tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70283361617086726762024-02-06T22:36:56.688-08:00khmerkhmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-73789504775324228142009-10-21T07:39:00.000-07:002009-10-21T07:40:24.315-07:00I'm not pretty<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rxCg0LMBCc4&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rxCg0LMBCc4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-37202082104388030732009-10-21T07:29:00.000-07:002009-10-21T07:30:51.276-07:00Apsara Paintings Previous Collection<div class="sig"><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><a href="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/images/stories/paintings/soldapsara/1-Apsara-Nice.jpg" rel="lightbox[sig1]" title=""><br /><b>1-Apsara-Nice.jpg</b>" alt="1-Apsara-Nice.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/1-Apsara-Nice.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></a></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/IMG_0572.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/IMG_0578.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/IMG_0587.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/IMG_1028.JPG&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/IMG_1035.JPG&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/painting15apsara.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/painting16apsara.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/painting1apsaragreen1a.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/painting1apsaragreen2b.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/painting1apsaraorange.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/painting3apsarablue.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/painting7apsarac.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/soldapsara/painting8apsarab.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div> </div> <!-- JW "Simple Image Gallery" Plugin (v1.2.1) ends here --> <p align="justify"> Displayed in several of the images below is some of quintessential postures found in the Cambodian dance. These beautiful paintings are rich in color with a beautiful transition from light to dark (left to right) the 5 towering pillars of Angkor Wat are captured in many of the backgrounds with other figures, while the strength of many of these pieces remains the strong contrast of the golden crown, jewelry and skirt of the Apsara dancer in relation to their scenic setting. A wonderful painting displaying the lively posture and pronounced hand movements which make the Apsara dancer so attractive.</p><br />Pictured above are highly skilled depictions of a various single Apsara dancers detailed to near perfection. The craftsmanship of these pieces are brilliant, notice the subtle brush strokes in each paintings background, as well as the background depiction of Angkor Wat figures to the rear of selected paintings. Eloquently holding the golden flower in hand, with left arm fluently placed on hip, these richly decorated skirted Apsara dancers are covered with beautiful lotus/jasmine flowers throughout. Complete clear skin tones and fantastic use of lighting/shading has each piece marked as a potential favorite.khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-66427959122884962662009-10-21T07:22:00.000-07:002009-10-21T07:24:31.221-07:00Apsara Paintings<div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><a href="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/images/stories/paintings/apsarapaintings/IMG_0567.jpg" rel="lightbox[sig0]" title=""><br /><b>IMG_0567.jpg</b>" alt="IMG_0567.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/IMG_0567.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></a></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/IMG_0568.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/IMG_0571.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/IMG_0856.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/IMG_0857.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/IMG_1037.JPG&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/painting13apsara.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/painting14apsara.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/painting1redkrama.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><div class="sig_cont"><div class="sig_thumb"><img src="https://ksilks.com/fairtrade/mambots/content/plugin_jw_sig/showthumb.php?img=paintings/apsarapaintings/painting2bluekramac.jpg&width=100&height=100&quality=80" /></div></div><br /><br />The Traditional Khmer Apsara Dancer is at the heart of Traditional Khmer Classical Dance, the enchanting Apsara character, with graceful hand gestures and refined swaying body movements bring a special charm to the religious ambience of Khmer art and culture. The slow graceful movements that correspond to the character are vastly intricate, representing a plethora of meanings that it would take years of study to fully understand.<p>The Apsara dancer plays a dominant role in Cambodian Culture, both modern and traditional, as images of her can be found throughout Cambodia. Adorned with gold headdresses, silken tunics, skirts and lush jewelry the Apsara character is one of the most beautiful and identifiable characters in Cambodian Dance and History. </p> <p align="justify"> The sleek looking leading Apsara dancer is eloquently decorated in Customary Jewelry, a traditional White Silk Kaben with a white top. The non leading dancers are decorated in pink kabens and customary jewelry as well as the golden flower in each of the non leading dancers hand. This is truly a very crisp and clean painting by one of the talented and leading painters in Cambodia.<br /></p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-10825381605047232002009-10-21T07:13:00.000-07:002009-10-21T07:18:42.420-07:00Apsara-P-Left Side 24"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGm6KPGNWLWTUMSbe5Hi0DdTFR_lr1feWrW-KxZn5e8FQlxlCM_QXTCeououuSFcLqJ0gISBWJhlYbUrjKOENHz8Eo15nPbdILkquednHRYm629G3J6PoYJvXfLlB-kvHpgg1v33_Qd44/s1600-h/ApsaraLP.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGm6KPGNWLWTUMSbe5Hi0DdTFR_lr1feWrW-KxZn5e8FQlxlCM_QXTCeououuSFcLqJ0gISBWJhlYbUrjKOENHz8Eo15nPbdILkquednHRYm629G3J6PoYJvXfLlB-kvHpgg1v33_Qd44/s320/ApsaraLP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395056353651639554" border="0" /></a>Khmer Angkor Wat Apsara Statue 24" Wooden Khmer Dancing Apsara Left-side Height: 24.0 Inches, Width: 10.0 inches, Depth: 3.1 Inches, Weight: 7.0 lbs Style: Angkor Wat 12th Century. This wooden statue is a beautiful piece of dancing Apsara .khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-80808615692032783232009-10-21T06:56:00.000-07:002009-10-21T06:59:54.506-07:00khmer art<table width="500" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" align="LEFT" valign="TOP"><div align="CENTER"><table width="90%" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;color:#000080;">Early Period (Mid 7th - Mid 9th Century)<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;color:#005329;"> The most characteristic of the early Cham art is the collection of sculptures from My Son (outside of Da Nang), the most venerated temples in ancient Champa. This group of sculptures marked the golden age for Cham culture, even if this culture was influenced by pre-Angkorian Khmer art. A century later, when the leadership of Champa passed to the southern provinces, artistic activity seems to have declined. It was at about this time that the Indonesian attacked on the peninsula stimulated the growth of Buddhism in Champa and revitalized its iconography.</span></span></p> <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span><p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span></p> <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;color:#0000a0;">The Period of Indrapura (Mid 9th to End of 10th Century)<br /> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;color:#005329;"> Around the year 850, power once again passed to the northern provinces and for a century and a half Indrapuri (Dong Duong in present Quang Nam province) was the capital of the Cham kingdom. Though typified by two quite opposite tendencies, the period was one of intense artistic activity. As early as 875, the founding of the great Mahayana (Dai Thua) Bhuddist complex at Dong Duong led to the embellishment of a vigorous style that was much more concerned with grandeur than with human beauty, and yet welded together with a surprising degree of originality the most varied borrowings from Indonesia and China. A quarter of a century later, with the decline of Buddhism, sculpture became progressively more humane and decoration more delicate (Khuong My). When, towards the middle of the 10th century, architecture achieved a classical balance (My Son, group A), sculpture moved into its second golden age with the style of My Son A1 and Tra Kieu which shows a strong Indonesian influence. By the end of the 10th century, when the kingdom engaged in hostilities with a now independent Viet Nam, its art had already lost many of its finest qualities, especially with regard to the rendering of the human figure.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;color:#005329;"><br /> <!--<span style="font-size:78%;color:#000000;">Dancer, sandstone relief, 10th century, Tra Kieu.</span> </span>--> </span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#000080;">The Period of Vijaya (11th to End of 15th Century)<br /> </span><span style="color:#005329;"> As result of attacks by Vietnamese forces, Indrapura, which lay to far to the north, was evacuated in favor of Vijaya (Cha Ban in the present Qui Nhon city), a capital further to the south. Even though the kingdom was threatened from all sides, Vijaya was to witness much artistic activity during the 11th and 12th centuries. Growing tension between Khmer (Cambodia) and Champa led to the introduction of some new borrowings from the Khmer art; however the worsening of political relations culminated in the occupation of Champa by forces from Angkor (1181 to 1220). All Cham artistic activity ceased, and the kingdom was to emerge much the poorer from the experience. Once set in motion, the decline was accelerated by the invincible onslaught of Viet Nam, and then, at the end of 13th century, by the Mongol threat. The few buildings erected in the 15th century in the less harassed regions are of heavier proportions and became progressively less and less ornamented (Po Klong Garai).<span style="color:#000000;"><br /> <!-- Parasurama, sandstone, 15th century, Xuan My.--> </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#000080;"><img src="http://www.viettouch.com/champa/i87.gif" width="200" align="RIGHT" height="300" />Late Period (After 1471)</span><span style="color:#005329;"><br /> This period began with the capture of Champa's capital of Vijaya by the Vietnamese. Po Ro Me temple, probably built in the 16th century, was the last sanctuary of the traditional type. Those that followed it (the bumongs of hybrid construction) were to be influenced by Vietnamese architecture. Religious images became mere steles (kut) which are characterized by the progressive effacement of the human physiognomy, until only attributes of rank (especially head-dresses) remains as a reminder of them. Yet although these sculptures reveal a continuos decline, they do manage to retain something of the profound originality that is the only truly constant feature of the art of Champa.<br /> <span style="color:#000000;">Kut in human shape, sandstone, 17th century, Thanh Hieu.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"><br /></td> <td valign="BOTTOM"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><img src="http://www.viettouch.com/champa/ds3bBar.jpg" width="189" align="BOTTOM" height="414" /></span></td> <td valign="BOTTOM"> <table width="271" border="0" cellpadding="10"> <tbody><tr> <td><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span><p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;color:#804040;"><b>Cham Sculpture</b></span><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><br /> Cham sculpture, unlike the architecture that is conservative in its design and methods, is marked by continual changes, reflecting new influences rather than a natural evolution. Although it can not be denied that there were occasions when Cham art reached heights of pure, classical beauty (such as the My Son and Tra Kieu temples), sculptures for the most part to have expressed contradictory tendencies: conventionality and innovation, a lack of decorative details and an excess of it, both realism and fantasy. There is more and more an aversion to sculpture in the round until, finally, carving in high relief became the only means of expression, and a certain disregard for natural poses resulted in a loss of balanced proportions. It should be stressed that, in view of the constant and profound changes in Cham art, it is the study of costume, hairstyle, and above all, personal ornaments that give the most reliable stylistic evidence for dating sculpture. </span></span></p> <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> <span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Apsara dancer, sandstone pedestal from Tra Kieu, early 10th century</span> </span></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"> <div align="LEFT"> </div> <div align="CENTER"> <table width="90%" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><img src="http://www.viettouch.com/champa/i88.gif" width="200" align="RIGHT" border="0" height="300" />In spite of the fact that sufficient examples of bronzes and terra cotta have survived to demonstrate that these two techniques were important at all times, too many have been destroyed for us to be able to trace their development satisfactorily. Some detachable ornaments from idols (head-dresses, bracelets, necklaces, etc.) of chased gold or silver dating from the end of the 9th century or the beginning of the 10th have been found. The only other known ornaments (the regalia of Cham kings) are not earlier than the 17th century. The visual evidence relating to personal ornaments in the intervening period is limited to that provided by sculpture. </span></span></p> <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Royal Tiara, Gold, 17th century. </span></span></p> <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span> <p> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><img src="http://www.viettouch.com/champa/3-0.gif" width="100" height="200" /><img src="http://www.viettouch.com/champa/5-0.gif" width="100" height="200" /><img src="http://www.viettouch.com/champa/4-0.gif" width="100" height="200" /><img src="http://www.viettouch.com/champa/1-0.gif" width="100" height="200" /></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> Hinduism had profound influence on the ancient art of Champa and inspired many sculptures that decorate the Cham's temples and towers. These statues and bas-reliefs were carved from stone or made of terra-cotta after figures of god and mythical animals from the Brahman religion. The three divinities worshipped by the ancient Cham people are: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Brahma is the Creator who is continuing to create new realities. Brahma has four arms and four faces (represent East, West, North and South). His wife is Saravasti. Brahma is usually displayed riding on the sacred goose of Hamsa. </span></span></p> <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Shiva, the Destroyer, is at times compassionate, erotic and destructive. He symbolizes all the violence and forces in the universe. Shiva has a third eye in his forehead. and can have many arms and faces. Shiva has many wives, among them Parvatti, the goddess of Earth, Uma, the goddess of grace and Durga, the goddess-combatant. Shiva is sometimes displayed riding the sacred bull of Nandin Vishnu, the Preserver who preserves these new creations. </span></span></p> <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Vishnu has one face and four arms, each arm holds a disc, a horn, a ball and a club. His wife is Laksmi, the goddess of beauty. Vishnu is usually displayed riding Garuda, the mythical creature of half-human and half bird. </span></span></p> <span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"> </span><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica;"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Other religious figures found on the ancient Cham sculptures are Ganesa-the god of intelligence, Indra-the god of the rain, Kama-the god of love, apsara-the celestial dancers and naga-the multiple-head serpent, the founder of the dynasty. </span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-51290992346049698862009-10-21T06:51:00.000-07:002009-10-21T06:54:43.825-07:00Former Khmer Rouge leader to 're-enact' crimes for judges<div id="nav-bar"> <div id="crumb-nav"> <br /> </div> </div> <div id="content"> <div id="article-wrapper"> <div class="image"> <img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/02/22/460cam.jpg" alt="Images of genocide victims are displayed on the walls of the Tuol Sleng Musuem of Genocidal Crime, formerly the Khmer Rouge torture centre run by Kaing Guek Eav" width="460" height="276" /> <p class="caption"><span style="font-size:78%;">Images of genocide victims are displayed on the walls of the Tuol Sleng Musuem of Genocidal Crime, formerly the Khmer Rouge torture centre run by Kaing Guek Eav. Photograph: Corbis</span></p> </div> <p>The Khmer Rouge's chief interrogator who headed the notorious prison where 14,000 Cambodian men, women and children met their deaths is to return to the scene of his alleged crime next week to stage a ghoulish "re-enactment".</p><p>The extraordinary scene will see 65-year-old Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, guide investigating judges from Cambodia's UN-backed genocide trial through the Tuol Sleng torture centre almost three decades after he fled the advancing Vietnamese troops that ended the Khmer Rouge's four-year reign of terror.</p><p>Several of only seven people who survived their incarceration in the former school in Phnom Penh's suburbs will join the party next Wednesday.</p><p>Afterwards they will give taped evidence in a "confrontation" with their Khmer Rouge jailer at the tribunal's headquarters.</p><p>A day earlier, Duch, who is charged with crimes against humanity along with four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders, will be taken to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek on the capital's outskirts where most Tuol Sleng inmates were murdered and buried in shallow graves.</p><p>Duch, who was a maths teacher before joining the revolution to establish a peasant utopia, will explain to the French co-investigating judge, Marcel Lemonde, and his Cambodian counterpart, You Bun Leng, the details of what happened there in the years after 1975, when up to 1.7 million people died.</p><p>The first war crimes trials are due to begin later this year, confounding the fears of many of the Khmer Rouge's victims that the communist ideologues responsible for killing a quarter of the population through torture, execution, disease and starvation might never be brought to justice.</p><p>Almost a decade of wrangling over the ground rules governing the tribunal and many petty disputes between the Cambodian judges and lawyers and their international counterparts had threatened to kill off the process before it started.