Khmer Culture and Tradition
1- THE KHMER NEW YEARCELEBRATION
THE TRADITION
“New Year Celebration” in Khmer is “Bon Chaul Chnam Thmey” (celebration to enter the New Year)។
The date of the New Year celebration is observed according to the traditional lunar calendar. The New Year Day normally falls on April 13 or 14, said to be the end of the harvesting season, when farmers enjoy the fruit of their labor before the rainy season begins.
The tradition follows the legend of the deity Kabil Mahabrahma, who cut off his head after being challenged in a bet by a human named Dhammabala. According to the legend, each year the seven daughters of Kabil Mahabrahma takes turn to start the New Year by taking part in a procession of Kabil Mahabrahma’s Head around Mount Meru (the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes) for sixty minutes, before returning it to the altar in Dharma Mali Cristal Cave, in Kailash Mountain in the Himalaya…
THE CELEBRATION
It is the holiday that usually lasts for three days:
1st Day: Maha Sangkran – the ending of the year and the beginning of a new one.
People dress up, light candles and burn incense sticks at shrines, where the members of each family pay homage showing their gratitude to the Buddha’s teachings by bowing, kneeling and prostrating themselves three times before his image.
2nd Days: Vara Wanabat, The empty day to link Maha Sangkran Day to the Laeung Sak Day, the first New Year Day.
People may contribute to the less fortunate by helping the poor, servants, the homeless, and low-income families. Families attend a dedication ceremony to their ancestors at the monastery.
3rd Day: T’ngai Laeng Sak, is the first day of the first month of the ancient Khmer calendar.
People cleanse the Buddha statues and their elders with perfumed water. Bathing the Buddha images is the symbol that water will be needed for all kinds of plants and lives. It is also thought to be a kind deed that will bring longevity, good luck, happiness and prosperity in life. By bathing their grandparents and parents, children can obtain from them best wishes and good advice for the future.
What happens at Wat Buddharangsi Melbourne in the three days of Khmer New Year Celebration?
Khmers living abroad may choose to celebrate during a weekend rather than the actual dates, due to the differences in life style and livelihood in their adopted countries. Some years, they can celebrate on the actual days if the New Year day falls on a weekend.
Hundreds (or may sometimes amount to some thousand members and guests of the Khmer community gather at Wat Buddharangsi Melbourne to celebrate the New Year. The usual observation of the Khmer tradition normally takes place with the Buddhist ceremonies in the morning with a Buddhist sermon to conclude the function for each of the three days.
Afterwards, traditional New Year games are organized for all those interested, the young and the not-so-young, with the many on lookers and cheerers. The games are usually full of fun for everyone. Moreover, there may be other games, such as egg-on-the-spoon race, jumping-in-a-sack race, filling water into a bottle with your mouth competition, etc. As well, there are amusements for small children.
Live entertainments brighten the evenings with a modern Cambodian band showcasing visiting prominent singers from Cambodia, who were invited especially for the New Year occasion. The audience dance to the music performed in both traditional and modern tunes.
As well, guests can take delights in the delicious traditional delicacies, savories and sweets, to complete the Khmer traditional occasion.
The New Year celebration is the time to wish for happiness, to rid ourselves of impurities, accept to reform and live our life afresh.
The New Year celebration marks the time:
To reflect on the past year
To resolve in committing only good deeds and taking good actions; and be mindful about tolerance and salvation of one another.
To ask for forgiveness from the Sangha and the elders for any wrong doings in the past year.
It is also a time the family comes together. They may also exchange gifts.
Traditionally, people also ask for forgiveness from animals that have served them, for any wrong doings unintentionally.
Traditionally, with the New Year music, dances and games, this may be the opportunity for young people to meet without much restriction from parents and get acquainted, which may result in marriage later.
2- THE SIGNIFANCE OF VIHARA (vihear)
The Vihara in Khmer Buddhist monastery
The Vihara (Vihear in Khmer) was originally the sanctuary for Buddhist monks during the rainy season when they could not travel far and wide. So the Vihara may have been the abode for Buddhist monks, where they practiced Buddhist education and learning. In the past, some of these sanctuaries became important locations for the Buddhist world.
Within the Khmer culture, a Vihara is the centre of a monastery (Wat). It is where the monks practice their daily rituals and duties, such as meditation and other needs according to the Vinaya Pitaka which is the rules of conduct governing the daily affairs within the Sangha (the monk’s institution). Not only it is a place for the monks, it also serves the Khmer Buddhist in observing certain Buddhist traditions such as the Vesak.
Besides serving as a place for the Sangha, an important function of the Vihara at Wat Buddharangsi Melbourne is to serve as a meditation centre for all.