During the PRK and State of Cambodia (1989-1991) periods, Tivea Choang Kamheung (the “Day of Anger”) was a well-organised national holiday marked by significant ceremonies in Phnom Penh and provincial centers throughout the country. These ceremonies acknowledged the hundreds of thousands of deaths attributable to the ‘Pol Potists.’ The Day of Anger held on May 20, is not tied to seasonal or lunar cycles, as is the case for other major Cambodian observances: kathen; phchum ben; the Water Festival and the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. Like the contemporary observances of National Liberation Day, Constitution Day, Paris Agreements Day and Human Rights Day, the Day of Anger is linked to the Gregorian calendar as an important modern political event. After Cambodia’s warring political factions signed the Paris Agreements in 1991, the Cambodian government no longer formally promoted Tivea Choang Kamheung. The May 20 commemorations were coordinated by the Front, in cooperation with various Ministries and provincial and district authorities. Factories, schools, hospitals and other enterprises were instructed to make banners and posters condemning the crimes committed by the Pol Pot regime. These banners and placards were carried to the public meetings and other events of the Day, which commonly revolved around the local memorials (Instructions to organise May 20, 1990). Ceremonies involved wreath laying , song, prayer, ritual Memory and Sovereignty in Post-1979 Cambodia, offerings to the dead, poetry and speeches by local officials (Report from Stungdistrict, Kampong Thom May 20, 1989 and Day of Anger, May 20 1991, Stung Treng).   

Survivors of Democratic Kampuchea were asked to come forward at the ceremony to testify to crimes known to them, and to speak of their personal losses. Local officials also made speeches at the ceremonies and rallied the assembled groups to unify their individual emotions and share in their vigilance against the return of the Khmer Rouge. Emphasis was given to the strong feelings and actions that arose from acts of recollection, rather than on memories themselves, as is evident in the following transcript: Beloved comrades and friends …those who died are reminding us to be vigilant, to strengthen our solidarity and practice revolutionary activities. We must be on the alert against the cruelties and poisonous tricks of the enemy, even though they try to hide themselves in multiple images (Speech of Comrade Chea Sim, May 20 1986).
 

For many Cambodians today, remembering and grieving for family and friends lost under Democratic Kampuchea centers on the Khmer Buddhist “festival of the ancestors” — Phachum Ben. This ancient commemoration takes place at the local wat of villages and cities throughout Cambodia. Phachum Ben is a fifteen day period during which offerings are made to the spirits of ancestors. The festival begins on the first day of the waning moon during the period of photrobat (September-October) (Kalab 1994: 67). During daily prayer at the temples over the festival period: …the monks chant the Parabhava Sutta (the sixth Sutta of the Sutta Nipata),22 which is also chanted daily on radio during these fifteen days.

On the last day people bring enormous quantities of Cambodian cakes wrapped in banana leaves to the temple, and most families [have] Bangsolkaul performed for their ancestors. Bangsolkaul is a ceremony in which four monks recite texts while connected by a white cord to an urn containing ashes of ancestors. In this way, merit is transferred to the departed (Kalab 1994: 68). Monks receive food, drink and other offerings as intermediaries between the living and the spirits of the dead. Spirits are believed to search for offerings from family throughout the Phachum Ben period, and most families visit seven wat over the festival period to ensure the goodwill of their hungry and restless ancestors. Phachum Ben is also observed at Choeung Ek in the contemporary period, despite the fact that the site is not a wat. In the early years after Choeung Ek was discovered, people living locally in the district visited the killing field at Khmer New Year and Phachum Ben. One explanation for the popularity of Choeung Ek as a site for Phachum Ben is the significant and chaotic dispersion of populations throughout Democratic Kampuchea. The post-1979 period has undoubtedly witnessed the emergence of a new social geography for Phachum Ben. The true resting places of many remain unknown to their families. Survivors may be embracing the Choeung Ek Memorial Stupa as a proxy location for the passing of merit to the spirits of their deceased or missing relatives. In this way, Choeung Ek allows for the performance of rites for spirits who lack a proper place of death.