CAMBODIA HISTRORY

Khmer History

The Mon-Khmer races develop slowly during the first six centuries of the Christian era. Under Indian influences, a powerful maritime empire called “Funan” ruled over all the shores of the Gulf of the late 7th century. Chenla broke into two parts: land Chenla (to the north) and water Chenla (to the south along the Gulf to Thailand). Land Chanla was fairly stable during the 8th century, whereas water Chenla was beset by dynastic rivalries.

At the begin of the 9th century, the king set up their capital in the present province of Sien Reap. For nearly six centuries, they erect two hundred temples as well as their sanctuaries in the Angkorean area of some 400 square kilometers in the Siem Reap Province.

King Suryavarman II (1113-1150) built the temple such as: Angkor War, Thommanon, Chau Say Tevoda, Preah Palilay, Preah Pithu, and Bnteay Samré. Jayarvaman VII (1181-1220) was best known for the huge building program. Firstly, he bul Ta Prohm (1186) and Preah Khan (1191)) to dedicate to his parents.

Secondly, he erected Banteay Kdei, Srah Srang, the Terrace of the Leper King, the Terrace of the Elephants, Neak Pean, Ta Som, Ta Nei, and some others in other parts of the country, thirdly, he founded his great capital, Angkor Thom. Finally, in the center, he built the Bayon with its two hundred stone faces.

The decline of Angkor era began after the death of King Jayarvarman VII in the
early 13th century. Due to the Siamese invasion and the limitation of the irrigation system, Khmer power declined so much that the king was finally obliged to move to the vicinity of Phnom Penh in 4131. Resulting from the stories of Siamese and Cham invasions, the country was put as French protectorates in 1863.

After regaining Independence in 1953, the country has had several names:

1. The Kingdom Of Cambodia (under the Reachea Nyum Regime from 1953 to 1970)
2. The Khmer Republic (under the Lon Nol Regime from 1970 to 1975)
3. Democratic Kampuchea (under the Pol Pot Genocidal Regime from 1975 to 1979)
4. The People’s Republic of Kampuhea (1979- 1989)
5. The State of Cambodia (1989-1993)
6. The Kingdom of Cambodia (1993 until now).

CAMBODIA CULTURE

KHMER CULTURE

The culture of Cambodia has had a rich and varied history dating back many centuries and has been heavily influenced by India. In turn, Cambodia greatly influenced Thailand, Laos and vice versa. Throughout Cambodia's long history, a major source of inspiration was from religion.

Throughout nearly two millennium, a Cambodians developed a unique Khmer belief from the syncretistic of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Indian culture and civilization, including its language and arts reached mainland Southeast Asia around the 1st century A.D.

Its is generally believed that seafaring merchants brought Indian customs and culture to ports along the gulf of Thailand and the Pacific while trading with China. The first state to benefit from this was Funan. At various times, Cambodia culture also absorbed elements from Javanese, Chinese, Lao, and Thai cultures.
The majority of Cambodians (nearly 90%) are of Khmer heritage, and an even greater proportion speaks Khmer the official language of Cambodia. Other languages spoken include French, Chinese, Vietnamese and English (which has become increasingly common).

Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist with 95% of the population being Theravada Buddhist, and the majority of the remaining population follow Islam, atheism, or animism.
Customary Cambodian teachings include: that if a person does not wake up before sunrise he is lazy; you have to tell your parents or elders where you are going and what time you are coming back home; close doors gently, otherwise you have a bad temper; sit with your legs straight down and not crossed (crossing your legs shows that you are an impolite person); and always let other people talk more than you.
Khmer culture is very hierarchical. The greater a person's age, the greater the level of respect that must be granted to them. Everyone in Khmer culture is given a hierarchical title before the name - in some cases names are shortened with the title added before the name is given - which varies in relation to the person.

In some cases elders are referred to by a family title even though there is no relation, out of respect to their seniority in life. Referring to someone by the improper title is a sign of disrespect and would be assumed as improper parenting or a lack of respect for elders.

