Once upon a time, a male and
a female crow made a nest in a tree by the seaside. The female laid five eggs,
as is normal for these birds. One day, a big storm came, and the wind blew the
nest fell from tree down to the sea. That evening, when the crows were back
from finding food, they knew their nest was destroyed by big storm, and the
five white eggs of them floated on the water of see to another where. The both
of male and female crows dropped a lot of tears down until dead with regret
about the loss of their eggs, and went to the heaven, where they took the name Preah
Etrea Thi Rach.
Meanwhile, the five eggs
were separated, and each was ashore in a different place. One was found by a
chicken, one by a tiger, another by a cow, one by a King of dragon, and the
other by a turtle. Each animal picked the egg of crow up and brought to home
with taking a good care of it. Soon after that, eggs hatched, and the baby boy
was born by each egg of crow. The five animals provided a growing up to baby
boys by love and good care, they each wondered about their parents, “If I am a
person, why are parents, animals? Each animal made sure their boys studied
hard, and saved merits up for themselves.
All of the animal parents said the same thing to their sons in each of
their homes that “If you are ever successful in this world, please put my name
with yours”. In the modern times, there are five Buddhas called Kakothour (Chicken);
Kovnea Kommanor (dragon); Kasakbor (turtle); Kot Tamo (Cow); and the last Siri
Acharmattayor (tiger). Later in their lives, the five men become a Buddhas in
sequence, the eldest first. Each of Buddhas took the name of the animal parents
that raised them up to grow.
When the five men left their
animal parents, they all met each other and soon realized the life-story of
them was the same and the age was the same, so they regarded each other as
siblings and decided to live together. One day, when the five men were talking
about who was their the real parents, their parents’ spirits, called Preah
Etrea Thi Rach, turned themselves into white crows like they used to be, and flew to
sit on a tree near their sons. Then the bird said, “The Crows who talk to you
are your real parents”.
The five men knelt down and
prayed to them, to show how much they regretted not being able to look after
them. The crows gave answer back, “If all of you miss us and want to give
something to us, you must draw our legs on things that you want to dedicate to
us, and we will receive them”. After completed saying the two white crows
disappeared. The five men remembered what their true parent had said, and went
together to study art and become priests in the forest.
Whenever they did a good
deed, the five men would dedicate it to their parents, to say thank you. And
all of everything they dedicated to their parents, they draw the legs of a
crow, and then sent them by floating away on the water stream. So this is how
the tradition of Bondat Pratib, or the floating boats, was born up to now.
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