</p><p>But the arrests of four senior Khmer Rouge leaders, and the detention by the tribunal of Duch, who was already in military custody, has seen the process move swiftly forward. </p><p>The defendants have unsuccessfully appealed their detention orders and have even been confronted by their victims in emotional court testimony.</p><p>The re-enactment is part of the judges' investigative process to gather evidence against Duch, who has acknowledged his role in the Killing Fields after finding Christianity. </p><p>However, he contends that he was merely following Pol Pot's "verbal orders from the top".</p><p>Duch will be accompanied by his lawyers as he walks the judges around the two sites in private. Both serve as a memorial and museum to the dead but will be closed to the public during the re-enactment.</p><p>The Killing Fields memorial at Choeung Ek is a glass tower of piles of victims' skulls discovered in the surrounding shallow pits. Duch allegedly sat under a tree watching as Khmer Rouge executioners murdered their victims.</p><p>Classrooms at Tuol Sleng remain much as they were left in 1979, with metal-framed beds to which victims were chained before being electrocuted to make them confess to non-existent crimes, invariably of being CIA agents.</p><p>Paintings by one Tuol Sleng survivor, Van Nath, graphically portraying other tortures carried out there, adorn the walls of some rooms. The vividly-coloured oils sit beside the stark black-and-white photographs of the thousands brought to the prison.</p><p>"For the re-enactment Duch will be assisted by his lawyer," said Lemonde. "This is a normal investigative action, the aim of which is to clarify the declarations by each of the participants, using photos, audio-visual recordings and 3D reconstructions."</p> </div> </div>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-31765004341880346242009-10-21T06:43:00.000-07:002009-10-21T06:51:00.957-07:00Another Delay for Justice?<h2 id="deck" class="deck"> <p>Two stark U.N. reports found severe mismanagement problems in a tribunal set up to try former members of the Khmer Rouge, which murdered over 1 million Cambodians in the late 1970s.</p> </h2> <img src="http://ndn3.newsweek.com/media/31/071005_KhmerRouge_wide-horizontal.jpg" alt="" /><p>The long overdue trials of surviving Khmer Rouge leaders now appear to be threatened by defects in the United Nations-backed tribunal set up last year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The court, dubbed the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), suffers from leadership and management problems so severe that the UN should either take much firmer control or consider getting out entirely. That, at least, was the conclusion of two stark assessments—one by the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) and the other by two UN experts—that became public in the last two weeks, putting the cash-strapped tribunal under increasing pressure to reform.</p> <p>The news must be disheartening to those who hoped the Cambodian people might finally see some form of justice. Thirty years after the Khmer Rouge bludgeoned, worked and starved to death about a quarter of Cambodia's population, two of the regime's most notorious leaders are finally in jail. Three more suspects are expected to be arrested soon by the ECCC. And a major fundraising campaign to pay for the courts is scheduled to begin soon.</p> <p>But it's not yet clear how far donors, who are footing almost the entire bill for the tribunal, will go to stave off the growing concern that this court could devolve into an old-style Cambodian network of nepotism and corruption, abetted by weak international leadership. The ECCC's administration, budget and judiciary are split into Cambodian and UN sides. The court is headed by a Cambodian administrator, and Cambodian judges are in the majority in all chambers.</p><p>In their confidential June report obtained by NEWSWEEK, the two U.N. experts—Robin Vincent, the former registrar for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and Kevin St. Louis, the Chief of Administration for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia—called the split structure "divisive and unhelpful." They said they could see no good reason why the court had been set up as such "save for possibly a sense that the division was in place to protect the 'sovereignty' of the National Staff side." They cited "considerable frustration" with the court's leadership among international staff, which they feared had so corroded morale that key staffers would continue to leave; several have already quit the court. After more than a year, the UN experts said, renovation work on the main courtroom had not even begun, and they pointed to serious problems with crucial court functions like translation, witness protection and public affairs.</p> <p>The court recently announced that it's looking to replace its top international administrator, Michelle Lee. The tribunal's U.N. spokesman, Peter Foster, says that Lee's retirement has been long-planned; she turns 60 this summer, at which point she must retire, under U.N. rules.</p> <p>The ECCC made the second report, an audit of Cambodian human resources practices commissioned by UNDP, public on Tuesday. UNDP, which manages $6.4 million in funds for the Cambodian side of the tribunal, had for months refused to share the written audit results, even with donors and members of its tribunal oversight board. The Cambodian side of the court opted for transparency, bowing to pressure from the imminent fundraising campaign and a series of scathing editorials in The Wall Street Journal, kicked off when Chapman University law professor John Hall got his hands on a draft copy of the tightly-held UNDP audit. In making a lightly edited version of the final audit public, along with its rebuttals, the ECCC said it hoped to "to put an end to uninformed speculation that damages the process of justice."</p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-8764545839173848802009-10-21T06:40:00.000-07:002009-10-21T06:41:19.220-07:00The Roluos group<p style="text-align: left;">The Roluos group of monuments comprises of Prah Ko, Lolei and the Bakong temple. The buildings here are among the oldest to be found in the area. It is believed that the the capital was founded here before it moved to the area near Phnom Bakheng and (much later) Angkor Thom.<br />The lay-out of Prah Ko consists of four enclosing walls from which only parts of the inner two and the entrance tower remain. The six towers of the central sanctuary are built from brick with sandstone lintels and balusters. The towers were originally covered with a light-coloured plaster of which little remains today. The lintels (the large stones above the doors) are beautifully carved.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://home.wxs.nl/%7Ebellaart/images/cambodia/siemreap/sr83.jpg" alt="Prah Ko side view" width="327" align="left" border="0" height="250" /><br /><img src="http://home.wxs.nl/%7Ebellaart/images/cambodia/siemreap/sr84.jpg" alt="" width="151" align="left" height="252" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;">In 1997 restoration of Prah Ko was undertaken. This will probably last until 1999. A little north of Prah Ko and the Bakong you can find the small temple of Lolei. (picture above right and below) It consists of four towers in a declining state. As the brick is relatively soft plants flourish on them. Still a miracle that<br />they stand after a thousand years of wind and weather.</p> <p>The temple originally was an island in the middle of a baray (water basin) some 3800 by 800 metres, now dry.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://home.wxs.nl/%7Ebellaart/images/cambodia/siemreap/sr52.jpg" alt="restoration Prah Ko" width="320" align="left" height="215" /><img src="http://home.wxs.nl/%7Ebellaart/images/cambodia/siemreap/sr86.jpg" alt="" width="127" align="left" height="214" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><img class="alignleft" style="float: left;" src="http://home.wxs.nl/%7Ebellaart/images/cambodia/siemreap/sr24.jpg" alt="Prah Ko" width="329" align="left" height="248" /></p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-8812924889764127382009-10-21T06:34:00.000-07:002009-10-21T06:39:55.246-07:00History of Cambodia<div class="ContentHeading">Archaeological evidence indicates that parts of the region now called Cambodia were inhabited from around 1000-2000 BCE by a <span class="link1">Neolithic</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="m283231"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Neolithic</div><br />The <b>Neolithic</b> period was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 Before the Christian Era in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age....<br /></span> culture that may have migrated from South Eastern China to the Indochinese Peninsula. By the first century CE, the inhabitants had developed relatively stable, organized societies which had far surpassed the primitive stage in culture and technical skills. The most advanced groups lived along the coast and in the lower Mekong River valley and delta regions in houses constructed on stilts where they cultivated rice, fished and kept domesticated animals.<br /><br /><br />Encyclopedia</div><br /><br />Archaeological evidence indicates that parts of the region now called Cambodia were inhabited from around 1000-2000 BCE by a <span class="link1">Neolithic</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283231"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Neolithic</div><br />The <b>Neolithic</b> period was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 Before the Christian Era in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age....<br /></span> culture that may have migrated from South Eastern China to the Indochinese Peninsula. By the first century CE, the inhabitants had developed relatively stable, organized societies which had far surpassed the primitive stage in culture and technical skills. The most advanced groups lived along the coast and in the lower Mekong River valley and delta regions in houses constructed on stilts where they cultivated rice, fished and kept domesticated animals. Recent research has unlocked the discovery of artificial circular <span class="link1">earthworks</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283232"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Earthworks</div><br /><b>Earthworks</b> can refer to:* Earthworks "lumps and bumps" on the landscape showing archaeological features;* Earthworks in civil engineering based on moving massive quantites of soil;...<br /></span> dating to Cambodia's <span class="link1">Neolithic</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283233"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Neolithic</div><br />The <b>Neolithic</b> period was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 Before the Christian Era in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age....<br /></span> era.<script type="text/javascript">DisplayLink("http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/asian_perspectives/v039/39.1albrecht.pdf", "1")</script><span class="link1">1</span> The <span class="link1">Khmer people</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283234"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Khmer people</div><br />The <b>Khmer people</b>; ; are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.2 million people in the country. Part of the larger Mon-Khmer languages ethnolinguistic peoples found throughout Southeast Asia, they speak the Khmer language....<br /></span> were one of the first inhabitants of South East Asia. They were also among the first in South East Asia to adopt religious ideas and political institutions from <span class="link1">India</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283236"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Indian subcontinent</div><br />The <b>Indian subcontinent</b> is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of the land lying substantially on the Indian Plate. The subcontinent includes parts of various countries in South Asia, including those on the continental crust , an Island#Continental islands country on the continental shelf , and an Island#Oceanic islands countr...<br /></span> and to establish centralized kingdoms surrounding large territories. The earliest known kingdom in the area, <span class="link1">Funan</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283237"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Funan</div><br /><b>Funan</b> was an ancient pre-Angkor Indianized kingdom Khmer kingdom located around the Mekong Delta. It is believed to have been established in the first century C.E, although extensive human settlement in the region may have gone back as far as the 4th century B.C.E....<br /></span>, flourished from around the first to the sixth century AD. This was succeeded by <span class="link1">Chenla</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283238"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Chenla</div><br /><b>Chenla</b> , known as <i>Zhenla</i> in Chinese language and <i>Ch?n L?p</i> in Vietnamese language, was an early Khmer people kingdom.At first a vassal state to Funan , over the next 60 years it achieved its independence and eventually conquered all of Funan, absorbing its people and culture....<br /></span>, which controlled large parts of modern <span class="link1">Cambodia</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283239"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Cambodia</div><br />The <b>Kingdom of Cambodia</b> is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....<br /></span>, <span class="link1">Vietnam</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283240"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Vietnam</div><br /><b>Vietnam</b> , officially the <b>Socialist Republic of Vietnam</b> , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....<br /></span>, <span class="link1">Laos</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283241"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Laos</div><br /><b>Laos</b> , officially the <b>Lao People's Democratic Republic</b>, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....<br /></span>, and <span class="link1">Thailand</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283242"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Thailand</div><br />The <b>Kingdom of Thailand</b> is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....<br /></span>. <div class="thumb tright"><img src="http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/f/fu/funanmap001.jpg" alt="Funanmap001" /></div><br /><h3>Funan Empire: 68-550</h3> The <span class="link1">Funan</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283243"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Funan</div><br /><b>Funan</b> was an ancient pre-Angkor Indianized kingdom Khmer kingdom located around the Mekong Delta. It is believed to have been established in the first century C.E, although extensive human settlement in the region may have gone back as far as the 4th century B.C.E....<br /></span>ese Empire reached its greatest extent under the rule of Fan Shih-man in the early <span class="link1">third century</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283244"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">3rd century</div><br />The <b>3rd century</b> is the period from 201 to 300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era/Common Era.In this century, the Roman Empire sees a Crisis of the Third Century, marking the beginning of Late Antiquity....<br /></span> C.E., extending as far south as <span class="link1">Malaysia</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283245"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Malaysia</div><br /><b>Malaysia</b> is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....<br /></span> and as far west as Burma. The Funanese established a strong system of mercantilism and commercial monopolies that would become a pattern for empires in the region. Fan Shih-man expanded the fleet and improved the Funanese bureaucracy, creating a quasi-feudal pattern that left local customs and identities largely intact, particularly in the empire's farther reaches.<br /><br /><h3>Chenla: 550-802</h3> The Khmers, who are believed to be vassals of Funan had reached the Mekong River from the northern Menam River via the <span class="link1">Mun River</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283249"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Mun River</div><br />The <b>Mun River</b> , sometimes spelled Moon River, is a tributary of the Mekong river. It carries approximately 21,000 cubic kilometres of water per year....<br /></span> Valley. <span class="link1">Chenla</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283250"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Chenla</div><br /><b>Chenla</b> , known as <i>Zhenla</i> in Chinese language and <i>Ch?n L?p</i> in Vietnamese language, was an early Khmer people kingdom.At first a vassal state to Funan , over the next 60 years it achieved its independence and eventually conquered all of Funan, absorbing its people and culture....<br /></span>, their first independent state developed out of Funan, absorbing Funanese influence.<br /><br />Ancient Chinese records mention two kings, Shrutavarman and Shreshthavarman who ruled at the capital Shreshthapura located in modern day southern Laos. The immense influence on the identity of Cambodia to come was wrought by the Khmer Kingdom of Bhavapura, in the modern day Cambodian city of Kompong Thom. Its legacy was its most important sovereign, Ishanavarman who completely conquered the kingdom of Funan during 612-628. He chose his new capital at the <span class="link1">Sambor Prei Kuk</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283257"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Sambor Prei Kuk</div><br />The ancient temple complex of Sambor Prei Kuk is located just to the north of the town of Kompong Thom, Cambodia.Located on Eastern bank of Tonle Sap, the central part of Sambor Prei Kuk is divided mainly into three groups....<br /></span>, naming it Ishanapura.<br /><br />After the death of <span class="link1">Jayavarman I</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283258"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Jayavarman I</div><br /><b>Jayavarman I</b> is considered by some to be the first king of the Khmer empire, as it evolved out of the Kamboja kingdom . He ruled from approximately 657 to 681....<br /></span> in 681, turmoil came upon the kingdom and at the start of the <span class="link1">8th century</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283259"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">8th century</div><br />The <b>8th century</b> is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era/Common Era....<br /></span>, the kingdom broke up into many principalities. Pushkaraksha, the ruler of Shambhupura announced himself as king of the entire <span class="link1">Kambuja</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283262"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Kambuja</div><br /><b>Kambuja</b> was the ancient name of Cambodia,the correct pronunciation of name Kambuja should have been Kom-Bu-Ja , not Kam - Bu -Ja . Scholars believe that <i>this name is obviously derived from Sanskrit Kamboja , the name of a well-known ancient tribe of Indo-Iranian affinities</i> , still living as Kamboj & Kamboh in northern India and Pak...