Some administration activities were executed on this weblog. I downloaded and installed a ‘Recent Comments’ section on the sidebar. This makes it easier to spot the latest activities.
There is a lot of spam comment submission lately. It is still manageable and I am not (yet) worried.
Keep on commenting! I will try to post on a higher frequency on my side…
Two weeks ago, we were in Paris to celebrate the Khmer New Year. If you want to see some photographs, look here.
Cambodians celebrate new year during a three day period: 13-14-15 of April. The western world celebrates new year on the 1st of January. This is the first difference.
There is a second difference: westerns moved to the year 2007, but Cambodians to the year 2551. Or is it the year 2550? Lets find out…
There are multiple calendars in use here. The western world (and most of the rest of the world) uses the Gregorian calendar. This calendar is named after pope Gregorius XIII, who corrected some errors back in 1582 and fixed the counting of leap years to what it is today. This calendar starts counting the years from the year of the birth of Jesus Christ (more or less). Today it is the 1st of May, 2007 AD. The AD stands for ‘Anno Domini’, which is Latin for ‘the Year of our Lord’.
The other calendar is the Buddhist calendar. This calendar starts counting the years with the year of the death of Buddha (more or less). This was around the year 543 BC (where the BC stands for ‘Before Christ’). This calendar uses the BE (‘Buddhist Era’) suffix for a date. The Buddhist calendar is used on mainland south-east Asia in the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Sri Lanka.
Thailand is the only country where this calendar is the official calendar. The Gregorian calendar is also in use, but only in business where the rest of the world is involved. Today, it is the year 2550. You add 543 year to our year to get theirs and you subtract 543 years from theirs to get ours. A new year starts on the 1st of January. But in the past it was different. Before 1941 AD, a new year started on the 1st of April. The year 2484 BE (= 1941 AD + 543) was the first year that started on the 1st of January. The previous year 2483 BE had only 9 months. If you go to the Royal Thai Government’s website, you see that all recent publications are dated to the year 2550 (BE).
Cambodia uses the Gregorian calendar as the official calendar. The Buddhist calendar is used in a more religious context, with one small (annoying) difference. Cambodia is from its new year’s day in April to the end of the Gregorian year (western new year’s eve) one year ahead of the Thai calendar!
So, on new years day, the new year is the thai year + 1! And NOT as indicated in Paris…
Happy New Year Khmer 2551!
As [wrongly] reported directly from Phnom Penh, it is Royal Ploughing Day today on the 5th of May in Cambodia.
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony marks the start of the rainy season. This year, it is on the 1st 5th of May. The plough (American spelling: plow) is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of the soil in preparation for sowing seed. This ceremony marks the start of the rice-planting.
A ceremonial furrow is ploughed in the park in front of the National Museum in Phnom Penh. The ploughing is performed by a man, King of Meakh, and the sowing of the seeds is performed by a women, Queen Mehour.
After circling the field three times, the sacred cows are offered selected foods. They are brought to eat from seven silver trays containing rice, corn, beans, sesame seeds, grass, water and wine. These seven silver dishes symbolize the possible outcomes of the coming harvest.
Foretellers predict the following year based on appetite of the cows. The harvest of the coming season will be good if they choose the cereals. There will be plenty of rain if they drink water. But if they eat herbs, cattle disease can be expected. The worst can be expected when they drink alcohol.
The priests formulate the prediction of the coming season. They also call upon the protection of the gods.
During this festival both men and women are wearing brightly colored traditional Khmer costumes. Frits in Phnom Penh has some nice photos of lasts year ceremony here.
Formerly, this ceremony was conducted by the King. Today, the ritual is performed with representatives of the king taking the role of King Meakh and of Queen Mehour. This ceremony originally was a pure Brahman rite. Brahma is one of the three Hindu gods. The others are Vishnu and Shiva. They have been called the Hindu trinity. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer. Later on, some Buddhist elements were added to it.
The date of this festival changes every year and is calculated according to the lunar calendar.
Cambodians name this festival ‘Bonn Chroat Preah Nongkoal’ or ‘Bonn Chrat Preah Nongkol’. The last word is the khmer word for plough (នង្គ័ល).