Contestants are pictured on their buffaloes during an annual buffalo race at Vihear Sour Pagoda in Kandal province, Cambodia, Oct. 2, 2024. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)

Avid spectator Lav Sopha on Wednesday drove his motorcycle about 30 km from Prey Veng province to watch a century-old tradition of buffalo races here in southeast Cambodia's Kandal province.

Although he had watched it a few times, Sopha has never lost his excitement in viewing the annual buffalo race, which was held on a 500-meter track leading to the Vihear Sour Pagoda in Ksach Kandal district.

At the event, buffaloes were adorned with brightly colored headgear, and racers rode them up and down the route, which was flanked by crowds of spectators, who enthusiastically used their smartphones to capture the views of the race.

"I'm thrilled to see this traditional buffalo race, and I feel that the scene has taken me back to the ancient time," he told Xinhua. "I'm never fed up with it, although I have watched it a few times already."

The buffalo race is part of a ceremony hosted by Vihear Sour villagers to mark the end of Pchum Ben, the annual 15-day festival honoring the dead.

Mam Sao, a 64-year-old member of the buffalo racing committee, said the tradition of buffalo racing in Vihear Sour village had been practiced since the 1920s and that there were 44 buffaloes participating in this year's race.

"The buffalo race is aimed at conserving and promoting our culture and tradition to local and international tourists," he told Xinhua.

He said the contest was not for championships or prizes, but for fun, as each of the participants was given 50,000 riels (12.5 US dollars) only.

According to Sao, villagers believed in the old superstition that the guardian spirit at Vihear Sour Pagoda was very powerful, and if villagers failed to hold the races, buffaloes or their owners could fall ill.

Buffalo rider Chhun Sokhen, 45, said he had taken part in the competition every year in order to preserve the age-old tradition of the Vihear Sour villagers and to celebrate the Pchum Ben festival.

"The buffalo race did not aim to choose the champions, but to create a joyful atmosphere during the celebrations of Pchum Ben festival," he told Xinhua. "After the race, we ride on our beasts back home and use them for normal farmwork."

Interspersed with the buffalo races were horse races and other events, including bouts of traditional wrestling, stick-fighting, and a prayer ceremony for the ancestors.

Vihear Sour Pagoda is located some 40 km southeast of the capital Phnom Penh.