<br /></span>. Chinese chronicles proclaim that in the <span class="link1">8th century</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283263"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">8th century</div><br />The <b>8th century</b> is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era/Common Era....<br /></span>, Chenla was split into land Chenla and water Chenla. During this time, Shambhuvarman son of Pushkaraksha controlled most of water Chenla until the 8th century which the Malayans and Javanese dominated over many Khmer principalities.<br /><br /><h3>Khmer Empire: 802-1431</h3> <div class="thumb tright"><img src="http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/v/vi/vietnamchampa1.gif" alt="Vietnamchampa1" /></div>The golden age of Khmer civilization, however, was the period from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, when the kingdom of <span class="link1">Kambuja</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283267"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Khmer Empire</div><br />The <b>Khmer Empire</b> was the largest empire of South East Asia based in what is now Cambodia. The empire, which seceded from the kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalised parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand,Vietnam, Myanmar, and Malaysia....<br /></span>, which gave Kampuchea, or Cambodia, its name, ruled large territories from its capital in the region of Angkor in western Cambodia.<br /><br />Under Jayavarman VII (1181–ca. 1218), Kambuja reached its zenith of political power and cultural creativity. Jayavarman VII gained power and territory in a series of successful wars against its close enemies; the <span class="link1">Cham</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283269"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Cham people</div><br />The <b>Cham people</b> are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia. They are concentrated between Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia and central Vietnam Phan Rang-Thap Cham, Phan Thiet, Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang areas....<br /></span> and the Vietnamese. Following Jayavarman VII's death, Kambuja experienced a gradual decline. Important factors were the aggressiveness of neighboring peoples (especially the <span class="link1">Thai, or Siamese</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283270"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Thai people</div><br />The <b>Thai</b> are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnic group found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China....<br /></span>), chronic interdynastic strife, and the gradual deterioration of the complex irrigation system that had ensured rice surpluses. The <span class="link1">Angkor</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283271"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Angkor</div><br /><b>Angkor</b> is a name conventionally applied to the region of Cambodia serving as the seat of the Khmer empire that flourished from approximately the ninth century to the fifteenth century A.D....<br /></span>ian monarchy survived until 1431, when the Thai captured <span class="link1">Angkor Thom</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283272"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Angkor Thom</div><br /><b>Angkor Thom</b> was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII....<br /></span> and the Cambodian king fled to the southern part of the country.<br /><br /><h3>Dark Ages: 1618-1863</h3> <div class="thumb tright"><img src="http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/v/vi/vietnamtrinhnguyen1.gif" alt="Vietnamtrinhnguyen1" /></div>The fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries were a period of continued decline and territorial loss. Cambodia enjoyed a brief period of prosperity during the sixteenth century because its kings, who built their capitals in the region southeast of the <span class="link1">Tonle Sap</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283273"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Tonlé Sap</div><br />The <b>Tonl? Sap</b> , <i>i.e.,</i> large body of water is a combined lake and river system of huge importance to Cambodia. It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997....<br /></span> along the Mekong River, promoted trade with other parts of Asia. This was the period when <span class="link1">Spanish</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283275"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Spain</div><br /><b>Spain</b> or the <b>Kingdom of Spain</b> , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though <i>Espa?a</i> , <i>Estado espa?ol</i> and <i>Naci?n espa?ola</i> are used interchangeably....<br /></span> and <span class="link1">Portuguese</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283276"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Portugal</div><br /><b>Portugal</b> , officially the <b>Portuguese Republic</b> , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....<br /></span> adventurers and missionaries first visited the country. However, the Thai conquest of the new capital at <span class="link1">Lovek</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283277"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Lovek</div><br /><b>Lovek</b> was a city in ancient Cambodia that became the nation's capital in the 16th century after Civil War Between Sdech Kan And Ponhea Chan. Howere Ponhea Chan won and become the new king of Cambodia....<br /></span> in 1594 marked a downturn in the country's fortunes and Cambodia. Becoming a pawn in power struggles between its two increasingly powerful neighbors, Siam and Vietnam. Cambodia remained a protectorate of Siam. Vietnam's settlement of the <span class="link1">Mekong Delta</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283278"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Mekong Delta</div><br />The <b>Mekong Delta</b> is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries....<br /></span> led to its annexation of that area at the end of the seventeenth century. Cambodia thereby lost some of its richest territory and was cut off from the sea. Because of current king's brother, prince Ang whom allowed the Vietnamese to settle and take over the last portion which was left of Cambodia's soil to the sea. Such foreign encroachments continued through the first half of the nineteenth century because Vietnam was determined to absorb Khmer land and to force the inhabitants to accept Vietnamese culture.<br /><br /><h3>French colonial period: 1863-1953</h3> In 1863, <span class="link1">King Norodom</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283279"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Norodom of Cambodia</div><br /><b>Norodom</b> ruled as king of Cambodia from 1860 to 1904. He was the eldest son of King Ang Duong and half-brother of Si Votha as well as the half-brother of Sisowath of Cambodia....<br /></span> signed an agreement with the <span class="link1">French</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283280"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">France</div><br /><b>France</b> , officially the <b>French Republic</b> , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....<br /></span> to establish a protectorate over his kingdom. The state gradually came under French colonial domination.<br /><br /><div class="thumb tright"><img src="http://images.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/i/in/indochina1886.jpg" alt="Indochina1886" /></div> During <span class="link1">World War II</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283281"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">World War II</div><br /><b>World War II</b>, or the <b>Second World War</b> , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....<br /></span>, the <span class="link1">Japan</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283282"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Japan</div><br /><b>Japan</b> is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....<br /></span>ese allowed the French government (based at <span class="link1">Vichy</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283283"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Vichy</div><br /><b>Vichy</b> is a Communes of France in the Departments of France of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It is known as a Spa town and resort town....<br /></span>) that collaborated with the republican opponents and attempted to negotiate acceptable terms for independence from the French.<br /><br />Cambodia's situation at the end of the war was chaotic. The Free French, under General <span class="link1">Charles de Gaulle</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283285"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Charles de Gaulle</div><br /><b>Charles Andr? Joseph Marie de Gaulle</b> , , was a French people general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President of France from 1959 to 1969....<br /></span>, were determined to recover Indochina, though they offered Cambodia and the other Inchochinese protectorates a carefully circumscribed measure of self-government. Convinced that they had a "<span class="link1">civilizing mission</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283286"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Civilizing mission</div><br />The <b>Civilizing mission</b> was the underlying principle of French and Portuguese colonial rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was influential in the French colonies of French rule in Algeria, French West Africa, and French Indochina, and in the Portuguese colonies of Portuguese Angola, Portuguese Guinea, Portuguese Mozambique and...<br /></span>," they envisioned Indochina's participation in a French Union of former colonies that shared the common experience of French culture.<br /><br />Sihanouk's "royal crusade for independence" resulted in grudging French acquiescence to his demands for a transfer of sovereignty. A partial agreement was struck in October 1953. Sihanouk then declared that independence had been achieved and returned in triumph to <span class="link1">Phnom Penh</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283287"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Phnom Penh</div><br /><b>Phnom Penh</b> is the Capital and largest city of Cambodia. It is also the capital of the Phnom Penh municipality. It is an economic, industrial, commercial, cultural, tourist and historical center....<br /></span>.<br /><br /><h3>First administration of Sihanouk: 1955-1970</h3> As a result of the Geneva Conference on Indochina, Cambodia was able to bring about the withdrawal of the <span class="link1">Viet Minh</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283288"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Viet Minh</div><br />The <b>Vi?t Minh</b> was a national liberation movement which dated its foundation to May 19 1941 in South China. The Vi?t Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from France and later to oppose the Vietnam during World War II....<br /></span> troops from its territory and to withstand any residual impingement upon its sovereignty by external powers.<br /><br />Neutrality was the central element of Cambodian foreign policy during the 1950s and 1960s. By the mid-1960s, parts of Cambodia's eastern provinces were serving as bases for North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong (NVA/VC) forces operating against South Vietnam, and the port of <span class="link1">Sihanoukville</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283290"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Sihanoukville</div><br /><b>Sihanoukville</b> , also known as <b>Kampong Som</b>, is a port city in southern Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand and is a growing Cambodian urban center....<br /></span> was being used to supply them. As NVA/VC activity grew, the United States and <span class="link1">South Vietnam</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283291"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">South Vietnam</div><br /><b>South Vietnam</b> refers to an internationally recognized state which governed Vietnam south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone until 1975. Its capital was Saigon and its origin can be traced to the French colony of Cochinchina, which consisted of the southern third of Vietnam....<br /></span> became concerned, and in 1969, the United States began a fourteen month long series of bombing raids targeted at NVA/VC elements, contributing to destabilization. Prince Sihanouk, fearing that the conflict between communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam might spill over to Cambodia, steadfastly opposed the bombing campaign by the United States along the Vietnam-Cambodia border and inside Cambodian territory. Prince Sihanouk wanted Cambodia to stay out of the North Vietnam-South Vietnam conflict and was very critical of the United States government and its allies (the South Vietnamese government). The United States claims that the bombing campaign took place no further than ten, and later twenty miles (32 km) inside the Cambodian border, areas where the Cambodian population had been evicted by the NVA. Prince Sihanouk, facing internal struggles of his own, due to the rise of the Khmer Rouge, did not want Cambodia to be involved in the conflict. Sihanouk wanted the United States and its allies (South Vietnam) to keep the war away from the Cambodian border. Not only did Sihanouk try to keep the communist North Vietnamese soldiers from entering Cambodia territory, but he also did not allow the United States to use Cambodian air space and airports for military purposes. This upset the United States greatly. The United States saw Prince Sihanouk as a North Vietnamese sympathizer and a thorn on the United States, and using the CIA, it began plans to get rid of Sihanouk.<br /><br />Throughout the 1960s, domestic Cambodian politics became polarized. Opposition to the government grew within the middle class and leftists including Paris-educated leaders like <span class="link1">Son Sen</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283292"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Son Sen</div><br /><b>Son Sen</b> was a member of Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea/Party of Democratic Kampuchea from 1974 to 1992. He was a leader of the genocidal Khmer Rouge and was married to Yun Yat , who became the Khmer Rouge minister of education and information....<br /></span>, <span class="link1">Ieng Sary</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283293"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Ieng Sary</div><br /><b>Ieng Sary</b> was a powerful figure in the Khmer Rouge. He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979 and held several senior positions in the Khmer Rouge until his defection to the government in 1996....<br /></span>, and Saloth Sar (later known as <span class="link1">Pol Pot</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283294"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Pol Pot</div><br /><b>Saloth Sar</b> , widely known as <b>Pol Pot</b>, was the leader of the Cambodian communist movement known as the Khmer Rouge and was Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976–1979....<br /></span>), who led an <span class="link1">insurgency</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283295"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Insurgent</div><br /><b>Insurgent</b>, <b>insurgents</b> or <b>insurgency</b> can refer to:*The act of Insurgency*Iraqi insurgency, uprising in Iraq*USS Insurgent , US Navy ship...<br /></span> under the clandestine Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK). Sihanouk called these insurgents the <span class="link1">Khmer Rouge</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283296"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Khmer Rouge</div><br />File:CPKbanner.PNGThe <b>Khmer Rouge</b> was the communist ruling party of Cambodia — which it renamed Democratic Kampuchea — from 1975 to 1979....<br /></span>, literally the "Red Khmer." But the 1966 national assembly elections showed a significant swing to the right, and General <span class="link1">Lon Nol</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283297"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Lon Nol</div><br /><b>Lon Nol</b> was a Cambodian politician and soldier who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice as well as serving repeatedly as Defense Minister....<br /></span> formed a new government, which lasted until 1967. During 1968 and 1969, the insurgency worsened. In August 1969, Lon Nol formed a new government. Prince Sihanouk went abroad for medical reasons in January 1970.<br /><br /><h3>The Khmer Republic and the War: 1970-1975</h3> In March 1970, while Prince Sihanouk was absent, General Lon Nol deposed Prince Sihanouk in a coup d'état which, contrary to common belief, was not planned by the CIA. Lon Nol assumed the power after the military coup and allied Cambodia with the United States. Son Ngoc Thanh announced his support for the new government. On October 9, the Cambodian monarchy was abolished, and the country was renamed the Khmer Republic.<br /><br />Hanoi rejected the new republic's request for the withdrawal of NVA troops. 2,000–4,000 Cambodians who had gone to North Vietnam in 1954 reentered Cambodia, backed by North Vietnamese soldiers. In response, the United States moved to provide material assistance to the new government's armed forces, which were engaged against both CPK insurgents and NVA forces.<br /><br />In April 1970, US President Nixon announced to the American public that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia (see <span class="link1">Cambodian Incursion</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283298"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Cambodian Incursion</div><br />The <b>Cambodian Campaign</b> was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia during the late spring and summer of 1970 by the armed forces of the United States and the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War....<br /></span>). The US had already been bombing Cambodia for well over a year by that point.<br /><br />Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces, containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive. The North Vietnamese moved deeper into Cambodia to avoid US and South Vietnamese raids. NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the CPK expanded their small-scale attacks on lines of communication.<br /><br />The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader <span class="link1">In Tam</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283300"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">In Tam</div><br /><b>In Tam</b> is a former Prime Minister of Cambodia. He served in that position from May 6 1973 to December 9 1973, and had a long career in Cambodian politics....<br /></span>. Lon Nol remained in power in part because none of the others were prepared to take his place. In 1972, a constitution was adopted, a parliament elected, and Lon Nol became president. But disunity, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army.