Cambodians traditionally wear a checkered scarf called a "Krama". The "krama" is what distinctly separates the Khmer (Cambodians) from their neighbors the Thai, the Vietnamese, and the Laotians.
The scarf is used for many purposes including for style, protection from the sun, an aid (for your feet) when climbing trees, a hammock for infants, a towel, or as a "sarong". A "krama" can also be easily shaped into a small child's doll for play. Under the Khmer Rouge, all Khmer were forced to wear a red checkered "krama".

In Khmer culture a persons head is believed to contain the persons soul therefore making it taboo to touch or point your feet at it. It is also considered to be extremely disrespectful to point or sleep with your feet pointing at a person, as the feet are the lowest part of the body and are considered to be impure.

One traditional Khmer belief taught by monks is that there are three types of delusions or addictions which will lead to the self destruction of a man which are

women ("srey")
alcohol ("srah"), and
gambling ("la-baing").
Some Khmer men and women wear a Buddha pendant in a necklace fashion. There are different pendants for different uses; some are meant for protection from evil spirits, some are meant to bring good luck.

However, women are only allowed to wear a Buddha pendant if she remains "pure," or a virgin. It is considered a sin for non-virgin Khmer Buddhist women to wear the pendant.

When greeting people or to show respect in Cambodia people do the "sampeah" gesture, identical to the Thai wai and similar to the Indian namaste.

the legend of Preah Thaong and Neang Neak explains many Khmer wedding customs, in which the groom carries the bride's scarf, symbolizing he is from afar and is marrying into her family.

In contradiction to Indian wedding customs where the bride holds the groom's scarf, as the case for Khmer, the groom stays with the bride's family. In accordance with the Khmer wedding ritual weddings take three days.

The bride and groom wear garments decorated with jewelery and are surrounded by family and guests. The bride and groom wear garments as a sign of respect to their parents and parents in law, both of which offer their blessing to the couples. They also pray to the monks for a happy life.

Especially in the 60s and 70s, the 'big two' duet of Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea had been a large hit in the country. However after their deaths, new music stars have tried to bring back the music. Cambodian music has undergone heavy westernization.

The Cambodian pinpeat ensemble is traditionally heard on feast days in the pagodas. It is also a court ensemble used to accompany classical dance for ritual occasions or theatrical events.

The pinpeat is primarily made up of percussion instruments: the roneat ek (high bamboo xylophone), roneat thung (low bamboo xylophone), kong vong touch and kong vong thom (small and large sets of tuned gongs), sampho (two-sided drum), skor thom (two large drums), and sralai (quadruple-reed instrument).

Khmer Traditional Wrestling

A traditional Khmer wrestling match consists of three rounds. A round may be won by forcing an opponent to his back. A wrestler wins the match by winning two of the three rounds. After each round the loser is asked if he wishes to continue with the match.

Wrestlers participate in pre-match ritual dancing before the match. The match is accompanied by the music of two drums (called Skor Ngey and Chhmol, "female drum" and "male drum").

Traditional matches are held during the Khmer New Year and other Cambodian holdiays.
Cambodian Dance can be divided into three main categories, classical dance which developed in the royal courts, folk dances which portray everyday life, and vernacular dances which are danced for social functions.

Khmer classical dance, also known as Khmer royal ballet or Khmer court dance is a form of Cambodia dance originally performed only for royalty. It is called robam preah reachea trop in the Khmer language, which means 'dances of royal wealth.'

The dances have many elements in common with Thai classical dance, most likely a result of the royal Khmer court exchanging culture with the royal Thai court throughout the post-Angkor era.

Khmer and Thai classical dance costumes once looked very similar to each other, but Khmer dance and costume have gone under slight changes and reforms brought on by the former Queen of Cambodia, Kossamak Nearireath.

During the mid-20th century, it was introduced to the public where it now remains a celebrated icon of Khmer culture, often being performed during public events, holidays, and for tourists visiting Cambodia.

Cambodian folk dance involving fishing baskets, performed as part of Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle, Washington, U.S.Folk dances here refer to a performing art where it is performed for an audience. Khmer folk dances are fast-paced.

