Boat Races

Boat racing is a tradition that is followed in many of the Lao and Thai towns along the length of the Mekong River but nowhere outdoes Luang Prabang's Boun Suang Heua (ບຸນຊ່ວງເຮືອ) boat racing festival. Traditionally Luang Prabang's boat races were royally sponsored events held twice a year, in the ninth and twelfth lunar months, but the latter races have not been held since 1930. The races were heavy with royal ritual the purpose of which was to ensure peace in the kingdom by making offerings to the great Naga spirits that guard Luang Prabang [Read more about Luang Prabang's Naga here]

Races in Former Times

By tradition the races of the ninth lunar month commenced on the 8th day of the waning moon at Ban Had Hien with racing around the mouth of Houai Kang river, followed by races at Ban Sanghalok between Houai Hop and the Dong River on the 12th day of the waning moon. On that day the King would travel south on his royal boat to the Dong river and there present an offering of banana and areca nuts in a small square banana-leaf container to the Naga king Chai Chamnong who resides at the rock at the mouth of Houai Hop below Vat Tai Phuttabat, guarding the southern approach to Luang Prabang. After this ceremony the boat races would be held between the local villages under the gaze of the king.

The royal boat Heua Prathinang heading up the Mekong River with Heua Then Kham and Heua Then Sao to the left and right (Probably c.1970)

But the biggest races were those on the Nam Khan river held on the 14th day of the waning moon. Again the king would lead a small flotilla of boats from the Royal Palace, this time to the rock Kon Kai Fah at the mouth of the Nam Khan river where another offering would be made to the Naga King Ai Thong Kwang. After this the king would proceed up the Nam Khan river to the pavilion at Phamxai, behind Vat Pak Khan, from where he would watch the day's racing. But before the races began in earnest another ritual to the Naga would be held, an exhibition race between a boat with the crew all dressed in white against a boat with the crew all dressed in black. These boats would come across from Ban Xieng Mene and represented the Naga queens Nang Dam (The Black Queen) and Nang Done (The White Queen) that reside in whirlpools north and south respectively of Ban Xieng Mene. For the continuing harmony of the kingdom, the White Queen's boat would always win this "race".

Boats race down the Nam Khan for about 800m, the finish line being at Phamxai pavilion, the same location that the King used to watch from.

With the rituals completed the racing would commence with teams from all the villages or bans making up the town of Luang Prabang. But even then the races would depart from modern notions. Whilst individual races might be hotly contested community engagement would appear to be more important than finding a winner; races followed a complex system whereby boats could lose a round of racing but still continue to compete in later races. And at the end of the day prizes were valued not for their modest monetary value but because they were bestowed by the King.

The Boats

Monks and villagers prepare the boat at Vat Phan Luang for race day

There are strict regulations to ensure that racing boats conform in all aspects to the unique traditions of Luang Prabang and all boats must be submitted for inspection prior to race day.

The boats used for the races are dugouts cut from a single tree, generally about 20m long, 1.2m wide and just 50cm deep. Since trees have female spirits, phi or Nang Mai, associated with them, some rites are performed to pay respects to the phi before the tree is cut down. The spirit continues to be associated with the boat that is subsequently built, but is now named. For example the principal boat at Vat Xieng Thong is named Nang Bua Ngern, "Lady Silver Lotus". The bow and stern, called ngeum, are horn shaped the bow being decorated with a gold coloured horn called Mak beng.

The boats seat about 40 - 50 rowers, nak siphai, in pairs, facing forward, using short unfixed oars. At the back three or four rowers stand to assist in steering the boat. At the bow a crew member crouches down and encourages the boat with a forward movement called nyom. The number of crewmen is not regulated but all by tradition are male.

For most of the year the boats are stored under a boat shed within the grounds of each village monastery. A week or so before the races the boats undergo repair and restoration before a ceremony is held at the village temple to make offerings to the spirits of the boat. On the morning of the races the village monks again provide blessings for both the boat and the crew.

