62 barefoot dancers gather at the temple of Preah Vihear on the tense Cambodian-Thai border to perform a sacred ritual for peace led by Ravynn Karet-Coxen (right).

A religious ceremony of rare intensity took place August 17 in the temple of Preah Vihear, where sixty-two young girls danced a sacred ritual to pray for peace. Originating the event was Ravynn Karet Coxen, founder of the Nginn-Karet Foundation for Cambodia.

By Frédéric Amat

© 2010 Cambodge Soir – This translation of the original article appears with the permission of the copyright holder. No further reproduction is permitted.

PREAH VIHEAR, CAMBODIA — Sixty-two girls, entirely dressed in white reminiscent of Rome’s Vestal Virgins, performed a Buong Suong (sacred ritual) before the astonished eyes of soldiers stationed in the heart of Preah Vihear temple, which is located four hours by road from Siem Reap.

All the dancers come from impoverished families living in the villages of Banteay Srey district, which is considered to be the cradle of the Khmer culture. All attend classes at the Conservatoire Buppha Devi, which was founded by the Nginn Karet Foundation and named for its Royal Patron. With specialized dance and music teachers, the Conservatoire offers these disadvantaged children from farming families the opportunity to learn the refined disciplines of classical dance, folk dance, music and shadow theater thereby discovering their country’s ancient culture and learning traditional Cambodian values.

The troupe of Nginn Karet Foundation dancers gather at Preah Vihear

According to Ravynn, “our institution doesn’t aim to train these young artists to later work in the tourist venues of nearby Siem Reap town. The arts we teach develop the spirit, mind and body by creating close communion with nature. These young dancers train to perform sacred rituals that honor and invoke our gods with the pure respect of our ancestral traditions.

“These rituals, and their associated gestures, have been developed over a thousand years to petition the heavens to bless our country and to attract prosperity and abundance to our land. Today, Angkor’s temples are perceived more for tourism or for their archaeological aspects, but rarely for their spiritual quality, which is a pity. Our goal is to re-sanctify our ancestor’s temples with these purifying rites”.

Sacred dancers ascending Preah Vihear temple with offerings of peace.

For these young artists, discipline is strict. They are required to regularly attend the training six half-days every week; the other half-days being devoted to academic studies.

In the Hindu (not Buddhist) ritual that took place at Preah Vihear — as for other ceremonies previously organized by Ravynn and members of her foundation — the dancers must be “pure”, which is to say virgins. They are not adorned with makeup or jewelry, so as to enhance the beauty of the gestures and to preserve the piety of the rites.

Gathering Lustral Water at Preah Vihear's sacred pond Srea Meas.

The adornments and offerings are therefore natural, carved by the dancers and teachers from banana trunks or designed with plants, flowers and fruits, each having a specific symbolic meaning.

“The same is true of our Institution of Royalty, which is paramount for the Khmer because it represents the divine presence on earth and the protection of the Kingdom. In accord with the ideals of the Devaraja religion of Jayavarman II, prayers, incantations and pilgrimages are all necessary to strengthen the soul of our country. I fundamentally believe that when the sacred sites have been respected as such, and re-sanctified, Cambodia will regain peace.

“It is with this goal that we organized this sacred ritual at Preah Vihear with 62 dancers. This number is not without significance, by the way. It commemorates the irrevocable judgment of the International Court of Justice of The Hague, delivered in 1962, that granted Cambodia the right to regain the sovereignty of Preah Vihear,” explains Ravynn, whose father, Nginn Karet, participated in the World Court proceedings as an expert engineer geographer.

The sacred dancers began their blessing ritual at the foot of the mountain.

So, at Preah Vihear, sixty-two dancers, candles and sticks of incense in hand, ascended hundreds of temple steps, from the mountain’s base to its final courtyard. The young ladies gently and beautifully invoked the names of all the Khmer gods, royal spirits, kings, spiritual masters, ancestors and the leaders of modern Cambodia, as they stopped at each Gopura (an entry structure on each level) to perform special ceremonies using lustral water gathered from the temple’s sacred pond of Srea Meas.

