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| (Photo: The West Australian) |
MARGARET TURTON
The West Australian
After seeing the Cambodian classical dance troupe perform in France in 1906, sculptor Auguste Rodin announced: "These Cambodian women have given us everything antiquity could hold. It's impossible to see human nature reaching such perfection."
Seven decades later, Khmer Rouge dictator Pol Pot all but destroyed this ancient art form - eliminating dancers and musicians, along with tens of thousands of citizens who were led to the Killing Fields, later portrayed so graphically in the film of that name.
After Pol Pot's demise, efforts by the daughter of former King Norodom Sihanouk saw this art form enjoy a huge revival. It had always been linked to the royal court, which in turn was strongly tied to the French.
And if anything symbolises the twists and turns in the fortunes of Cambodia's French-built capital it must be Cambodian classical dance.
Performances for the court were staged at the Chan Chaya Pavilion in the Royal Palace, and today no visit is complete without a palace tour.
Here you can also see the Throne Hall - robbed of a number of treasures by the Khmer Rouge but still stunning.
The same goes for the Silver Pagoda which managed to retain a floor paved with silver tiles - 5000 all up, each one weighing 1kg. The Silver Pagoda also holds a 90kg gold Buddha encrusted with 9584 diamonds.
Wandering among the buildings of the Royal Palace, it's impossible to ignore a large grey-painted pavilion constructed in the French style with lace ironwork, which was shipped by Napoleon III in 1876.
Occupying such a prominent position, it illustrates Cambodia's ties to France after King Norodom I - caught between the flexing muscle of neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam - signed a treaty of protection with France in 1863. Soon, Cambodia became a virtual colony and Phnom Penh, with its boulevards and gardens laid out by the French, is now considered the prettiest of all the French capitals of Indochina.
The central-domed 1930s Deco-style New Market - great for gold and silver jewellery and souvenirs - also dates from the French era, as does the Hotel Le Royal (now Raffles Le Royal).
This featured in River of Time, journalist Jon Swain's account of the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge. At Le Royal today, the Elephant Bar remains a favourite haunt.
Though displaying delicate Khmer-style architecture, the striking rusty red-coloured National Museum was also built by the French. This is Cambodia's leading historical and archaeological museum and its highlights include artefacts from the classical Angkorian period. There is also an enormous funerary urn used to store the body of King Sisowath, who was cremated in 1927.
Two kings later, Norodom Sihanouk was congratulating himself Cambodia was no longer a French colony. But joy was short-lived as Cambodia was entangled in the Vietnam War.
When that ended, the Khmer Rouge rushed in to the capital, filling a power void, and the king was effectively locked in his palace.
Now, with peace restored and thanks to his daughter, Princess Bopha Devi, the dance that can be traced to the court of the Khmer Empire is again being taught.
Importantly it's accessible to everyone who visits Phnom Penh. We saw it performed on the sundeck of our river cruiser by a talented troupe of schoolchildren, the Khmer Angels. It's unlikely they're aware of the French sculptor who praised their predecessors.
They're busy moving on from an era when the Khmer Rouge all but destroyed Cambodia and its classical dance.
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Thiounn was born in 1864 at Kompong Tralach, which is located in the Kompong Chhnang Province today. He found a job as an interpreter of French in 1883, and the turning point in his life was in 1892 when he got a position as secretary to the Conseil des Ministres (Council of the Ministers). Since then he was promoted rapidly, because his ability in the language was highly estimated by the French colonial administrators, and he was appointed as the Minister of the Royal Palace in 1902.
When King Sisowath and the dance troupe visited France in 1906, Thiounn accompanied them.
Though Thiounn was promoted owing to his ability in French, his knowledge was not restricted to this alone. He was well-grounded in Siamese culture, and so he supervised a project of translating the Ramakien or the Thai version of the story of Rama into Khmer)
Just as the court dance had shown, Cambodia had been under the influence of Siamese culture since the middle of the nineteenth century. For the Buddhist monks, to go to Siam to study the Pali language and texts was so common that the Thai language had become an essential condition to be numbered among the intelligentsia until the beginning of the twentieth century. Thiounn who knew both French and Thai appeared on the historical scene during the period of transition from the Thai-speaking intellectuals to the Francophones.
In 1930, Thiounn grasped an opportunity to write a book on the Cambodian dance in French, for sale at the Colonial Exposition in the following year.) According to the colophon of this book which was published in Hanoi, 500 volumes were offered for sale at the Exposition in Paris, and another 500 were sold or distributed in French Indochina.