<br /><br />The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. <span class="link1">Pol Pot</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283301"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Pol Pot</div><br /><b>Saloth Sar</b> , widely known as <b>Pol Pot</b>, was the leader of the Cambodian communist movement known as the Khmer Rouge and was Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976–1979....<br /></span> and <span class="link1">Ieng Sary</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283302"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Ieng Sary</div><br /><b>Ieng Sary</b> was a powerful figure in the Khmer Rouge. He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979 and held several senior positions in the Khmer Rouge until his defection to the government in 1996....<br /></span> asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the <span class="link1">Communist Party of Kampuchea</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283303"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Communist Party of Kampuchea</div><br />The <b>Communist Party of Kampuchea</b> was a communist party in Cambodia. Its followers were generally known as <i>Khmer Rouge</i> ....<br /></span> forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1973, the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support, and they controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory and 25% of its population.<br /><br />The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents, but by 1974, the CPK were operating openly as divisions, and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam. Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in <span class="link1">Phnom Penh</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283304"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Phnom Penh</div><br /><b>Phnom Penh</b> is the Capital and largest city of Cambodia. It is also the capital of the Phnom Penh municipality. It is an economic, industrial, commercial, cultural, tourist and historical center....<br /></span> and other cities.<br /><br />On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A US-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on April 17—5 days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.<br /><br /><h3>Democratic Kampuchea (the Khmer Rouge/Red Khmer age): 1975-1979</h3> Immediately after its victory, the CPK ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns, sending the entire urban population into the countryside to work as farmers, as the CPK was trying to reshape society into a model that Pol Pot had conceived.<br /><br />Thousands starved or died of disease during the evacuation and its aftermath. Many of those forced to evacuate the cities were resettled in newly created villages, which lacked food, agricultural implements, and medical care. Many who lived in cities had lost the skills necessary for survival in an agrarian environment. Thousands starved before the first harvest. Hunger and malnutrition—bordering on starvation—were constant during those years. Most military and civilian leaders of the former regime who failed to disguise their pasts were executed.<br /><br />Within the CPK, the Paris-educated leadership—<span class="link1">Pol Pot</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283305"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Pol Pot</div><br /><b>Saloth Sar</b> , widely known as <b>Pol Pot</b>, was the leader of the Cambodian communist movement known as the Khmer Rouge and was Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976–1979....<br /></span>, <span class="link1">Ieng Sary</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283306"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Ieng Sary</div><br /><b>Ieng Sary</b> was a powerful figure in the Khmer Rouge. He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 to 1979 and held several senior positions in the Khmer Rouge until his defection to the government in 1996....<br /></span>, <span class="link1">Nuon Chea</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283307"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Nuon Chea</div><br /><b>Nuon Chea</b>, also known as <b>Long Bunruot</b>, is a retired Cambodian communist politician and former chief ideologist of Khmer Rouge. He is of Chinese Cambodian ancestry....<br /></span>, and <span class="link1">Son Sen</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283308"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Son Sen</div><br /><b>Son Sen</b> was a member of Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea/Party of Democratic Kampuchea from 1974 to 1992. He was a leader of the genocidal Khmer Rouge and was married to Yun Yat , who became the Khmer Rouge minister of education and information....<br /></span>—were in control. A new constitution in January 1976 established Democratic Kampuchea as a Communist People's Republic, and a 250-member Assembly of the Representatives of the People of Kampuchea (PRA) was selected in March to choose the collective leadership of a State Presidium, the chairman of which became the head of state.<br /><br />Prince Sihanouk resigned as head of state on April 4. On April 14, after its first session, the PRA announced that <span class="link1">Khieu Samphan</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283309"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Khieu Samphan</div><br /><b>Khieu Samphan</b> was the president of the state presidium of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until 1979. As such, he served as the country's head of state and was one of the most powerful officials in the Khmer Rouge movement, though Pol Pot was the group's true political leader and held the most extensive power....<br /></span> would chair the State Presidium for a 5-year term. It also picked a 15-member cabinet headed by Pol Pot as prime minister. Prince Sihanouk was put under virtual house arrest.<br /><br />The new government sought to completely restructure Cambodian society. Remnants of the old society were abolished and religion, particularly <span class="link1">Buddhism</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283310"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Buddhism</div><br /><b>Buddhism</b> is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....<br /></span> and <span class="link1">Catholicism</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283311"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Roman Catholic Church</div><br />The <b>Roman Catholic Church</b>, officially known as the <b>Catholic Church</b> is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....<br /></span>, was suppressed. Agriculture was collectivized, and the surviving part of the industrial base was abandoned or placed under state control. Cambodia had neither a currency nor a banking system.<br /><br />Life in 'Democratic Kampuchea' was strict and brutal. In many areas of the country people were rounded up and executed for speaking a foreign language, wearing glasses, scavenging for food, and even crying for dead loved ones. Former businessmen and bureaucrats were ruthlessly hunted down and killed along with their entire families; the Khmer Rouge feared that they held beliefs that could lead them to oppose their regime. A few Khmer Rouge loyalists were even killed for failing to find enough 'counter-revolutionaries' to execute.<br /><br />Solid estimates of the numbers who died between 1975 and 1979 are not available, but it is likely that hundreds of thousands were brutally executed by the regime. Hundreds of thousands died of starvation and disease (both under the CPK and during the Vietnamese invasion in 1978). Some estimates of the dead range from 1 to 3 million, out of a 1975 population estimated at 7.3 million. The CIA estimated 50,000–100,000 were executed and 1.2 million died from 1975 to 1979.<br /><br />Democratic Kampuchea's relations with <span class="link1">Vietnam</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283312"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Vietnam</div><br /><b>Vietnam</b> , officially the <b>Socialist Republic of Vietnam</b> , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....<br /></span> and <span class="link1">Thailand</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283313"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Thailand</div><br />The <b>Kingdom of Thailand</b> is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....<br /></span> worsened rapidly as a result of border clashes and ideological differences. While communist, the CPK was fiercely pro-Cambodia, and most of its members who had lived in Vietnam were purged. Democratic Kampuchea established close ties with the <span class="link1">People's Republic of China</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283314"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">People's Republic of China</div><br />The <b>People's Republic of China</b> , commonly known as <b>China</b>, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....<br /></span>, and the Cambodian-Vietnamese conflict became part of the Sino-<span class="link1">Soviet</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283315"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Soviet Union</div><br />The <b>Union of Soviet Socialist Republics</b> was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian <i>Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik</i>, abbreviated ????, <i>SSSR</i>....<br /></span> rivalry, with Moscow backing Vietnam. Border clashes worsened when Democratic Kampuchea military attacked villages in Vietnam. The regime broke off relations with Hanoi in December 1977, protesting Vietnam's alleged attempt to create an Indochina Federation. In mid-1978, Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia, advancing about before the arrival of the rainy season.<br /><br />The reasons for Chinese support of the CPK was to prevent a pan-Indochina movement, and maintain Chinese military superiority in the region. The Soviet Union supported a strong Vietnam to maintain a second front against China in case of hostilities and to prevent further Chinese expansion. Since Stalin's death, relations between Mao-controlled China and the Soviet Union were lukewarm at best. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, China and Vietnam would fight the brief <span class="link1">Sino-Vietnamese War</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283316"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Sino-Vietnamese War</div><br />The <b>Sino?Vietnamese War</b>, also known as the <b>Third Indochina War</b>, was a brief but bloody border war fought in 1979 between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam....<br /></span> over the issue.<br /><br />In December 1978, Vietnam announced formation of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation (KUFNS) under <span class="link1">Heng Samrin</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283317"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Heng Samrin</div><br /><b>Heng Samrin</b> is a Cambodian communism politician.Heng was born in Prey Veng province, Cambodia. He became a member of the Khmer Rouge communist movement led by Pol Pot, and became a political commisar and army division commander when the Khmer Rouge took over the government in 1975....<br /></span>, a former DK division commander. It was composed of Khmer Communists who had remained in Vietnam after 1975 and officials from the eastern sector—like Heng Samrin and Hun Sen—who had fled to Vietnam from Cambodia in 1978. In late December 1978, Vietnamese forces launched a full invasion of Cambodia, capturing Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979 and driving the remnants of Democratic Kampuchea's army westward toward Thailand.<br /><br /><h3>People's Republic of Kampuchea (Vietnamese occupation): 1979-1993</h3> On January 10 1979, <span class="link1">Communist</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283318"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Communism</div><br /><b>Communism</b> is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarianism, classlessness, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general....<br /></span> <span class="link1">Vietnam</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283319"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Vietnam</div><br /><b>Vietnam</b> , officially the <b>Socialist Republic of Vietnam</b> , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....<br /></span> installed <span class="link1">Heng Samrin</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283320"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Heng Samrin</div><br /><b>Heng Samrin</b> is a Cambodian communism politician.Heng was born in Prey Veng province, Cambodia. He became a member of the Khmer Rouge communist movement led by Pol Pot, and became a political commisar and army division commander when the Khmer Rouge took over the government in 1975....<br /></span> as head of state in the new People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). The Vietnamese army continued its pursuit of <span class="link1">Pol Pot</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283321"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Pol Pot</div><br /><b>Saloth Sar</b> , widely known as <b>Pol Pot</b>, was the leader of the Cambodian communist movement known as the Khmer Rouge and was Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976–1979....<br /></span>'s <span class="link1">Khmer Rouge</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283322"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Khmer Rouge</div><br />File:CPKbanner.PNGThe <b>Khmer Rouge</b> was the communist ruling party of Cambodia — which it renamed Democratic Kampuchea — from 1975 to 1979....<br /></span> forces. At least 600,000 Cambodians displaced during the Pol Pot era and the Vietnamese invasion began streaming to the <span class="link1">Thai</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283323"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">Thailand</div><br />The <b>Kingdom of Thailand</b> is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....<br /></span> border in search of refuge. The international community responded with a massive relief effort coordinated by the <span class="link1">United States</span><span class="HoverPopup" id="l283324"><div class="HoverPopupHeader">United States</div><br />The <b>United States of America</b> is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...<br /></span> through UNICEF and the World Food Program. More than $400 million was provided between 1979 and 1982, of which the United States contributed nearly $100 million. At one point, more than 500,000 Cambodians were living along the Thai-Cambodian border and more than 100,000 in holding centers inside Thailand.<br /><br /><h3>Modern Cambodia: 1993-Present</h3><br />On October 23, 1991, the Paris Conference reconvened to sign a comprehensive settlement giving the UN full authority to supervise a cease-fire, repatriate the displaced Khmer along the border with Thailand, disarm and demobilize the factional armies, and prepare the country for free and fair elections. Prince Sihanouk, President of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia (SNC), and other members of the SNC returned to Phnom Penh in November 1991, to begin the resettlement process in Cambodia. The UN Advance Mission for Cambodia (UNAMIC) was deployed at the same time to maintain liaison among the factions and begin demining operations to expedite the repatriation of approximately 370,000 Cambodians from Thailand.<br /><br />On March 16, 1992, the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) arrived in Cambodia to begin implementation of the UN Settlement Plan. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees began fullscale repatriation in March 1992. UNTAC grew into a 22,000-strong civilian and military peacekeeping force to conduct free and fair elections for a constituent assembly.<br /><br />Over 4 million Cambodians (about 90% of eligible voters) participated in the May 1993 elections, although the Khmer Rouge or Party of Democratic Kampuchea (PDK), whose forces were never actually disarmed or demobilized, barred some people from participating. Prince Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC Party was the top vote recipient with a 45.5% vote, followed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party and the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, respectively. FUNCINPEC then entered into a coalition with the other parties that had participated in the election. The parties represented in the 120-member assembly proceeded to draft and approve a new constitution, which was promulgated September 24, 1993. It established a multiparty liberal democracy in the framework of a constitutional monarchy, with the former Prince Sihanouk elevated to King. Prince Ranariddh and Hun Sen became First and Second Prime Ministers, respectively, in the Royal Cambodian Government (RGC). The constitution provides for a wide range of internationally recognized human rights.<br /><br />On October 4, 2004, the Cambodian National Assembly ratified an agreement with the United Nations on the establishment of a tribunal to try senior leaders responsible for the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. Donor countries have pledged the $43 million international share of the three-year tribunal budget, while the Cambodian government’s share of the budget is $13.3 million. The tribunal plans to begin trials of senior Khmer Rouge leaders in 2008.khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-74057214392111714432009-10-21T06:32:00.000-07:002009-10-21T06:33:57.880-07:00Cambodia Study Abroad Trip<p>With excitement mixed with trepidation, a group of seven students from Belmont University School of Nursing spent three weeks this past May in Phnom Penh, Cambodia working at the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE for the poor while earning course credit.<span> </span> Students divided their clinical time between the medical and surgical wards, the operating room, the emergency room, the outpatient clinic, home visits to AIDS patients and a hospice for AIDS patients.<span> </span> Students were interested to see how health care had developed following the devastation caused by the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970’s.<span> </span> They met one nurse, <span>Mom Sam Oeun</span>, who had been working during this regime and had been sent into the provinces to live with her family in one room with very little food.<span> </span> Fearing for her life, she hid her status as a nurse until Pol Pot’s reign ended and then returned to nursing. <span> </span>Many examples of courage and struggle were seen among the Khmer people.<span> </span></p> <p><img alt="Patient Lottery Outside the Hospital" src="http://www.belmont.edu/images/chs/nursing/cambodia4.jpg" title="Patient Lottery Outside the Hospital" vspace="8" width="240" align="right" height="177" hspace="10" />Because so many seek free, quality health care at Sihanouk Hospital, the Cambodian people determined that the only fair way to decide who would be treated each day was to hold a lottery.<span> </span> Almost every day and according to the hospital census, ten new patients are chosen by lottery.