As the sacred ritual concluded storm clouds gathered and raindrops fell -- to the dancers it was a sign that their gods had heard their pleas for peace.

Focused on their ritual dance they reached the highest point at the edge of a cliff, offering their final prayers for tensions to subside so that this sacred site is again peaceful.

When all nine dance rituals were complete the witnesses were awed to see the sky darken. Within minutes lighting flashed, thunder rumbled and heavy rain descended near the mountain. On the top, only a mist of spray touched the gathered troupe of dancers, who saw it as a sign that the gods had heard their plea and accepted the Buong Suong.

This was the first time in many centuries that a sacred Hindu rite was celebrated in Preah Vihear temple; a rite for peace, at the summit of Cambodia, in this sanctuary mid-way between Heaven and Earth.

***

Cambodge Soir is the most important French language newspaper published in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is distributed throughout the country and is available online for purchase by the single issue or by subscription (online edition).

Apsara Dance. From Apsara Mera, 26 October 2010 , Chaktomuk Conference Hall. © 2010 Anders Jirås.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia — A millennium ago, the Khmer civilization flourished in Southeast Asia and its legacy still shapes the region’s art and culture. The magnificent Khmer architecture is recognized worldwide in the temple of Angkor Wat and the stone faces of the Bayon. But this creative empire left a living legacy that still fascinates audiences today: the art of Cambodian dance.

Boung Soung Dance from the ceremony in preparation for the performance in the Lakhaon Festival 2009 at the Chenla Theatre. © 2010 Anders Jirås

Dazzling images of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia captured by Swedish photographer Anders Jirås form the basis of a special exhibit at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Exhibition runs November 5, 2010 to January 31, 2011.

Sampeah Krou, before the classical dance drama Preah Anurudh, Preah Neang Ossa. Organized by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, 6 June 2008, Chenla Theatre. © 2010 Anders Jirås

An architectural photographer by trade, Anders Jirås first visited Cambodia in 2005 and became interested in documenting the country’s unique performing arts. His first experiences with Cambodian performances were with students of Cambodian Living Arts and with Sovanna Phum, which specializes in the art of shadow puppetry. He was also captivated by a presentation of “les Nuits d’Angkor”, an annual dance presentation of the Ramayana by the Royal Ballet that began in 1995.

”The Swedish winter convinced me to return to Cambodia!” relates Anders. “This time I met Darryl Collins, an independent researcher working at the National Museum. In discussions with him and the museum directors the idea for this exhibit took shape.”

In 2008 Anders photographed the Royal Ballet for the first time. Through the connection and through the Lakhaon Festival at the French Cultural Center began photographing a wider range of Cambodian performing arts. But according to Anders Swedish interest in Cambodian Dance is not new, and actually began 99 years ago, with the visit of the Swedish Prince William in 1911. In the account of his trip, In the Land of the Sun, Prince William wrote:

“The first part of the programme was a prehistoric ballet of the gods…the dance contained a number of characteristic dances, such as flower, staff, fan dances, and so on, in which there was some very expert juggling with the different objects.

“One number, which specially took the fancy of the populace, was entitled ‘An angel, riding on a naga pursues a garuda through the air.’ The leading persons were hung from the roof by wires, which could be moved in elliptical orbits round the stage. Sprawling and gesticulating, they chased each other round the arena, looking exactly like children’s toys dangling on the end of a string.”

Cambodian dance is perhaps less flamboyant today, but no less fascinating as the series of full color photos in this special exhibit shows.

The exhibit was supported by Friends of Khmer Culture, a non-profit educational group with a long history of supporting positive projects in Cambodia.

Apsara Dance. From Apsara Mera, 26 October 2010, Chaktomuk Conference Hall. © 2010 Anders Jirås.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CAMBODIA INFORMATION

National Museum of Cambodia Official Site

Treasures of Khmer Culture-The National Museum of Cambodia

Cambodia’s National Museum Marks 90th Anniversary

CAMBODIAN DANCE – VIRTUAL PHOTO EXHIBIT

The Royal Ballet of Cambodia special exhibition is featured at the National Museum of Cambodia.