The movements and gestures are not as stylized as Khmer classical dance. Folk dancers wear clothes of the people they are portraying such as Chams, hill tribes, farmers, and peasants. Some folk dances are about love, or are folktales about animals.

The folk dance music is played by a mahori orchestra, which is similar to a pinpeat orchestra except that it contains many stringed and plucked instruments and a type of flute in place of the sralai (an oboe-like instrument).
In Cambodia, vernacular dances (or social dance) are dances which are danced at social gatherings. Such dances include ram vong, ram kbach, ram saravan, lam leav (literally: "Lao dance") and so on. Some of these dances have much influence from the traditional dances of Laos.
But rom kbach, for example, take heavily from the classical dance of the royal court. Rom kbach is simple dances which uses hand gesture similar to that of classical dance and rom kbach song also utilize the melodies of classical dance songs and combine them with traditional Khmer and Western instruments.
Other social dances from around the world have had an impact on Cambodian social culture include the Cha-cha, Bolero, and the Madison. Such dances are often performed at Cambodian wedding receptions and banquets.

ANGKOR THOM TEMPLE

Angkor Thom (Big Angkor) is a 3km2 walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian Empire. After Jayavarman VII recaptured the Angkorian capital from the Cham invaders in 1181, he began a massive building campaign across the empire, constructing Angkor Thom as his new capital city. He began with existing structures such as Baphuon and Phimeanakas and built a grand enclosed city around them, adding the outer wall/moat and some of Angkor’s greatest temples including his state-temple, Bayon, set at the center of the city. There are five entrances (gates) to the city, one for each cardinal point, and the victory gate leading to the royal Palace area. Each gate is crowned with 4 giant faces. The South Gate is often the first stop on a tour of the temples.

ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE

Angkor Wat In All Its Glory

It was 2pm when Soydy, my guide and I headed out from Siem Reap to spend the afternoon at Angkor Wat. We paid a brief visit to the ruined tower of Ta Prohm Kel before parking our moto opposite the steps to the first causeway that I'd gingerly negotiated in the darkness before dawn that same morning to watch the sunrise. A group of orange-robed monks sheltered from the sun under a large tree near the stairway guarded by crouching stone lions, as we stepped onto the 250 metre long causeway. From the landing platform at the mid-way point, squeals of laughter and delight came from a couple of semi-naked, deeply tanned young boys who were jumping off the lower step into the murky waters of the wide moat below.
Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the twelfth century by King Suryavarman II to honour the god Vishnu and is unique amongst the temples at Angkor for its west facing facade. It's an enormous complex of elevated towers, covered galleries, decorated frontons, courtyards, gopuras, stairways and of course, exquisite carvings. There is a large statue of Vishnu, a place of pilgrimage for locals and adorned with flowers and offerings, in the gopura of the outer entrance, alongwith the first of thousands of delicately carved sandstone apsaras found throughout the temple. Each of Angkor Wat's apsaras is unique. Elaborate headwear, jewellery, body posture and facial expressions define each one, whether they appear in twos or threes or on their own. Soydy and I continued along the second causeway, 350 metres in length and bordered by a naga balustrade, broken up by ceremonial stairs at regular intervals. We passed by a couple of blind musicians playing flutes and stopped at the two ruined libraries either side of the walkway. A large pool to the left presented us with a magnificent view of all five sanctuary towers reflected in the water and we stopped at a refreshment stand close by for a bottle of cold water before heading for the left-hand corner pavilion of the main temple complex to view the bas-reliefs.
The bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat are exceptional. They surround the first of the temple's three distinct levels and with each of the four galleries having two wings, there's a total of 800 metres of reliefs altogether. Epic events are displayed in graphic detail and the first section we encountered was the Battle of the Gods versus the Demons. The reliefs in the next two wings are believed to have been carved as late as the sixteenth century and are of inferior workmanship. The next section, at the rear of the temple, is a fifty metre long battle between good and evil for the elixir of immortality and is better known as The Churning of the Ocean of Milk. This is the most famous of the bas-reliefs and is a theme that is found elsewhere at Angkor and beyond. The carving is divided into three tiers and incarnations of Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Hanuman, Ravana and Lakshmi all make appearances. Continuing clock-wise around the first level, we viewed the badly damaged Heaven & Hell section as well as the Historical Procession of Suryavarman's army and the Battle of Kurukshetra before arriving back at the front of the temple and the main west entrance hall. For much of the time we had been alone, although half a dozen monks and novices from a nearby pagoda in the temple grounds, and wielding yellow parasols, had passed us at the mid-way point.
Through the gopura, we tried out the acoustics in the Hall of Echoes by beating our chests and listening for the resultant echo. In the nearby Hall of a Thousand Buddhas, few of the original statues that remain are intact. Most have lost their heads but are still actively worshipped and were draped in traditional orange robes. Up the steps to the second level and through the covered gallery, we were confronted with the first of some 1,700 separate apsaras, lovingly carved on the temple walls (left). Many of the bare-chested celestial nymphs have a polished appearance where visitors throughout time have rubbed them with their hands for good luck. It was at the foot of the steep staircase leading to the third level that I met Duong. Resting from our exertions before climbing the stairs, Duong was a twelve year old souvenir seller who caught my attention with her infectious smile and bubbly personality. With Soydy's help, she told me a little of her life selling kramas, t-shirts and cold drinks as well as helping her mother on the family stall, where we had coincidentally bought a bottle of water on our arrival.
The enormity of the central sanctuary was particularly striking as we gazed up at the five massive pineapple-shaped towers looming large above us and the view from the top of the stairway was well worth the effort of the climb. Not only was the temple complex laid out below me but my bird's eye view extended across the moat to the jungle canopy pressing in on all sides and in the distance, the hills of Phnom Bakheng and Phnom Bok. With Soydy remaining on the lower level, I entered the covered galleries of the highest point alone, except for two Buddhist monks whose movement appeared effortless despite the heat and humidity that was taking its toll on me. A few statues of Buddha are worshipped by the faithful in shrines at the base of the central tower, which reaches up to a height of sixty-five metres. Returning to Soydy and Duong, I gave her some photos of my own family together with some other knick-knacks and agreed to see her again the following day. She was adamant that by way of exchange, she would give me a picture of herself. She was so sweet and adorable, how could I refuse.
It was just after 5pm and we'd spent three hours at Angkor Wat. Soydy suggested watching the sunset from the top of Phnom Bakheng before heading back to town and I agreed. As we left the temple, we paid a fleeting visit to the only bas-relief on the first level that we hadn't seen earlier, the Battle of Langka, which was bathed in bright golden sunlight and also stopped off to meet Duong's mother, Soy Chhum, at her food and drink stall close by. The observation point, known as Phnom Bakheng, lies a kilometre north of Angkor Wat. It too reaches a height of sixty-five metres and is crowned with a pyramid-temple in a state of disrepair, built in the tenth century by Yasovarman I. A popular spot for tourists to watch the sun both rise and set, it has also been used by various army factions in recent years as a stategic camp and communications post.
As we parked our moto near a drinks stall opposite the foot of the hill, I spotted two teenage twin sisters whom we'd met earlier in the day at a food stall near the Bayon. They readily joined Soydy and I, introducing themselves as Anna and Ang, as we began our ascent of the steep hill, taking care with our footing on the treacherous slope. Although out of breath at the top, the view over the forest canopy to the exposed towers of Angkor Wat was sublime and we stopped for a few photos before continuing onto the summit. On reaching the top with our new friends (left), we found we were not alone. Already a handful of tourists had claimed their spot overlooking the western baray, where the sun would set around 6pm and where a few souvenir sellers had laid out their mats and were busy pitching their wares. As the twins kept me cool with a home-made fan and the tourist numbers increased, the sky turned a combination of deep blue, yellow, orange and red as the sun set quickly in the west to murmurs of appreciation from the assembled throng. It wasn't long before we made our way back down the slippery slope, ably assisted by our two companions to whom I gave a necklace and bracelet each by way of thanks. As it grew darker, Soydy and I hopped on the moto and made our way back into Siem Reap for supper at the Greenhouse Kitchen restaurant at the end of a long, exhausting but

CAMBODIA COUNTRY SIDE