<span> </span> These can come to the hospital at any time for care along with the others already in the hospital.<span> </span> Others, of whom many have come from far away provinces, will return day after day, hoping to be chosen to receive some of the best care that is available in the nation.<span> </span> One of the goals of the hospital is to share knowledge and information with governmental and other hospitals so that the standard of health care can be improved throughout the country.<span> </span></p> <p> Another international course to Cambodia is planned for May 2008. Please contact the Belmont University School of Nursing if you would like more information on this exciting opportunity.</p> <p><img alt="Our Students" src="http://www.belmont.edu/images/chs/nursing/cambodia2.jpg" title="Our Students" vspace="10" width="240" align="left" height="177" hspace="10" /><img alt="Sharon Dowdy and Susan Taplan in front of one of the temples in Angkor Wat " src="http://www.belmont.edu/images/chs/nursing/cambodia6.jpg" title="Sharon Dowdy and Susan Taplan in front of one of the temples in Angkor Wat " vspace="10" width="240" align="right" height="177" hspace="10" /></p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-55808702607938977362009-10-21T06:29:00.000-07:002009-10-21T06:30:57.605-07:00Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic FluteSophiline Cheam Shapiro and 32 dancers and musicians of her Khmer Arts Ensemble, Phnom Penh, will return to New York City for a one-week engagement at The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue @ 19th street), October 9 – 14, with Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute. Tickets are $44 ($33 for Joyce Theater members), and in celebration of The Joyce's 25th Anniversary Season, tickets to Sunday evening performances are $25. To purchase tickets, please call JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or via the internet at www.joyce.org.<br /><br />Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute, is a new and original work, choreographed and directed by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro. It was created at the request of theater director and impresario Peter Sellars for New Crowned Hope, a festival in Vienna held in 2006 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth. With so many others around the world celebrating this occasion with performances of the music of this great composer, Sellars asked those he commissioned to explore the ideas and themes, the philosophies and concerns that Mozart addressed in the last works he composed prior to his death, at the age of 35, in 1791.<br /><br />The musical score for Pamina Devi draws and expands on traditional Cambodian motifs, and is performed by a pin peat ensemble of Cambodian instruments. Lyrics were written by Cheam Shapiro, who has also modified the opera's story. For instance, The Queen of the Night and the King of the Sun here are cast here as Pamina Devi's estranged parents – representing two distinct, and perhaps, mutually exclusive world views. Though bidden to do so, Pamina Devi refuses to choose one over the other. Instead, she opts to take a riskier path. Acknowledging the lessons of the past, she sets out into the unknown, determined to create a society founded on principles of tolerance, justice, and understanding.<br /><br />On December 8, 2006, a magnificent ‘battle of the courts' took place in Vienna's Schönbrunn castle when Pamina Devi premiered in Europe's oldest continually operating theater there. As the audience took their places in the plush red velvet chairs of what can only be described as a jewel-box theater, they marveled at the gold-gilt surroundings. As the curtain rose, the celestial beings of Cambodia — resplendent in spired crowns, intricately woven silks, and bejeweled fingers and ankles — returned the favor.<br /><br />Cheam Shapiro's critically acclaimed work was last hosted during a sold-out Joyce season in 2005. This presentation of Pamina Devi is part of a 5-city national tour. The work tours Europe in the Spring of 2008.<br />Sophiline Cheam Shapiro is a choreographer, director, dancer, vocalist and educator whose works include Samritechak (2000), The Glass Box (2002) and Seasons of Migration (2005), which she has set on Cambodia's finest performing artists and toured to three continents. Notable venues include Cal Performances, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, New York's Joyce Theater and the Venice Biennale. Cheam Shapiro's next project, a collaboration with composer Chinary Ung for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, will premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall in November 2008. Among her essays is "Songs My Enemies Taught Me," published in Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors, compiled by Dith Pran, edited by Kim DePaul (1997, Yale University Press). She has received numerous honors, including Creative Capital, Durfee, Guggenheim and Irvine Dance Fellowships, as well as the 2006 Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture. Cheam Shapiro was a member of the first generation to graduate from the Royal University of Fine Arts after the fall of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime and was a member of the faculty there from 1988 to 1991. She studied all three major roles for women (neang, nearong and yeak), which is rare. With RUFA's ensemble, she toured India, the Soviet Union, the USA and Vietnam. She immigrated to Southern California in 1991 and studied dance ethnology at UCLA on undergraduate and graduate levels. Cheam Shapiro is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Khmer Arts Academy based in Long Beach, CA and Takhmao, Cambodia.<br /><br />Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute will play the following engagements this fall:<br /><br />October 20 and 21: Power Center, University Musical Society, Ann Arbor MI<br />October 25 and 26: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park<br /><br />Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute will play Tuesday & Wednesday at 7:30pm, Thursday & Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 2:00pm and 8:00pm, and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are $44 ($33 for Joyce members) and can be arranged by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org. In celebration of The Joyce's 25th Anniversary Season, all tickets to the Sunday evening performances are $25. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.<br /><br />* * * * * *<br /><br />Leadership support for The Joyce Theater's 2007-2008 season has been received from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.<br /><br />Altria Group, Inc. is the 2007-2008 Season Sponsor of The Joyce Theater.<br /><br />The presentation of Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute was made possible by the MetLife Community Connections Fund of the National Dance Project, a program administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts. Major support for the National Dance Project is also provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Ford Foundation and the Andrew Mellon Foundation.<br /><br />Performances by international companies at The Joyce are supported, in part, by American Express Company. <br /><br />Additional support for this engagement was provided with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art; and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; and with private funds from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund to encourage the performances of out-of-town companies at The Joyce Theater. Major support for the season was received from Carnegie Corporation of New York, First Republic Bank, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Starr Foundation.<br /><br /><br /><table align="CENTER" border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td align="CENTER"><img src="http://www.exploredance.com/upload/gallery/4/402_2934.jpg" border="0" /><p>Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute. By Sophiline Cheam Shapiro. In The Kingdom of the Sun. Courtesy Khmer Arts Academy.</p><p><br /></p></td></tr><tr><td><hr /></td></tr> <tr><td align="CENTER"><img src="http://www.exploredance.com/upload/gallery/4/402_2935.jpg" border="0" /><p>Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute. By Sophiline Cheam Shapiro. In The Kingdom of the Sun. Courtesy Khmer Arts Academy.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-49919260770332146782009-10-21T06:22:00.000-07:002009-10-21T06:24:17.637-07:00Koh Ker<p>Koh Ker is an Angkorian site in northern Cambodia. 100 km northeast of Angkor itself, it was briefly the capital of the Khmer empire between 928 and 944 under king Jayavarman IV and his son Hasavarman II.After the Khmer empire had been established in the Angkor area (Roluos), Jayavarman IV moved the capital in 928 almost 100km northeast to Koh Ker. Here a vast number of temples were built under his reign, until his successor returned to the Angkor area about twenty years later.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter" src="http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/moniroth/KohkerTemple.jpg?t=1225680387" alt="Koh Ker- prasat thom in Angkorian site." /><br />The Koh Ker site is dominated by Prasat Thom, a 30 meter tall temple mountain raising high above the plain and the surrounding forest. Great views await the visitor at the end of an adventurous climb. Garuda, carved into the stone blocks, still guard the very top, although they are partially covered now.</p> <p>Across the site of Koh Ker there are many prasat or tower sanctuaries. A couple still feature an enormous linga on a yoni that provides space for several people. The outlet for the water that was sanctified by running it over the linga can be seen in the outside wall of one of them. In other cases, three prasat stand next to each other, dedicated to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. Most of them are surrounded by libraries and enclosures, many also had moats. At that time, the roofs were still made of wood. Today, only the holes for the beams remain in the stone structures.</p> <p>The site is still 3 hours away from Siem Reap, the area has been demined only recently and basic visitors’ facilities are just being built. This makes Koh Ker very attractive for anyone who would like to experience lonely temples partially overgrown by the forest and inhabited only by birds, calling to each other from the trees above.<br /><img class="aligncenter" src="http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/moniroth/kk22.jpg?t=1225680665" alt="Koh Ker- prasat thom in Angkorian site." /></p> <p>Koh Ker is not the easiest temple to get to as involves an early start and a long journey to get there from anywhere. The site is about 100 km north of Siem Reap and the road, repaired in 2004, is in decent condition (by Cambodian standards). There are no public transport or tourist facilities; other than makeshift tables near the police camp at the entrance to Prasat Thom.</p> <p>‘<strong>What to see:</strong></p> <p>The ancient Khmer city is in a distant jungle location with up to a hundred ruined temples including a huge stepped pyramid; the largest in the region. More ancient temples are being found in the jungle; so there is a true sense of discovery here. Many of the temples were built in brick using a mortar made from tree sap. It is quite remarkable how well they have stood up to the test of time</p> <p>The Entry fee is $10 payable at the booth near the entrance to Beng Mealea temple 60 km to the south west. If you are heading from Tbeang Meanchey and Preah Vihear there is no means if getting a ticket … Yet but no doubt a facility will be set up in the not too distant future.</p> <p>There are temples in abundance , most are brick built and all are in a picturesque state of ruin with many being overgrown. The Prang is the largest structure here, it is a 7 stepped pyramid approx 40metres high the views from the top encompass a lonely landscape of forest with the distant Dangrek Mountains on the Thai Border to the north and the Koulen Mountain Range 70 km to the south. Prasat Thom is the name of the temple that lies directly at the bottom of the Prang and one must negotiate this to gain entrance to the pyramid enclosure. In 2007 Prasat Thom was cleared of vegetation and the moats cleaned out by villagers working for the APSARA Authority that now manages the site. Tickets are sold by the Kham Samet Company that built the road to Koh Ker.</p> <p>If you want to stay over night there is a simple guest house at the village of Sray Young 1 km to the south. Camping is not permitted in the temple areas.</p> * Koh Ker Guest House. Has a few rustic rooms with bucket shower and WCs under the stilt house, new rooms are being added at present.khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-92179745818674247832009-10-21T00:45:00.000-07:002009-10-21T00:58:45.278-07:00From Cambridge to Cambodia: Finding Hope in the Heart of Darkness<p> <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">It was a typical scorching April day just outside of Phnom Penh, and I could see the heat rise from the dusty road in thick, humid waves. Taxi drivers squatted patiently under leafy trees while families paced the covered walkway in front of Pochentong Airport, waiting for loved ones to arrive. </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Only two years earlier, the airport consisted of a small, one-story building and a dirt "runway." Now the multi-story glass and steel international terminal housed a European-style cafe, richly wood-paneled lounges and enough A/C to cool half of Southeast Asia. Inside the sparkling new Dairy Queen, you could order your very own "Blizzard" in the middle of Cambodia—although for most Cambodians, the $2 or $3 price tag might mean giving up an entire day's wages or more. It all seemed so weirdly out of place, these false indicators of so-called-progress. They had no context where the things that truly matter are sometimes as simple as having books and a roof under which to study. </p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"> What originally brought me to Cambodia was a non-profit organization called Friendly Planet, which I co-founded with Michael Hawley PhD '93. One of our missions is to produce a series of children’s books that illustrate in pictures and words the lives of children living in countries all around the world. The hope is not only to teach children about their global community, but also to help support educational projects in the places we explore. In Cambodia, we will donate a portion of the proceeds from book sales to support schools being built by American Assistance for Cambodia in rural villages across the country. Education in Cambodia has become an increasing priority, even among the poorest farming communities, but the country still needs an estimated 5,000 new schools just to accommodate the current population of school age children. </p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">While traveling, researching, photographing and writing about Cambodia, I quickly learned to appreciate the country. More than just a victim of genocide, it is a nation struggling with contradictions that hinder its cultural, economic and political regeneration. Before my first visit in early 2001, I had no idea what to expect. Like most people, my knowledge could be summed up in three names: Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge and the "Killing Fields." It was a place whose mention alone invoked sad head shaking and sighs from friends, with the occasional vague recollection of some landmine or missing tourist story in the news. </p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Heeding their cautious fears and warnings, I braced myself for the worst. On one hand, nothing that I had seen, read, or heard could have prepared me for kind of deep physical and psychological scarring that Cambodia carries. On the other hand, I was also completely unprepared to be overwhelmed by the cultural richness and physical beauty of the country. I realized that reducing an entire country to a single word like "genocide" not only hobbles its ability to move forward but also fails to acknowledge all the things that truly define a nation—its people, its culture, and its great history. </p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"> Everywhere I went, I found encouraging signs of hope, beauty, and generosity of spirit. They were in the faces of the school children I met, who took such incredible pride in their studies and dreamed of bright futures. They were embodied in the awe-inspiring ruins of Angkor. They were in the graceful gestures of young dancers studying the centuries old tradition of classical apsara dance. They were in the beautiful and warm smiles that seem to be a genetic gift to the Cambodian people. All of these experiences have helped me to form a more complete and human idea of Cambodia, one that looks inward into the soul of the country as much as it does to historical events. </p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">There is, of course, no escaping the country's tragic past. Nearly two million people were killed under the Pol Pot regime. Any Cambodian you speak to who is over the age of thirty lost close family or friends to the genocide. And while no one could ever imagine trying to forget this horrible past, the country is looking urgently towards building its future. Organizations such as the Cambodian Master Performers Project are engaged in a desperate race against time to save the scattered remains of the rich Khmer culture. By both preserving the arts and passing them on to new generations, they hope that one day, Cambodia can again be renown for its beauty and artistry, not the dark history that nearly destroyed it. Despite the best efforts of the most dedicated people, so much more remains to be done if Cambodia is to step fully out of the shadow of its past and into a brighter future. </p> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_angkor-reflectn_483.jpg" alt="Sunset at Angkor" title="Sunset at Angkor" border="0" /> <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><br />Sunset at Angkor highlights one of the intricate bas relief carvings that depicts life in the ancient Khmer Empire.<br /><br /></span></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_man_fan_483.jpg" alt="An elderly villager keeps cool in the hot April weather" title="An elderly villager keeps cool in the hot April weather" border="0" /> <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><br />An elderly villager keeps cool in the hot April weather.<br /><br /></span></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_watr-fest-crowd_483.jpg" alt="Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians converge on Phnom Penh for the annual water festival, Bon Om Tuk" title="Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians converge on Phnom Penh for the annual water festival, Bon Om Tuk" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians converge on Phnom Penh for the annual water festival, Bon Om Tuk. One of the biggest holidays in the Khmer calendar, Bon Om TUk marks the changing in direction of the current of the Tonle Sap River, as well as the end of the rainy season.