Traditional Novels of Cambodia

Prior to the 1930s, all Khmer novels were written in verse. That is not to suggest that Khmers did not write in prose before then; prose was exclusively employed for technical texts, medical treatises, astrology treatises, political and religious treaties, and the translation of Buddhist literature.

Lpaen, or verse-novel, has long been a prominent genre in Khmer literature. French colonists in the 19th century would gather around the village halls in the evenings to listen to a recitation of an lpaen. Recitation is sometimes accompanied by a string instrument. With up to 9,000 stanzas, some of the verse novels are rather lengthy, and they would take at least two nights to recite. Some could be mistaken for epic poems. 

Verse-novels initially appeared in the mid-17th century, with Hang Yont (Mechanical Swan) widely regarded as the first. Since some of these novels were written in the style of Jātaka, which includes the customary preface benediction in Pali to the Buddha, the Dhamma (Buddha's teaching), the Sangha (ordained monks and nuns), and the epilogue comprising the characters' future lives, it was sometimes assumed that the majority of these novels were Jātaka (tales of the Buddha's previous lives). However, the majority of these works had little to do with Buddhism, if any at all. If anything, they had everything to do with Brahmanism, even after Theravada Buddhism had fully superseded Hinduism by the 16th century. In Preah Ko Preah Keo, for instance, the protagonist Preah Ko was the manifestation of Lord Shiva's mount, Nandi the Bull. Several of these stories were folktales retold in poetry form. Vorvong and Sourivong was based on a popular folktale, which itself was based on the adventures of two condemned Khmer princely brothers. 

A typical story began with the birth of a prince. Then the monarch was upset by a "flaw" in the infant prince, or a jealous concubine accused him of some wrongdoing; in Khyan Sankh, the prince was born with a shell connected to him. The prince and his mother were sentenced to execution. But at the last second, the executioner decided to spare mother and child and let them go. The mother and child encountered a powerful sage, who accepted the child as a disciple. The aspiring hero studied martial and magical arts. Later, he set forth on his many adventures in the Himalayas. Along the way, he defeated giants and the semi-divine yaksha, saved a princess or two, married, and inherited a kingdom. Finally, the hero returned to his birthplace with his new army to either seize the crown by force or reconcile with his father. 

The hero fought with both physical and magical means. He traveled by air via a mechanical bird (usually a swan), but his transport wasn’t always reliable. His mechanical bird failed and dropped him in the ocean, often in the middle of a storm. The hero was accompanied by an animal. In Preah Jinavong, the main character Jinavong travels with a mischievous monkey. The horse in Puthhisaen Neang Kang Rei irritably warned the hero not to waste time, or he, the horse, would leave without him. However, the heroines weren't usually the typical damsels in distress. Ket Soryong was a skilled practitioner of both magic and martial arts in Sovannahang. Along with a giant, she had her own adventures, saving the hero from impending death. Kang Rei led her own army in Puthhisaen Neang Kang Rei. In Preah Jinavong, a pregnant Botum Surya traveled alone on a white elephant in search of her husband.

Yaksha, garudas, and giants were not always depicted as uncivilized creatures. They didn't go around snatching princesses or feasting on men. Citra, the giant king in Sovannahang, governed both giants and humans in a benevolent manner. In Khyan Sankh, the hero was brought up as a son by a yaksha. She doted on him. She was saddened when he decided to leave her to look for his biological mother. She gave him three magical gifts and died from a broken heart. The naga king in Sankh Silp Jay was a loving husband to his human wife. Jinavong in Preah Jinavong was raised by the underworld king.

The Gods were involved, too. Lord Shiva granted wishes to various characters. He instructed Vishwakarma, the celestial architect and engineer, to construct splendid palaces for the heroes. Lord Indra often offered the destitute heroines a helping hand. In Moranak Meada, Lord Indra showed the heroine how to transform herself from a sarika bird back into her human form. The lonely young man in Bhogakula Kumar had only a white dog for company; Lord Indra bestowed upon the young man a Himalayan deity as a wife. Magic was used throughout. An ax that was about to come down on the hero’s neck would suddenly turn into a bouquet of flowers. Baby girls were often found in flowers. Baby Kaki was found in a lotus blossom by a sage in Kaki. Oracles were aplenty. They wielded immense power when it came to dream interpretations. In Rajakul, the oracle told the king that the horse wanted to marry the princess. It turned out the horse was a fine man. The oracle in Sudham wanted his own daughter to marry the prince, and while the prince was away, he declared that the prince’s fiancée had to be sacrificed to avert catastrophe.

