Pchum Ben – Cambodia Festival for the Ancestors

In the Khmer language, Pchum or Brochum means “a meeting or gathering”. Ben means “a ball of something”, such as rice or meat. The Pchum Ben festival originated in the Angkorian era when people followed animism before Brahma or Buddhism.

Both Buddhism and animism reflect Khmer respect and remembrance for their ancestors.

Pchum Ben is also a convenient way for Buddhist monks to receive food during the heaviest part of the rainy season while they stay in the pagodas to follow their moral principles.

The first 14 days of the Khmer month Pheakta Bot are called Kan Ben (“observed celebration”). The 15th day is called Brochum Ben or Pchum Ben Day. During Kan Ben, people give Buddhist monks gifts of food and candles. At night Buddhist monks recite a protective prayer. Cambodian artists play traditional music such as yike and lakhon basac. Pchum Ben Day is the biggest celebration. Villagers come from all around to prepare the pagoda of their village the night before the celebration. Pchum Ben is when the villagers gather to celebrate in their villages.

The day is a time when many Cambodians pay their respects to deceased relatives of up to 7 generations. Monks chant the suttas in Pali language overnight (continuously, without sleeping) in prelude to the gates of hell opening, an event that is presumed to occur once a year, and is linked to the cosmology of King Yama originating in the Pali Canon. During this period, the gates of hell are opened and ghosts of the dead (preta) are presumed to be especially active. In order to combat this, food-offerings are made to benefit them, some of these ghosts having the opportunity to end their period of purgation, whereas others are imagined to leave hell temporarily, to then return to endure more suffering; without much explanation, relatives who are not in hell (who are in heaven or otherwise reincarnated) are also generally imagined to benefit from the ceremonies.

In temples adhering to canonical protocol, the offering of food itself is made from the laypeople to the (living) Buddhist monks, thus generating "merit" that indirectly benefits the dead; however, in many temples, this is either accompanied by or superseded by food offerings that are imagined to directly transfer from the living to the dead, such as rice-balls thrown through the air, or rice thrown into an empty field. Anthropologist Satoru Kobayashi observed that these two models of merit-offering to the dead are in competition in rural Cambodia, with some temples preferring the greater canonicity of the former model, and others embracing the popular (if unorthodox) assumption that mortals can "feed" ghosts with physical food.

The scriptures relating to the festival are complex, but the first scripture involves the five Buddhas negotiating with hungry ghosts. In the second scripture, from Pet Vuto (Monks’ Governor), the King’s servants and soldiers were commanded to make war. On the ship at night, they met ghosts who were hungry. The servants and soldiers asked: “How can we get food to you?” The ghosts said: “You can offer the food to the person among you who has the five moral conducts or eight moral conducts and invoke our names.” The third and fourth scriptures say that in the first 15 days of Pheakta Both, the heaviest rainy period, the devil releases the ghosts to find their relatives to receive food.

The festival dates back to the Middle Ages and is among the most important holidays in Cambodia. Nowadays students and workers will return back to their families to observe Pchum Ben with them and make their offerings.

Pchum Ben Timeline

1181-1218: King Jayavarman VII

It is said that during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, a monk came back from hell unscathed. He brought the message from the deceased that they could be freed from suffering if their relatives offered foods and alms to monks.

802 AD: Angkorian Period

During the Angkorian period, people followed animism. Although people now follow Buddhism, respect for elders was a practice they continued to follow.

1st Century BC: Taoist Ghost Festival

Both Pchum Ben and the Taoist Ghost Festival came about during the Mahayana period.

Visit a pagoda

Cambodians visit pagodas to offer gifts to ancestors. Appreciate this tradition first-hand by visiting a pagoda and making an offering.

Do something special for your parents/grandparents

Parents are viewed as special gods by Cambodians. Before attending the pagoda, Cambodian children prepare lunch for their parents. A common saying is “What you have at home is more powerful than the god in the pagoda. Who are the gods in your house? They are your parents.” Show your parents and grands how much they mean to you by doing something special that you don’t do often.

Make Bay Bens

Bay Bens are balls of sticky rice cooked in coconut milk that are made during the festival. Get together with some friends and celebrate the holiday by making your own bay bens.

