Cambodian New Year is the name of the Cambodian holiday that celebrates the traditional Lunar New Year. The holiday lasts for three days beginning on New Year's Day, which usually falls on April 14th, 15th and 16th which is the end of the harvesting season, when farmers enjoy the fruits of their labor before the rainy season begins. Khmers living abroad may choose to celebrate during a weekend rather than just specifically April 14th through 16th. The Khmer New Year coincides with the traditional solar New Year in several parts of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand
The three days of the New Year
Maha Sangkran: derived from Sanskrit Maha Sangkranta, is the name of the first day of the New Year celebration. It is the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. People dress up and light candles and burn incense sticks at shrines, where the members of each family pay homage to offer thanks for the Buddha's teachings by bowing, kneeling and prostrating themselves three times before his image. For good luck people wash their face with holy water in the morning, their chests at noon, and their feet in the evening before they go to bed.
Vireak Vanabat: is the name of the second day of the New Year celebration. People contribute charity to the less fortunate by helping the poor, servants, homeless, and low-income families. Families attend a dedication ceremony to their ancestors at monasteries
T'ngai Loeng Sak: in Khmer is the name of the third day of the New Year celebration. Buddhists wash the Buddha statues and their elders with perfumed water. Bathing the Buddha images is a symbolic practice to wash bad actions away like water clean dirt from household items. It is also thought to be a kind deed that will bring longevity, good luck, happiness and prosperity in life. By washing their grandparents and parents, the children can obtain from them best wishes and good pieces of advice to live the life for the rest of the year.
Seven angels and the New Year riddle
On Saturday, the angel named Mohurea Tevy or Saturday angle wears Trokeat flower tucked behind her ear and sapphires around her neck. She dines on deer meat. On her right hand, she carries a disc of power and on her left hand a trident. Mohurea rides the peacock. The Saturday angel – is one of seven daughters born on seven different days to a mythical king of the gods. Each year, a different daughter ushers in each day of the New Year.
The decapitation is at the center of the myth that enlivens Khmer New Year – a myth that has been passed down from generations. It concerns a contest of wits between the king of the gods, Kabel Moha Prom, and an ingenious son of a tycoon, Thamabal, whose intelligence was so broad he could interpret the singing of birds. As the young man’s fame spread and admiration for him rose, Kabel Moha Prom grew so jealous that he decided to descend to the Earth and challenge him to a duel of wits.
He challenged Thamabal with a riddle, saying whoever came up with the best answer in seven days would win, and that the other would lose his head. Thamabal agreed.
The riddle Kabel Moha Prom asked Thamabal to answer was: “What is the happiness in the morning, at noon and in the evening?”
Thamabal spent six days wandering around the forest, but he still could not find the answer. In fear and despair, he sat under a palm tree to contemplate the king’s riddle. Luckily, Thamabal heard a pair of eagles talking to each other.
The female eagle asked, “What will we have to eat tomorrow?” The male eagle answered, “We will have the fresh flesh of Thamabal as our food. Tomorrow he will be dead, because he cannot respond to Kabel Moha Prom’s riddle.”
The female eagle nodded and asked, “Do you know the answers?”
“Of course, I do know the answers,” the male replied. “The happiness in the morning is face. So every morning, Cambodian people always wash their face. The happiness at noon is chest. So at midday, people always take water to wash their chest. Happiness in the evening is feet. In the evening or before going to bed, they always clean their legs.”
As soon as Thamabal heard the answer, he returned to Kabel Moha Prom and solved the riddle.
Kabel Moha Prom was mighty. If his head fell on Earth, the fire would burn the earth. If they threw it into the air, the water in the clouds would evaporate. If they threw it into the sea, it would dry up the oceans. To protect the world from the damage, his seven daughters were required to take care of their father’s head in turns for a year each.
