Kampuchea Krom: Cooking at the Pagoda on Pchum Ben Days
People of Kampuchea Krom prepare food in Svay Siem Chas Pagoda, Preah Trapeang province (Tra Vinh province), Vietnam on 14 October 2023.
- By Ou Sokmean
- October 15, 2023 3:00 PM
PHNOM PENH — People who live in Kampuchea Krom go to their pagodas to cook for the monks rather than bringing them food during the 13 days of Kan Ben prior to Pchum Ben.
Venerable Thach Ngoc Nhoeung of the Svay Siem Chas Pagoda, which is in Thkov in Vietnam’s Preah Trapeang province, said that more than 100 families had divided responsibilities for cooking the meals of the monks during the Pchum Ben days.
“For 13 days, they came to cook two meals for the monks,” he said. “The first meal included porridge in the morning, and the second had rice with cooked food and dessert in the afternoon. They also had drinks for the monks in the evening.”
Each day, there were around 50 families coming to offer food and money to the monks, the amount depended on their resources, Ngoc Nhoeung said. As a result, the pagoda has received about $500 per day to cover the food of 77 monks, he said.
“During Pchum Ben, the monks never lack food and the people are happy with the celebrations as well,” Ngoc Nhoeung said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the Vietnamese authorities prohibited people from inviting the monks to their homes and holding any event or religious celebration to prevent the spread of the disease.
In post-COVID-19, people have gone back to offering food to the monks. “Buddhist people will keep cooking for the monks until the end of the Pchum Ben period in accordance with the safety measures of the Health Ministry and the authorities in Vietnam,” Ngoc Nhoeung said.
There are currently 465 pagodas in Kampuchea Krom, said Bun Many, director of the Kampuchea-Krom Federation. On the 14th day of Pchum Ben, people invite the monks to their homes and cook for them. And on the 15th day, which is Pchum Ben day, the Buddhists bring food to the monks at the pagodas.
“There will be more than enough for the pagodas located nearby a lot of people, but there will be a lack of food for the pagodas where not many people go,” he said. “Some pagodas even faced lack of meals due to COVID-19 and lockdown.”
Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this story was translated by Meng Seavmey for Cambodianess.
