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If you were to step onto the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia at this time of the year, you would be met by pleasant fragrances of incense and banana leaf. It’s Pchum Ben! During a CERI group this month, elder Khmer women shared beliefs and traditions associated with Pchum Ben. Over and over, the importance of remembering ancestors and making offerings to ancestors is mentioned -- offerings of food, items, money, and anything ancestors might need for the next phase. Khmer staff reflect that this 15-day period is a time to continue to honor our living elders and to show ancestors who passed and paved the way that they are not forgotten. For ancestors who have no living relatives or who may be wandering, the community remembers them too, sending blessings and making offerings to them as well. It’s a time of forgiveness. It’s a time of celebration. Remembering isn’t always easy. Many Khmer refugees have wanted to forget their past, and younger generations of Khmers have often not had the opportunity to learn or practice cultural traditions in the midst of living with chaos inside of poverty, racism, trauma, and violence. Strengthening cultural practices across generations and sharing traditions across our diverse communities help us to remember. Sitting around the kitchen table, teasing, laughing, talking story, Saveth and Mory roll Num Ansom, traditional Khmer sticky rice cake. Mory, CERI’s Director of Youth and Family Services who was born in a Khmer refugee camp in Thailand, reflects on how she moved into a rolling rhythm. Saveth, CERI community member and Khmer Rouge genocide survivor, sometimes turns to Mory during the process and says in Khmer, “Give that to me, let me correct it.” Mory and Saveth recently made Num Ansom at a community gathering hosted by Kanley for Pchum Ben. It was Mory’s first time. It’s never too late to remember.
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