| NB The links to suasdey.com seem to be down right now. Try this site (slow download) for information on the Arts, festivals etc. |
Culture
Cambodian culture is very rich and has influenced surrounding countries from the time of the Angkor Empire.
Here are some links for you to follow up depending on your areas of interest:
| Folktales can tell you a lot about a culture - its worldview and the morals it wants to pass down through the generations. You may like these other folktales because they include an explanation of the meanings behind the story. |
Cambodian music and dance are beautiful but are still recovering after the Pol Pot years. OMF has been working at Phnom Penh's School of Fine Arts for years, helping to train musicians. (Short term workers regularly come to help and have a great time - interested?). Apsaras like the one on the left were court dancers who, in Khmer myth, entertained the gods. Abby likes imitating Khmer dance and may be taking lessons soon, but she is a way off goddess standard at the moment. |
| One of Mike's hobbies is chess but Cambodian chess is different - the pieces start in different places and some of them move differently. The play is also much faster and more demonstrative - if you don't menacingly clunk your piece on the board, you're missing a chance to intimidate the opposition! (Most players like to bet on the result - one day soon Mike will either find a non-gambler to play with, or make tiny bets just to get good at the game!). |
| Cambodian festivals are great occasions. Khmer New Year is full of games and laughter, the Water Festival outdoes the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Many of the festivals have a religious background - Pchum Ben (the Festival of the Dead) is a time to feed the ancestral spirits and the Royal Ploughing Ceremony paves the way for a good harvest. Read about each festival in more detail here. |
Cambodia is 95% Buddhist. Theravada (classical) Buddhism has been the national religion since the 15th century, with strong elements of animism and Hinduism. There are Hindu deities in the temples and the Royal Ploughing Ceremony - with its astrological prognostications - has Hindu roots. The spirit houses all over the country (see these Photos) and this story of a funeral, both show how Buddhism is integrated with Cambodian concerns about the spirit world.
Most Buddhist monks were killed during time of Pol Pot but pagodas are now being renewed and reoccupied. This site gives more info about Buddhism in Cambodia.
Here are some key dates in Cambodian church history:
| 1923 | First Protestant missionary enters Cambodia |
| 1933 | New Testament published in Khmer |
| 1953 | Whole Bible published in Khmer |
| 1965-70 | Missionaries ousted |
| 1970-75 | Number of congregations in Phnom Penh grow tenfold (c.10,000 members) |
| 1975 onwards (Khmer Rouge time) | 90% of Christians die but many others become Christians in the border camps |
| 1990 onwards | Christians allowed to worship openly again |
| Past decade | Unofficial figures put church growth at between 10-30% year on year, but still at under 1% of the population |
Don Cormack's book, Killing Fields, Living Fields (Monarch), is a moving story of the Christian church and you can also get more background information here.
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"In the aftermath of the war and oppression, many are open to the gospel. But the infant church needs much support and prayer. [Many of] the leaders lack adequate biblical training...The church lacks unity with many divisions between congregations. Christian Khmer literature is in desperately short supply. OMFers work with the church in all these areas..." OMF International, May 2002 |