Wat
Chùa Rạch Cui
Chùa Rạch Cui (Chumpasath) is a Khmer Theravada Buddhist Wat in Khánh Bình commune, Cà Mau province, Vietnam, founded in 1921.[1]
History
The Wat was built in 1921 on 4.6 ha (11 acres) given by Trần Cả Xạ, for about 80 Khmer households and their Kinh and Chinese neighbors. Its Khmer name, Chumpasath, means "tower of gathering". The first buildings, of local timber and leaves, were burned several times by bombing during the wars and rebuilt by the community each time. In more than 100 years the Wat has had 13 abbots.[1]
From the 1960s the Wat was a center of the National Liberation Front in Cà Mau province, and in 1965 the province's Patriotic Monks' Solidarity Association was founded there. In 1966 the body of Venerable Hữu Nhem, vice chair of the National Liberation Front, was kept and mourned at the Wat.[1]
Architecture
The present Wat was built in permanent materials from 2004, and a new main hall was completed from 2018. Its tall pointed roofs carry naga (serpent deity) gable ends and figures of the Key Nor (bird-maiden) and the krud (Garuda). The rectangular main hall faces east; inside, 19 images of the Buddha, seated, standing and reclining, are the only objects of worship, and murals tell the story of his life. An ossuary tower 8 m (26 ft) high holds the ashes of monks and lay followers, and a sala chhnganh serves for funeral rites.[1]
Religious life
As of 2025, the Wat held the three great Khmer festivals each year: Khmer New Year (Chol Chnam Thmey) in April, Sen Dolta, the festival for ancestors, and Ok Om Bok, the moon festival, attended by Khmer, Kinh and Chinese neighbors alike.[1] On April 14, 2026, the commune police visited the Wat with Khmer New Year greetings for its monks, the Wat committee and lay followers.[2]