On the 1st day of the 10th month of the Khmer calendar (Sept 15 on the Gregorian calendar this year), Lord Yama, the God of Death, opens the gates of hell that will remain open for the next 15 days. It’s the start of Pchum Ben, better known as the Festival of the Dead to foreigners. When the Lord of Death opens the gates, he allows trapped souls to find their living relatives to receive merit and karma transfer. Trapped souls are suffering souls. Khmers believe in the Hindu concept of reincarnation. We believe that souls are not reborn right away. Some souls are trapped in hell (the spirit realm) and some are still wandering in the human realm. If a deceased person did not receive a proper cremation, his or her soul might linger on earth. We also believe that if a person dies a violent death, a tragic death, or an unjust death, his/her soul becomes a restless soul, and a restless soul cannot move on. Also, there are those who accumulated bad karma (action has consequences) in their previous lives, which resulted in their souls being trapped in hell. Merit and karma transferring rituals are performed in order to release suffering souls.
Merit and karma transferring is a process that is centered on the belief of taking refuge in the dhamma (Buddha’s teaching) and the sangha (ordained monks and nuns). Merit is viewed as a means of transferring karmic power from one relative to another. Merit is morally generated. Therefore, it has the power to morally regenerate in turn. Merit is morally generated because it comes from selfless acts. Charities or aids made by laymen to monks, nuns, and the general public are viewed as aids with no strings attached, meaning aids that are not offered to generate merit for oneself. They are offered for the benefit of others who need the ensuing merit. The ability to give and receive in inherent goodness allows relatives the means to provide care and comfort for their departed, and to help lessen their suffering, so these souls can garner karmic support and finally move on.
Pchum Ben was born out of Khmer animistic beliefs and was co-opted by Hinduism after it reached Cambodia around 500 BC. It went on to be co-opted by Theravada Buddhism after the decline of Hinduism in Cambodia in the 16th century. Until the late 9th century, Pchum Ben was celebrated on an individual or family level. According to an inscription, King Yasovarman I (r. 889-910) was the first ruler to organize a nationwide Pchum Ben service dedicated to the country’s dead soldiers. And it has since become a national service.
The first 14 days of the festival are called Kan Ben. Kan means to hold. Ben is an offering, derived from the Sanskrit pinda, a ball of rice to be offered to the souls of the dead. During these 14 days, Khmers offer food and gifts to monks, nuns, and various elderly people at monasteries. The last day of the festival is called Pchum Ben. Pchum means gathering. On this last and most important day of the festival, at every monastery, massive collections of bens are gathered around the five mounds constructed from rice or sand, representing Mount Meru, home of the Gods. Those bens are then dedicated to the souls of the dead who have no living relatives or whose living relatives, for whatever reason, couldn’t participate in the 15-day event.
Considering the bloodshed in recent Cambodian history, the festival has become the single most important event in Khmer lives. With the killings during the Khmer Rouge era, victims or killers may have had their souls condemned to wander; their souls are doomed to never reincarnate unless the living provide relief in proper rituals, and Pchum Ben is one such ritual.
Source: Caring for the Dead Ritually in Cambodia (2012) by John Clifford Holt
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