Introduction Ceremony

The ceremony to lower a unique cultural feature of the Southern Khmer Buddhism Every custom and rituals of the Khmer people are associated with the beauty of traditional culture, with Buddhist teachings and is handed down to this day. The falling ceremony begins to be held around the full moon in the 6th lunar month every year. According to Khmer, the Lower Festival is also known as the Chol Neasa orbun Cholina ceremony, in order to pray for favorable rain and wind, bumper crops, and happy family. Buddhists enter the temple and offer living items for monks at the temple for 3 months of importing or called the Asat month. The falling ceremony was handed down from the Buddha's life, which took place in two main days:      The first day took place in the afternoon. The Khmer Buddhist people will bring flowers and gifts to the temple to pray. In particular, the candle is an indispensable offering of Buddhists to the temple to light up and day and night for three months. For the Khmer, the custom of bringing candles to the temple on the day of the lower day brings a great meaning, in order to pray for the rich, peaceful, happy, happy families in this life as well as the afterlife and the light icon from the lamp is hoping for their spirit to be lucid as lamps and smooth business will be better.       The second day: The Buddhist people bring rice, water, rice ... to the temple to offer the Buddha and the monk, in order to pray for the deceased and pray for peace and happiness for the family, to the people in the phum, squirrel. On this second day, the Buddhist people focused on the temple very crowded because after listening to the prayer, praying and preaching, the Khmer people took offerings to the palanquin with decoration of flowers and flowers, (Khmer called the yard-huhc), carrying three rounds around the main hall. Next, they offered candles into the main hall and lighted up to make the importing ceremony. During this time, the monks were not allowed to leave the temple to attend the Buddhist scriptures, fully celebrate the ceremony, to keep the precepts and keep the spirit pure and cultivate the teachings.       During the falling period, in addition to lighting candles as practicing, at the Khmer temples, the drums also entered the drums in two sessions: morning (starting from 4 hours - 5 hours) and afternoon (from 16:1-17 hours). The pagoda drumming began to inform all of the people of Phum Soc to take the initiative in the time in production and daily life.       In the full moon of the lunar calendar, the pagoda again made a summer ceremony or a downward ceremony (difference). On this occasion, the Khmer ethnic people often organize a ritual of dropping water lamps (dragging protip) on the rivers of Phum and Soc, with the meaning to commemorate the Buddha and also express apologies for water and earth because they have defiled soil and water during the production process in the year. After that, everyone used the car or palanquin to bring the lights to the river to drop along the water. Following there was a pagoda drum dance group to add a solemn part.