Love and Dread in Cambodia: Weddings, Births and Ritual Harm under the Khmer Rouge

Chapter 7 Anghar's Potency

 Angkar’s Potency Chapter 7 Forces that Protect, Transform, and Harm 4HE SIGNIlCANCE OF SPIRIT IN RELATION TO PLACE AND TIME KEPT SURFACING DURING MY MEETINGS WITH #AMBODIANS DESPITE MY ATTEMPTS TO FOCUS ON THE WEDDINGS PREGNANCIES AND BIRTHS IN $EMOCRATIC +AMPUCHEA !ND REFERENCES TO !NGKAR KEPT REVEALING AN AMORPHOUS OFTEN CREEPY AGENT OF INTRUSION 0EOPLE INTERACT WITH THE SPIRIT REALM ON A REGULAR BASIS IN #AMBODIAˆ AS REPRESENTED BY DAILY OFFERINGS OF FRUIT INCENSE AND mOWERS FOR ANCESTORS ON HOME ALTARS #AMBODIAS CULTURE CONTAINS A COMPLEX STRUCTURE OF SPIRIT PHENOMENA THAT OFTEN OVERRIDES MORE FORMALISED RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 7ITHIN METAPHYSICAL BASED SYSTEMS CONSCIOUS LIFE CAN BE ASCRIBED TO NATURE BODIES CAN BE INHABITED BY SOULS AS EITHER MATERIAL OR IMMATERIAL SPIRITS CAN EXIST AS SEPARATE DISEMBODIED STATES AND THE ACTIVITY OF SPIRITS OF THE RECENTLY DECEASED CAN VISIT ANDOR POSSESS THE LIVING #AMBODIANS HAVE HAD LONG ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE ANIMISTIC REALM AND +HMER LANGUAGE HAS 0ALI AND 3ANSKRIT TERMS THAT ACCOUNT FOR ANIMATING FORCES WITH STRONG CONNECTIONS TO (INDU IMAGES OF GODS WITH TRANSFORMING POWERS (ERBERT  +NIPE   /VERALL SPIRIT NOTATIONS RAN RIGHT THROUGH MY INTERVIEWS AND PEOPLES WORRIES SHIFTED ACCORDING TO CONTEXT &OR INSTANCE BY NOT BEING ABLE TO FREELY SEEK A FORTUNE TELLER OR AN ASTROLOGERS ADVICE BEFORE OR AFTER A WEDDING IN $+ SOME WERE UNEASY ABOUT THE FATE OF THAT DAY -RS 0 WHO MARRIED IN A GROUP OF  AS A NEW PERSON IN .OVEMBER  IN +ANDAL SAID h7HEN WE WENT TO MY PARENTS THEY SECRETLY MADE A CEREMONY FOR US AND WE HAD A CHICKEN AND GAVE SOME TO OUR ANCESTORS AND MY MOTHER SPOKE TO A FORTUNE  !NGKARS 0OTENCY TELLER AND WE FOUND THAT WE WERE LUCKY TO HAVE MARRIED ON THAT DAYv .EARLY  PER CENT  OUT OF  OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY LIVED NEAR OR WITH A PARENT OR RELATIVE DAYS AFTER THEIR WEDDING WHICH PROVIDED A CONTEXT FOR SOME TRADITIONAL GESTURES 7HEN PEOPLE RECOUNTED THEIR HISTORIES THEY OFTEN SPOKE ABOUT FORCES OUTSIDE THE PHYSICAL REALM WHICH HAD THREE POWERS PROTECTIVE OR FOREWARNING  TRANSFORMING AND DESTRUCTIVE 4RANSFORMING POWERS WERE THE MOST FRIGHTENING FOR PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY WERE THE LEAST PREDICTABLE AND WITH THEIR FORMLESS NATURE THEY COULD MANIFEST INTO ANYTHING 3EEKING PROTECTION FROM VARIED SOURCES