Khmer Dance

Classical Dance of Cambodia The epic poem of Rama (Ramayana) is believed to have been revealed to a Hindu holy man named Valmiki by Brahma, the god of creation. This religious literary work, dating from about ad 4, is known in various versions throughout India and Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, the story has been set to music and dance and performed by the Royal Ballet since the 18th century. Although the epic is also known in the villages, where it is translated orally or dramatized in the popular shadow puppet theater, the ballet was traditionally a courtly art performed in the palace or for princely festivals. The music of the ballet is performed by the Pinpeat orchestra, which is made up of traditional xylophones, metallophones, horizontal gongs, drums, and cymbals.

Khmer Music

There are two kinds of traditional music: one is the Pin Peath with stringed and percussion instruments and the other the Mohory with only stringed instruments. The different instruments are: Pin Peath is a group of instruments which have Roneath (xylophone in metal or bamboo), Kong (percussion instrument surrounding the player), a pear of Skor Thom (a very big drum, which has two faces, for making the rhythm), Sampho (a big drum,which has two faces, for making the rhythm), Sro Lai (a big recorder),Chhoeng (percussion instrument hitting each other for making rhythm). This kind of music is used to accompany dances, praying to God or spirit and other ceremonies. Mohory is a group of instruments, which have Khoem (with 35 horizontal strings instrument), Ta Khe (with 3 horizontal strings instrument), Tro (with vertical strings instrument), Skor Dai (a small drum for making rhythm), Khloy (recorder) and Chhoeng.

Religion:

Hinduism:  Hinduism flourished alongside Buddhism from the first century until the 14th century. Hinduism was represented by the worship of Harihara.

Buddhism: The majority of the people of Cambodia are followers of Theravada, or Hinayana, Buddhism. Buddhism was introduced to Cambodia between the 13th and the 14th centuries and was the state religion until 1975. Between 1975 and 1979 the vast majority of Cambodia's Buddhist monks were murdered by the Khmer Rouge and virtually all of the country's more than 3000 wats were damaged or destroyed. In the late 1980s Buddhism was again made the state religion. At that time, Cambodia had about 6000 monks, who by law had to be at least 60 years old. The age requirement have been relaxed and young monks are once again a normal sight.

Islam: Cambodia's Muslims are descendants of Cham who mifrated from what is now central Vietnam after the final defeat of the Kingdom of Champa by the Vietnamese in 1471. Whereas their compatriots who remained in Vietnam were only partly Islamicised, the Cambodian Chams adopted a fairly orthodox version of Sunni Islam and maintained links with other Muslim communities in the region.

Vietnamese religions: during the 1920s quite a few ordinary Cambodians became interested in Caodaism, a colorful synergetic religion founded in Vietnam.

Common courtesies:

Like the Thais, who have their wai, the Cambodians traditionally greet each other with the sompiah , which involves pressing the hands together in prayer and bowing. In general the higher the hands and the lower the bow the more respect is shown. In recent decades this custom has been partially replaced by the western practice of shaking hands. But, although men tend to share hands with each other, women usually use the traditional greeting with both men and women. It is considered acceptable for foreigners to share hands with Cambodians of both sexes.