Some stories did not follow the aforementioned narrative devices and themes. Some dealt with animals. Bejjata is a story about a pair of birds who were threatened by a forest fire. The female would not leave her eggs. She died thinking her male had abandoned her while he was away. Before following her into the fire, the male prayed that they may reunite in their next lives. She was reborn as a princess who spoke to no males. He was a man who taught her how to speak. 

Another story that rejected the traditional formula is Tum Teav, which is a tragic love story about a doomed affair between Tum, a handsome novice monk, and Teav, a beautiful adolescent girl who was “literally” on the cusp of womanhood. Tum Teav is based on a real story. It is believed to have taken place in the late 16th century in Tbong Khmom district, in present-day Kampong Cham province. There are many versions of the story, which were composed by various poets over the centuries. 

These verse-novels remain popular among the general public. Some have been adapted for a variety of entertainment mediums, including ballets, films, folk and classical theaters, songs, comic books, and radio dramas. Sovannahang, Khyan Sankh, and Preah Jinavong are very popular among the ballet repertoires. Tum Teav, probably the most popular of all the verse-novels, is part of the secondary school curriculum.

Stories mentioned above:

Khyan Sankh (Shell Shell) by Min Uk, 1729

Hang Yont (Mechanical Swan) by Yam Punybhaktr, 1668

Sovannahang (Golden Swan) author unknown, mid-17th century

Preah Jinavong (Lord Jinavong) by Hing, 1856

Preah Ko Preah Keo by Kao, 18th century

Vorvong and Sourivong by various authors, 19th century

Puthhisaen Neang Kang Rei, author and date unknown

Sankh Silp Jay by Uk, 1882

Moranak Meada (Mother’s Death) by Uk 1877

Bhogakula Kumar by Kleang Norng, 1804

Rajakul by Varapanna, early 18th century

Kaki by King Ang Duong, 1815

Mea Yoen (Our Uncle) author and date unknown

Bejjata by Dhammapanna Maen, 1858

Sudham author and date unknown. Based on Sudhana Jataka in Pali

Source: The Traditional Literature of Cambodia: A Preliminary Guide by Judith M. Jacob

Dream

Dream 

By Kim Sam-On

A hunter hurried a horse, hopping and trotting,

Surprising birds and four-legged wild beasts, 

And traversing forests and mountains with such fervor and spirit.

“Whoa! What is that?”

It appeared to be standing on this quiet terrain. 

The young hunter, with wary eyes, flew to intercept, bow in hand.

With an arrow drawn, the hunter suddenly pulled back. 

He observed intently for a while, but his target appeared to be unconcerned. 

The longer he observed, the more enchanting his target became.

Arrow dropped from his hand, the hunter lunging forward. 

Arms wide open, he started to serenade, 

“Ah, a beautiful deer!

Under the vast sky, I am standing, living the life of freedom."

With extended hands, the hunter caressed and stroked,

Turning the deer's head this way and that. 

With his eyes half-closed, he softly spoke. 

The hunter smiled happily as birds and wildflowers sang and danced, 

Their fragrance reaching far and wide.

The hunter opened his eyes as if waking from a dream, abruptly and startlingly. 

The hunter stared, as if his eyes were deceiving him, 

As the deer's scent changed and its body turned into that of a lady.

"Ah, my angel! With such a lovely face, you are truly stunning.

Oh, fair one, it is my good fortune to have you within my grasp. 

Nay! Do you love me, precious one?"

The lovely, shy lady remained silent. 

"Please talk!" The hunter implored, but she dashed and hurried away. 

Flauntingly, the hunter started to sing and dance. 

