Along with cakes, fruit, and flowers, rice balls are an important offering, expressing reverence for ancestors and reflecting the community’s rich cultural identity.
In southern Khmer tradition, Sene Dolta includes four main rituals: offering rice balls, honoring ancestors at home, making communal food offerings, and bidding farewell to the ancestors.
The rice balls are made with a mixture of sticky rice, beans, sesame seeds, and coconut.
At the pagoda, after paying homage to the Buddha, people attend a ritual led by an Achar, a monk knowledgeable about Buddhist scriptures and Khmer traditions and customs. The rice balls are placed around the main worship hall.
“The Achar guides Buddhist followers to pray to transfer merit to the deceased and spirits in the underworld, inviting them to pay homage to the Buddha, receive blessings from the monks, and accept the food offerings brought by their descendants,” said Achar Thach Chanh of Nguyet Hoa ward.
The rice ball offering ritual takes place over 15 days, from the 16th day through the end of the eighth lunar month. During this period, the moon wanes and the nights grow longer. According to Khmer folk beliefs, this is when spirits may return to receive food offerings from their relatives.
Achar Thach Sa Mit of Tan Hoa commune explained, “The ritual is held when the moon is waning. Khmer people believe that some of their deceased ancestors may have committed wrongdoings and been sent to hell. They may not even have clothes to wear when coming to receive food offerings, so they try to avoid being seen by others out of shame.”
Based on this belief, bringing rice balls to the pagoda is a way for the living to express reverence, remembrance, and gratitude toward the deceased. Even those who work far from home try to return and reunite with their families during these days. Family members of all ages take part in the ceremony, honoring the tradition of filial piety.
During Sene Dolta, pagodas serve not only as places of worship but also as spaces where moral teachings are passed down. Monks recite the Discourse on Downfall, which describes the causes of personal decline and reminds people to cultivate virtue and avoid actions that harm themselves, their families, and society.
Achar Thach Tep Binh of Phong Thanh commune said, “The Discourse on Downfall describes 12 causes of decline that can harm others and ourselves. Everyone should avoid these pitfalls, reflect on the teachings, and remind younger generations not to make the same mistakes. If people can avoid these 12 harmful behaviors, individuals, families, and society will be better off.”
Khmer communities have preserved the custom of offering rice balls for generations. Elders pass the ritual down by involving younger family members in preparing offerings and taking part in the ceremony.