In this book, Thiounn insisted that the contemporary dancers faithfully followed the gestures and poses of the ancient bas-relief, and that Cambodia preserved the “purity” of the “tradition”[Thiounn 1930: 29 –31]. Thiounn admitted the Siamese influence on the accessories, but asserted that the influence was not considered to be foreign because the accessories of the Siamese dancers had originated from Angkor . The Ramayana and Enao, that is, what Moura transcribed as “Eynao,” were mentioned as the examples of the repertoires.
Thiounn declared that Enao was bought from Java by way of Siam, but as for the Ramayana, he told nothing about the Siamese influence.
Thiounn’s argument was very similar to Groslier’s which insisted on the preservation of the “tradition” even though it was re-imported from Siam. The similarity was caused not only because of Thiounn’s ability in the French language but due to his position as the Minister of the Royal Palace, who was responsible for the affairs of the royal palace, the budget of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the fine arts. Concerning the management of the Ecole des arts cambodgiens and Musée Albert Sarraut, Thiounn often exchanged letters with Groslier.
Moreover, Thiounn’s participation in the Commission des antiquités historiques et archéologiques du Cambodge established in 1905 gave him opportunities to obtain information regarding the French view concerning Angkor.) This committee, which had been suspended in the early 1910s because the Cambodian domestic branch of the Société d’Angkor was founded in Phnom Penh, was reorganized in 1918. Groslier and Thiounn took part in it as permanent members.)
According to the minutes of the committee, the colonial administrators in charge of the cultural policies reported the French concern about Angkor such as the restoration of the monuments.) Thus, Thiounn was in a position to know well about the French colonial discourse on Angkor. That Thiounn’s book was written for French readers might be one of the reasons why Thiounn adopted the French discourse on the “tradition.”
(continued)
Because Thiounn’s post was that of the Minister of the Royal Palace, his book merits reading not as his personal opinion, but as a reflection of the way of thinking about Cambodian court culture. Thiounn who had been appointed as the Minister in the later years of King Norodom, was in a position to be acquainted with court culture under the reigns of Norodom and Sisowath. Thiounn’s commitment to court culture was so deep that his translation of the Ramakien became a theme of the temple murals along the gallery of Voat Preah Kaev Morokât, situated to the south of the palace. His book in 1930, however, did not mention the Siamese influence on the story of Rama in Cambodia. Thus, this book can be considered as evidence that the Siamese influence upon Cambodian court culture was getting less and less valued.
Monivong’s concern over the dance was called “re-Khmerization” by Sihanouk. This terminology might be based on the assumption that those who had lived in the Angkorean period had been the “true” Khmers with the “authentic” Khmer culture. But Thiounn’s book reveals that selective adoptions of colonial discourse constructed the French-educated Khmers’ perspective of Angkor. Therefore, the reality of the “re-Khmerization” was a transition from the “Siamized” Khmers to those à la française. Thiounn embodied this transition individually.
everything in cambodia was revived since the dark days of the stupid KR, really!
the KR period was one infamous period of cambodian history!
Thai dance art was a copy cat;Khmer
dance created since Khmer empire
Thais,Chams, Vietnamese destroyed
Khmer arts and every things in Cambodia.Cambodia was/is a builder,
creator in Cambodia,but they were/
are destroyers because they are
jealous.Khmer Rouge,Pol Pot regime
Khmer people lives,cultures,and all
things in this tiny country.
Time to enjoy it,time to destroy it
Fuck you stupid Choun or who the stupid you are!
Rama Khmer was a unique that the french keep it as special develope verry difference in any Rama in other Hindo world!
How can we coppy fro ah Kapic!?
would you motherfucker said Ankor copy from your stupid motherhole too?
Fool! even the England anbasador to Thai said that Thai dance is a bad copy from Cambodia!
How can we copy bad one and make ourself so classic original!
May lightning strike a stupid thief like you and all your subling 2:34!!!!
Your morther may cheat you father so you so stupid!
" When that ended, the Khmer Rouge rushed in to the capital, filling a power void, and the king was effectively locked in his palace." After the Untac 1993 election Shihanouk rushed in to the capital filling a power void, and become king again, the king was effectively locked himself in "his palace" again!!!
Now he (Shihanouk) had pass the neck chain to his Son Shehamony that now lock in the Palace!!!!!
What a stupid lions? ???
be greatful for who we are, we are khmer, you know! nothing wrong with being a khmer person and citizen, really!
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