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I love reading Chinese novels but anytime they do a manhwa adaptation of it…it’s never what I picture in my mind 😭😭😭

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Guardians & Gateways - Laying the Ancestral groundwork to Khmer folk practices (12 Things)

This contains a syncretism of Animist, Hindu and Buddhist practices within our family

Disclaimer:

A lot of the things I do are based on my own intuition and interpretations from my parents/elders teachings.

So, here are the “wild” things that I’ve personally done and it has built the foundation for me to reconnect to certain practices because like a Banyan tree, our roots help shape our strength, adaptability and longevity, the essence of our health and soul.

In this case, for me

→ these roots are our ancestral spirits/guardians

But building the groundwork also means acknowledging the realities of history and slowly embracing and choosing what resonates the most

[No. 1] Medicine of the Mind

The choice to heal became my personal catalyst.

Mental health is important and is liberation in its own way because you need to face your own realities. I focused on facing my own darkness (e.g. triggers, emotions) by unraveling my own intergenerational trauma. But also took the time to unravel our elders trauma hand-in-hand with history and how certain policies or historical events may have affected them

[No. 2] Cultural Decolonization

Our elders (specifically our late grandparents and great-grandparents) experienced firsthand the tactics of cultural erasure and dominance of Thaification policies.

But they resisted/refused to abandon their native language(s) and as a result they did get punished for it but that didn’t stop them from passing down knowledge

For me, I continue to actively seek out the knowledge the elders preserved and passed onto my folks but this also entails me:

Relearning languages

Relearning spiritual practices

Relearning history from an objective lens

Asking questions & annoying the fam for answers ahah

Trying to obtain info on things that were almost lost

AND MUCH MUCH MORE

[No. 3] Dialogue of the Dead

Ancestral work and veneration goes a long way!!!!

Although we honor 7 generations of our ancestors in Khmer Culture [aka Pchum Ben], I am honestly very selective with the ancestors that I venerate.

I only invite the energy of ancestral spirits and guardians that have good intentions towards me into my life

And I honor them by always taking the time to research and inform myself more of our history, backgrounds and influences because everyday you’re learning something new

[No. 4] ~ Lineage of Justice

I speak into existence that I welcome the protection and blessings of our lineage and also specifically welcome ancestors that have been rejected by other relatives because of their own internalized hate in being Khmer, Kuy, Lao and so on, to redirect to me instead.

Then sending those relatives justice spells in the form of healing for them to tackle their own inter-generational trauma and for the ancestors or spirits of the land to determine how they should exert this as how they see best.

If those individuals continue to refuse to face reality, then the protection of our ancestors can continue to be redirected to me.

Call me crazy but oh well ahah

[No. 5] ~ Prana [Energy]

From my elders teachings, words and thoughts do have vital energy and this could be expressed intentionally or unintentionally so, what you say can either be a blessing or a poison tongue

For Example:

Neak Ta (guardian spirits) are sensitive to human emotions [e.g. your tears, anger]

Negative thoughts are assumed to attract malevolent spirits

Positive thoughts are assumed to attract protective spirits

Then we have បួងសួង [Buong-Suong] → ceremonies performed to align with spiritual forms before an important event

And there’s Traditional healers (kru khmer) in the fam who use mantras, herbs, and rituals to balance the energy in the body for healing, purification and all of that.

[No. 6] ~ Elements

The five elements (ធាតុទាំងប្រាំ theat-toang-braam) but some Khmer practices only emphasize 4 elements. These are the basics to spirituality and folk practices that I refer to.

Earth:

Stability, fertility and nourishment

Association: Agriculture and Physical Heath

Grounding and Protection

Water:

Purification, life and fluidity

Fire:

Energy, transformation, destruction, rebirth, life

Air:

Life force [Prana], Illness (aka Health in folk medicine)

Space:

Contains the hidden and unseen

The cosmos, spirits, and so on

[No. 7] - Emotions as Energy

អារម្មណ៍ក្លាយជា प्राण - Arom-Klaay-Chea-Pranna [aka energy]

Strong feelings (grief, anger, joy) are thought to carry Khyal (wind/energy) that can affect the physical and spiritual world

I use my tears (ទឹកភ្នែក - Tuk Phnek) of rage and sorrow to amplify the potency of my manifestations, spells and ancestral offerings.