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_young-monks_483.jpg" alt="Monks" title="Monks" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Monks, along with artists, doctors, teachers and musicians, were among those targeted and killed by the Khmer Rouge. Luckily, a new generation of young boys are helping to replenish the religious community, although some will only serve as monks for a few years as part of their education.</span><br /><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_banteay-srei_483.jpg" alt="A detail from Banteay Srei" title="A detail from Banteay Srei" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">A detail from Banteay Srei, one of most intricately carved temples within Angkor.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_burnt-offering_483.jpg" alt="An elderly woman makes an offering at the local wat to pay respect to her ancestors" title="An elderly woman makes an offering at the local wat to pay respect to her ancestors" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">An elderly woman makes an offering at the local wat to pay respect to her ancestors.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_flo-kids_483.jpg" alt="Kids at the Future Light Orphanage" title="Kids at the Future Light Orphanage" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Cameras always attract attention from the kids at the Future Light Orphanage (FLO), where children learn traditional crafts, music and dance as well as computer skills.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_composite_483.jpg" alt="Sandy Choi and Michael Hawley (left) and boy with slingshot" title="Sandy Choi and Michael Hawley (left) and boy with slingshot" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Sandy Choi and Michael Hawley roast under the hot Cambodian sun in front of Angkor Wat, the largest religious edifice in the world (left). At right, this squirrelly young boy sat still for about two seconds before running off to play with his hand carved slingshot.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_ratanakiri-lake-girls_483.jpg" alt="Two young friends enjoy a cool dip in a lake" title="Two young friends enjoy a cool dip in a lake" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Two young friends enjoy a cool dip in a lake formed from an ancient volcanic crater in Ratanakiri province.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_landmine-billboard_483.jpg" alt="Sign warning children not to play with landmines" title="Sign warning children not to play with landmines" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">This sign warning children not to play with landmines is the only billboard in the village of Rovieng.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_ratanakiri-mudpies_483.jpg" alt="Two young girls practice making Cambodian "mud pies" wrapped in banana leaves" title="Two young girls practice making Cambodian "mud pies" wrapped in banana leaves" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Two young girls practice making Cambodian "mud pies" wrapped in banana leaves.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_negroponte-schl-girls_483.jpg" alt="A chorus line of smiling girls" title="A chorus line of smiling girls" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">A chorus line of smiling girls wave hello in front of a brand new school sponsored by Nicholas Negroponte, founder and former director of the Media Lab.</span><br /><br /></span> <span class="image-wide-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_water-festival_483.jpg" alt="Khmer New Year celebration" title="Khmer New Year celebration" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">During the Khmer New Year, rowdy revelers follow the tradition of dousing one another with water and baby powder.</span></span> <h4 class="alternate-content">About the Authors</h4> <span class="alternate-content-image-small-with-caption"><img src="https://alum.mit.edu/news/WhatMatters/images/choi_hawley_cambodia_authors_120x90.jpg" alt="Sandy Choi '99 and Michael Hawley PhD '93" title="Sandy Choi '99 and Michael Hawley PhD '93" border="0" /></span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Sandy Choi '99 (far left) completed her SB degrees in economics and music in 1999. She currently lives in New York City with her dog, Rocket, and will be pursuing an MA in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University this fall. She plans to take a break from perfecting her Arabic and dissecting the pathologies of international organizations in order to run her second marathon (Chicago) in October.</span><br /> <br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"> Michael Hawley PhD '93, MIT's director of special projects, was on the faculty at the Media Lab for nearly a decade, where he also did his PhD work under Marvin Minsky. In industry, Hawley has worked with George Lucas and Steve Jobs. He is an accomplished pianist and recently debuted with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall.</span>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-26625050621202730732009-10-21T00:39:00.000-07:002009-10-21T00:45:33.621-07:00Cambodian Dance<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYc2o2MFnhH8L9VWWxmjkPNotUeZPw8smeHQA4RTWypQxWjMMrBuJrJDQlBarPe_KJSX6u23bVVaG6vPtni6mWxtLb7E2a9FEQpQRrQdKLmkhCvayfDW4blnyb6gvISvrerSIuz1HjMY0/s320/132.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394956065532619762" border="0" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Cambodian Dance can be divided into three main categories: classical dance, folk dances, and vernacular dances.</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);" class="fullpost"><br />Khmer classical dance is a form of Cambodian dance originally performed only for royalty. The dances have many elements in common with Thai classical dance. 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.Provided as repeating a golden age in 1960s, Khmer Classical Dance which know as The Royal Ballet of Cambodia after select as UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, has lead one of its dance to be a outstanding dance of all for culture and society. Apsara Dance, a khmer dance that has survived since the Angkor Era, has been singled out to attract foreign tourists and to make the richness of khmer culture known to the world. Apsara Dance was promoted by Princess Norodom Bopha Devi before the Khmer Rouge times and recently has received an award as one of the main symbols of Cambodia.<br /><br />Khmer folk dances, which are performed for audiences, 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. The folk dance music is played by a mahori orchestra.<br /><br />Cambodian vernacular dances (or social dances) are those danced at social gatherings. Such dances include ram vong, ram kbach, ram saravan, and lam leav. 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. Other social dances from around the world have had an impact on Cambodian social culture include the Cha-cha, Bolero, and the Madison.</span>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-17454244093475694642009-10-21T00:30:00.000-07:002009-10-21T00:39:06.757-07:00WAT Phnom<h2 align="center"><br /></h2> <p align="center"> <img src="http://www.khmer.ws/event/newyear/200706.jpg" width="520" border="0" height="346" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">This is new WAT Phnom or (Phnom Penh) governor rebuild the Naga bridge as you see the WAT Phnom in the background, This picture is taken one day before the new year day. On the new year day governor arrange a dance party in the middle of this bridge with security guard and traditional Khmer music.</span></p> <p align="center"> <img src="http://www.khmer.ws/event/newyear/200707.jpg" width="361" border="0" height="240" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">This is the First Day at WAT Phnom, like every year people gather around and play games, the most played one if powder, this year is different.</span></p> <p align="center"> <img src="http://www.khmer.ws/event/newyear/200701.jpg" width="376" border="0" height="250" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Yes it's different because the Powder game is getting worse and the authority have to stop the play, however people still find the way to escape.</span></p> <p align="center"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><img src="http://www.khmer.ws/event/newyear/200703.jpg" width="361" border="0" height="240" /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">This is the concert, nice, no one dance but I saw a lot of tours visit.</span></p> <p align="center"> <img src="http://www.khmer.ws/event/newyear/200708.jpg" width="520" border="0" height="346" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Well how many people? as i can say a lot of people come to WAT Phnom but most of the people i talk to they speak very good vietnam.</span></p> <p align="center"> <img src="http://www.khmer.ws/event/newyear/200702.jpg" width="376" border="0" height="250" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">This is a group, play a traditional game.</span></p> <p align="center"> <img src="http://www.khmer.ws/event/newyear/200704.jpg" width="361" border="0" height="240" /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Khmer New Year is getting better or bore, still the same old thing like last year, TV air celebrity play traditional game, street quiet as everyone leave Phnom Penh back to their province and Phnom Penh people leave to Sihanouk ville or Siem Reap and many has leave country.</span></p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-38076591564822434702009-10-21T00:12:00.000-07:002009-10-21T00:30:31.701-07:00khmer & mon<p><strong>Mon state Flag</strong></p> <p align="justify"> The <strong>Mon</strong> are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia. They live in Mon State, historic lower Burma and the area around the southern Burmese-Thailand border.</p> <p><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/new_mon_state_party_flag.png?w=315&h=193&h=193" alt="new_mon_state_party_flag.png" width="315" height="193" /></p> <p><strong>New Mon State Party Flag</strong></p> <p align="justify">There are believed to be around 8 million people who claim Mon ancestry and retain their culture and language, but the majority of the Mon (possibly 4 million) use the modern Burmese language for daily business and are literate only in Burmese (not in their native language). The majority of Mon live around the city of Bago or the site of their historic capital, Thaton and the port of Mawlamyaing.</p> <p><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/youngmon.jpg?w=226&h=327&h=327" alt="youngmon.jpg" width="226" height="327" /></p> <p><strong>Mon Children (boys)</strong></p> <p align="justify">They also constitute a significant percentage of the population further south along the lowland coast to the city of Ye, Burma.</p> <p><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/monvirgins.jpg" alt="monvirgins.jpg" /></p> <p><strong>Mon Children (girls) </strong></p> <h4 align="justify"> <span style="color:#0000ff;">Early history of Burma_</span> </h4> <p align="justify">Humans lived in the region that is now Burma as early as 11,000 years ago, but the first identifiable civilization is that of the Pyu although both Burman and Mon tradition claim that the fabled Suvarnabhumi mentioned in ancient Pali and Sanskrit texts was a Mon kingdom centered on Thaton in present day Mon state.</p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/khmer-art.jpg" alt="khmer-art.jpg" width="202" height="195" /></span><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Khmer Arts</strong></span></p> <p align="justify">The Mon were one of the earliest distinct groups to occupy Burma, moving into the area as early as 1500 BCE or possibly earlier. The Mon are primarily associated with the historical kingdoms of Dvaravati and Haripunchai.</p> <p><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/angkor_wat_w-seite.jpg" alt="angkor_wat_w-seite.jpg" width="225" height="186" /></p> <p><strong>Ankor Wat</strong></p> <p align="justify">Up until the 14th century, outposts of Mon culture continued to spread very Far East, including modern Thailand and Isan plateau cities such as Lampang and Khon Kaen.</p> <p><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/carte_empire-khmer.png" alt="carte_empire-khmer.png" width="389" height="410" /></p> <p><strong>Mon Khmer Empire</strong></p> <h5 align="left">Look, Thai’s Upper or North Western region was under Pagan.</h5> <h5 align="left">Remaining Thai, Laos, Upper Malaysia and Lower Burma</h5> <h5 align="left">was under Mon-Khmer rule.</h5> <p align="justify">As late as the 14th and 15th centuries, it is believed that the Mon were the ethnic majority in this vast region, but also intermarried freely with Khmer and Tai-Kadai populations.</p> <p align="justify">Archaeological remains of Mon settlements have been found south of Vientiane, and may also have extended further to the north-west in the Haripunchai era.The Mon converted to Theravada Buddhism at a very early point in their history.</p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/monbuddha-1.jpg" alt="monbuddha-1.jpg" width="202" height="269" /></span><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Mon Buddha</strong></span></p> <p align="justify">Unlike other ethnic groups in the region, they seem to have adopted Theravada orthodoxy before coming into contact with Mahayana tendencies, and it is generally believed that the Mon provided the link of transmission whereby both the Thais and Cambodians converted from Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism to Theravada Buddhism (increasingly from the 1400s).</p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/monbuddhaside.jpg" alt="monbuddhaside.jpg" width="199" height="247" /></span><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Mon Buddha (side view)</strong></span></p> <p align="justify">Although the precise date cannot be fixed, it seems that the Mon have been practicing Theravada Buddhism continuously for a longer period than any other extant religious community on earth, except for Sri Lanka, as the lineage was destroyed in India.</p> <p><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/monwheel.jpg" alt="monwheel.jpg" width="205" height="207" /></p> <p><strong>Mon Scripture Wheel</strong></p> <p align="justify">Like the Burmese and the Thais, some modern Mons have tried to identify their ethnicity with the semi-historical kingdom of Suwarnabhumi. Today, this claim is contested by many different ethnicities in South-East Asia, and contradicted by scholars. Historical scholarship indicates that the early usage of the term (as found in the edicts of Ashoka) indicated a location in Southern India, and not in South-East Asia. However, from the time of the first translations of the Ashokan inscriptions in the 19th century, both the Burmese and the Thais have made concentrated efforts to identify place-names found in the edicts with their own territory or culture. Sometimes these claims have also relied upon the creative interpretation of place-names found in Chinese historical sources.</p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/pb_grand_palace_bangkok.jpg" alt="pb_grand_palace_bangkok.jpg" width="241" height="197" /></span><span style="color:#ff6600;">(Mon Khmer) Grand Palace Bangkok</span></p> <p align="justify">The 6th century Mon kingdom of Dvaravati in the lower Chao Phraya valley in present day Thailand extended its frontiers to the Tenasserim Yoma (mountains). With subjugation by the Khmer Empire from Angkor in the 11th century the Mon shifted further west deeper into present day Burma. </p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/khmer_woman_fields.jpg" alt="khmer_woman_fields.jpg" width="252" height="350" /></span><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Khmer Women in the field</strong></span></p> <p align="justify">Oral tradition suggests that they had contact with Buddhism via seafaring as early as the 3rd century BC and had received an envoy of monks from Ashoka in the 2nd century BC. </p> <p align="justify">The Mons adopted Indian culture together with Theravada Buddhism and are thought to have founded kingdoms in Lower Burma including Thaton in the 6th or 7th century and Bago (Pegu) in 825 with the kingdom of Raman’n’adesa (or Ramanna which is believed to be Thaton) referenced by Arab geographers in 844–8.The lack of archaeological evidence for this may in part be due to the focus of excavation work predominantly being in Upper Burma. </p> <p align="center"><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/si-2.jpg" alt="si-2.jpg" width="235" height="200" /></span></p> <p align="center"><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Shampoo Island</strong></span></p> <p align="justify">The first recorded kingdom that can undisputedly be attributed to the Mon people was Dvaravati, which prospered until around 1000 AD when their capital was sacked by the Khmer Empire and most of the inhabitants fled west to present-day Burma and eventually founded new kingdoms. These, too, eventually came under pressure from new ethnic groups arriving from the north. </p> <p align="justify">Mon kingdoms ruled large sections of Burma from the 9th to the 11th, the 13th to the 16th, and again in the 18th centuries. About the same period, southward-migrating Burmans took over lands in central Myanmar once dominated by Pyu city-states and the Tai started trickling into South-East Asia. </p> <p align="justify">The Burman (Bamar ) established the kingdom of Bagan. In 1057, Bagan defeated the Mon kingdom, capturing the Mon capital of Thaton and carrying off 30,000 Mon captives to Bagan. </p> <p align="justify">After the fall of Bagan to the invading Mongols in 1287, the Mon, under Wareru an ethnic Tai (Shan), regained their independence and captured Martaban and Bago, thus virtually controlling their previously held territory. </p> <p align="center"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/shampooisland.jpg" alt="shampooisland.jpg" width="285" height="161" /></p> <p align="center"><strong>Shampoo Island</strong></p> <p align="justify">Mon kingdoms A main body of ethnic Shan / Tai migration came in the 13th century after the fall of the Kingdom of Dali to the Mongol Empire and filled the void left by the fall of the Bagan kingdom in northern Burma forming a loose coalition of city-states. These successive waves of Bamar and Tai groups slowly eroded the Mon kingdoms, and the next 200 years witnessed incessant warfare between the Mon and the Burmese, but the Mon managed to retain their independence until 1539. </p> <p align="center"><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/monstatemudon.jpg" alt="monstatemudon.jpg" width="274" height="203" /></span></p> <p align="center"><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Mon State Mudon</strong></span></p> <p align="justify">The last independent Mon kingdom fell to the Burmese when Alaungpaya razed Bago in 1757. Many of the Mon were killed, while others fled to Thailand. Hanthawaddy (or Hanthawady; in Thai ??????? Hongsawadi) is a place in Burma. Hongsawatoi ( Bago/Pegu/ Handawaddy ) Hongsawatoi, Capital city of old Mon kingdom. </p> <p align="justify">It was destroyed by Burman King, U Aungzeya or Aloungpaya in 1757. Hongsawatoi (Mon language pronounce) (Pali Hamsavati) Bago is about 50 miles from Rangoon. </p> <p><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/shampoo-island.thumbnail.jpg" alt="shampoo-island.jpg" width="271" height="205" /></p> <p align="center"><strong>Shampoo Island</strong></p> <p align="justify">According to legend, two Mon princess from Thaton founded Bago in 573 AD. It was written in the chronicles that eight years after enlightenment, Lord Buddha along with his disciples went air-borne around Southeast Asian countries. </p> <p align="justify">The earliest mention of this city in history is by the Arab geographer Ibn Khudadhbin around 850 AD. At the time, the Mon capital had shifted to Thaton. The word Mranma, in both Mon and Myanmar inscriptions came into being only at about the same time, lending support to this claim that the Pyu were an earlier vanguard of southward Tibeto-Burman migration who were entirely absorbed into a newly formed identity by later waves of similar people. </p> <p align="justify">The Pagan Kingdom grew in relative isolation until the reign of Anawrahta (1044-77) who successfully unified all of Burma by defeating the Mon city of Thaton in 1057. The area came under rule of the Burmese from Bagan in 1056. </p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/5601-onlinecart80.gif" alt="5601-onlinecart80.gif" width="362" height="249" /></span></p> <p align="center"><span style="color:#ff6600;">Kyansittha, Alaungphaya, Bayintnaung and Nga Paw</span></p> <p align="justify">Consolidation was accomplished under his successors Kyanzittha (1084–1112) and Alaungsithu (1112-67), so that by the mid-12th century, most of continental Southeast Asia was under the control of either the Pagan Kingdom or the Khmer Empire. The Pagan kingdom went into decline as the Mongols threatened from the north. The last true ruler of Pagan, Narathihapate (1254-87) felt confident in his ability to resist the Mongols and advanced into Yunnan in 1277 to make war upon them. He was thoroughly crushed at the Battle of Ngasaunggyan, and Pagan resistance virtually collapsed. The king was assassinated by his own son in 1287, precipitating a Mongol invasion in the Battle of Pagan. </p> <p align="justify">The Mongols successfully captured most of the empire, including its capital, and ended the dynasty in 1289 when they installed a puppet ruler in Burma. </p> <p align="justify">After the collapse of Bagan to the Mongols in 1287, the Mon regained their independence. From 1369-1539, Hanthawaddy was the capital of the Mon Kingdom of Ramanadesa, which covered all of what is now lower Burma. </p> <p align="justify">The area came under Burman control again in 1539, when it was annexed by King Tabinshweti to his Kingdom of Taungoo. </p> <p align="justify">The kings of Taungoo made Bago their royal capital from 1539-1599 and again in 1613-1634, and used it as a base for repeated invasions of Siam. A Mon dynasty ruled Lower Burma after the fall of the Pagan dynasty from 1287 to 1539 with a brief revival during 1550–53. <strong>At first Martaban was the capital of this kingdom and then Pegu.