See the entire collection on the website of photographer Anders Jirås.

Article by Kent Davis, www.devata.org

NOTE: All photos of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia are copyright protected by Anders Jirås. For reprint permissions please contact the photographer directly.

Le Ballet Royal du Cambodge Paris performance.

By Kent Davis – Devata.org

PARIS — At the beginning of time, an extraordinary Hindu legend relates how the forces of good and evil worked together to create Amrita, the nectar of immortality. Today, humankind still seeks this magical elixir and Khmer dancers continue to recreate the tale.

The Royal Ballet of Cambodia will perform in Paris on October 10, 2010 with the support and collaboration of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia. Their performance is directly connected to their country’s thousand-year-old royal tradition of dance through the choreography, which was arranged by Cambodian Princess Buppha Devi.

Cambodian dancers in full costume.

The Princess, a former prima ballerina in this sacred art, is the daughter of former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk, and the sister of the present King Sihamoni. At its origin, this dance form was only performed as an offering for gods and royalty. It has only been presented as a performance art in modern times.

“The Legend of the Apsara Mera” presents two Brahmanic tales that became integral to Khmer culture. Act I is the “Churning of the Sea of Milk” (“Le mythe du barattage de la mer de lait”). While the myth originated in India, Khmer interpretation and portrayal are unique, focusing on the naga, or cosmic serpent, and Vishnu at the center of the image balancing the forces of good (devas on the right below) and evil (asuras on the left).

Angkor Wat features the largest artistic representation of the Hindu legend of "the churning of the ocean of milk" on Earth. Visnu appears at the center with the naga Vasuki wrapped around Mt. Mandara. Vishnu also incarnates as his avatar, the turtle Kurma below, to provide a base. The demons, or asuras, pull on Visuki to the left as gods, or devas, pull on the right. This churns the ocean to manifest magical objects, including the apsaras that fly over the scene.

Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia is home to the largest artistic rendering of the “churning the sea of milk” on Earth; a bas-relief panel 49 yards wide. In considering the legend, the Cambodian dance history book Earth in Flower by Paul Cravath quotes French archaeologist Bernard-Philippe Groslier’s observation that the naga is the “god of the waters” that “haunts the whole of Khmer art, from the endlessly repeated theme of the churning of the Sea of Milk down to the most insignificant architectural element which will accommodate it.”

In addition to the elixir of immortality, the art of Angkor Wat reveals that something else associated with Khmer culture manifested from the ocean: the apsaras or celestial women who fly above the scene. Khmer art routinely features women and goddesses, with temples like Angkor Wat honoring women, even to the exclusion of men. The female dance tradition of Cambodia is closely associated with these ancient beliefs.

Performance by the Royal Cambodian Ballet. Copyright 2010 Anders Jiras.

Act II presents “The Legend of Kambu and Mera” (“La légende de Kambu et de Méra”). Quoting historian Thierry Solange, Earth in Flower describes how this legend establishes that “the origin of the kings of Cambodia goes back to the union of the hermit Kambu Svāyambhuva, eponymic ancestor of the Kambujas, with the celestial nymph Merā….” As Cravath explains, Svayambhuva means “self-creating,” and Merā was an apsaras or heavenly dancer given to him by Shiva.

The royal troupe features elaborate costumes, including beautiful new crowns replicating the ancient styles worn by women in the stone portraits at Angkor Wat.

