Cambodian Culture

Presented by: Mr. Leang Channy

Cambodia???

Area: Total 181,035 km2

(Water 2.5%) Population14,952,665

(July 2012) Official languages Khmer Official Religion: Bud-

dhist Major cities-population:

PHNOM PENH (capital) 1.519 million (2009)

Currency: Riel (KHR)

Map of AsiaTurn Back to the Cambodian Culture

Turn Back to the Cambodian Culture

Introduction

Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism, Hin-duism, French colonialism, Angkorian culture, and modern globalization.

Things we are talking about today: Clothing Customs Cuisine Family and Marriage Music and Arts

Clothing Clothing in Cambodia is one of the most im-

portant aspects of the culture. Cambodian fashion differs according to ethnic group and social class

Khmer people traditionally wear a checkered scarf called a Krama. The "krama" is what distinctly separates the Khmer (Cambodians) from their neighbors the Thai, the Viet-namese, and the Laotians.

The long-popular traditional

garment known as

the Sampot, is an Indian-in-

fluenced costume which

Cambodians have worn since

the Funan era. 

Sampots are worn over the lower body and

oftentimes nothing from the waist up except

jewelry including bracelets and collars such

as the Sarong Kor, a symbol of Hinduism.

As Buddhism began to replace Hinduism,

Khmer people started wearing

the blouse, shirt and trousers of Khmer

style. Khmer people, both common and

royal, stopped wearing the Hindu-style col-

lars and began to adopt beautiful decorated

shawls such as Sbai instead.

In fact, a Khmer lady habitually chooses the

right color for her Sampot or blouse, both to

please herself and to follow the costume of

good luck.

General Customs

In Khmer culture a person's head is believed to

contain the person's soul--therefore making

it taboo to touch or point one's feet at it. It is also

considered to be extremely disrespectful to use the

feet to point out a person, or to sit or sleep with

the soles of the feet pointing at a person, as the

feet are the lowest part of the body and are con-

sidered to be impure.

When greeting people or to show respect in

Cambodia people do the "sampeah" gesture,

identical to the Indian namaste and

Thai wai.

In Cambodia it is not polite to make eye con-

tact with someone who is older or someone

who is considered a superior.

Cuisine

Khmer cuisine is similar to that of

its Southeast Asian neighbors. It shares

many similarities with Thai cuisine, and

Vietnamese cuisine. Cambodian cuisine also

uses fish sauce in soups, stir-fried cuisine,

and as dipping.

Examples of Cambodian food

Fish Amok

Beef Loklak

Khmer Soup

Prohok

Family and marriage

Marriage traditionally is arranged by the parents

of the bride and groom or by someone acting as

their representative. Ideally, the groom originates

the courtship process

Considerations of the benefits to the two families

often figure more prominently in the choice of a

marriage partner than does romantic love.

It is not unusual for decisions about marriage to be

made before a couple has had much contact. Spe-

cialists in reading horoscopes typically are con-

sulted about the appropriateness of a wedding, al-

though their advice is not always followed.

The groom pays bride-wealth to the

family of the bride; this money some-

times is used to buy jewelry or clothing for the

bride or defray the cost of the wedding.

Family and Marriage

Legally, the husband is the head of the Khmer fam-

ily, but the wife has considerable authority, espe-

cially in family economics.

The husband is responsible for providing shelter

and food for his family; the wife is generally in

charge of the family budget, and she serves as the

major ethical and religious model for the children,

especially the daughters. Both husbands and wives

are responsible for domestic economic tasks

Music and arts

Cambodian Dance can be divided into three

main categories: classical dance, folk

dances, and vernacular dances.

1. Khmer classical dance is a form of Cam-bodian dance originally performed only for

royalty

2. Khmer folk dances, which are performed

for audiences, are fast-paced. The move-

ments 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.

Khmer folk dances

3. Cambodian vernacular dances (or social dances) are those danced at social gather-

ings.

Apsara Dance, a Khmer dance that has survived

since the Angkor Era, has been singled out to at-

tract foreign tourists and to make the richness of

Khmer culture known to the world.

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Thanks for your atten-tion!