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| By
: Moul Vongs. |
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When the
moon underwent a partial eclipse on July 5, you
may not even have noticed.
Many young Khmers, too, went on with their daily
lives as if nothing was happening
But for many older Cambodians, especially those
in the countryside, the implications are far reaching.
They believe that the night time lunar eclipse that
occurred on July 5 between 8.30 and 10.57pm may
shape their lives for months to come.
The scientific explanation of an eclipse is an obscuring
of light from one heavenly body by another. A lunar
eclipse occurs when the earth blocks the sun's light
from the moon.
But in Khmer, the eclipse of the moon is called
Rahu Chab Chann. Rahu (pronounced Reahou in Khmer)
is the king of all demons and evils, chann means
moon and chab means to catch or swallow.
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Rahu appears in
both Brahmanist and Buddhist legend.
Rahu, or Rahu a'surin, rides through the sky on a silver
chariot. Rahu is a being which exists like a mask _ he
has no body, just a head with round bulbous eyes, a human
or sometimes a lion's nose, and claw-like hands.
Rahu causes eclipses by seizing and swallowing the sun
and the moon. They eventually reappear from inside his
throat, thus ending the eclipse, but the battle is never
ending and Rahu immediately resumes his quest to eat the
sun and moon once more.
His picture is commonly found over the lintels of both
Hindu and Buddhist temples.
One of the most striking portrayals of this powerful spirit
can be seen in Takeo Province, on the old concrete portico
of Banteay Trav Pagoda, on National Road 2, just between
Tonle Bati Resort and Phnom Tamao Zoo, about 30 km south
of Phnom Penh. |
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Rahu at Prasat Phnom Reab, Kampong
Speu
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Rahu serves
a protector of the temples. His picture is also
often found above doorways of traditional Khmer
houses, as a reminder of his terrible powers and
to protect the inhabitants. What better way to keep
the ordinary demons and devils from the door than
to have their king sitting above the doorway?
To traditional Khmers, the eclipse is a time of
mixed emotions. On the one hand, it is terrible
to see the moon or sun devoured by a demon, perhaps
never to return. On the other, the length of the
eclipse can signal good harvests to come or bad.
Mr Ork Y, 65, from Trapaing Tiar village, Taing
Yab commune, Prey Kabas district, Takeo province,
is a believer in the power of Rahu and eclipses.
"There are three ways to read an eclipse,"
the farmer said.
"If Rahu swallows the moon but quickly spits
her out, we believe that farmers will enjoy a very
good harvest of rice and secondary crops.
"We will have a moderate harvest when there
is Chann kreas chamhieng the moon is swallowed
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Rahu but then bursts
of his left or right rib. The last one is a poor fate.
The farmers will suffer and reap a poor harvest whenever
they observe that Rahu is so hungry he swallows the whole
moon straight down his throat and then just defecates
her."
When they observe an eclipse happening, many Khmers start
to make as much noise as possible, banging on pots and
pans, hitting farming implements against trees whatever
it takes to draw Rahu's attention.
Mr Hong, 77, from Chamkar Morn precinct, Phnom Penh, remembered
when he was a school boy in Kampot province, and he and
his sisters used to strike stumps of trees that yield
edible fruits, such as jack fruit, mango or coconut trees,
when the lunar eclipse occurred.
"We would cheerfully shout 'Juoy Lauk! Juoy Lauk,'
which means 'help the moon'!" he said. "By requesting
Rahu not swallow the moon, we believed he would not eat
it all and leave plenty of fruits and agricultural products
to us human beings." |
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Rahu as protector at Traitreung
Pagoda on the top of Phnom Baset, Kampong Speu
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Mrs Sothan,
73, of Tuol Kauk precinct, Phnom Penh, remembered
more sinister implications of lunar eclipses.
"Rahu chab chann can be also called chann kreas.
When we say monus kreas kanlang pee kamneut, it
means a person is born half crazy after his soul
was kidnapped by a demon," she said.
She said many people still believed that this was
a great risk around the time of a lunar eclipse
if they watch the eclipse.
"To prevent this, a pregnant woman should place
an ak kambor (a small silver or copper box with
a conical top used to hold lime for betel nut chewing)
in her tnoak sampot (the pleat hanging from the
knot of a Khmer skirt) at the time of a lunar eclipse.
This will protect her baby from being kidnapped
by the demons."
Those building homes during an eclipse must take
care, too. |
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If construction
of a house is not yet complete when a lunar eclipse occurs,
villagers believe they must tie sbov pleing (a kind of
roof thatching plant with large leaves (in Latin, rottbelia
exaltata) to the main rafter of the roof because demons
are afraid of sbov pleing.
Though they live in modern world, many Khmers believe
the planets influence their daily life. Most farmers still
stand staunchly by traditional observations and rituals,
such as the lunar eclipse, and predictions gleaned from
the Royal Ploughing Ceremonies and Water Festival.
Khmer forefathers taught astrology as a science.
The journals of Mr Chou Ta-Kuon (Zhou Daguon), a Chinese
Emissary of the 13th Century, chronical accounts of predictions
based upon celestial phenomena.
Even today, Khmers build temples and houses based on their
knowledge of astrology to determine auspicious sites and
other factors of importance.
Belief in Rahu is an example of intangible heritage. If
the locals think such a practice is helpful to their daily
life, let us help to rehabilitate and promote it. |
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