Too many coincidences happened with this that I’m like ok, it’s real and freaking me out ahah

But I request that the pain and sorrow that I feel to transform into blessings and protection instead but also letting that pain and anger fuel my success and things I know I’m meant to do in this lifetime.

[No. 8] ~ Neak Ta + Ancestral Guardian spirits

Sacred Land Guardians:

I also complain to the guardian spirits of the earth to serve punishment to those who sacrifice the lives of others for their own greed and narratives (e.g. corrupt leaders)

Basically speeding up the process for justice. And also placing protective justice spells on victims of injustice.

But as noted, the extent of the spiritual world has its own limitations in the physical world. They can’t always interfere.

And don’t forget the offerings and rituals~~

[No. 9] ~ Fairy / Elf Garden

People back in Cambodia have Spirit Houses and this is my version and adaption ahahaha

I’m still working on the garden but I was taught to not be scared of Mreng Kongval. because they’re just mischievous elves/fairies/forest spirits.

However, like Neak Ta, they can be powerful protectors or allies.

I heard that people are honestly scared of them but they just love honest, true-hearted humans. If they like you, they can warn you of danger and guide you to safety.

[No. 10] ~ Ancestral Oaths

Learning more about our elders and ancestors is important and it adds to the nuances to identities.

As far as I know, certain oaths of indirect allegiance was sworn by some ancestors of a clan a long time ago to certain Kingdoms (one starts with a L and the other a K)

Kind of like a vassal connection but if that oath is betrayed, it usually invoked supernatural retribution like spirit wrath or curses.. And there’s also divine punishment, spirit vengeance and so forth that the individual and their bloodline may be subject to.

That’s why the elders say don’t play with ancient magick unless you mastered it lol

[No. 11] ~ Entrusted to the Delegation

Surrendering to the unseen (ancestral guardianship) via protection and justice invocation.

I gave authority and power to our ancestral guardians and spirits a long time ago to be enforcers to those who have ill intentions towards me and to enforce it as how they see best based on their own definition of justice. This is defined as a invocation that includes a clause.

Examples:

Clause creates cosmic mirrors and boundaries

Unjust harm manifests as accidents, illness or despair based on natural consequences as a result of said individual’s ill intentions

Harmful intent accelerates by weakening that person’s anchors

[No. 12] ~ Tips

Last but not least.

You should inform yourself of the different belief systems and sectors in Khmer History. That knowledge will go a long way.

Pry into your family background and history. There’s probs more to it than meets the eye.

Before pulling tarots cards, pendulums and all of that, I always do a fire or incense cleansing and ask the ancestral spirits or guardians to watch over via thoughts or verbally.

And honestly, it does come down to your family and elders and whether or not they passed down that knowledge but that shouldn’t always stop you.

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I need to post more spells 🪄

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Khmer Superstitions about Lip Twitches

Disclaimer:

Beliefs do vary. For our fam, this may be more from our historical and Hindu/Sanskrit influences, specifically it relates to Vedic Astrology, Samudrik Shastra and physiognomy. It’s important to understand that is a cultural belief, not a medical diagnosis. While I’m not a doctor, if your lip twitching does persists you should probably seek a health perspective on this.

Regardless of whether it is the upper lip [បបូរមាត់ខាងលើ] or lower lip [បបូរមាត់ខាងក្រោម], Khmer superstition says that when the lip twitches, something auspicious will occur.

Upper Lip

[បបូរមាត់ខាងលើ | Bo'bau'meah't-Khang-Leau]

If the upper lip twitches, it means that blessings or good fortune will arrive.

However, there are variations in the Khmer Community where some say that if it is the upper right side of the lip, it means misfortune while the upper left side of the lip means good fortune.

Lower Lip

[បបូរមាត់ខាងក្រោម | Bo'bau'meah't-Khang-Krom]

If the lower lip twitches, it means that you will either reconnect with an old, long-time friend or you will develop new connections (as in acquaintances/friends).