Feeling a thrill, he seized her and embraced her in his dance.

"With a graceful and slim waist, my lovely angel, you dance beautifully!" 

She leaned her head against the hunter as he serenaded. 

She daintily danced, soaring toward the sky.

Dancing through clouds, they sliced through the rolling wind, singing a love song. 

Finally coming awake, the hunter opened his eyes and murmured, 

“Ah, it was just only a dream."

Wise Old Words

Old words from ancient times tell us you could not see your own faults. The faults of others, no matter how minor, were as big as a mountain.

In the forest full of wild beasts, you implored others to join you. Had sugar and honey, you hid in your home, and ate alone.

You kept wanting and scheming for this and scheming for that without consideration. It was all about you, with no regard for others.

You ate simply to eat but were too indolent to chew properly. You thought of a neam (two-man fishing net) for a moun (fishing net); you took a Joung for a Kuoy (minority hill groups).

You confused grandpas for grandmas and a son for a nephew. You misread two for one and misery for joy.

You assumed offense for gratitude; you thought merit for vice. You mistook goodness for wickedness, and you assumed excrement for flowers.

You donned the monk's robe but refused to shave your head. You looked into a mirror with your eyes closed. You mistook a horse for a donkey. You confused an elephant for a mouse.

These are old words that everyone should consider and understand. Do not confuse a pond for a road, lest you get bogged down in the mud.

The wise kept these timeless words without straying from those of olden times. Do not take a treacherous path, as the ancients cautioned.

These are words from the past that you ought to contemplate. Do not gloat, boast, or be arrogant about your own knowledge.

Do not sleep in at night, lest misfortune come your way. Avoid overeating and remember to take everyone into account.

Only carry what you can. Avoid pulling with a jerk to avoid injuring your shoulders. Treat others like you would your own sons. Do not nag incessantly, and always act with kindness.

Take your time; do not rush. Think things through before acting to avoid criticism and disgrace.

Never confuse raw food with cooked food. Be circumspect about your family’s internal and external affairs. Don’t be so arrogant as to dismiss the past.

Speak softly and choose your words with care. Avoid looking for an easy way out. Consider the long term, delve deep, and consider numerous options.

"Do not attempt to raise a tiger," the ancients cautioned. They advised drawing an analogy: If you decide on a course of action, make sure you follow through on it. Grip a snake's neck tightly, should it turn around and bite you. Likewise, drag your boat along without leaving a trace, much like you catch fish without muddying the water.

Leaves don’t just move on their own; they are shaken by the wind. If clear water turns cloudy, it could have been churned by waves.

Don’t get so worked up if something seems unfavorable. Even if things seem promising, avoid making arrangements in advance. Don't strive to get more once you've received a lot. Be cautious and tread lightly.

The wealthy, like a piece of cloth wrapped around your body, should care for the poor. Like a ship to a skiff, the knowledgeable should protect the ignorant.

As dictated by ancient codes, the highborn safeguard the lowborn. The full nourish the hungry, just as the strong protect the helpless.

Take care of each other without expecting anything in return. Do not carry debt over people into the future, which is akin to a fence laced with thorns.

Do not aim to satisfy your stomach without considering others who are hungry. Feed them until they are satisfied.

Don’t be so foolish as to cross the water on the back of a crocodile. Do not break down your own fence just to cook a pot of rice.

With a boat, you'll need both fixed and loose oars. You'll need poles and anchors. You will need to have everything ready to go.

In the event of a storm, be careful when facing the wind. Note each and every detail. This is being well prepared.

You should keep these old words in mind. Words passed down from the ancients are worth considering.

These words should obviously be kept as a guideline, a principle to which you should adhere. As we conclude this poem, its meaning will live on.

Chbab Peak Chasa (Old Words)

Author Unknown (16th Century or earlier)

Cpap, pronounced chbab, is a genre of Khmer poetry. Chbab is the Khmer term meaning law, but in poetry, it refers to a series of didactic poems largely composed by Buddhist monks to teach reading, writing, and morals in monastic schools from the 15th to the 19th centuries. However, the origins of chbab may be traced back to long before the introduction of Buddhism in Cambodia in the 3rd century CE. These poems were passed down orally for generations. They were only put on paper, or rather palm leaves, by Buddhist monks near the end of the Angkor Era in the 15th century, when Hinduism was declining and Khmer started to replace Sanskrit as the language of literature proper.

