Pchum Ben is a Cambodian Buddhist festival dedicated to honoring ancestors and deceased relatives. It is also the grandest and longest traditional festival in Cambodia, held annually from the first to the fifteenth day of the tenth month of the Buddhist calendar, lasting a total of 15 days. It is believed that during this time, when the moon is at its dimmest, the spirits of the dead—who fear the light—can return to the human world to receive offerings and prayers from their living relatives.
According to legend, a group of merchants once set out to sea for trade. On their journey, they encountered a violent storm and became stranded on a remote island. At midnight, hungry ghosts appeared on the island, wandering in search of food, putting the merchants’ lives in grave danger. In a moment of desperation, one merchant came up with an idea and proposed a deal to the ghosts: if they spared the merchants’ lives, the merchants would, upon returning home, make annual offerings to them—and their descendants would continue this practice for generations to come—ensuring the hungry ghosts would never be without food again. The ghosts agreed to the terms and let the merchants go. Since then, people have kept the promise by offering food to the hungry ghosts every year. Thus, in addition to honoring their ancestors, Pchum Ben is also a time when people show gratitude to the hungry ghosts for their mercy by making offerings and presenting food to them.
Temples are the main venues for the various rituals held during this festival. Every morning around 4 a.m., tens of thousands of devout worshippers gather in temple halls, bringing offerings such as balls of sticky rice, pastries, bananas, and candles. With hands pressed together in prayer, they listen to the monks’ chanting. The monks recite sacred texts to summon the spirits of ancestors to receive the offerings, and, in the spirit of Buddhist compassion, they also call upon wandering and forgotten souls to share in the love and kindness of the living.
After the chanting ceremony ends, in the dim light before dawn, people scatter the food they’ve brought onto the ground outside the temple halls so that the spirits of the dead and the hungry ghosts can partake in the offerings. Afterwards, the worshippers share a meal with the monks.
According to Cambodian tradition, the spirits of the deceased wander among different temples during the days they return to the human world. Therefore, during Pchum Ben, people visit at least seven different temples to participate in rituals, ensuring they can encounter the spirits of their loved ones.
On the fourteenth day, people make sticky rice dumplings (zongzi) and distribute them to family and friends as a way to send blessings.
On the fifteenth day, the last day of the festival, people gather by the riverside before dawn. They place food, pastries, fruits, and grains on small boats woven from banana leaves, then set the boats afloat on the river. This ritual symbolizes sending the spirits of the deceased back to the afterlife by boat.
Besides the rituals, some regions in Cambodia also hold traditional events such as water buffalo races and wrestling competitions during Pchum Ben, attracting many tourists to come and watch.
