Monks and motor cars
Comments(9) 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.
Inside the temple (more like big shed) there was a statue of Buddha with the usual flashing, neon lights and families in typical Khmer fashion sat on mats eating together. There were a lot of bowls of food on tables as well which I assume were offerings.
Seeing all the shoes outside the door made me feel very nostalgic!
I was so thrilled to be invited by Seila and to meet some more people from uni who are interested in Cambodian culture.
On Sunday, Andrew and I ventured to the Yarra Valley to a motor car rally at de Bortoli wines. Now I had imagined myself happily drinking some wine and eating food while wandering in the vineyards. That wasn’t to be.
We caught a bus from Yarra Glen with with one of Andrew’s work friends up to the winery. When we first arrived we walked down into one of the fields between the grape vines and saw some of the cars hurtling around the dirt track. See Andrew’s time lapse photography shots of cars for a better idea.
About 5 minutes later it started blowing a gale and pelting down rain. We hurried back up to the top part where the stalls were. Large metal signs were flying around threatening to decapitate people and temporary fences and marquees were falling over while people at stalls desperately tried to hold them down. We were all bent over double trying to shield ourselves from the wind.
Andrew and I decided to go into the restaurant and have lunch which was a good idea. Unfortunately because of the weather we didn’t get to see much of the cars (well maybe I wasn’t too disappointed – hee hee – I didn’t say that). It would have been fun to troop around to the different vantage points if it had been a nice day – there was a bus transporting people around.
We decided to leave not long after that and drove a different way home, ending up in Carlton for a coffee (I probably don’t need to say where).
Well you certainly have been having a diverse range of outings lately…..the car
now I’ll finish my reply!!!! the car rally was a far cry from the Cambodian Buddhist ceremony….each to his own!! I can imagine how memories of your life in Cambodia would have come flooding back to you. It all sounded to be a lovely experience. They are very gentle people in those countries. Pity about that cold wind which attacked you on both occasions. BRRRR!!!
Yes two very different scenes! It was very warm here yesterday with no wind which was lovely but today the wind is out to play.
Ruth I thought you would enjoy some Cambodian culture again. I am glad you enjoyed the experience. I am trying to do a million things before I leave in 3 weeks and wanted to share the Cambodian culture with friends before I depart.
I have creatd my own blog for my experiences in Cambodia. I will add more content later. This is very much like you rown site, a way for friends and family to follow my travels.
http://seila.eblog.com.au/
I’m really glad you decided to invite us along Seila – it was great! I will be reading your new blog regularly to see what you are up to and it will be a good way for your friends to keep in touch with you
Yeah the two activities couldn’t have contrasted more. I was really interested to see the Cambodian Buddhist Ceremony of the Ancestors. It was very interesting to see another culture in our backyard. I am always interested in getting to know people from different places and cultures and thanks to Seila for inviting us
I was hoping for better weather on Sunday. I had the Digi SLR ready and the brollie (which turned out to be useless in the wind. It was impossible to stay outside with the biting wind and rain. It was such a cold weekend compared to the few days before and after. It is really starting to get hot in Melbourne now (today was about 35 or 36!!). It was good to get inside the restaurant and eat a hot lunch out of the rain and wind. Going back through Eltham was different as well because we haven’t been that way before.
It is now getting very close to NZ, getting very excited!!
Andrew took some good time lapse photos with his digital SLR from the rally just before it started raining. It is amazing what cameras can do these days. We’ve also been collaborating together on an advertising brochure for his Mum’s pharmacies with Andrew being the photographer and me designing the brochure. We had his Mum’s place set up as a studio taking shots of the products this week. Andrew picked up a tripod which was very reasonably priced and that will also come in handy for scenery shots in NZ.
I do wish you a happy holiday in “Aotearoa” (Land of the Long White Cloud”) and you’ll enjoy showing Andrew the sights, Ruth.
Give my love to New Zealand
[...] I was so thrilled to be invited by Seila and to meet some more people from uni who are interested in Cambodian culture. On Sunday, Andrew and I ventured to the Yarra Valley to a motor car rally at de Bortoli wines. … …READ MORE [...]