CAMBODIA: THOUSANDS CELEBRATE NEW YEAR AT ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE

(14 Apr 1998) Natural Sound

Thousands of Cambodians have been flocking to one of the biggest religious sites in the world to celebrate their New Year.

The Angkor Wat complex in Northern Cambodia is the centre of this three day festival where Khmers, the majority ethnic group, have come to dance and pray.

And they have good reason to celebrate with the coming New Year looking especially auspicious for Cambodians.

Khmer Rouge guerillas, responsible for decades of genocide, are close to extinction, and their leader Pol Pot is on the run.

Angkor Wat, built around the early 12th century, is the largest religious site in the world and a national symbol for Cambodians.

At New Year it attracts many Khmers in a three day Buddhist festival.

People dress up before they go to pray but they also come to enjoy the awesome sights of Angkor Wat's temples.

UPSOUND: (English)
"Happy New Year"

Revellers perform a dance which is seen only once every twelve months and is intended to repel evil spirits and ghosts from the year that has just passed.

This dance known as the Trott.

It is believed to have a very long history and has been handed down through generations of Khmers.

But it also invites a benevolent goddess of the New Year to provide people with protection and good luck for the next twelve months.

The ancient tradition is performed first at Angkor Wat and then travels from house to house throughout Cambodia.

At the same time similar celebrations are taking place all over South-East Asia in Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

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