Two Years in the Kingdom- The Khmer Funeral Ceremony

April 11, 2019

Hello All, and thanks for following me. Todays topic is The Khmer  Funeral Ceremony

Hello All, Todays topic is Khmer Funerals. Last weekend I was traveling back to the village from a weekend in Phnom Penh. I travel in vans called turihs. These vans are unregulated and the drivers want to make as much money as they can so they pack them with as many people as possible. The vans have bench seating so if you have an issue with maintaining personal space then riding turihs may be problematic for you. As you might imagine, they aren’t the safest either. Most Cambodians  ride motos, small motorcycles, that they use without any type of head protection. There are no hard and fast rules for driving safety. Red lights are often ignored. On a 2-lane road you might see a moto passing a car that is passing a bus all at the same time. Needless to say, traffic fatalities are a common occurrence.  So, as we were leaving Phnom Penh the traffic stopped and was backed up for a very long way. When we finally passed the accident scene, I could see that it had involved an elderly woman who was most likely traveling on the back of a moto without a helmet.

All cultures have a way of dealing with the death of a loved one. Cambodians view death differently than Westerners. In Buddhism, there is the belief that death is the end of a life cycle. Buddhists believe in reincarnation so the end of a life cycle evolves into another of birth, sickness, old age, death and rebirth. In the event of death, there are certain rituals that must be performed to ensure the person is able to move from one cycle to the next. The Buddhist monk plays a key role in many rituals including death. If at all possible, the monk will be in attendance as a person is dying because this is the time when the soul leaves the body but is still present. It is believed that the soul is in a state of confusion after leaving the body and the monk provides needed comfort to the soul.

Following the death of a person, they are placed in a coffin. The body is not dissected or embalmed but kept at the house of the family for up to 7 days, in the structure that is pictured, before cremation. The funeral procession to the crematorium consists of the monks, family followed by friends.  Mourning loved ones may shave their heads. White is the traditional color for mourning as opposed to wearing black in Western culture. The coffin is carried to the temple crematorium. Cambodians are cremated because it is believed that cremation allows the soul to part ways from the body. The crematorium that I have pictured here is at Wat Opot Childrens Community. The ashes and bones are placed in a stupa that is usually on temple grounds. Each stupa is designated by family. I have pictured some of the stupas at Wat Opot.



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