Tết Chôl Chnăm Thmây of the Khmer people
Also called: Chol Chnam Thmay, Tết vào năm mới, Lễ tắm Phật, Đắp núi cát, Tết Chôl Chnăm Thmây của người Khmer
- Rites of ethnic communities
Culture and belief A record of custom.
Tết Chôl Chnăm Thmây of the Khmer people, held mainly at Theravada Buddhist pagodas: welcoming the Great Calendar, offering rice to monks, building sand mountains, bathing the Buddha, and praying for the deceased. At home, there is an offering tray for ancestors and a ceremony to bathe Buddha statues.
At a glance
- When it is held
- Three days in mid-April of the solar calendar, calculated according to the Khmer calendar
- For whom
- Đức Phật (the Buddha), the devata (Têvêđa) of the new year, ancestors
Each family and each region may do it differently.
The offering tray
South
Mekong Delta, Khmer, Khmer Theravada Buddhism
- When
- Three days in mid-April of the solar calendar (four days in a leap year), calculated according to the Khmer calendar; in the past it lasted 10 to 15 days
- Where the offerings are set
- Theravada Buddhist pagodas; an offering table in front of the house
- Who makes the offering
- Buddhists of the whole phum sóc (village); monks and the achar guide
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Incense, lamps, candles | ||
| Incense and lamps, flowers and fruits brought to the pagoda | Vegetarian | |
| Fruit | ||
| A tray of five fruits to welcome the devata at giao thừa (New Year's Eve) | Vegetarian | According to VietNamNet |
| Objects | ||
| Food and drinks offered to monks | The second day | |
| Clean sand to build sand mountains | Required | |
| Kasaya robes and utensils offered to the pagoda | Robe offering ceremony, according to one source | |
| Tea, rice wine, water | ||
| Scented water infused with flowers to bathe Buddha statues | Required | |
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Khmer, TPHCM, Vĩnh Long, Khmer Theravada Buddhism, At the pagoda, temple or temple of literature (paired with a prayer said at home)
- When
- Afternoon of the last day of Tết (the article describes the 16th day of the 4th month)
- Where the offerings are set
- Candaransi Pagoda (Ho Chi Minh City); Pisesaram Pagoda (Bình Phú Commune, Vĩnh Long Province)
- Who makes the offering
- The abbot presides; Buddhists follow in turn
| Offering | Vegetarian or not | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tea, rice wine, water | ||
| Scented water mixed from fresh flowers and herbs such as lemongrass and pomelo leaves | Required | |
| Flowers | ||
| Fresh flowers, clean water, offerings | Vegetarian | |
Mekong Delta, Khmer, Khmer Theravada Buddhism, Indoor offering
- Where the offerings are set
- At home
- Who makes the offering
- The family; some households invite monks to chant sutras and give blessings
| Offering | Vegetarian or not |
|---|---|
| Other | |
| Tray of rice and incense offered to grandparents and ancestors | |
| Fruit | |
| Fruit offered to the devas, changed for each of the three days of Tết | Vegetarian |
Steps of the rite
Mekong Delta, Khmer, Khmer Theravada Buddhism
- First day (Chôl Sangkran Thmây): choose an auspicious hour, bathe, dress nicely, bring offerings to the pagoda to perform the ceremony of welcoming the Great Calendar (Maha Sangkran), walk three times around the main hall to welcome the Têvêđa of the new year
- Second day (Wonbơt): in the morning, offer rice to the monks; the monks perform a ceremony of gratitude to those who produced the rice; in the afternoon, build sand mountains in the pagoda courtyard under the guidance of the achar
- Third day (Lơng Sắk): the monks use flower branches to sprinkle scented water on Buddha statues (Buddha bathing ceremony), then bathe the monks; invite monks to chant sutras for the deceased at the stupa of ashes for deceased relatives
- At noon on the third day, return home to bathe the Buddha statue worshipped in the house, congratulate and offer cakes to thank grandparents and parents
Southern Vietnam (Nam Bộ, no finer detail in the source), Khmer, TPHCM, Vĩnh Long, Khmer Theravada Buddhism, At the pagoda, temple or temple of literature (paired with a prayer said at home)
- Three drum rolls signal, inviting the Buddha statue out to the ceremony place
- The abbot sprinkles scented water on the Buddha statue; Buddhists in turn pour scented water on the statue
- Bathing the monks: use scented water to wash the hands and feet of the abbot; the monks bless in return
Mekong Delta, Khmer, Khmer Theravada Buddhism, Indoor offering
- Set up an offering table in front of the house, facing a favourable direction, to welcome the deity of the new year
- Prepare a tray of rice and burn incense to invite the ancestors home for reunion
- Bathe the Buddha statue kept in the house; sometimes a bathing rite is also held for grandparents and parents to show filial gratitude
- Invite monks to the house to chant sutras and give blessings
Where the sources differ
- Number of sand mounds: Tạp chí Công Thương (Industry and Trade Magazine) records the building of eight small mounds in eight directions and a ninth mound in the middle; Tạp chí Thị trường Tài chính Tiền tệ (Financial and Monetary Market Magazine) records one large mound in the middle representing Mount Tu Di (Mount Sumeru) and four small mounds around it
Communities and regions
Sources
- Những nghi lễ chính của Tết Chôl Chnăm Thmây (vietnamnet.vn)
- Tết Chôl Chnăm Thmây: lễ hội lớn, nét văn hóa đặc sắc của đồng bào Khmer (baolaocai.vn, đăng lại tin TTXVN)
- Về An Giang trải nghiệm Lễ hội Chôl Chnăm Thmây của người Khmer (tapchicongthuong.vn)
- Tết Chôl Chnăm Thmây: Nét đẹp văn hóa đặc sắc của đồng bào Khmer (thitruongtaichinhtiente.vn)
- Đông đảo người dân tham dự nghi lễ tắm Phật trong Tết Chôl Chnăm Thmây (sggp.org.vn)
Part of the open datasets Types of Vietnamese offering rites and Vietnamese offering procedures, licensed CC BY 4.0.
More ritesDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, the life cycle, village and ethnic rites.Open