Most chbab poems are brief, with the shortest being only 27 stanzas long. They cover a wide range of topics, from how to raise children to how to safe-keep cultural heritage to how to take pride and be enthusiastic about one's own work. And their subjects range from etiquette to finance, education to marital issues to religion. As previously noted, the majority of these poems were transcripted/composed by Buddhist monks, and as such, elements of Buddhism featured heavily in them, including the oldest ones.

The preceding poem is possibly the oldest in the genre. 

 

Pchum Ben: A Feast For The Souls

On the 1st day of the 10th month of the Khmer calendar (Sept 15 on the Gregorian calendar this year), Lord Yama, the God of Death, opens the gates of hell that will remain open for the next 15 days. It’s the start of Pchum Ben, better known as the Festival of the Dead to foreigners. When the Lord of Death opens the gates, he allows trapped souls to find their living relatives to receive merit and karma transfer. Trapped souls are suffering souls. Khmers believe in the Hindu concept of reincarnation. We believe that souls are not reborn right away. Some souls are trapped in hell (the spirit realm) and some are still wandering in the human realm. If a deceased person did not receive a proper cremation, his or her soul might linger on earth. We also believe that if a person dies a violent death, a tragic death, or an unjust death, his/her soul becomes a restless soul, and a restless soul cannot move on. Also, there are those who accumulated bad karma (action has consequences) in their previous lives, which resulted in their souls being trapped in hell. Merit and karma transferring rituals are performed in order to release suffering souls.

Merit and karma transferring is a process that is centered on the belief of taking refuge in the dhamma (Buddha’s teaching) and the sangha (ordained monks and nuns). Merit is viewed as a means of transferring karmic power from one relative to another. Merit is morally generated. Therefore, it has the power to morally regenerate in turn. Merit is morally generated because it comes from selfless acts. Charities or aids made by laymen to monks, nuns, and the general public are viewed as aids with no strings attached, meaning aids that are not offered to generate merit for oneself. They are offered for the benefit of others who need the ensuing merit. The ability to give and receive in inherent goodness allows relatives the means to provide care and comfort for their departed, and to help lessen their suffering, so these souls can garner karmic support and finally move on.

Pchum Ben was born out of Khmer animistic beliefs and was co-opted by Hinduism after it reached Cambodia around 500 BC. It went on to be co-opted by Theravada Buddhism after the decline of Hinduism in Cambodia in the 16th century. Until the late 9th century, Pchum Ben was celebrated on an individual or family level. According to an inscription, King Yasovarman I (r. 889-910) was the first ruler to organize a nationwide Pchum Ben service dedicated to the country’s dead soldiers. And it has since become a national service.

The first 14 days of the festival are called Kan Ben. Kan means to hold. Ben is an offering, derived from the Sanskrit pinda, a ball of rice to be offered to the souls of the dead. During these 14 days, Khmers offer food and gifts to monks, nuns, and various elderly people at monasteries. The last day of the festival is called Pchum Ben. Pchum means gathering. On this last and most important day of the festival, at every monastery, massive collections of bens are gathered around the five mounds constructed from rice or sand, representing Mount Meru, home of the Gods. Those bens are then dedicated to the souls of the dead who have no living relatives or whose living relatives, for whatever reason, couldn’t participate in the 15-day event.

Considering the bloodshed in recent Cambodian history, the festival has become the single most important event in Khmer lives. With the killings during the Khmer Rouge era, victims or killers may have had their souls condemned to wander; their souls are doomed to never reincarnate unless the living provide relief in proper rituals, and Pchum Ben is one such ritual.