</strong></p> <p><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/b022s.jpg" alt="b022s.jpg" width="236" height="174" /></p> <p>Mawlamying jetty</p> <p align="justify">The Mon king Rajadhirat, who waged war with the northern Burman kingdom of Ava during the whole duration of his reign, unified and consolidated the Mon kingdom’s domains in Lower Burma.The most famous Mon monarchs during this period were Queen Baña Thau (Burmese: Shin Sawbu; reigned 1453–1472) followed by Dhammazedi (reigned 1472–92). Queen Baña Thau personally chose Dhammazedi to succeed her. Dhammazedi had been a monk before he became king of Pegu. Under Dhammazedi, Pegu became a centre of commerce and Theravadan Buddhism. These two devout Buddhist monarchs initiated a long period of peace in Lower Burma.Many foreign traders were attracted to the capital, which became well-known to the outside world as a centre of commerce. As such it is mentioned by the Russian merchant, Nitikin, who traveled in the East about 1470.</p> <p align="justify">Its fifteenth century rulers were, like those of old Pagan, chiefly interested in the development of religion. Missions were sent to Ceylon and on their return stimulated an important religious revival, which affected the whole of Burma.</p> <p align="justify">Its centre was the Kalyani thein near Pegu, so named because its original monks had been ordained on the banks of the Kalyani River in Ceylon. Kalyani ordination became the standard form for the whole country. The story of the reforms is told in the Kalyani inscriptions erected by King Dammazedi (1472-92). Dammazedi was the greatest of the rulers of Wareru’s line. His reign was a time of peace and he himself was a mild ruler, famous for his wisdom. A collection of his rulings, the Dammazedi pyatton, is still extant. He maintained friendly intercourse with Yunnan and revived the practice of sending missions to Buddhagaya. He was a Buddhist ruler of the best type, deeply solicitous for the purification of religion. Under him civilization flourished, and the condition of the Mon country stands out in sharp contrast with the disorder and savagery which characterized the Ava kingdom. When he died he was honoured as a saint and a pagoda was erected over his bones.</p> <p align="justify">The Mon kingdom possessed two great pagodas of especial sanctity, the Shwemawdaw at Pegu and the Shwe Dagon at the small stockaded fishing-town of Dagon, now Rangoon, the capital of modern Burma.</p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/sdg-pagoda.jpg" alt="sdg-pagoda.jpg" width="183" height="162" /></span><span style="color:#ff6600;">Shwe Dagon</span></p> <p align="justify">The last Mon kingdom was Hongsavatoi—they re-conquered much of their lost territory until the energetic Burman leader U Aungzeya forced them back and captured the kingdom by 1757, massacring a considerable part of the population. The Mon religious leaders were forced to flee to Siam and the Mon have been harshly repressed from the 1750s to the present day. </p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/swd-pegu.jpg" alt="swd-pegu.jpg" width="205" height="191" /></span></p> <p align="center"><span style="color:#ff6600;">Shwe Maw Daw (Pegu)</span></p> <p align="justify">King Mingyinyo founded the First Toungoo Dynasty (1486–1599) at Toungoo, south of Ava, towards the end of the Ava dynasty. After the conquest of Ava by the Shan invaders in 1527 many Burmans migrated to Toungoo which became a new center for Burmese rule. The dynasty conquered the Mohnyin Shan peoples in northern Burma. By this time, the geopolitical situation in Southeast Asia had changed dramatically. Mingyinyo’s son king Tabinshwehti (1531-50) unified most of Burma. The Shan gained power in a new kingdom in the North, Ayutthaya (Siam), while the Portuguese had arrived in the south and conquered Malacca. With the coming of European traders, Burma was once again an important trading centre, and Tabinshwehti moved his capital to Pegu due to its strategic position for commerce. Tabinshwehti was able to gain control of Lower Burma up to Prome, but the campaigns he led to the Arakan, Ayutthaya, and Ava in Upper Burma were unsuccessful. When Tabinshwehti’s brother-in-law, Bayinnaung (1551-81), Tabinshwehti’s brother-in-law, succeeded to the throne he launched a campaign of conquest invading several states, including Manipur (1560) and Ayutthaya (1569). An energetic leader and effective military commander, he made Toungoo the most powerful state in Southeast Asia, and extended his borders from Laos to Ayutthaya, near Bangkok. His wars stretched Myanmar to the limits of its resources, however, and both Manipur and Ayutthaya, which had remained under Myanmar domination for 15 years, were soon independent once again. Bayinnaung was poised to deliver a final, decisive assault on the kingdom of Arakan when he died in 1581. Faced with rebellion by several cities and renewed Portuguese incursions, the Toungoo rulers withdrew from southern Burma and founded a second dynasty at Ava, the Restored Toungoo Dynasty (1597–1752). Bayinnaung’s grandson, Anaukpetlun, once again reunited Burma in 1613 and decisively defeated Portuguese attempts to take over Burma. Encouraged by the French in India, Pegu finally rebelled against Ava, further weakening the state, which fell in 1752. </p> <p> <span style="color:#ff6600;"><img src="http://sanooaung.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/imp-indochina1886.jpg" alt="imp-indochina1886.jpg" /></span><span style="color:#ff6600;">Mon Shan dominence</span></p> <p><span style="color:#ff6600;">Indo China</span></p> <span style="color:#ff6600;">Filed under: <span style="color:#578cca;">Alaungsithu</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Anawrahta</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Burmese</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Burmese Kings</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Cambodia</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Colony</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Democratic activists</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">English Article</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Ethnic Minorities</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Game Plan</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">History</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Khmer</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Kyanzittha</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Mon Khmers</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Mongol invasions</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Mons</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Myanmar</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Myanmar History</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Myanmar Military</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Politics</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Pyu</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Religion</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">SPDC</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">SPDC Generals</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Shan</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Thailand</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Vietnam</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">culture</span> | Tagged: <span style="color:#578cca;">Anawrahta</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Blogging</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Burma</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Burmese History</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Colony</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">History</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Mon</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">National day</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">Shan</span>, <span style="color:#578cca;">South East Asia</span></span><br /><h1><br /></h1>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-73979297121947075982009-10-21T00:08:00.000-07:002009-10-21T00:12:35.082-07:00Khmer People<p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);" align="justify">Khmer People. The stone inscriptions found in the Angkor's region are mostly concerned with the religious related topics and rarely speak anything about the ordinary life of the local Khmer people. Only the stone carvings on the relief of Angkor Thom do portray some glimpses of the daily life in those days, however, most of our knowledge about the life of the Khmer laymen interestingly come from the Chinese Chronicle written by Zhou Daguan who was a Chinese ambassador of Yuan Dynasty. He visited the Angkor Empire in 1296 and traveled widely inside the kingdom for a year before his return. Residing with the local people in various circumstances, Zhou Daguan described quite an accurate picture about the life and activities of the laymen and enable us to project our imagination.</p> <p align="justify"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img style="width: 245px; height: 156px;" alt="Khmer People- Cambodia- Culture Travel Guide, Culture Tour Cambodia" src="http://www.vietnambudgettour.com/webplus/attachments/420b7905ba18a619aaf36320a841f339-Khmer%20People.jpg" vspace="5" width="245" align="left" border="0" height="183" hspace="5" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>Khmer People- Cambodia</em></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">Zhou Daguan wrote that both men and women are breast-naked and barefooted with a piece of cloth wrapping around their waists. Ordinary females have no hair ornaments, but may wear golden rings on the fingers and bracelets on the arms. Beautiful women are always sent into the court to serve the king or his royal family....All trades in Khmer are carried out by women. In the market place, there is no shop, and the female vendors sell their goods and products on the mats which are spread on the ground. The space in the market is not free, and the rent must be paid to the officials.... the Khmer people do not have any table and chair in their house, and neither have the bowl nor the bucket. They cook their food in the earthen pots which are used for boiling rice and for preparing soup. The ladle sticks are made up from the coconut shells and the soup is served in a tiny bowl made up from the woven leaves by which the soup does not leak from the bowl.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);" align="justify">In addition to Zhou Daguan's description, the relief carvings of Bayon add further views to the lively scene of the market. Many people walk to and fro; two bulls can be seen to pull an oxcart, some people carry their goods on the head, the dignitary on a palanquin carried by the servants, and some people ride on the horses. In the carving, well-dressed foreigners can be seen to walk among the local people.</p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);" align="justify">As the palaces and the houses in the Angkor Empire were mainly made up on unendurable materials such as woods and thatched leaves, they left no traces to the present day, except the various Khmer temples which were built from bricks and stones. During those days, we can imagine the Angkor's capital such that the remarkable Khmer temples like Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom must be surrounded by the wooden houses, some with tiles on the roof while some only with thatch-leaves, and the people carried out their life in the market place. However, all these scenes had long been faded away; only the temples and the memory remain.</p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-7108603326805262362009-10-20T23:54:00.000-07:002009-10-21T00:07:56.276-07:00The Language of Khmer Classical Dance<div id="attachment_437" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 436px;"><span style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136);"><img class="size-medium wp-image-437" title="cd-pamina-devi" src="http://www.devata.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/cd-pamina-devi-300x223.jpg" alt="Scene from Pamina Devi, a ballet for classical dance choreographed by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro" width="426" height="316" /></span><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:85%;">Scene from Pamina Devi, a ballet for classical dance choreographed by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro</span></p></div> <p>PHNOM PENH <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">– <span style="font-size:130%;">Two recently published books on Cambodia’s classical dance reveal aspects of the art that have rarely been addressed in previous works.</span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">They also very much complement each other and target different readerships.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">With a total of 544 pages and more than 180 historical photos and illustrations, Paul Cravath’s “Earth in Flower” delves deep into the essence of Khmer dance beyond its resplendent costumes and mesmerizing gestures.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">The book also contains little-known facts on the role of the Royal Palace’s dancers over the centuries, and how they became symbols of the King’s prestige. So powerful a symbol were they that the French attempted a royal troupe takeover in the 1930s as a way to reduce the power of the Khmer monarchy.</span></p> <div id="attachment_439" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 206px;"><img class="size-medium wp-image-439" title="eif_web_cover" src="http://www.devata.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/eif_web_cover-196x300.jpg" alt="Earth in Flower - The Divine Mystery of the Cambodian Dance Drama by Paul Cravath" width="196" height="300" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:85%;">Earth in Flower - The Divine Mystery of the Cambodian Dance Drama by Paul Cravath</span></p></div> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">The story of “Earth in Flower” began in 1973, Cravath writes, when Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture contacted several international universities with a pressing need assistance to document classical dance. The country was under siege to communist rebels and ministry officials feared that dance traditions – in large part transmitted orally – would be a casualty of war.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Cravath, then a student at the University of Hawaii, took up the topic as his doctoral thesis. Delays followed due to the deteriorating situation in Cambodia, so that by the time he landed in Phnom Penh in January 1975, the Khmer Rouge were dosing in on the city.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Given access to dancers, teachers and the Royal Palace’s archives, Cravath started compiling data and conducting interviews while rockets regularly rained down on the city. He kept on working until the US military ordered his immediate evacuation on April 5, the one suitcase he was allowed to take with him stuffed with his notes and the rest of his belongings left behind.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Twelve days later on April 17th, Phnom Penh fell and the Pol Pot regime began.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">The thesis he submitted for his degree in Asian theater in November 1984 – featuring references in eight languages – was the result of nine additional years of research and interviews with refugee dancers.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Given its origins, it is not surprising that some portions of the book are of more interest to scholars and dance researchers, but others, including the historical overview, are bound to appeal to lay people and experts alike.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Cravath writes that in pre-Angkorian and Angkorian times, female and male dancers were assigned to temples for religious rituals. Although slaves, the fact that dancers are mentioned by name in a stone inscription dated 611 would indicate that they had a higher status than other slaves.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">King Jayavarman VII put more than 3,200 dancers in temples, according to inscriptions around the end of the 12th century There also were dancers for entertainment in the households of kings and dignitaries. And dancers constituted the king’s harem.