My host sister Sah Paun turned 16 on October 18^th. Due to the death of the Father King Norodom, and his funeral which came with a mandated 7 days of no celebrating, loud music and dancing,  her celebration was delayed by a week. We celebrated Sah Paun’s birthday on Saturday. It was an all day event. I awoke at about 5 am to the busy sound of pots and pans banging around downstairs. The family was awake and neighbors were already here helping to cook huge pots of traditional K’mai curry and noodles that would feed guests over the whole day.

K’mai curry so far is my favorite meal here in Cambodia. It is served with rice noodles and soft pieces of French bread. It is also one of the only meals I ever get that does not include rice. Often it is made with pork or beef, but my host family has a particular affection for duck, so today it is duck.

Almost everything done here in Cambodia is a communal event, and this was no exception. Everyone pitched in with the preparations.

By 7 am more family and neighbors were showing up and a small shrine was erected in Su Pauan’s bedroom. Four monks arrived and everyone present piled into the bedroom for a small ceremony.

Immediately after, food was served, beer began to flow, and this continued to be the case for the remainder of the day.

Sometime in the afternoon as decorating began, a truck showed up with a huge stack of speakers. The loudest music I have ever heard blasted throughout the home rattling everything that was not tied down and vibrating all my internal organs. The K’mai people seem to believe in letting everyone know when they are celebrating something, and doing it with loud music broadcast across the community is the way it is done. This attracted Su Paun’s school friends and they started showing up dressed to kill and bearing gifts. Dinner was served followed by the giving of presents.

I was wrangled into being the official photographer. I had the only camera. This was a painful process both for me and the guests. Every one was expected to come up to the front of the group, give Su Paun her gift, and pose for an awkward photo. There was a lot of bossing around and directing by drunk adults and I did my best to make everyone feel comfortable and at least look like they were having fun.

nn
nnIt did get fun again when the cake ceremony began. Su Pauan was led in three circles around the cake by her brother Sambo as her friends cheered and waved sparklers. It was quite chaotic. When everyone settled down a bit, another prayer or blessing was made over the cake. Su Paun then blew out some candles placed before the cake and the crowed let loose with silly string and canned snow.

In K’mai culture showing respect for your elders is very important. This respect was shown by Su Pauan and her brother by saying a prayer to their parents. Su Paunthen cut the cake and fed it to her elders. First her two grandmothers, and then her parents.

A speech was made by her father and the pounding music started up again as the guests milled about fro a while before slowly trickling home.

Happy Birthday Su Paun.