In Phum Boeung, hundreds of Cambodians gather for the centuries-old “He Neak Ta” ceremony—offering fruit and prayers to guardian spirits for rain, prosperity, and protection from disease as the summer monsoon begins and farmers prepare to plant rice.
PHUM BOEUNG, Cambodia — Hundreds of Cambodians gathered Thursday morning just outside the local monastery, painting faces and bodies with scenes from folklore, dressing as spirits, and moving through the village lanes with incense, drums, and hand gongs.
For several hundred years. villagers in Phum Boeung—about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh—have marked the day by honoring their guardian spirits with the “He Neak Ta” ritual. This year. the ceremony came as the summer monsoon approached. right when farmers are preparing to plant rice. a particularly water-intensive crop.
While most Cambodians are Buddhist. the ritual reflects a wider animist belief that spirits can inhabit both living and nonliving objects. The ceremony has become increasingly rare in modern times. but here. villagers still treat it as a living thread connecting what their ancestors carried to what they want the coming season to bring.
Chamrouen Ratha, a 26-year-old blacksmith, took the day off from work to join the procession. “The significance of this ceremony is to pray for happiness and prosperity for all the villagers in this area and the participants who have joined this ceremony,” he said.
Young village men painted themselves with folklore-inspired designs, wore grass skirts, and dressed as spirits. Some carried painted oversized heads. Many young women wore traditional silk clothing. gold-colored necklaces. and flowers tucked behind their ears. dancing as the procession moved to the rhythm of handheld drums and small gongs.
The procession itself looked improvised and communal—participants traveled by motorbike, and at least some arrived on horseback. As the crowd slowly made its way to the guardian spirit’s shrine, villagers lit incense sticks and laid out offerings that included fruit, food, soft drinks, and alcohol.
Their prayers were direct and practical: good fortune, adequate rain, prosperity, and the prevention of disease within their community. The half-day ceremony ends with the spraying of holy water on the participants.
“I pray for enough rainfall with abundant rice production … so that villagers would enjoy their harvest,” said 30-year-old driver Sim Pov, who joined the costumed marchers.
Neak Mao, 64, brought two horses and said he has attended the ceremony since childhood. “This celebration is to ensure that the traditions of our ancestors are not lost, which they have tried to preserve and we continue to do so every year,” he said.
Around the shrine, the ritual’s message was carried in motion as much as words—drumbeats and prayers timed to the monsoon, and a community’s insistence that old faith can still shape what comes next.
Cambodia Phum Boeung He Neak Ta guardian spirits monsoon rain rice planting animism animist beliefs Buddhist folklore ceremony