the king that those screams were of hungry ghosts whose past lives had been his relatives and they were suffering punishments because of their sins. They were hungry and cold, so they came to ask the king for his help. However, the Buddha said that the king needed to ask monks to chant a sutra whereby his relatives could escape from pain in hell. The king had followed the advice of the Buddha and then didn’t hear screams anymore. Since then, the ceremony of praying for the souls of the beloved ones of Khmer people has become Sen Dolta Festival we know today.
Rituals performed on Sen Dolta Festival
Sen Dolta Festival lasts three days:
Day 1
The first day is supposed to be the time when Khmer people welcome their ancestors. The day before, the family members cleaned up and decorated their houses with new and beautiful patterns. In the morning, they place fruits, cakes, tea, and wine in front of the altar and then burn incense to welcome souls of their grandparents, parents and ancestors. In the afternoon, first they also do the same ritual: preparing a meal for their grandparents, parents and ancestors. Afterwards, take souls of dead people to the pagoda so that they hear monks chant a sutra. After the monks pray for those souls, the local people will put the prepared rice around the central chamber as the final ritual.
Day 2
On the second day, people start important rituals of Sen Dolta Festival. The family members prepare a full meal and bring it to the pagoda as an offering given to dead people. This is also considered as a ceremony when souls of dead people can hear monks chant a sutra. Later, Buddhists will gather, enjoy the meal and share stories about their daily life with each other. They linger in the pagoda until the late afternoon. Then, they take the souls of their grandparents, parents, and ancestors to their home and give another full meal to them. By that time, each of the families will enjoy a warm dinner with each other.
Day 3
On the last day of Sen Dolta Festival, people will prepare a meal and ask some monks to celebrate a requiem at home for the souls of dead people. They make a paper boat or a banana stalk on which there is human-shaped paper representing their ancestors, some salt, paper clothes, and joss paper. Then, they burn incense and let the boat float on canals nearby as the final ritual of saying goodbye to the ancestors.
The value of Sen Dolta Festival
Sen Dolta Festival is an annual festival of Khmer people and represents their filial piety and gratitude towards their grandparents, parents and ancestors. That’s why it’s neither as bustling as Chol Chnam Thmay Festival nor as hustling as Ok Om Bok. Instead, it bears distinctive cultural and religious features of Khmer people communities. It’s known that Sen Dolta contributes to the identity of the people, distinguishing them from others.
How to experience Sen Dolta Festival
Searching for information about when Sen Dolta Festival is
Normally, you will be taken to some provinces of the Mekong Delta if going on a tour from some travel agent or tour operator, and it’s not easy to get a chance to visit this place during the festival. Therefore, you’d better search carefully for information about when Sen Dolta Festival is going to take place. Keep in mind that your calendar is different from that in Asia in general and the Mekong Delta, Vietnam in particular, in terms of identifying the dates of festivals. Nevertheless, the festival is also a time when a lot of locals from the North or the Middle also come to experience it, so the streets are occasionally crowded and you must take more time to get to your expected destination.
How many days should you spend on Sen Dolta Festival?
As said before, Sen Dolta Festival lasts three days, and if you have a lot of time, try to join it from the start to the end. However, if time doesn’t permit, you should manage to witness the most important rituals and exciting activities on the first and second days of the festival. Indeed, what has attracted a lot of people to the festival is cow racing – a traditional game of the locals which dates back for a long time. Meanwhile, a combination of Sen Dolta Festival and other experiences in the destination you are visiting is an excellent idea and brings you a memorable trip.
Going on a tour to explore the Mekong Delta and join Sen Dolta
Sen Dolta Festival, as mentioned above, is the festival of Khmer people in An Giang Province, Kiên Giang Province, Trà Vinh Province, and Sóc Trăng Province of the Mekong Delta. Hence, it’s sure that a tour to explore the beauty of the delta and attend the festival will be a great choice. Particularly, An Giang Province is where you can discover a lot of fascinating things apart from Sen Dolta. The most outstanding spot there is Trà Sư Cajuput Forest, full of breathtaking natural landscapes and diverse fauna and flora species. Additionally, floating villages of An Giang may help you get insights of the locals’ life, and Châu Đốc Market is a concentration of delicious specialties made from fermented fish.
A Mekong Delta tour for 3 days is absolutely perfect for those who are seeking for charms in culture, religion, nature, and locals of the wet area in Vietnam, especially unique features of Sen Dolta Festival of Khmer people communities. If you wish a full experience of this place, don’t forget to write down and pick the dates of the festival before starting the journey.
Hope the above information about Sen Dolta Festival of Khmer people in the Mekong Delta will benefit you in some circumstances, especially if you are arranging the trip of a lifetime to Vietnam and want to know more about cultures and religions there. For those up to ears in work, daily tours from big tour operators or travel agents from Ho Chi Minh City – the center of Vietnam are indeed what they should consider.
