Reamker - Ta Krut's version from 1965 and 1968, Presented by Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center

"Ta Krut" or "Neay Maha Krut"

The recordings featured on this CD are those of a storyteller who is a native of Skoun and called himseft “Ta Krut” or “Neay Maha Krut”. His exceptional talent made him the most famous storyteller in the country.

These recordings of the Reamker recited by Ta Krut are, as far as we know, the only documents of this type that have been preserved. They were done in two very different situations. One part was recorded around 1965 in the studios of Radiodiffusion Nationale Khmère. Ta Krut held a recitation session there, and Jacques Brunet was able to preserve a copy. The second part of the recordings was done at Jacques Brunet’s request, in 1968, outdoors and in public, in the village of Rokakong. Jacques Brunet then wanted to compare the two versions. This method of proceeding explains the very different sound ambiances between the studio version and the public version.

This record of Ta Krut has been restored by Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center with the advice of Professor Alain Daniel and the support of UNESCO and Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO.

To listen to the audio recordings:

1- Click on this link: http://www.bophana.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=137&lang=en

2- Click on the photo of each CD to listen to the content of that CD online.

Heng Soy's Note: Have you ever seen the book "Reamker" by Ta Krut? After listening to this audio CDs, I was able to correct several of my misconceptions:

• Ta Krut is from Kampong Cham, not Siem Reap as I always thought he was.
• Ta Krut lived in Cambodia in the 60s, not in the 18th or 19th century
• Words used by Ta Krut to retell the story made me laugh so hard. I always thought the "holy" story would be very serious.
• Last by not least, you can still catch a cold in this hot weather (I'm laughing while sneezing and coughing like a "chien Mardi manger" or in Khmer: ឆ្កែ អង្គែ ស៊ី)

‘Agangamsor’ a Hit in Maryland Performance

By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
24 November 2009

A Buddhist dance troop visited the Asian Arts and Culture Center in Maryland earlier this month to perform “Agangamsor and His Magic Power,” a uniquely Khmer adaptation to the Indian Ramayana.

The troop, from the Cambodian Buddhist Society, performed at Towson University, on Nov. 7. Its musicians and dancers are little-known treasures in the US state.

Master artist Mani Massady was trained at Cambodia’s Fine Arts University. Composer and “roneat aik,” or lead xylophone, player Chum Ngek and producer, lyricist and singer Say Sara were leaders of professional music ensembles in Cambodia who revived their arts in refugee camps and the United States since late 1970. Several up-and-coming dancers and musicians trained under these masters.

“Agangamasor” is the prequel to the Reamker, the story of the hero, Preah Ream, or Rama, who is the earthly incarnation of Preah Noreay, or Vishnu, the guardian of the universe.

Much of Khmer classical dance drama is based on Cambodian literature, especially the Reamker. While this part of the Reamker is common knowledge among older Cambodians, it has not been retold on stage until this production.

Suewhei Shieh, director of the Asian Arts and Cultural Center of the Towson University, told VOA Khmer that the center’s programming tries to present different types of arts, including performing arts and visual arts from all over Asia.

“Agangamsaor” is part of the “spiritual rhythm of Asia” series, she said, and fit with this year’s focus on spiritual and healing arts.

“Their preservation and creativity for this show are a very unusual, unique type of arts,” she said. “It is very admirable.”

Shieh said she hopes that other Asian cultures and people can follow such an example to preserve their own unique arts.

Saul Gorzelor, an employee at the World Bank, in Washington, came to the show and helped document the performance for the Cambodian Buddhist Society.

He felt “privileged,” he said, to help document a community coming together to keep a tradition alive that was nearly destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, “since all artists were considered suspects.”

“So anything that has to do with beauty and arts, and music and dance and culture, I think it is interesting,” he said.

Caroline Dantzler, a ballet teacher at Lake Twelve Ballet Academy in Ellicott City, Md., said ballet is a little different from Cambodian classical dance, because it moves around the space more, while some of the movements are more off the floor and the flow is also a bit different. The forms are similar, however, in the discipline and elegance, she said.

“The dancers were artists, and I truly enjoyed it, and I am so grateful that I had the chance to see it,” she said. “I love the flow of it, an the way it tended to tell the story about that the way they moved was lovely. The lines they made are very difficult. I think they must be very trained and they were beautiful. And the dancers expressed more than the words did, very much more.”

