AsiaLIFE

Lost something you want to recover? Need help deciding whether to accept a new job? For dealing with predicaments of all sorts, Cambodians will often seek out both human wisdom and divine intervention at a holy shrine. Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen meets Loang Vihet, Tes Chroeun and Keo Vanna, the guardians of the loak ta dom bawng daik shrine. Interpretation and photos by Conor Wall.

On the evening before the full moon of every month, a flurry of spiritual activity takes place along the banks of the Tonle Sap River. Cambodians consider this place, across from the Royal Palace, to be an auspicious site.

The crush of people, armed with lotus flowers and incense sticks, come to provide offerings to the shrines of the ancestors. The ancestors’ powers are believed to be at their strongest during the full moon. There are different shrines consecrated for specific ancestors, which can be maintained and protected by ajah, the learned laymen who engage in a mix of Buddhist and animist spiritual activities.

Loang Vihet, Tes Chroeun, and Keo Vanna are three such ajah. Everyday from 5.30am to 10pm, they sit in a small, house-like structure that houses a shrine near the river. They have studied Buddhism and the Pali and Sanskrit languages for around a decade and were chosen by the Ministry of Cult and Religion to take care of this shrine. Like most ajah, they are older men, aged in their fifties and sixties. Women ajah are more rare.

Costumed in white, which is considered a colour of purity, the ajah function as teachers and sources of wisdom. There are many different types of ajah. Some are called upon to provide blessings at weddings and funerals, whereas others are sought out to chase bad spirits away. Although not bestowed with the same holy status as Buddhist monks, the ajah are highly respected by the Cambodian people.

Loang Vihet, Tes Chroeun, and Keo Vanna provide insight into their roles as ajah and the significance of the shrine they watch over.

Who do the statues seated in the shrine behind you represent?
The loak ta dom bawng daik. Years ago, they were the strong men with magic powers who protected the people. They did amazing things. People made these statues that look like them so Cambodians can make offerings to these ancestors. They wear red scarves on their heads because anyone with power or magic wears red in Cambodia. The colour red represents that these are the protectors of the country; they have sacrificed their blood to protect the country so the citizens don’t have to.

What will making offerings to these statues bring?
Good health, good fortune, family. This shrine is famous for bringing back things that are lost. If you lose anything, you come here to find it. If you haven’t seen one of your family members for a long time, they’ll come back to you. This shrine is also good to come to if you have problems to be solved or to make wishes.

For people who are having trouble making decisions, what traditional methods do you practice here?
People use these practices as a guide for what to do in the future. One is jak kom bee [writings on palm leaves]. You close your eyes and make a wish or ask for guidance, then take this book, place it on your head, stick the piece of wood into the book, and we read the page you open to. The book has old Buddhist stories written in Khmer. Some have good meanings and some have bad meanings. If the story you open has a good meaning, the wish will come true. But if the tale has a bad meaning, it will not.

Another [a cup of labelled sticks] is graw luk which means “to shake.” This is a Chinese- Vietnamese tradition. You shake this cup until one stick falls out. It has a number written on it, so we go to this page in our book. If it is a good story, your wish will come true.

This one [two half-moon shaped pieces of wood with a dark side and a light side] is graw-lap pngaa, also a Chinese-Vietnamese practice. You make a wish, hold the pieces up to your head, and drop them. If they land opposite [one piece side up and the other side down], the wish is good and will come true. If they land the same, it’s not good.

What should be contributed as an offering?
Flowers, incense, candles, fruit and money. Some people even bring a roasted chicken or pork. Some people put in a thousand riel, other people put in hundreds of dollars. The more you give, the better the chances of your wish coming true. The money placed in the boxes goes to the Ministry of Cult and Religion, for projects like helping the poor, but if you hand us money directly, that is our livelihood.

What does the red yarn you tie on people’s wrists signify?
These strings come from a mix of Hinduism and Buddhism. The ancient priests used to put them on for protection, good health, happiness, and success. We place the strings on the shrine for a blessing so the magic goes into them. We chant to release a spell into the bracelet and then we spray some perfume to release the magic from the loak ta.

Do you have magical abilities?
We cannot do magic. People often ask us for our advice and we use our knowledge of Buddhism and old stories. The chants we use release the loak ta magic.

Why did you choose to become ajah?
We want to continue this tradition; we don’t want it to die. Helping people is rewarding, we can give people advice when they need it.

What counsel do you have for people seeking good luck?
You can come to a place like this and receive a blessing. You can be sprayed with this holy water, blessed by the loak ta. Also, follow good karma. If you do good, you will have good luck. If you do bad, you will have bad luck.