Table 1.

Rituals Done in the Year Following Death to Promote Rebirth and Improve Spiritual Status

Initial Chanting and Vigil	In Cambodia, the deceased is usually placed in the family home after death, and monks are invited to do chanting that lasts through the night. Some of this chanting is especially emotionally moving because of the strong, crying-like vibrato. The chanting is thought to help the deceased to attain an auspicious rebirth. In Lowell, MA, after the body is released, it is placed at the temple where the monks perform the traditional chanting.
Gift-Bestowal Ritual (Bangsoekool) in the First Week	Each morning for the first seven days following death, ideally relatives and friends will give donations to the monks in the “gift-bestowal ritual” (see Table 2), a ritual that aims to make “merit” for the deceased and send to him or her needed items like food. When doing the gift-bestowal ritual at the temple, the monk typically announces to the deceased at some point, “Go be reborn to a new life, don't hang around here with your relatives.” This exhortation and the ritual are supposed to encourage the deceased to be reborn rather than remain in this world with loved ones.
“Becoming a Monk Before the Fire” (bueh muk phleung)	For a few days before cremation, ideally male relatives—sons, grandsons, nephews—will temporarily serve as monks, which is called “becoming a monk in front of the fire” (bueh muk phleung). Becoming a monk entails going through an initiation ceremony that includes shaving the head, and the newly initiated monk lives in the temple and dresses and acts like a monk, such as eating only once a day before noon, the meal consisting of the food that is donated by laypersons. Becoming a monk makes merit and that merit is shared with the deceased to promote their auspicious rebirth. This tradition is still common in Lowell, MA.
Cremation	A few days after death, cremation is done. Traditionally, family members collect the ashes that remain after cremation and put them in a basket, then clean the ashes with coconut juice that symbolizes purity. (The coconut is usually cut on the spot.) A family member carries the ashes on the head in a basket; the liquid that drops on the head is thought to convey blessing. (Water and cool are highly associated with auspiciousness in the Cambodian cultural context.) The ashes may be sprayed with perfume and wrapped in a white cloth. Family members should attend the cremation to show respect and receive the blessings of the deceased. A relative who is unable to attend this event may later say with great emotion, “I was unable to see the smoke of the cremation fire” (ot kheuny psaeng pleung). These rituals are still performed in Cambodia, but not in Lowell; in Lowell, cremation is done at a crematorium.
Urn and Its Placement	After cremation, the ashes are placed in a small stupa-shaped metal urn, which is about a foot high, and ideally this is kept in a larger stupa that is about ten feet high and built next to a temple; but usually the urn is stored in the temple because of the considerable cost of building a mortuary stupa. These urns can be taken out and made offerings to. In Lowell, usually these urns are stored at the temple, but if family members are concerned about the spiritual status of the deceased, they may build a stupa in the deceased's home village in Cambodia.
Remembering-the-Dead Ceremonies at Seven Days, 100 Days, and One Year	On the seventh day after death, the deceased realizes he or she has died, so that it is crucially important to do the gift-bestowal ritual on that very day, a ceremony called “crossing merit” (bon cheulâng). This ceremony helps the deceased to cross to the other side to rebirth. On this seventh day, ritual relatives will offer to the monks during the gift-bestowal ritual anything the deceased needs to make the journey to the next life such as food, dishes, mat, money, umbrella. A similar ceremony is performed at 100 days and at one year after death.
Various rituals that can be done in the first and following years	See Table 2.