SERVED AS AN ANTIDOTE FOR HARMFUL AND UNPREDICTABLE FORCES 4HE MOST FREQUENTLY MENTIONED PROTECTORS WERE PEOPLES ANCESTORS 4HIS WAS FOLLOWED BY THE "UDDHA A MENTAL IMAGE OF ONES PARENTS KARMIC SOURCES OR BUILDING MERIT MOTHERS BREAST MILK CONSIDERED TO GIVE LIFETIME IMMUNITY TO HARMING POWERS  ETHEREAL ENTITIES CALLED TRáNAN AND VARIOUS GEOGRAPHIC PROTECTING SPIRITS SUCH AS THE SPIRITS OF THE RICE lELDS 4HE INmUENCE OF SPIRITS HAD NO TIME FRAME "Y THIS ) MEAN THAT IF TIME IS CONSIDERED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF #AMBODIAN ANCESTRAL TIME WHEREIN SPIRITS OF THE DECEASED CAN ROAM INDElNITELY THEN PROTECTION AND TIME HOLD A PARTICULAR RELATIONSHIP )N MY STUDY PEOPLE SOUGHT IMMEDIATE PROTECTION AS IN CALLING TO "UDDHA FUTURE PROTECTION AS IN SEEKING AN AMULET DURING PREGNANCY AND REMOTE PROTECTION AS IN SEEKING AN ASTROLOGER SECRETLY TO CLARIFY A PAST DATE ABOUT ITS LUCK POTENTIAL  -ORE OFTEN PEOPLE ATTEMPTED TO SEEK PROTECTION ACROSS PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE TIME 7HEN ) BEGAN MY STUDY ) DID NOT ASSUME THAT SPIRIT BASED PHENOMENA WERE BELIEFS OR CULTURAL ARTEFACTS 1UITE FRANKLY ) BELIEVE THAT SUCH INTERPRETATIONS REPRESENT A PATRONISING WORLDVIEW 4HE COST OF SO CALLED DEVELOPMENT MAY WELL HAVE BEEN TO DECREASE ACCESS OR SENSITIVITY TO AN EPI PHENOMENAL WORLD THAT MANY #AMBODIANS EASILY PERCEIVE /VERALL ) TREATED RESPONDENTS REFERENCES TO AN ANCESTORS VISIT A MEDIUMS COMMUNICATION AND SPIRIT POSSESSION AS EXPERIENCES THAT WERE VALID WITHIN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES AND PLACES  4HESE CATEGORIES SUPPORT THE FOUNDATIONAL CLASSIC WORK BY ,ECLÞRE ON ,E BOUDDHISME AU #AMBODGE  ORIGINAL STUDY 0ARIS  WHEREIN MAGICAL POWERS FUNCTION AS DANGEROUS AMBIGUOUS AND BENElCIAL 4HAT WHICH )VE CALLED A TRANSFORMING FORCE COMES CLOSEST TO ,ECLÞRES AMBIGUOUS CATEGORY BUT REQUIRES DISTILLING WITH REGARD TO !NGKARS PRESENCE )N PARTICULAR !NGKAR HAS BEEN REPRESENTED AS DOUBLY DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT WAS AMORPHOUS AND UNPREDICTABLE  /FTEN THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SPIRIT BASED FORCES AND MAGIC WAS UNCLEAR IN RESPONDENTS DESCRIP TIONS HOWEVER THE FUNCTIONS OF THESE SOURCES WERE CLEARLY DElNED AS BENElCIAL OR DESTRUCTIVE  !S TECHNOLOGY INCREASES AND SEASONAL AND AGRICULTURAL RHYTHMS RECEDE AS CUES FOR PEOPLES DAILY LIFE RHYTHMS NATIONS OF PEOPLE BECOME DIS EMBODIED DESENSITISED FROM THE ECOLOGICAL AND SPIRIT DOMAIN ,OVE  $READ IN #AMBODIA  Transforming Spirit...