Source: Caring for the Dead Ritually in Cambodia (2012) by John Clifford Holt

The Many Facets Of Love

I want to talk about love today. I mean the word “love” in the Khmer language as well as all stages of love according to Khmer tradition. I’ve mentioned before on this page that Khmer society is hierarchical. Social relationships are based on rankings. Within the family unit, rankings are based on birth order. Outside of families, social rankings are based on a variety of factors such as religious piety, age, profession, gender and education. As such, the Khmer language (both written and spoken) reflects these hierarchies. Some words one uses to communicate with a friend are totally different from the words one uses to communicate with a monk, a royal, a senior citizen, or a kid. There are nearly ten different words for I. I’m not even sure I know all the Khmer words for eat. There’re just so many of them. Two different words for uncle, two for aunt, a handful for smell. As a result, the Khmer lexicon is very extensive. On top of that, Khmer is heavily influenced by Sanskrit, which arrived on mainland Southeast Asia along with Hinduism around the 5th century BC. The Sanskrit influence is found in the religious, law, military, science, and royal registers. Having said that, the majority of Sanskrit borrowings are more of a style rather than a necessity. This also applies to Pali, the language of Theravada Buddhism, which came into contact with the Khmer language in the late 14th century. After the mid-19th century, the French influence on the language emerged as well. So you can imagine how bloated the modern Khmer language has become. 

Now let’s get back to love. Surprisingly, there is only one native Khmer word for love, and it’s sralanh.

The word sralanh is generally used more as a verb. 

Khn’om sralanh nak            =          I love you (gender-neutral)

Khn’om sralanh oun/bong sralanh oun           =          I love you (male to female)

Khn’om sralanh bong/oun sralanh bong =          I love you (female to male)

Using it as a noun, sralanh needs a pragmatic particle 

Sechakdei​ sralanh          =       love

Sechakdai sralanh rr’bas khn’om thom cheang chakravar            =      my love is bigger than the universe

Sechakdai sralanh is seldom used in spoken Khmer, instead we use sneah/sneaha to mean love. In both spoken and written form, sneah/sneaha and sechakdai sneah/sneaha can be both used as a noun.

Sneah/sneaha comes from the Sanskrit sneha which means maternal love or affection. In Khmer, sneaha denotes all kinds of love, be it maternal or romantic love.

Sneaha/sechakdai sneah =          love

Roueng sneaha    =       love/romantic affair, love story          

Sneaha yeung          =          our love

Next word is kama, from Kamadeva, the God of Love. Just like the sages of ancient India, in past times, Khmers viewed kama as the first stage of love. Kama means passion or pleasure of the senses, but not necessary of a sexual kind. Overtimes kama has become known as sexual desire. In modern Khmer, kama is mostly used in lyrics, songs and other written literature. 

Kama without true intimacy can leave most of us feeling empty. Emotional connection is needed. To build that connection, sharing of feelings and affections are a must. The result is sanchetna. Sanchetna is what we call romance. It is the next stage of love. From the Sanskrit shringara, sanchetna is the feeling of attraction we get from kama. Modern Khmers use mnosanchetna to denote both romance and sentimental, with mno coming from the Greek by way of French.  

Third is motherly love, maitri, from the Sanskrit maitri. This is compassion for all living beings. A simple kindness toward your neighbor, or charity to a children’s shelter. This is the most selfless form of love. In modern Khmer, maitri means a crush. There is, however, another word derived from maitri that still retains its original meaning. It’s meata. 

The fourth stage is beyond interpersonal love. This is the love of Gods, bhakti. In Khmer, bhakti can be found only in religious liturgy. 

The last stage of love, according to Hindu tradition, is atma prema, self love. In Khmer tradition, the concept of self love is not something we are familiar with. 

Here are a few more native Khmer words and phrases used in association with love

Saamnoup   =          within embrace 

Chet            =          feeling 

Ey = a positive aspirate sound

Saamnoup chet = love 

Saamnoup chet ey/saamnoup chet khn’om ey = my love 

saamnoup chet khn’om = my love 

Prolung     =          soul, essence 

Prolung ey = my love, sweetheart (as an endearment)

There are many more words and phrases dotted all over the contemporary Khmer lexicon. Khmer lyrics and songs are a great way to learn them.