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Thinking about how I haven’t touched my tarot cards, pendulums and all that because the readings I did on myself were on point and too real. 😂😩

Freaked myself out so bad with how it aligned with my intuition / things I lowkey already knew LMFAOO

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One Language, Many Homes

Language Resources for the Khmer Diaspora

Nothing like the fascination of exploring art and language beyond such borders. Likewise, limits do extend to many aspects of our lives such as accessibility to such things that our mind, heart and soul craves for.

Despite having such rigorous exposure to a language that our parents/elders strictly and deeply held onto, the ability to speak Khmer was natural but eventually lost overtime.

Perhaps it was the desire to uncover the stories that our family kept hidden due to their trauma from the war and g-cide that brought me back to the past—either way, the curiosity to trace the intricate tapestry of our ancestral history and unraveling the multifaceted web of cultural influences became a priority.

Regardless of everything, language does pose of importance to embarking on the journey of reconnecting.

In order to truly immerse oneself of mapping what molded our heritage and language, it meant facing my past and prioritizing unlearning and relearning the language that I once knew.

No regrets.

A rough journey in self-studying but the door of resources eventually opened up and slowly the pieces to puzzles of our ancestral history were revealed between the pages.

~~~

For the Khmer Diaspora looking for English resources, please see below for linked recommendations:

Colloquial Cambodian ~ I did check this book out from the library twice and it is a good refresher. The website is also useful as it has audio recordings.

Simple Khmer Vocab ~ This online audio dictionary has over 3,000 audio recordings. It uses a large text corpus and multiple dictionaries, even recordings for each consonant.

Cambodia: Research Information ~ This is general collection of E-Journals and digital archives relating to policy studies, films, and so forth.

SEALang Dictionary ~ A great resource when the Search Engine fails you on resources or providing you with the correct English translations

eLibrary of Cambodia ~ Various Ebooks in Khmer that are available to the public to read. You might need to familiarize yourself with the Khmer Fonts.

Aakanee ~ One of my favorites. IT EXPLAINS DEFINITIONS FURTHER, HAS AUDIO RECORDINGS, AND EVEN DIALOGUES + PARAGRAPH EXAMPLES TO LISTEN TO AND READ!!!

Tovnah Dictionary ~ Also one of my favorites! It has English definitions and whenever I recall a random word, I always look it up to make sure I'm remembering it correctly. There's also other classifications on there too. Audio recordings don't work fyi.

Khmer Learn 101 ~ A good resources for beginners

PDF about the Khmer Language ~ It is an overview about the Khmer language and has some information on consonant clusters and so forth.

Contemporary Cambodian ~ A good read if you want to learn and read about Khmer phonology, syntax, nouns, and so on.

Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader with Drills and Glossary ~ There is a lot of linguistic jargon. I don't recommend this for beginners that are just starting to learn the Khmer script but for those who already have a solid foundation. I do love how detailed and concise it is!! Just google the name, it's copyright free and I believe it's publicly available too!

YouTube Handles I recommend:

PhallaSan ~ I like this channel because I find it to be one of the clearest pronunciations for Khmer dependent vowels, respective to the first series ("AW") and second ("OH") series consonants. Just click on the photo.

CambodianSchool ~ They have videos based on the textbook called "Siev Pheuv Rien An" by Dr. Setharin Penn, PhD. The videos also expand on the text and provide great info.

ManylenB ~ I found this page after I already learned the entire alphabet. Don't struggle too much for Khmer. I watched like 2 videos and I think it's a good resource.

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source unknown

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Disclaimer: Practices all vary; some ppl do rituals or blessings prior to invitations but usually this is in reference to inviting ppl during nighttime

Symbolism

Salt is a basic layer for protection. In the example given on how salt is used; it is a time to ward off negative energies, evil spirits and impurities.

Now, in rituals, the salt helps with grounding and creating a symbolic boundary between spaces.

Additionally, salt is also used for purification and as a cleansing bath as well.

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Cartomancy in Khmer Culture

Disclaimer:

There are some variations out there in the community

The one I am specifically referring to utilizes forms of psychic readings and shamanism; plus intertwines with divination and fortune-telling and astrology

To Summarize:

Everyone in the Khmer community has different methods of reading and the one that I am referring to is based on the ones that I had exposure to.

