PHCHUM BIN FESTIVAL (BIN SEN DONTA)

Phchum Bin is the most important religious festival in the Khmer religious calendar, which is celebrate from after full moon in the tenth month of Phatrabot (the middle of September). Traditionally, it lasts for 15 days, but in the final day is the most important that is actual day of Phchum Ben. All of Cambodians have faithfully observed this festival every year.

Regardless how busy they may be during the 15 days of Phchum Ben, Khmer people try not to miss a visit to the pagoda every year to honor this tradition to show respect, dedicate food for their ancestors and nobody complains.

According to Buddhist belief people feel sorry for and remember their relatives who have passed away, those are may be their parents, grandparents, a sister, a brother, a daughter or a son. Each household prepared many kinds of food, then, they make it to the pagoda together with incenses, candles and flowers offer to the monks. They consecrate to all those who have died.

    During Phchum Bin are the periods when those souls and spirits are let out from the hell they coming to receive offering from their living relatives perhaps gain some relief. It’s believed that after we have died our spirits or minds will be born again, if those people have committed good deed when they were living they will be born into the heaven, but if they committed harmful sins they will be born into the hell and are tortured there. Everyone go to the pagoda at least 7 different pagodas, because they don’t want the spirits of dead members of their family to be difficult to seek offering at some pagodas.

It’s believed that those spirits will go to look in seven different pagodas, if they can’t find their living relatives offering in any of those. They will curse them, because they can’t have anything to eat, they believed that the food was offered by other people when living relatives offer the food to the spirits will bless them with happiness and prosperity.

Phchum Bin is one of the most important festivals not only Cambodia but also Kampucchea Krom (South of Vietnam), its performed for a long time. And it lasts 15 days from the first of Photrabot (Khmer Month). Spirits commemoration festival is held for spirits of dead. Bin Dak Bin the offering of the foods to the monks that lasts for 15 days. The 15^th day of the ceremony “the warning moon day”, it is called Bun Phchum Bin. The collection of the Bins (offering), in this festival, if departed souls do not find their families thanking offering at any pagodas. It is believed that the souls will curse and bother the descendants throughout the year.

     Cambodians people believed that the ghosts and sinful spirits are afraid of the light. That is why, the festival is held during then waning month of Photrabot when evil spirits and sinful ghosts are set free by the king of Death to visit their relatives alive. The king of the Death allows them to ascend to the earth to visit their relatives. At their arrival, the will search the seven pagodas for food that. Their relatives offer them through the monks. If they can’t find it, they will get angry with their descendants and will curse and bother them throughout of the year. There are some kinds of insects that people have always thought that they are the sinful spirits who committed much sin in their former lives. Can only be seen during the Phchum Bin’s day, they prepared the Bin Rice to worship the spirits of the heroes and heroines who had passed way in War? The 15 days’ festival in the month of Photrabot, it called “Kan Bin” which in English means the participation in Phchum Bin. “Bin in Pali means “a piece of rice” or Feast.