Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Catch Me If You Can: My Battle with the Spirits



I’ve devoted hundreds of pages to dead people—people I don’t know other than by name or photograph. But despite the fact that these people are dead, they still talk to me. I began to write years ago because I thought this would stop the noise. I thought that perhaps by writing these spirits would be vanquished by reason. To this day, the act of writing hasn’t vanquished anything. I suppose I have my mother to thank for that.


When I was seven, my mother told me a story that I would never forget. “Buddha was living in Pou Tea, and he kept smiling at me. Smiling. Sitting. Smiling. My eyes became stuck on a candle. I was fifteen at the time. All of a sudden, something came into my stomach like a big lump. You can feel it, rising, rising.” She touched her neck, and it made me nervous. “And I knew something was in my body, and I tried to stop it. I knew what was happening. I kept trying to block it. I tried to close my jaw. I was fighting with the spirit. Since I wouldn’t let it talk, it made me shake my head like a peh, a bad angel. I didn’t let it because I knew if a spirit beat me once, spirits would always be able to come into me.” My mother pulled the bedcovers over me, and I held on to them tightly. “It happened to me – ” she said “ – So it is real. You must believe.”

My mother vouches for these spirits, telling me that they not only exist, but also are in many ways alive. To be alive means that they can hurt you, help you, become a part of your existence. How foolish of me, it seems, to try to kill them with pen and paper. When I was in America, Cambodia was still a place that existed only in books and photographs and stories. There was a separation between me and the land, which included the spirits living there. The spirits couldn’t catch me in America where they’d perish because they had nothing to feed on. No mudfish, or ground-up shrimp. No mounkout, or sai-mai, or lamout or pinkie-sized bananas. In America, they wouldn’t have bowls of rice for every meal. Yes, in America, they’d die. My reasoning that spirits needed physical nourishment may seem peculiar, but in Cambodian culture, spirits still need physical and emotional nourishment. I was successful in ignoring the spirits’ existence for some time, but how strange it is that I’ve now run to their home here in Cambodia.

Maybe they’ve reeled me into their soil because I’ve denied their existence for so long. I think I’m starting to believe my mother about these living spirits. Or, maybe I am starting to admit that I’ve been a believer all along, but feared admitting belief in something that wasn’t accepted by the Western culture I’d always known.


I went to a Kru two days ago, which is a person who has a spirit living in them like Pou Tea, the man in my mother’s story. My aunt took me to see Kru. This Kru lived in a beautiful wooden house that was built for him by one of the people he had helped. He asked for nothing from people who came to see him, but those who he had helped reach great success repaid him with land, villas and cars. This somewhat helped his credibility in my eyes, so I thought why the hell not.

Kru wore dirty white cotton pants and an equally dirty white tank. Otherwise, he looked like a normal man. He didn’t have a strange headdress or long overflowing beard as I’d imagined a Kru might. He spoke casually as we prepared to have what might be called a seeing. I lit five incense sticks as instructed to by my aunt and looked up at the Buddha shrine before me. I closed my eyes and prayed. That’s another thing I’ve found myself doing more since I’ve come to Cambodia. Praying feels less awkward. But I still feel strange and don’t really know what to pray for. I think I end up praying for the same thing—people.

My mother who did her seeing first began asking questions. While I usually divulge her secrets, I think I’ll let her keep these ones. In the middle of asking one of the questions, Kru looked up alarmingly. He pointed to me, and in that moment, I became afraid.

“Your daughter must be careful,” he said. He closed his eyes and listened to Buddha. “Pra-ong says that she must be very careful here in Cambodia. I see a tall man chasing her. A thief in a car. Yes, you must be very careful,” he said looking at my hands. “Give me your jewelry.”

I took off my bangles, watch and ring, and handed them to him. He held them for the next hour we were there, blowing on them and blessing them, so as to keep me out of harm’s way.

“I had a dream ten years ago that my daughter would face danger in Cambodia,” my mother told Kru. “Then I had a dream a week ago and saw I man jump out of a car and try to pull her in. He held a white kerchief and tried to wrap it around her mouth. I screamed and told her to get in the house. And, the day before my daughter came to Cambodia, my husband dropped a frame with her picture in it, and it broke.”

My mother looked at me. “See, Kru sees the same thing. You must be very careful.”

I don’t know how I felt at that moment. Confused, probably. A bit scared. I’ve always thought that I’d only be in danger if I put myself in a position to be harmed, which I don’t think I do. But when Kru looked at me, I felt something. I don’t quite know how to describe it.

Kru later asked me, “Do you get headaches often?”