However, do note that this is only the basics (as I don't recall all the details) but the method itself deals with a lot of calculations and meditation because the readings themselves can take hours to piece together.

The only reason why it takes hours for a session is because there's multiple readings done within one session.

Tips from the elders?

Since this deals with psychics and/or shamans, they always say that usually the ones who are very skilled in reading playing cards won't ask for your birthday.

Sometimes they may ask questions that just re-verify messages that is being signaled to them.

For Example:

You have an older brother and sister, right?

You were born the year of the tiger, correct?

Since our folks are spiritual and superstitious at times, sharing your birthday is a big no-no because it is basically a map of your soul/destiny for this lifetime. As a result, it is believed that people can sabotage your life or swap destinies.

Overall Method:

Note:

Everyone has varying practices; some people meditate first or some may light up 3 incense accordingly on the altar first

Also, remember that there's multiple readings in a session

First Session Readings:

The practitioner would lay out a blanket or sheet, this is where they would lay out the cards.

2. Per usual, the practitioner would shuffle the cards accordingly and sometimes, this is when they may ask you questions to re-verify that you are the individual they are channeling info about.

Sometimes, they may remove some cards for the reading dependent on the reading or method used.

3. They may ask the individual, who they are doing a reading for, to then shuffle the cards. This is kind of just to channel your energy for readings

4. Next, they would follow the method they were taught and outline the cards on the blanket or sheet for a first reading.

Afterwards, they would gather all the cards and repeat 2 to 4.

Disclaimer: Since I don't remember all the details and don't know the entire method, I cannot confirm how many readings are done in total for one session. (But will update once I recall)

5. Final Outline Readings

4 Columns where there's Playing Cards layered on top of one another with the symbols showing.

So, think of like how the cards in the game of Solitaire are outlined but the symbols of the cards are actually peeking out a little more like this:

Now...

Elders say that the final reading may take some time to read because of the method used.

Some elders have to meditate and burn some incense just to focus on the messages coming to mind but also to calculate accordingly looking at the reflected symbols.

This entire post will be updated~~ If and when I recall the method or other details

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ig credit: laurasreadingtime

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Actually sane, actually tuned in to the mysteries ✨️

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green like life

and green like death

[sarvatri]

Mon-Khmer Hair Reading & Hair Cutting Ritual

Disclaimer: This is NOT a TYPICAL Khmer ritual or practice FYI. This is more of our family's ancestral thing within the realms of Mon-Khmer groups. So, not specifically Khmer or Mon as there are many ethnic and linguistic groups under that umbrella term, Mon-Khmer.

Cultural Context:

Per fam's beliefs, hair was seen as a connection to one's essence and in association to spiritual energy. Sometimes, even as a connection to the divine.

So, keeping your hair long was a way to signify devotion and so on.

Not only that but your hair is like an extension of your head where your crown chakra is located.

Side Note:

Like if we were to compare this to typical Khmer superstitions and/or beliefs, casually allowing people to touch your head is a big NO-NO because the top of the head is considered sacred.

For Example:

There's the belief amongst my elders that people will try to utilize this as an easier way to manipulate you "spiritually" and even swap destinies.

This also includes the superstition of not letting people step over your head because misfortune will arrive.

The Hair Cutting Ritual:

This is a specific hair cutting ritual where the hair is kept long for a period of time [I forgot how long tbh but once I recall it, I'll update this post]. Now, when the time comes to actually cut it, the cutting ritual is supposed to signify one's sacrifice or penance but can also symbolically imply a release, new beginning and so on.

After the hair is cut, the cut portion is then placed into a bowl and set on the altar. Likewise, cutting your hair is like one's sacrifice of devotion since the hair is associated with:

One's essence

Spiritual energy

Honoring the ancestors

And in association to one's heritage/culture/etc.

So, you are giving up your hair as something important in order to facilitate that specific significance in said ritual.

Now, after a period of time [I forgot how long too lol] but it shapes into the image of one's spirit guides and/or guardians.

And then you are supposed to read it per the teachings and gifts of the ancestors.

Honestly, if I was to compare this hair ritual, think of like tea reading but as notated, it is different in its own way.