Gathering around the garden with all the attendants
Enjoying the view in pairs.
The attendants pick flowers for the lady
Taking her pleasure in the garden.
Leaves are falling off trees
Makes my heart ache.
Thread thkol* in tassels,
While rumduol* are for body chains.
All the ladies are beautiful and full of grace,
And are loved by every man.
This piece is from the ballet TheLegend of Apsara Mera. Apsaras are celestial dancers born from The Churning of the Ocean of Milk. According to one of the two Khmer creation myths, among the many apsaras, one was called Mera, who was of utmost beauty and grace. Lord Shiva married her off to the self-born sage Kambu Swayambhuva. And from their union sprung the Khmer race.
Pickled papaya or chrourk la’hong is probably the most
popular pickle in Cambodia. It is served as an accompaniment to Khmer grilled
beef skewers. If you ever find yourself in Cambodia, try our beef skewers.
It’ll be the best thing you’ll ever eat (assuming the cooks know their stuff).
We also top our sandwiches with this pickle. You can serve it along with
grilled meat and seafood as well. Before we get started, a brief Khmer lesson:
Chrourk means pickle in this instance. It
can also mean to sour.
La’hong is papaya.
Now to the pickle, you will need:
1 large young green papaya, peeled and seeded
2 medium carrots, peeled
4 cucumbers, halved and seeded
6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Several chilies (optional)
3 tbsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup white vinegar
Shred the papaya. Make sure not to shred it too finely. Toss the
shredded papaya with 2 tbsp of salt. Set it aside for forty minutes. Slice the
carrots, about 1/16 inch in thickness. You can also shred it as you did the
papaya. Toss the carrots with ½ tbsp of salt and set aside for forty minutes.
Cut cucumbers into matchsticks, roughly around 1 ½ inch long and ⅛ inch thick.
Toss the cucumbers with the remaining salt and set aside for forty minutes.
Dissolve sugar in vinegar.
Drain the salt water off of each vegetable. Make sure you get as
much salt water as possible. Do not rinse the vegetables with water. Toss the
vegetables with garlic slices and chilies in a large bowl. Add the vinegar and
sugar solution. Mix well, cover and leave it aside for an hour or so. Toss it a
few times so that the brine is distributed evenly. Move the pickle into a clean
jar. Do not add in the brine. You want the pickle to stay fresh and crunchy.
Store the pickle in the fridge. It can be eaten the next day. It you want a
sourer taste, leave the jar on the counter for a few days before moving it into
the fridge.
Note: If you like, you can add daikon radish and cabbage to the
veggie medley as well.
I want to talk about Khmer versification today. But first, a brief lesson on the language. Khmer is part of the Mon-Khmer family. Khmer, unlike our surrounding neighbors’, is a non-tonal language. Since the language has no inflections, conjunctions or case endings, it is rich in particles and auxiliary words. It is a language that does not need to repeat the subject, object or indication of time, once they have been established. But in most cases, especially in songs and lyrics, subjected are dropped altogether.
Khmer is heavily influenced by Sanskrit, which reached Cambodia along with Hinduism via Indian traders around 5th century BC. The Sanskrit influence is found mostly in the religious, law, science, literature and royal registers. Having said that, the majority of Sanskrit borrowings are more of a style rather than a necessity. This also applied to Pali, the language of Theravada Buddhism, which came into contact with Khmer in the late 14th century. After the mid-19th century, the French influence on the language emerged as well.
Khmers have always liked verse and there is a lot to like, at least to the Khmer ear. Native Khmer is very ornate. Its lexicon offers a great wealth of rhyming, chiming and alliterative words. The alliteration sometimes involves more than one syllable and in poetry, they are used to the full. For examples: can cap (capture), srapan srapon (wilted).
Khmer versification is divided into four categories, pre-Angkorian, Angkorian period (802-1432), Middle period (1432-1863) and French Protectorate (1863-1953). There are about fifty metres in total. But some of them are referred to as artificial metres, which are variations of various syllable metres. Excessive uses of alliteration and rhyme are two of the many characteristics of these metres.
The following eight metres are some of the oldest ones. But first, the basic: each metre (pad) has a name. Next are the stanzas (lbah/vagg), and each stanza is broken into lines/sentences (klear). Each metre specifies a number of lines that can exist in a stanza. Next are the syllables (byang), and the rule of each metre dictates how many syllables are in a line. A short, unstressed open syllable in a word of Sanskrit origin many sometimes count with an adjacent syllable as one, not two syllables. Rhymes occur at predetermined places. Two syllables that have the same vowel sound and consonant sound are considered rhymed, as you would expect. But there are two more that are acceptable in Khmer verse. The first comprised of rhymes which are across register. These are rhymes where the writing supports but the pronunciation denies (due to the differences between first and second vowel series). The second one comprises of rhymes that are near perfect. These imperfect rhymes are the result of development in pronunciation. These near-rhymes, though considered sloppy, can be used as a last option when you can’t come up with any rhyme. And lastly, an important rule which applies to all metres is that the last syllable of a stanza rhymes with the end syllable of a particular line of the next stanza. Metres are used according to moods, though not always strictly.
Pad Baky Buon (Four-syllable Metre)
This is the oldest of the Khmer metres. It predated the arrival of Sanskit/Hinduism in Cambodia. It is the only metre in which the rhyme link between the last syllable of a stanza and the last syllable of a line of the next stanza is not mandatory (but only when used in songs).
There are 4 lines in a stanza, and each line has 4 syllables. This metre is used for daily life.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _A
_ _ _ _A
_ _ _ _B.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _B
_ _ _ _B
_ _ _ _C.
Pad Pathyavat (Viaticum Metre)
This metre originated in the early Chenla period (550-802). There are 4 lines in a stanza. And each line has 8 syllables. This metre is used for vengeance, wrath, and irascibility.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _A
_ _ _ _A _ _ _ _B
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _B
_ _ _ _B _ _ _ _C.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _C
_ _ _ _C _ _ _ _E
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _E
_ _ _ _E _ _ _ _F.
Pad Brahmagiti (Brahma’s Song Metre)
There are 4 lines in a stanza. The 1st line has 5 syllables. The 2nd line has 6 syllables. The 3rd line has 5 syllables. The 4th line has 6 syllables. This metre is used for lamentation and grieving.
_ _ _ _ _A
_ _ _A _ _ _B
_ _ _ _ _B
_ _ _B _ _ _C.
_ _ _ _ _D
_ _ _D _ _ _C
_ _ _ _ _C
_ _ _C _ _ _E.
Pad Bhujunlila (Serpent’s Movement Metre)
There are three lines in a stanza. The 1st line has 6 syllables. The 2nd line has 4 syllables. The 3rd line has 4 syllables. This metre is for descriptions of pleasant scenes, boating, and activities in the countryside.
_ _x _ _x _ _A
_ _ _ _A
_ _A _ _B.
_ _y _ _y _ _B
_ _ _ _B
_ _B _ _C.
Next time we’ll go over the next four metres.
Sources:
Khmer Poetry by Ly Somony
The Traditional Literature of Cambodia: A Preliminary Guide by Judith M. Jacob
If you understand Khmer, see if you can identify the metres in the following clips.
