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By
: Moul Jetr, Picture by : Chhin Veth.
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Villagers carry offerings to
the temple as part of a Kathen ceremony.
This ceremony usually involves the entire community.
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This month
sees one of Cambodia's most colorful and joyous
festivals.
Called Kathena in Pali, or Kathen in Khmer, it is
also one of the most important traditional festivals,
not only for its religious significance, but because
it raises money from communities in the name of
local pagodas which will go to building and repairing
schools, hospitals and other worthy causes throughout
the year.
During Kathen, saffron robes, or Jivara, are offered
to Buddhist monks in pagodas across the kingdom.
The period lasts from the first day of the waxing
moon of the Khmer lunar month of Asoch (11th month)
and the full moon of Kattik (12th month).
Each pagoda's Kathen is celebrated over one day
and two nights within a 29 day period from the first
day after the full moon of the 11th to 12th months
of Cambodia's lunar calendar (usually between the
middle of October to November of the solar calendar).
According to Buddhist tradition, monks are sequestered
in their pagodas for three months during wet season.
To mark the end of this period, they are presented
with new robes.
Each of all of Cambodia's 3,731 pagodas, home to
50,873 monks, can receive only one Kathena |
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festival a year
but followers may participate in as many as they wish.
Whoever is organizing a Kathen begins by decorating the
gates of where he is holding his event with flowers and
ornamental plants.
Traditional pinpeat music is played and an orator uses
a PA to tell passersby of the merit of Kathen to attract
contributions; usually of money.
A procession usually forms as gifts come flowing in, until
the gifts are eventually taken to a common area and prayers
are offered before the celebrations continue with entertainment
and dancing.
The next morning, participants dress in their best clothes
and head to the to the pagoda, led by a chhai-yam band
_ an essential part of the festival.
Chhai-yam drums are shaped like long necked vases with
python skins stretched across the bottom and will make
up slightly more than half the
band, which consists of up to seven players. A tror (a
Khmer violin with two strings played with a bow), chhob-chha
(a kind of cymbal) and kong-meung (a kind of small gong)
complete the band, and it will lead worshippers as they
walk around the pagoda three times.
The procession enters the pagoda, where the monks are
seated and waiting, and the offerings and gifts are placed
before them. |
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The people
then pray to Lord Buddha and receive the Buddhist
precepts. A monk measures the robes offered to verify
if they are in accordance with the rules. The Achar
(a layman serving the temple) offers the presents
to the monks, who recite the stanzas of benediction
before a meal is offered to the people.
The event draws to a close late at night, and as
most of the people thread their way out, the hypnotic
beat of the chhai-yam drums still reverberates in
the air.
Kathen always falls 15 days after Pchum Ben (the
Festival of the Dead) and is a period for families
to come together and donate gifts and money to pagodas.
Mr Chuch Phoeun, an expert in Khmer culture and
tradition at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts,
said it was believed that the tradition of Kathen
was created by Buddha himself, for since the time
of Buddha this time of year would mean all monk's
robes or triple Jivaras (the outer robe of Buddhist
monks) would be worn out and dirty after long pilgrimages
along muddy roads during the rainy season.
Most monks make do with just one Jivara for this
period, in preparation for receiving new robes at
Kathen. Buddhist followers also bring gifts necessary
to the monk's daily lives, such as wooden bowls,
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Kathen procession on its
way to Samrong Adet pagoda, three kilometers
south of Pochentong Airport, Phnom Penh.
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plates, mats,
mosquito nets and umbrellas.
"Though Kathena is a religious ritual, it is actually
a solidarity festival for people from all walks of life
since great contributions come from many people, either
from the relatives and friends of the organizers or from
passersby," said Mr Son Arun, an attorney at law
in Daun Penh Precinct, Phnom Penh who is organizing a
Kathen ceremony this year with his friend, Mr. Ok Y, 60,
for Chakrei-ting Pagoda, Prey Tnang commune, Kampot district,
Kampot province.
Venerable Ya Long, Second Assistant to Chief Monk of Samrong
Andet Pagoda, just north of Pochentong Airport said that
both lay Buddhists and monks are believed to receive spiritual
merits in the exchange.
"When the rainy season ends, Cambodians bring the
monks Triple Jivaras: loin-cloth (Sbang), Jivara (outer
robe) and Sangkhea-dei (a multi-layered cloth used by
monks to keep warm during colder weather)," he said.
"People can see the fruits of their good deeds in
the present but they also believe this act will bring
them merit for their next life." |
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