I thought of the killer one I had a few nights ago, and the ones that never go away. “Yes, yes I do,” I said.

“Does your body hurt?”

My ass was killing me during that moment, but in general, my body aches much more than a twenty-two year old body should I think. I nodded.

“Can you not sleep, and do you see terrible things in your dreams?”

“Yes, a lot.”

Kru closed his eyes again, and listened to Buddha for some time. “You have a peh in you.”

“What?” said my mother with wide eyes. My aunt gasped, covering her mouth.

I looked at my mother. “A what?” I asked, forgetting the meaning of peh.

“An evil spirit.”

Great. I have a fucking evil spirit in me, I thought.

“Well, can you make it leave?” I asked Kru in a slightly irritated voice.

“I can try to chase it out of you,” he said.

“Ok,” I said to Kru. “Get out of me you stupid peh,” I said to the spirit.

Kru laughed, and pulled out a black stone that I’d seen him use earlier when healing a sick child. He placed it on my head as I faced away from him. My scalp began to feel hot and heavy, and I thought Kru had replaced the stone with his hand.

“What is on my head?”

“The black stone. Is it hot?”

“Yes.”

“Is it heavy?”

“Yes.”

“Not to worry. It will get better. It feels this way because the spirit is angry it must leave you,” he said.

“Here, feel the stone,” he said, bringing my hand to touch the stone atop my head. It was cold, but I felt hot. It was light as my bangle, but felt like a book. I looked at the floor confusedly. How could this be possible?

I decided to stop being so confused for the moment, and just be there. In my head, I chanted Get out evil spirit. Get out. Get out. Get the fuck out.

6 comments:

  1. This ending is so powerful. Every week, I wait for there to be a *1* next to your blog in my google reader so I can read about your adventures--and more so, so I can read your beautiful writing!

    Miss you!

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  2. This is such a coincidence! Kru that you went to is the one that my family members go to see most of the time, esp, my sister. I guess it is always making us confuse whenever we go to that kind of place. The reality truth and the unseen activity and gossips behind our back by this spirit. How are you feeling now? Anyway, for the precaution purpose, please do take care yourself well!

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  3. Man. That's some spooky stuff. I'd be scared out of my mind if I were you.

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  4. Dear cousin,

    I can identify with you completely. Growing up in Cambodia and following my parents and family practicing Buddhism, I was always feeding on fear. I had this Buddha statue in my room and was wearing a little Buddha on my neck, but they didn't help me. I was afraid of the dark and couldn't sleep alone. I became a Christian in the 70s; but I didn't have any relationship with Jesus Christ. Living in New York City in 1973, I forgot about the church and Christ. When I was married in 1975, I went back and practiced Buddhism; it seemed I couldn't shake it off. Not until in 2001-2002 when my marriage deteriorated that I sought after God. I met a Christian who introduced me to this church and I then was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Since then, I'm no longer afraid of the evil spirits. Do you know that perfect love casts out all fears? God is love.

    Spirits are everywhere and unbeknown to us, we are fighting them every day. It's mentioned in the bible (Ephesians 6:12).
    Ephesians 6:12
    For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

    My friend's father who lived in the rural area of Cambodia was possessed by evil spirit. He's a man in his late 90s and he was a priest at his temple;he was sick and was dying. The doctor told her family that he could not help the old man. My friend (Sain) who lives in Arlington, VA, USA, went to see him in anticipation of funeral; but she never gave up on her father. She went and prayed over him and gave him some medicine that she brought with her. Sain told me that she was fighting with evil spirits and they were attacking her. She prayed in the Name of Jesus, and by God's glory, she saw the spirit left her father and her dad was better afterward. In my trip last November, I went to visit her father with her. He was up and smiling and doing fine.

    I'd like you to see this clip about the mark of the beast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKiOKEiU_fI&feature=related and also prayer that can help you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ2-p42dlsw


    I will put you on my prayer list.

    Love,

    Linda

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  5. I forgot to give you this link "to hell and back" http://media.tbn.org/wmedia/tbn/gallery/To_Hell_And_Back.wvx

    http://www.tbn.org/tbn-films/video-gallery

    Love,

    Linda, your cousin

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  6. @ Alyssa, Thank you for always reading and your kind comments. We've come so far since our Intro class!

    @ Anonymous, That is so random. Or is it? Maybe if you go to him, too, that lends him more credibility. Right now, I am feeling fine. I don't feel like I have an evil spirit lurking in me...but I never did before either.

    @ Lauren, Oh, I am spooked. I'm always spooked here.

    @ Linda, I'm sending you a message. Again, thanks for all the comments.

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