In the beginning, there was Animism.
Before Buddhism, before Hinduism, the Khmer people were Animistic. Animism is a belief in spirits -- spirits in people and animals, yes, but also inanimate objects like rocks, and natural phenomena like lightning and clouds and wind. Animism arose in vast numbers of cultures all around the world, and is not unique to Asia. It provides a way to explain the world as experienced by people living in it-- through spirits who get angry, or slighted, or happy, and create the natural landscape through their emotions and actions.
In Khmer culture, these animistic spirits take different forms in different situations. They can live in particularly impressive trees, or rocks. Sometimes, they come to you in a dream and attach themselves to you through a dreadlock in your hair. Though these dreadlock spirits protect you and make you powerful, they do harm to the people around you, because they feed on blood. You can only remove these dreadlocks through a special ceremony of monks chanting, after which you shave your head.
Sometimes, these spirits serve as protectors. They come to you in a dream, warning you about an upcoming event or task you need to complete. They can reveal totems to you which, if you follow their instruction to retrieve, you can carry with you and be protected against evil from both humans and spirits. They can protect you from bullets, and make you immune to landmines.
Before climbing up the stairs into your house, wash your feet with water to clean off any of the bad spirits that may have attached themselves to you over the day. In the jungle, if you are hungry and see a tree with fruit, you must shout out for permission from the spirits before taking it.
Wandering around the Khmer countryside or village, you may see a spirit house set up, with offerings of food and drink. To prevent people being killed by evil spirits, these spirit houses are set up to appease them, to provide them with food and drink so they don’t need to kill people for their blood. But there are still rogue spirits who don’t go to eat at these spirit houses. If there is a car crash and someone dies, sometimes there is an evil spirit at the spot of the crash, holding on to the soul of the dead person so they cannot continue on to either heaven or hell or a next life. When this happens, the soul will be trapped there until either someone else dies and takes their place, or the family comes to the spot and performs a special ceremony to appease the evil spirit and bring the soul of their relative back home to be cremated and released into the next life-cycle.
One of the beautiful aspects of Animism is how it brings the world alive all around you. A tree is no longer just a tree— it is a potential home for a powerful force.
Want to learn more? Join us for a trip to the countryside, to talk with local experts and explore more.
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