LOY Proteeb (Bonn Bondaet Proteeb) is without doubt the most magical of Cambodia's many wonderful festivals. Rooted far in the past, it has come down over the centuries almost unchanged. Similar festivals are found in the southern part of China, in Laos and in Thailand, and it probably was based on the ancient Hindu concept of the Mother of Waters.
Loy Proteeb is not a religious festival in its origins as such but arose from animistic beliefs. It is a moon festival, coinciding with the full moon at the end of the 11th lunar month, and celebrates the end of the life-giving rains (chenh Vossa). Thanks are given for the abundant harvest of the year just passed and wishes made for bountiful produce in the year to come. It is also highly symbolic, with the floating away of the Proteeb representing a cleansing of sins.The Proteeb themselves are traditionally made from a cut section of bamboo stem or young banana plants, with neatly folded pieces of banana leaf pinned around the upper rim so that the whole has the appearance of a lotus leaf. Each Proteeb has flowers, a candle and a stick of incense at the very least, while some are far more elaborate. There may also be some grains of sand and some good luck charms on the float. Nowadays the simplicity and buoyancy of styrofoam are an unfortunate substitute for banana stems and for weeks afterwards they clutter the banks of canals and rivers, and the shores of lakes and the sea. Another common practice is to place a coin or two on the Proteeb, and small boys, as much at home in the water as on land, make extra pocket money by raiding these floating piggy-banks.
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