A modern crown created for this special performance of the Royal Cambodian Ballet and a crowned devata seen on the West Gopura of Angkor Wat. Photo left - Copyright 2010 Anders Jiras. Right - Kent Davis

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Act I: The myth of the Churning of the Sea of Milk

Act II: The Legend of Kambu and Mera

Exécution musicale - Ngornly Seang, Pruong Proeung, Kong Chum, Kol Nol, Sok Chhem, Kimsour san

Chant – Borin Yann, Marey Doung, Sarath Hun

Danse – Phirum Meas, Chamroeumina Chap, Chansoda Chen, Sokhoeum Sok, Pech Heung, Viphearun Yann, Mary Prom, Savin Sam, Sathya Sam, Danida Muong, Borena Chhin, Thida Kao, Samphors Chamroeum, Phirum Keo, Limsothea Sam, Dalis Ou, Lin Seng, Vichivi Praseth, Vichheka Praseth, Chamroeuntola Chap, Chanmoly Vuth, Sovanney Samart, Khankanha Ram, Leakhena Im, Linda Hem, Sophy Yan, Chumnit Penh, Thavrak Seur, Yeng Yang

Chorégraphie – S.A.R. Norodom Buppha Devi, Proeung Chieng

Chorégraphie-Costumes – Soth Somaly

Interprète - Kor Borin

Costumes – Sim Mantha, Pen Sokhuon, Ros Yaran,

Décor -Sek Savuth

Soutien - Ministère de la Culture et des Beaux-Arts du Royaume du Cambodge, Ministère de la Culture et des Beaux-Arts du Royaume du Cambodge

PARIS

Sunday, 10/10 2010 16:00
Sunday, 10/10 2010 20:00

PARIS TICKET INFORMATION – FRENCH

PARIS TICKET INFORMATION – ENGLISH

BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS TICKET INFORMATION – FRENCH

Khmer bronze yogini with clues to Southeast Asian Tantric rituals.

The Yogini, beautiful, wildly fierce females frequently shown dancing on corpses, derive their iconography from obscure Vedic, village, and tantric sources, and should not be confused with charming celestial females known as apsara, as will be discussed later.

Yoginis dance on corpses in a Tantric ritual at the Khmer temple in Pimai, Thailand.

Trained as ‘yogic-sexual assistants,’ yogini were indispensable in the Hevajra cult, resulting in a need for a significant number of women able to perform the necessary Tantric temple-rituals.* The Chinese Superintendent of Maritime Trade in thirteenth-century Guangzhou, Zhao Rukuo, mentions the presence of foreign women in Khmer temples.

“In Chenla [Cambodia], the people are devout Buddhists. In the temples there are 300 foreign women; they dance and offer food to the Buddha. They are called a-nan…”

Their description as a-nan (Skt. Bliss) suggests an erotic role in temple rituals.*

The Khmer Yogini dancer has distinctly foreign features.

Detail of Tantric yogini dancer with third eye marking.

Such a role attributed to yogini may not have resonated with Khmer women, resulting in the need for foreign women to fulfill the required Tantric temple-rituals.

Zhao’s statement may explain this unusual little bronze dancing yogini who is not Khmer but Negrito, confirming Zhao’s statement concerning foreign women in Buddhist temples. Negritos are known to have inhabited parts of Peninsular Thailand and the Malay Peninsula.

The Negrito yogini wears a sampot chang kben that dips low in front, is adorned with a pectoral with pendants front and back, and displays an empty socket in back for a butterfly bow, all characteristics of the second half of the eleventh century.

A third eye marking her forehead and her dance pose, in which the raised right foot touches the left thigh, are typical Tantric yogini characteristics.

To date, this is a rare image of an obvious foreigner in Khmer art.

* Citing the work of Dr Peter D. Sharrock, SOAS, including “The Yoginis of the Bayon” and “Garuda, Vajrapani and religious change in Jayavarman VII’s Angkor”. Please see the final publication for full citations.

Rear view of Khmer yogini bronze showing sampot chang kben.

Emmy Bunker

About the Author

Emma C. Bunker, a research consultant to the Denver Art Museum’s Asian Art Department, specializes in the arts of ancient China, the Eurasian Steppes, and Southeast Asia. Links to two of her publications relating to Khmer art appear below:

Adoration and Glory

Khmer Gold

With the fervor of a saint,
I have taken it upon myself to tell the world
of the beauties of the kingdom of Cambodia
and the virtues of the Khmer people.

Thus I pay my debt of gratitude for their warm hospitality.

