cambodian culture
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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!