Those who find themselves in Cambodia during Pchum Ben may want to take part in activities such as the following:

• See the Pchum Ben festival in Phnom Penh. You will see large crowds dressed in bright, new clothing streaming to the pagodas and temples in the nation’s capital. If you ask a local family, you will likely be invited to visit a pagoda. It is best not to dress down for this occasion, and you will do well if you dress in white. You can also attend smaller celebrations in practically any part of the country.
• Visit the Silver Pagoda adjacent to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. Here, you will find a host of golden, bejeweled Buddhas housed in an amazing architectural achievement. Especially look for the famed Emerald Buddha, a a miniature green-crystal statue, and the big-as-life golden Maitreya Buddha, which is decorated with 9,584 glittering diamonds. Also take time to see the Royal Palace and the mural-covered wall that surrounds the compound.
• Tour the Cambodian Cultural Village in Siem Reap. This interesting innovation combines elements of a theme park with those of a museum. It presents mini-versions of numerous Cambodian historical landmarks, has 11 “villages” that give you a glimpse of Khmer cultural diversity, and even exposes you to local dances, games, wedding customs, elephant shows, and more.

If in Cambodia for Pchum Ben, there will be no shortage of things to do. The challenge will be to select the best events and to fit it all into your schedule. For this, you may wish to consult an expert Cambodian travel agency.

1. It’s a popular holiday

Pchum Ben is one of the most important Buddhist festivals in Cambodia because it brings families across provinces together after a long separation.

2. Meaning of title

“Pchum” means “to gather together” and “Ben” means “a ball of food”.

3. It represents the importance of parents

The festival educates younger people on how they should give respect to their relatives.

4. 15th day

The 15th day is the most important day of Pchum Ben and also the last day of the ceremony.

5. White matter

White is the funeral color in Cambodia.

Respect for ancestors

Praying for ancestors is important for all Cambodians who follow the Buddhist faith. During Pchum Ben, the faithful pray and cook meals as offerings for seven generations of deceased relatives.

It is a show of respect to the monks

During the first 14 days of Pchum Ben, people cook food for the monks and also offer them alms. By doing so, the faithful believe they can bring good karma to their ancestors.

It is a 3-day public holiday

Pchum Ben is a time to gather with your family and close relatives. Sharing a communal meal, meditating, and helping the ancestors during their spiritual journey, brings the family together.

Interested in joining this festival? Here is the date until 2024 for your reference:

Q. What is bay ben?

Bay ben is a ball of rice that is offered to ghosts at dawn. People believe ghosts with heavy sins cannot receive food during the day. Bay ben is made from sticky rice and sesame and people often add coconut cream to make it taste better.

Q. Other than offerings, what other ways do Cambodians celebrate Pchum Ben?

People come together to prepare the pagoda in their village before the festival starts and Cambodian artists play traditional music.

Q. When is Pchum Ben?

Pchum Ben falls on the 15th day of the 10th Khmer month.

Vietnam ghost festival

This festival is known as Tết Trung Nguyên and is viewed as a time for the pardoning of condemned souls who are released from hell. The "homeless" should be "fed" and appeased with offerings of food. Merits for the living are also earned by the release of birds and fish. The lunar month in which the festival takes place is colloquially known as Tháng Cô Hồn - the month of lonely spirits, and believed to be haunted and particularly unlucky.

Influenced by Buddhism, this holiday coincides with Vu Lan, the Vietnamese transliteration for Ullambana.

In modern times, Vu Lan is also seen as Mother's Day. People with living mothers would bear a red rose and would give thanks while those without can choose to bear a white rose; and attend services to pray for the deceased.

Laos

There are 2 ghost festivals in a year to remember the ancestors

The first festival known as Boun khao padap din usually occurs in September each year and goes on for two weeks. During this period, it is believed that hungry ghosts are freed from hell and enter the world of the living. 

A second festival known as Boun khao salak occurs directly after the conclusion of Boun khao padab din. During this period, food offerings are made to the hungry ghosts. 

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, food offerings are made to the hungry ghosts on the seventh day, three months and one year after the death day of a deceased person. It is a ceremony conducted after death as part of traditional Sri Lankan Buddhist funeral rites and is known as mataka dānēs or matakadānaya.

The offerings that are made acquire merit which are then transformed back into the equivalent goods in the world of the hungry ghosts. The offering that is offered on the seventh day, comes a day after personalized food offerings are given in the garden to the spirit of the deceased relative, which occurs on the sixth day.

The deceased who do not reach the proper afterworld, the Hungry Ghost realm, are feared by the living as they are believed to cause various sicknesses and disasters to the living. Buddhist monks are called upon to perform pirit to ward off the floating spirits. The rite is also practiced in Thailand and Myanmar and is also practiced during the Ghost Festival that is observed in other Asian countries.

Thailand

In Thailand, a fifteen-day-long annual festival known as Sat Thai is celebrated between September and October in Thailand especially in southern Thailand, particularly in the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Like related festivals and traditions in other parts of Asia, the deceased are believed to come back to earth for fifteen days and people make offerings to them. The festival is known as Sat Thai to differentiate it from the Chinese Ghost Festival which is known as Sat Chin in the Thai language.