The opening lines of Roland Meyer’s epic tale of Cambodia: Saramani

Article by Kent Davis

Roland Meyer, self portrait, circa 1909

At the end of the 19th century, a young French boy dreamt of finding a tropical paradise. Books about Pacific island adventures and the discovery of lost cities in the dense jungles of Southeast Asia fueled his imagination. Soon, the urge to travel was irresistible but what set this young man apart from thousands of others is that he shared his stories.

Roland Théodore Emile Meyer was born in Moscow on July 10, 1889. His parents moved to Paris where, after his education, he enrolled in the Indochinese colonial service in 1908 at the age of 19.

Meyer first served for three months in Saigon as a cabinet aide to Governor-General Paul Beau in Saigon. Upon moving to Cambodia in 1909 Meyer’s life changed forever as he immersed himself in the history, language and lifestyle of the modern descendants of the ancient Khmers.

Unlike other colonials, Meyer chose to assimilate with the indigenous culture surrounding him, learning the local language, customs, religion and even setting up his home among the natives outside the French quarter of the town. Meyer was a living example of a visitor who “went native”, much to the surprise of some of his fellow colonials. In 1912, Meyer published Cours de cambodgien, the first book to teach the Khmer language to Francophones.

Cambodian Dancers by George Groslier, 2010 edition.

With Phnom Penh still a small town, Meyer soon met others who admired and respected the legacy of the great civilization that surrounded them. His small circle of friends, many of whom were founding members of The Angkor Society, came to shape the way the world sees Cambodia. They included Jean Commaille, the first conservator of the Angkor site; Henri Marchal, the second Angkor conservator who took over Commaille’s duties when he was murdered by robbers; and Charles Gravelle, director of the country’s branch of the Bank of Indochina and an avid writer himself – all men whose influence is still with us today.

Another associate embarking on a stellar career in Cambodia was George Groslier, an artist and writer two years older than Meyer, who arrived in Phnom Penh in 1910 on an educational assignment. As it turned out, both young men were captivated by a living, breathing vestige of the ancient Khmers; the sacred Cambodian dancers who lived, sequestered, in the royal palace as part of the king’s harem.

On returning to France in 1913, Groslier published Danseuses Cambodgiennes, Anciennes et Modernes, the first formal study of the sacred artistic tradition. Meyer’s experience and vision of the dance and dancers, however, went even deeper and was far more intimate.

Meyer told of a seemingly forbidden romance between East and West — between a royal dancer in the king’s harem named Saramani, and a French boy who came to Indochina to seek his destiny. The boy, like Meyer himself, “went native” and adopted the Khmer name Komlah, which means bachelor.  Through Saramani and her family, Meyer (often writing as Komlah) relates a detailed picture of love and life  in colonial Cambodia.

For a decade, Meyer recorded his notes in his personal diaries, shaping a tale in which it’s difficult to tell fact from fiction.

Saramani - Cambodian Dancer by Roland Meyer, 1919.

In 1919 Meyer published Saramani, Danseuse Khmèr in Saigon. His epic account of Cambodia stretched from the primeval formation of the land tens of millions of years ago, to the peak of the Khmer civilization at Angkor Wat, ending in the modern colonial capital of Phnom Penh. He records the lives of all he encounters on Cambodian soil; rice farmers, fishermen, immigrants, colonials, dancing girls, poor peasants, wealthy merchants, royal servants and even kings.

Saramani title page - 1919

Saramani grew to a massive work of more than 180,000 words exploring many controversial events in the guise of “fiction”. Meyer’s views of colonial lust, capitalistic greed and royal decadence were upsetting to some, to say the least. The same year of its release he transferred to Laos, perhaps out of necessity to escape local consequences…or perhaps to escape romantic entanglements that may have inspired some of the scenes throughout the book.

Was Saramani a real person? Were the book’s fantastic events based on reality or imagination?

Meyer never revealed this but his exceptional accuracy, attention to detail and congruity with historical events implies that there is much more than fiction in his account.

Sketch of a Buddhist pagoda in Ken Svai, a community on a large island in the Mekong River near Phnom Penh. By Roland Meyer, circa 1912.