In the first year, his head was given to the eldest daughter, Toungsa Devi or the Sunday angel. She respectfully kept her father’s head on the tray and proceeded among other angels around the Mount Sumeru (the legendary home of the gods) for one hour before they took it to place at the Mount Kailash, its sanctuary. Every year, each daughter went through the ritual. Because Khmer New Year falls on Saturday this year, Mohurea Tevy takes her turn.
She and other angels will accompany the head of Kabel Moha Prom for its procession around Mount Sumeru for 60 minutes before they bring it back to rest at Mount Kailash. Kemira Tevy, the Friday angel, will then turn custodianship of the head to Kemera Devi before she leaves the earth.
At every house in Cambodia, people will make a shrine by placing biscuits, fruit, face powder, juice and flowers to welcome the new angel. They will light candles and incense sticks and pray for the new angel to protect them and bring them prosperity.
New Year’s Customs
In temples, people erect a sand hillock on temple grounds. They mound up a big pointed hill of sand or dome in the center which represents Valuka Chaitya, the stupa at Tavatimsa where the Buddha's hair and diadem are buried. The big stupa is surrounded by four small ones, which represent the stupas of the Buddha's favorite disciples: Sariputta, Moggallana, Ananda, and Maha Kassapa. There is another tradition called Sraung Preah: pouring water or liquid plaster (a mixture of water with some chalk powder) on elder relative, or people (mostly the younger generation is responsible for pouring the water).
The Khmer New Year is also a time to prepare special dishes. One of these is a "kralan": a cake made from steamed rice mixed with beans or peas, grated coconut and coconut milk. The mixture is stuffed inside a bamboo stick and slowly roasted.
Traditional Games
Cambodia is home to a variety of games played to transform the dull days into memorable occasions. These games are similar to those played in Manipur, a north-eastern state in India. Throughout the Khmer New Year, street corners often are crowded with friends and families enjoying a break from routine, filling their free time with dancing and games. Typically, Khmer games help maintain one's mental and physical dexterity.
Chol Chhoung: A game played especially on the first nightfall of the Khmer New Year by two groups of boys and girls. Ten or 20 people comprise each group, standing in two rows opposite each other. One group throws the "chhoung" to the other group. When it is caught, it will be rapidly thrown back to the first group. If someone is hit by the "chhoung," the whole group must dance to get the "chhoung" back while the other group sings to the dance.
Chab Kon Kleng: A game played by imitating a hen as she protects her chicks from a crow. Adults typically play this game on the night of the first New Year's Day. Participants usually appoint a strong player to play the hen who protects "her" chicks, while another person is picked to be the "crow". While both sides sing a song of bargaining, the crow tries to catch as many chicks as possible as they hide behind the hen.
Bos Angkunh: The simple style consists of just throwing the Ongkunhs to hit the target Ongkunhs. The extended style adds five more stages in addition to the throwing stage. Both styles end with a penalty called Jours-activity that the winning team members get to perform on the losing team members. The Jours-activity is performed by using the Onkunghs the hit the knees of the losing team.
Leak Kanseng: A game played by a group of children sitting in a circle. Someone holding a "kanseng" (Cambodian towel) that is twisted into a round shape walks around the circle while singing a song. The person walking secretly tries to place the "kanseng" behind one of the children. If that chosen child realizes what is happening, he or she must pick up the "kanseng" and beat the person sitting next to him or her.
Bay Khom: A game played by two children in rural or urban areas during their leisure time. Ten holes are dug in the shape of an oval into a board in the ground. The game is played with 42 small beads, stones or fruit seeds. Before starting the game, five beads are put into each of the two holes located at the tip of the board. Four beads are placed in each of the remaining eight holes. The first player takes all the beads from any hole and drops them one by one in the other holes. He or she must repeat this process until they have dropped the last bead into a hole that lies besides any empty one. Then they must take all the beads in the hole that follows the empty one. At this point, the second player may have his turn. The game ends when all the holes are empty. The player with the greatest number of beads wins the game. It is possibly similar to congkak.
