Tales of Rituals and the Supernatural

by Ethan Lim


In Cambodia, it is believed that a creature called the Srei Ap exists: women who dabbled with black magic and accidentally turned themselves into flying disembodied heads with its bloody entrails hanging from its neck. Not only does the Srei Ap devour small living things such as frogs, insects and fishes, it is attracted to menstruation blood and fresh placentas from newly born children.

Cambodians also believe that the Srei Ap is afraid of thorns and small sharp objects. As such, thorns are placed underneath the pregnant women's bed to ward off the Srei Ap during childbirth. After the birth of the child, placentas are then hidden deep beneath the earth away from the ever hungry bodiless spirit. If the placenta is found and consumed by the Srei Ap, it is said that the spirit of the child as well as the mother would be consumed and they would both die.

In fear of the Srei Ap, the Cambodian culture of burying placentas are still practiced today. In fact there are resemblances to our Malaysian legend of Penanggalan, "head with dancing intestines". Small altars, offerings made from bamboo and stone statues of the Buddha are set up outside and inside houses to ward off evil spirits and this occurrence is similar to the traditions in Malaysia, despite its modernity.



There is the annual ritual of Pchum Ben during September where the living set out offerings to appease the dead. It is known that this festival lasts for 15 days and during this period, the gates of hell are opened and spirits roam the earth to satisfy their hunger. Food is offered by the people and presented to the monks living in temples. This is where the ritual of incense, meditation and chants begins to placate the restless souls of dead ancestors and relatives. The people are also required to pay homage in at least seven temples and on the 15th day, the locals light a candle and follow chanting monks around the sanctuary for those who died alone and have no one to set out offerings for them.

This tradition lives on today but is not practiced by many from the younger generation. Instead of attending the ritual, they provide money and food to their living relatives in turn to represent their filial duty. This annual festival bears a resemblance to our local Hungry Ghost festival in which spirits are released from the gates of hell and wander the land in search for offerings which mainly consist of food.

People think that Cambodia is more haunted than ever, especially the locals. According to Watanap, a female waitress at the local bar, an astonishing eight out of ten locals believe in spirits and ghostly apparitions, most of them being females. Although most of Cambodia's citizens are Buddhists, these tales of horror stem from a pre-Buddhist shamanistic tradition of rituals and prayers to spirits for protection.

Due to Cambodia's sad and melancholic history during the time of the Khmer Rouge rule where many died and were not given proper burials, locals have been plagued with guilt for the dead who were not laid to rest.

A war veteran and survivor, Moun Sinath, tells the tales of strange disturbances in the War Museum – where a land formerly loaded with land mines has now transformed into a tourist attraction of rusted alienesque tanks and machines used for war. Sinath is also a firm believer in spirits and reports odd occurrences during the night – the tinkering sound of repairs to machinery, voices in Khmer requesting for nourishment and assistance can be heard during the still of the night. Sinath believes this to be his fellow comrades who died at war during the Khmer Rouge rule. What used to be a nightly visit from the dead has now become less frequent and is only reported during night when the moon is full and glowing.



We are surrounded daily by stories and folklore of spirits of the dead haunting the living with their presence. Walking daily in Siem Reap, I pass by altars in stores and buildings that have been set up to protect the people from evil spirits. On a personal note, I believe in the afterlife and that everyone has a ghostly story to tell. After listening to these stories told by the locals, the dark streets of Siem Reap seem to have changed from mundane to mysterious.