Fairy Tale Regarding Sen Preah Phum in Rainy Season It is up to date that farmers in some parts of Cambodia upon a quite rainfall offer and put rice, soup and other kinds of food in their paddy fields, wishing for high output of rice, and the ceremony is called 'Sen Preah Phum.' The Sen Preah Phum tradition, according to researches, has originated since Buddha era. But, during that time, an ogress was offered with foodstuff in search of rainfall news. Long time later, people forgot the celebration's cause and supposed that Sen Preah Phum was performed in dedication to the divinity in charge of taking care of our earth. It is however not so different from that of its origin and the fairy tale has been narrated as follows:
During the Buddha era, there was a wealthy man who had no any children. The man's mother thought that, 'If I had no a grandchild, who will succeed my family and manage the properties?' Her opinion did not vanish and got known by the man's wife. She thought, 'If my husband had a step wife and had a child, she would become the owner of the property and powerful in this house, while I would lose my face and deserted by others. So, I should seek a step wife for my husband in lieu of my mother-in-law’s role in order that she respects and afraid of me.
Then she appeared to talk with her mother-in-law regarding her guarantee to seek a wife for her husband. Her mother-in-law agreed with her offer. It was not so long that the step wife became pregnant after the marriage. Being informed of the case, the first wife mixed poisonous drugs with the step wife's food. The step wife's newly developing fetuses were miscarried for twice times. At the third time, the drugs mixed by the first wife did not only abort the fetus but also took away her life.
Before her death, she knew the cause of the perils that was brought about by the first wife. She vowed to take revenge against the first wife, saying, 'She was very ill-indeed. She killed my babies for several times and even undermined my own life. I wish that every next life I could eat her babies in revenge.' After the vow, she died immediately and reincarnated as a cat.
As for the first wife, she was reborn as a hen after her death. When she laid down eggs, all her eggs were eaten by the cat. The hen was vindictive of the cat, vowing that 'May I eat the cat's kitties in my next life.' After saying that, the hen died. In the next life, the cat reincarnated as a wild animal, whereas the hen was reborn as a tiger. When the wild animal gave birth to her babies, they all were eaten by the tiger.
In the next life, the tiger was reborn as a human being named Kol Thida, while the wild animal became an ogress. When Kol Thida gave birth to her baby, the ogress appeared, asking to be a friend of her, but secretly eat her baby. At the third time, Kol Thida, along with her husband and child, went to take a bathe in a pond. Finishing the bathe, she held her baby, sitting and awaiting her husband. She then saw the ogress walking from afar toward her and thought that she would meet disaster, so she took her child, running away and reached Wat Chet Pun.
During that time, Buddna was preaching dharma to his surrounding followers. Kol Thida, who was very frightened then, brought her child to the Buddha and implored, 'Please, help me! The ogress ran after me and reached the wall of the Wat. The Buddha ordered his most learned disciple to call the ogress to meet him.
Upon the ogress's appearance before him, the Buddha narrated the cause of vindictiveness that could not be dealt with the counter-vindictiveness. Then he reconciled the two women to not be vindictive against one another and regarded each other as sisters. 'How could I live then? I could live only by eating humans and animals as food,' the ogress asked the Buddha.
Buddha ordered Kol Thida to feed the ogress because she knew how to forecast the rainfall. For this reason, if the ogress knew that there was little rain during the year, she ordered Kol Thida to plant deep paddy rice or highland rice if there was much rain in the year. Not too long after that, Kol Thida became a wealthy woman because her farming produced high yield. Seeing that Kol Thida did good farming every year, her neighbors asked Kol Thida for the reasons, and she told them as what had happened.
Later, her neighbors always brought food for the ogress and asked her about the rain. The ogress who used to live in forest felt lonely and not accustomed to life in the village, where nonstop sound of rice milling was heard. She asked Kol Thida for permission to live in paddy field that was located far away from the village. Kol Thida then built a shelter for the ogress outside the village. The villagers however keep bringing foodstuff to provide the ogress at the far paddy field.
The story after the period of the ogress evolved and became a custom called Bochea Preah Phum for the purpose of high output of rice.
The End
During the Buddha era, there was a wealthy man who had no any children. The man's mother thought that, 'If I had no a grandchild, who will succeed my family and manage the properties?' Her opinion did not vanish and got known by the man's wife. She thought, 'If my husband had a step wife and had a child, she would become the owner of the property and powerful in this house, while I would lose my face and deserted by others. So, I should seek a step wife for my husband in lieu of my mother-in-law’s role in order that she respects and afraid of me.
Then she appeared to talk with her mother-in-law regarding her guarantee to seek a wife for her husband. Her mother-in-law agreed with her offer. It was not so long that the step wife became pregnant after the marriage. Being informed of the case, the first wife mixed poisonous drugs with the step wife's food. The step wife's newly developing fetuses were miscarried for twice times. At the third time, the drugs mixed by the first wife did not only abort the fetus but also took away her life.
Before her death, she knew the cause of the perils that was brought about by the first wife. She vowed to take revenge against the first wife, saying, 'She was very ill-indeed. She killed my babies for several times and even undermined my own life. I wish that every next life I could eat her babies in revenge.' After the vow, she died immediately and reincarnated as a cat.
As for the first wife, she was reborn as a hen after her death. When she laid down eggs, all her eggs were eaten by the cat. The hen was vindictive of the cat, vowing that 'May I eat the cat's kitties in my next life.' After saying that, the hen died. In the next life, the cat reincarnated as a wild animal, whereas the hen was reborn as a tiger. When the wild animal gave birth to her babies, they all were eaten by the tiger.
In the next life, the tiger was reborn as a human being named Kol Thida, while the wild animal became an ogress. When Kol Thida gave birth to her baby, the ogress appeared, asking to be a friend of her, but secretly eat her baby. At the third time, Kol Thida, along with her husband and child, went to take a bathe in a pond. Finishing the bathe, she held her baby, sitting and awaiting her husband. She then saw the ogress walking from afar toward her and thought that she would meet disaster, so she took her child, running away and reached Wat Chet Pun.
During that time, Buddna was preaching dharma to his surrounding followers. Kol Thida, who was very frightened then, brought her child to the Buddha and implored, 'Please, help me! The ogress ran after me and reached the wall of the Wat. The Buddha ordered his most learned disciple to call the ogress to meet him.
Upon the ogress's appearance before him, the Buddha narrated the cause of vindictiveness that could not be dealt with the counter-vindictiveness. Then he reconciled the two women to not be vindictive against one another and regarded each other as sisters. 'How could I live then? I could live only by eating humans and animals as food,' the ogress asked the Buddha.
Buddha ordered Kol Thida to feed the ogress because she knew how to forecast the rainfall. For this reason, if the ogress knew that there was little rain during the year, she ordered Kol Thida to plant deep paddy rice or highland rice if there was much rain in the year. Not too long after that, Kol Thida became a wealthy woman because her farming produced high yield. Seeing that Kol Thida did good farming every year, her neighbors asked Kol Thida for the reasons, and she told them as what had happened.
Later, her neighbors always brought food for the ogress and asked her about the rain. The ogress who used to live in forest felt lonely and not accustomed to life in the village, where nonstop sound of rice milling was heard. She asked Kol Thida for permission to live in paddy field that was located far away from the village. Kol Thida then built a shelter for the ogress outside the village. The villagers however keep bringing foodstuff to provide the ogress at the far paddy field.
The story after the period of the ogress evolved and became a custom called Bochea Preah Phum for the purpose of high output of rice.
The End
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