Sonhie Halmilton, a Malaysian-American housewife who has lived in the Towson community for 36 years, said she enjoyed coming to all Asian Cultural events at the university.

“It is great to see the culture coming back so quickly,” she said of the Cambodian performance. “You heard about Cambodia and the tragedy that took place. The people had no trace of any trauma, and yet the spirit and culture are so alive and inspirational. It is just quite fascinating.”

New Performance Explains Rama Rivalry

By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
16 June 2009

A new Cambodian play, “Agangamasor,” will be performed for the first time in late June in the United States after many years of effort in bringing it to life by a Cambodian cultural team.

“Agangamasor” is an epic of Brahmanism dedicated to the deity Preah Eysor, his queen Oma Phakavatey, Brahma, and the god Preah Noreay. The story precedes the Ramayana and explains the rationale behind the endless war between Rama and Ravana.

The story begins with Agangamasor, a guard at Preah Eysor’s palace, becoming frustrated with the visiting angels who tap his head till he becomes bald. To stop these repeated insults, Preah Eysor gives his guard magical powers for self-defense.

Agangamasor uses his magic to depose Preah Eysor. The god Preah Noreay learns of this and transforms himself into a beautiful angel, defeating the former guard through trickery. The two are reborn in later lives as the rivals Ravana and Rama, whose battles inspire the Ramayana.

“I finished writing this play long time ago, but it took us so long to rehearse it because we don’t have much time,” playwright and composer Say Sara told VOA Khmer recently. Dancers and instructors were only able to meet half a day on each Sunday.

Say Sara joined music master Chum Ngek, who prepared the score, and Mani Masady, who choreographed the dance style.

“We the people at Puthi Karam pagoda think that since we are away from our homeland, we have to do something to preserve Khmer identity,” Masady Mani, who instructs dance at the Cambodian Buddhist Society, told VOA Khmer.

Ung Sochietah, who has performed the role of Asura for Maryland’s Khmer Heritage Association since 1976, takes on the role of Preah Eysor in this new play.

“I am so lucky to have an instructor [who was] best known for performing the Asura role to train me,” said Ung Sochieta, adding that many former royal ballet instructors have provided him some coaching.

Say Raci, who is Sara’s wife and one of the fundraisers for the troupe, said that donations to support the team have come mainly from performers’ parents, who wish to preserve their culture.

Thirty-six performers, instructors and musicians will make their first performance on Saturday, June 27, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Centre at the University of Maryland.

Cambodian theatre group stages Ramayana in Bhopal (India)

Bhopal, June 8 (ANI): A Cambodian theatre group enacted ‘Ramayana’, a mythological drama depicting the life of Lord Rama, at International Ramlila fair in Bhopal organised by the State Government.

The nine-day long International Ramlila fair was held at the ancient Ujjain temple in Bhopal for the first time. The fair began on June 6 and will conclude on June 14.

People from different religions, different cultures, countries are staging Ramlila but in a manner that is prevalent in their culture. There are similarities but there are certain differences as well,” said Pawan Shrivastava, Organiser.

Cambodian theatre group named ‘Classical troupe of Kingdom Group’ enacted the Cambodian version of the epic Ramayana known as ‘Reamker.’

In Reamker, Lord Rama is known as ‘Preah Ream’ and Ravana is known as ‘Krong Reap.’ Sita is called ‘Neang Seda’ and Lakshman brother of Ram is called ‘Preah Leak.’ The name of Hanuman is the same but with a slightly different pronunciation.

Cambodian group artists enacted the entire epic in a ballet; there were no dialogues in the play. Mostly women performed all the roles in the epic. A woman played the role of Lord Rama.

“In our country, Ramayana is very popular, even the children know the main characters like Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman,” said Hun Tha, a troupe artiste.

Cambodian culture has references of Hindu epic Ramayana from the 10 th century AD.

It is believed that Ramayana might have reached Cambodia through the contact with the South Indian kingdoms. Ancient Hindu temples there provide the earliest references of Ramayana and the world famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia depicts various episodes from the epic.

The fair will showcase different forms of Ramlila traditions of India and styles of staging the story of Lord Rama in south Asian countries.

Apart from Cambodia, groups from, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Java, Laos, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh will be performing in the fair.