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">The most beautiful girls would be brought as young as six years old to the palace by their parents who were compensated according to the beauty of their child. From the time of King Ang Duong in the mid-1850s until the 1920s, dancers were cloistered in the palace – King Norodom, who had around 500 dancers at the start of his reign in the 1860s, allowed them one day per year to visit their families under escort.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Dancers were so much a symbol of prestige in the 19th century that Thailand’s King Rama III refused to accede to the request of Laotian King Chao Anou for dancers so that he would not “presume to be his equal,” Cravath reports. This would later prompt King Norodom to welcome a dance troupe headed by a high-ranking Thai lady who had fled the Bangkok court.</span></p> <div id="attachment_438" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 219px;"><img class="size-medium wp-image-438" title="sisowath-prima-ballerina-1915" src="http://www.devata.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/sisowath-prima-ballerina-1915-209x300.jpg" alt="King Sisowath's Prima Ballerina as she appeared in the 1915 book "In the Lands of the Sun" by Prince William of Sweden." width="209" height="300" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:85%;">King Sisowath's Prima Ballerina as she appeared in the 1915 book "In the Lands of the Sun" by Prince William of Sweden.</span></p></div> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">After the signing of the 1863 Protectorate Treaty, the French, who among many other things controlled the country’s finances, tried to reduce the number of palace dancers in order to lessen the King’s prestige. In the 1930s, the French would go as far as subsidizing the private troupe of Princess Wongat Say Sangvann, which performed for tourists, calling it the “one and only true” troupe. But after King Norodom Sihanouk acceded to the throne in 1941, his mother Queen Sisowath Kossamak found ways to reestablish the royal troupe’s ascendancy.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">In support of her son, Queen Kossamak transformed performances so that the royal troupe could best serve Cambodia’s image nationally and abroad, Cravath writes. She shortened dance programs, had pure dance pieces followed by dramatic or comic works, and added musical interludes.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">The presence of Princess Norodom Buppha Devi, “a most skillful and beautiful dancer,” Cravath writes, helped make the royal troupe a powerful political tool.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">During the Khmer Rouge regime, most artists who had remained in the country disappeared A former Royal University of Fine Arts teacher who survived, Chheng Phon, would become in the early 1980s “the strongest force in the struggle to preserve any of the per¬forming arts of Cambodia,” Cravath writes.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">One of Cravath’s goals was to research the role dance played in Khmer society: “Cambodian dance has always been a representation of two natural forces or principles – the Feminine and the Masculine – in confrontation, and dance was a means of contacting the spirits who could influence the outcome of their interaction,” he writes.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Dance could be seen as an odd subject to be tackled by Cravath, as the actor, theater director and drama professor at the University of Hawaii has walked all his life with braces on his legs due to a childhood illness, according to his publisher Kent Davis of DatASIA.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Since being released in book form a few months ago, “Earth in Flower” has received two international awards – the Kiriyama Prize Notable Book and the Nautilus Silver Award – and was selected by the Independent Book Publishers Association to appear on the cover of Publisher’s Weekly’ in February 2008, Davis said.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Rather than focusing on the distant origins of Khmer traditional dance or an in-depth academic discourse of the form, Denise Heywood’s book “Cambodian Dance, Celebration of the Gods” is one of the few recent books detailing dance in Cambodia today.</span></p> <div id="attachment_440" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 250px;"><img class="size-medium wp-image-440" title="heywood_cambodian-dancers" src="http://www.devata.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/heywood_cambodian-dancers-300x300.jpg" alt="Cambodian Dancers by Denise Heywood" width="240" height="240" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:85%;">"Cambodian Dance - Celebration of the Gods" by Denise Heywood</span></p></div> <p style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">A British journalist and Asian art lecturer, Heywood has crafted a 144-page work in a coffee-table format that contains superb historical information as well as illustrations and photos.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">These illuminating images include French posters for King Sisowath’s dancers 1906 performances in Paris, paintings of dancers published in Pierre Loti’s 1912 book “Un Pelerin d’Angkor,” or Angkor’s Pilgrim, and photos of a masked <em>lakhaon kaol</em> dancers performing ‘Weyreap” in Phnom Penh in 2004.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">In her book, released by River Books in Bangkok, Heywood briefly covers all aspects of dance, supplying the type of basic facts certain to attract all readers, regardless of their familiarity with Cambodian dance.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">In the chapter “Preparation for Performance,” she explains that costumes must fit so tight on dancers’ bodies that they have to be sewn on them before each performance. Women’s makeup used to consist of lead and rice or alabaster powder, which gave their faces an otherworldly whiteness, but this has now been replaced by regular cosmetics. Masks for male <em>lakhaon kaol</em></span> dancers are made of clay or papier-mache, and may take a month to sculpt and paint.</p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Heywood also summarizes storylines of the most commonly staged dances, such as the epic tale Reamker, the Apsara Dance and the Story of Mekhala. In the gestures section, she shows with illustrations that hand movements usually signify parts of flowers, the hand pointing up indicating a leaf and the index finger held up the stem.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Of interest in the historical portion of the book is Heywood’s section on Western dancers such as Belgian dancer Xenia Zarina, who came to Cambodia in the 1920s and 1930s to study Khmer classical dance in order to perform works in that tradition in the West.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Later in the book, she mentions that Pol Pot whose regime would cause the death of about 90 percent of the country’s artists, had a sister in the royal troupe and a cousin who had been a star dancer and a favorite of King Sisowath.</span></p> <div id="attachment_436" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 308px;"><img class="size-medium wp-image-436" title="cd-piseth_paeklica" src="http://www.devata.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/cd-piseth_paeklica-298x300.jpg" alt="Star dancer Piseth Paeklica killed in 1999 at 34 years old. No suspect was ever apprehended." width="298" height="300" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size:85%;">Star dancer Piseth Paeklica killed in 1999 at 34 years old. No suspect was ever apprehended.</span></p></div> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Writing about dance today, Heywood puts a name on the faces of people who receive little recognition in the field, some of the leading advocates and masters responsible for classical dance’s high standards and vibrant works at the present time.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">Heading the list are Chheng Phon and legendary Pich Turn Kravel, a well known actor in the 1960s who survived the Khmer Rouge regime to write and choreograph dramas in the 1980s and 1990s. Now respectively in their 70s and late 60s, the two men regularly serve as advisers on dance and theater productions in the country.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">At the end of the book, Heywood describes the Cambodian government’s lack of support for the arts. Not only do artists no longer have an appropriate national theater to perform, but also the Royal University of Fine Arts has been relocated at a site on which, she writes, “buildings are already cracking…a remote, barren area of landfill where they are sometimes mugged en route to classes.” The start of RUFA classes was delayed in October 2008 due to the campus being inundated for weeks by knee-deep flood water.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">In April 1995, Heywood had interviewed the future King Norodom Sihamoni who told her that while Cambodia “must keep the strict classical traditions intact” new works and forms must be developed.</span></p> <p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;">‘Too much emphasis is placed on Angkor,” Heywood reports Norodom Sihamoni telling her. “Glorious as it is, it’s the past. It is the witness of a great culture, we must safeguard it. But now Cambodia needs other expressions.”</span></p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-52806331349487805712009-10-20T23:52:00.000-07:002009-10-20T23:54:23.391-07:00Cambodia<p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="border-width: 0px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; background-color: transparent;"><img style="border-width: 0px;" tabindex="0" src="http://gemwanderings.googlepages.com/IMG_0160-1.JPG/IMG_0160-1-large.JPG" hashcode="" closure="" width="420" height="274" /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;">While gems have been mined in Cambodia for centuries, it is a land that has seen little peace over the years. Since the time of the kings of Angkor, Cambodia and its Khmer people have been claimed by Vietnam, Thailand and France. These upheavals of politics interrupted the production of precious stones intermittently and left the details of mining locations and history difficult to determine.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;">Thankfully, Cambodia is now at peace and it is safe to travel throughout the country. I have made two extended expeditions from the new aquamarine pegmatite mines in Takeo to the famous zircon mines in Ratanakiri. This would not have been possible without the help of Mr. Votha Un who acted as my guide/interpreter. Neither of us had travelled to many of these areas and it was a great experience to explore them together.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;">There is much misinformation about what is currently happening in Cambodia. My visits were both in 2007 and I can only speak about what I have seen first hand. I know that the government is trying to reduce illegal mining and enforce more strict environmental regulations than in the time of the Khmer Rouge. This has slowed the issuing of new mining permits for gems. However, a few mining entities have requests and environmental impact statements in the works, so maybe another boom is coming!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Cambodia is passing through a window of its development that is perfect for the gem adventurer. There are many things to discover without being so far out of reach to be extremely dangerous, expensive or time consuming. The people are friendly, the food is good, and the weather is warm. Transportation and roads continue to improve. Votha and I did all of our traveling in his Toyota Camry or on the small 125 cc motorcycles that are so abundant in southeast Asia.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;">If you are looking for a place to explore, Cambodia is the perfect blend of adventure and comfort. Not only does this country have gems of the mineral variety, it has world renowned monuments of its glorious history and unique endangered species. Sometimes, these are found side-by-side. Soon this country will become similar to Thailand and no longer be the wild East. Cambodia has already made so many changes since my first trip nearly a decade ago. Sooner is better for those who would like to feel a sense of the Cambodia that was hidden away for decades. Another decade, and the generation that has lived through unbearable times will be gone.</span></p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-7490605710676838502009-10-20T23:47:00.000-07:002009-10-20T23:48:34.532-07:00Beng MealeaBeng Mealea (Khmer: Prasat Beng Mealea) is a temple in the Angkor Wat style located 40 km east of the main group of temples at Angkor, Cambodia, and 77 km from Siem Reap by road. It is largely unrestored, with trees and thick brush thriving amidst its towers and courtyards and many of its stones lying in great heaps. For years it was difficult to reach, but a road recently built to the temple complex of Koh Ker passes Beng Mealea and more visitors are coming to the site.<br /><img style="width: 451px; height: 337px;" class="aligncenter" src="http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/moniroth/Bengmealea.jpg?t=1225446044" alt="Bengmealea at angkor" /><br />The temple was built during the reign of King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century. Smaller in size than Angkor Wat, the king’s main monument, Beng Mealea nonetheless ranks among the Khmer empire’s larger temples. Its primary material is sandstone. Surrounded by moats, it is oriented toward the east but has entranceways from the other three cardinal directions. The basic layout is three enclosing galleries around a central sanctuary. Structures known as libraries lie to the right and left of the avenue that leads in from the east. There is extensive carving of scenes from Hindu mythology, including the Churning of the Sea of Milk and Vishnu being borne by the bird god Garuda. Causeways have long balustrades formed by bodies of the seven-headed Naga serpent.khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-19848017138983780112009-10-20T23:23:00.000-07:002009-10-20T23:25:51.390-07:00Banteay Chhmar<p>This enormous complex, which was a temple city, is one of the most intriguing in the Khmer empire, both for it’s scale and it’s remote location. Never excavated, Banteay Chhmar fits the picture of a lost Khmer city with its ruined face-towers, carvings, forest surroundings and bird life flying through the temple. It has a romantic and discovery feel to it.<br /><br />Banteay Chhmar dates from the late 12th to the early 13th century and it means Narrow Fortress. It is thought to have been built by Jayarvarman II. It was later rebuilt by Jayarvarman VII as a funerary temple for his sons and four generals who had been killed in a battle repelling a Cham invasion in 1177.</p> <p>Like Preah Khan, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, Banteay Chhmar originally enclosed a city with the temple at the heart. No traces of the city that surrounded the temple remain. The temple area covers 2km by 2 and a half km. It contains the main temple complex and a number of other religious structures and a baray to its east. A mote filled with water and a huge wall inside of that encloses the center of the temple. This mote is still used to present day by locals for fishing and daily chores. A bustling small market and village bounds the east and south east and perhaps there has been continuous habitation there since the founding of the temple.<br /><img class="aligncenter" src="http://andybrouwer.co.uk/bch7.jpg" alt="Banteay Chhmar Temple" /><br />Inside the mote, a stone rest house and chapel can be seen. The highlight of Banteay Chhmar is the bas-reliefs, which are comparable with the Bayon. They depict battle against the Chams, religious scenes and a host of daily activities. In parts, the outer wall has collapsed. On the west side a spectacular multi-armed Lekesvara can be seen. The temples central complex is a jumble of towers, galleries, vegetation and fallen stones. Beautiful carvings can be seen throughout.</p>khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028336161708672676.post-71632834856423791412009-10-20T23:21:00.000-07:002009-10-20T23:23:28.423-07:00Sambor Prei Kuk<h2><br /></h2> <p><img class="aligncenter" src="http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp33/moniroth/out0197.jpg?t=1224915951" alt="Sambor Prey Kuk in Kompong Thom of Cambodia" /><br />The ancient city where monuments of Sambo Prei Kuk are found today was identified as ISANAPURA, the capital of Chenla in 7th century. Chenla was a former vassal of the Funan kingdom that was one of the first state in Southeast Asia, but it gradually gained its power and eventually King Citrasena Mahendravarman of Funan in the early 7th century.</p> <p>Main archaeological features in these groups of monuments are said to have been founded by king ISANAVARMAN I, the son of king Citrasena.</p> <p><img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.angkorguides.com/images/sambor%20prei%20kuk.jpg" alt="Sambor Prey Kuk in Kompong Thom of Cambodia" /><br />Many decorative details in Khmer architecture and sculpture are classified as Sambor style: the name was derived from these monuments dated in the first half of the 7th century. Henceforth this kingdom was the leading state and comprised the whole of Cambodia proper. Furthermore, several successions of kings’ reign might have maintained these monuments as their capital city. The century following the death of JAYAVARMAN I who is the last known king of this kingdom in the second half of the 7th century is a dark period in the history of Chenla. According to a Chinese accounts, in the 8th century, the country of Chenla was divided into land and water Chenlas. The obscurity prevails and this monument might be neglected thereafter. The history. However, is traced again with the accession of JAYAVARMAN II, who founded a new polity that is now referred as Angkor in the beginning of 9th century. Decorative details of Prasat Tao (Central Group) are similar to the style of the remains belong to the period of the king JAYAVARMAN II, Particularly, characteristic lion statues resembles the statues found in Phnom Penh. From these reasons this architectural complex is said to be constructed in this period.</p> <p><img class="alignleft" src="http://www.tourismcambodia.com/attractions/images/kampongthom/kampongthom.jpg" alt="Sambor Prey Kuk in Kompong Thom of Cambodia" />Furthermore some inscriptions in Prasat Sambor (Northern Group) are dated in the 10th century under the reign of the king RAJENDRA VARMANII. And Robang Romeas group that is located about 2km northward from main temple area, contains other inscriptions of the king SURYAVARMAN I period. Some other decorative details and statues belong to the late Angkor period styles were confirmed from these temples. These historical evidences suggest that these monuments must have belonged to the important provincial principle city after Pre Angkor period.</p> From above historical perspective, this group of monuments is extremely significant not only for Cambodia but also for the entire area of Southeast Asia, for they are the only remaining sound architectural constructions that exemplify the architecture and sculpture of the early period in sizable quantity.khmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16305825035013052487noreply@blogger.com0