The King's boat was known as Heua Phathinang or Heua Thong [The Royal Throne Boat or Golden Boat] and naturally was particularly grand. The last Heua Phathinang built in1961, is over 30metres long and carries 60 oarsmen. It was aways accompanied by two smaller boats, Heua Then Sao, which would travel to the right of the king's boat with oarsmen dressed in red, and Heua Then Kham which would travel to the left of the king's boat with oarsmen dressed in green. At the start of the boat races these two boats would perform a ritual race. These three boats can still be seen, somewhat neglected, under the boat shed within the grounds of the former Royal Palace.

The Modern Races

In the modern era much has necessarily changed for Luang Prabang's boat races. Village boat teams are now joined by teams representing commercial business - the races in 2024 were won by the boat team from Lao Development Bank. Commercial advertising is displayed prominently and the busy street market along the Nam Khan river for the day is crowded with both small businesses and large national corporations. The main races are a significant national event attended by senior government dignitaries from Vientiane as well as Luang Prabang.

But despite this increase in commercialisation many of the old traditions are still followed. After many years of abeyance the race days at Ban Had Hien and Ban Sanghalok are now held again on their traditional days. On the morning of the main races (14th day of the 9th waning moon) boat teams gather around 7:30am at their village temple to receive blessings from the monks.

The boat team for Vat Xieng Thong receive blessings from the monks (2024)

Prominent at the front of the team are the "Boat Maidens", Nang Heua, young local women chosen for their demure beauty to join the boat crews for the traditional opening rites. Possibly a relatively modern innovation, the Nang Heua's role is to please the Naga spirits and bring good fortune to the team. After the blessing the Nang Heua and boat crew perform a ritual circumambulation three times around the temple aham or ordination hall. The team then descend to the river and man the boat, the Nang Heua seated towards the front. All then head down river to the mouth of the Nam Khan river, for just like in former times the boat crews carry offerings for Ai Thong Kwang, the Naga King who resides at the rock at the river mouth. By about 9am racing boats from every village are converging at this rock to make their offerings.

The Nang Heau seated in the boat to please the naga spirits

Whilst the boat crews are boarding their boats at different landing points around town, two boats quietly make their way from Ban Xieng Mene to the mouth of the Nam Khan river. These are the traditional white and the black boats of Nang Done and Nang Dam which are still the first to make their offerings to Ai Thong Kwang and an hour later they are still the first boats to "race", Nang Done's white boat always winning. Interestingly, except for the bow and stern crew members, the rowers in these two boats are all older women, no doubt due to these boats roles as tributes to the ancient naga queens.

The White Queen Nang Done races against the Black Queen Nang Dam in honour of these ancient naga spirits (2024)

With blessings made and offerings to the naga completed all the boat teams wait below the Phamxai pavilion. Here the invited dignitaries make their speeches culminating in the official opening of the races around 10am. The racing boats make their way up river to the starting line which is located at the bend in the river by the new riverside night market. The Nang Heua disembark and the crews prepare for their races.

Government dignitaries open the 2023 races whilst the boat crews look on

Races start from a pontoon set up mid-river where boats are lined up in pairs to race 800m down river to the finish line back at Phamxai pavilion. The order of racing is determined by a committee some weeks earlier. Typically around 25 boats are racing and some 40 - 50 races are run during the day with the final race often taking place around 6pm. But for many visitors the most fun is to be had along the Nam Khan river road which is closed to traffic for the day and crowded with stalls offering food, beer and entertainment. People of all ages crowd the street to enjoy the carnival atmosphere, perhaps only catching glimpses of the boats as they race past down on the river.

Scenes From the Races

Do enjoy the below scenes of the racing festivities that were captured during the race days of 2022, 2023 and 2024.

In 2023 I made a short video of the races for my other website www.siamrat.blog.

References