Mozzeenet

A couple of weekends ago we were invited by Seila, a friend from uni, to a Cambodian Buddhist ceremony at Springvale in Melbourne (a suburb where a lot of Cambodian people have settled). It was the ceremony for the ancestors (Pchum Ben) where people celebrate their relatives who have died. I knew about it from my time in Cambodia.

This quote is from some resources about Cambodian ceremonies found on the Cornell University South East Asia Program website:

Pchum Ben is a religious ceremony in September when everyone remembers the spirit of dead relatives. For fifteen days, people in Cambodian villages take turns bringing food to the temples or pagodas. On the fifteenth and final day, everyone dresses in their finest clothing to travel together to the pagodas. Families bring overflowing baskets of flowers, and children offer food and presents to the monks. Everyone says prayers to help their ancestors pass on to a better life. According to Khmer belief, those who do not follow the practices of Pchum Ben are cursed by their angry ancestors.

It was fantastic to be among Khmers again and I really felt I was back in Cambodia although the icy wind reminded me exactly where I was. The main part of the ceremony involved people standing in a big circle with bowls of rice and as the monks (wearing their saffron-coloured robes) walked by, each person put a couple of spoonfuls of rice into the big bowls the monks were carrying and donated some money.
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