Meyer worked with the French civil service until retirement. Coinciding with the French Colonial Exposition of 1931 in Paris he published two more books, Komlah, visions of Asia and French Indo-China. Laos. While Komlah relates many more personal impressions in Indochina the second title is a rather dry analysis of the Laotian country.

In 1952 his friend M. Gerard published his final work, a collection of short essays titled Le propos du vieux colonial.

Sadly, like many great men of the French colonial era, Meyer’s trail vanishes late in life. I don’t know where he died, where he is buried, if he has any descendants or what became of his archives. A sad loss to Cambodian, French and literary history.

If any readers have additional information please contact me kentdavis at gmail dot com.

Khmer culture is featured on WHYY TV's "Art of Life" series.

Extended  Interview with Rorng Sorn

The WHYY website now features an extended interview with Rorng Sorn, who was born in rural Cambodia in 1968. In the interview, Rorng Sorn recounts the difficult road from the countryside of Cambodia to the urban streets of Philadelphia.

Rorng Sorn interviewed on WHYY TV

Despite the challenges, Rorng Sorn achieved the education she so desired, earning a Masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania. In return, she serves her community through her role as Executive Director of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia.

A portrait of Rorng Sorn's family before the war.

In her inspiring interview, Rorng Sorn describes her personal experience of what life was like for her family during the Khmer Rouge and the devastation that followed. Most important, she talks about how she became a leader in Philadelphia’s Khmer community so she could contribute to preserving her culture.

Links

The Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia

WHYY Art of Life features on Cambodian culture

Cambodian Dancer Chamoeun Yin – Philadelphia Folklore Project

Khmer Art Gallery – Philadelphia

Students learning the art of Khmer Classical Dance through the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia dance project.

Philadelphia, PA – A new segment on WHYY considers the artistic side of one of the world’s greatest, and most mysterious, civilizations: the Khmer.

Many Americans are familiar with the tragic Khmer Rouge genocide that brought many Cambodian refugees to our country in the 1980’s. But few know about the magnificent Khmer civilization that began flourishing in Southeast Asia in the 8th century. The Khmer legacy still inspires rich traditions of dance, music, fashion, literature and art that survive to this day.

As a segment on WHYY’s Art of Life series, producer Karen Smyles created Bridging Cambodian Culture to focus on unique people and cultural events in Philadelphia’s Khmer-American community.

The feature included Rorng Sorn, Executive Director of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia (CAGP), a foundation that has implemented social, health and education programs for Cambodian refugees and their families in Philadelphia for over thirty years.  Visit CAGP’s Facebook page here to become a fan.

The Khmer Art Gallery in Philadelphia features a variety of traditional and contemporary art from Cambodia.

The documentary also visits the  Khmer Art Gallery to meet founders Bonna Neang & Bob Weinstein. Hidden in the heart of Chinatown, the spacious gallery displays a vast array of artwork from Cambodia’s “Millennium of Glory,” from traditional pieces to the works of contemporary masters in stone, bronze, wood and fabric.

The WHYY feature coincides with the celebration of Cambodian New Year, April 13-15, a three day event filled with special meals, cultural presentations and religious ceremonies.

Watch a clip of the WHYY documentary Bridging Cambodian Culture here by selecting CHAPTER 2.

Khmer Classical Dance students in traditional costumes study with the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia dance project

Daughters of Angkor Wat

Who were these women? Why were they so important to the powerful Khmer Empire?

A growing body  of evidence indicates that Angkor Wat may be mankind’s greatest tribute to womanhood, motherhood and the feminine divine.

Daughters of Angkor Wat begins unlocking the secrets of these women, immortalized in stone so long ago. Advanced analysis using newly available computer technology is just beginning. This book presents surprising theories, hundreds of original photos and new insights from some of the world’s leading experts including:

Paul Cravath
Kent Davis
Madeleine Giteau
Kapil Goel
George Groslier
Trudy Jacobsen
Nitin Kumar
Anil Menon
Julie Mehta
Peter Sharrock
Krishna Murari Srivastava

…and other enlightened observers.

The book’s most unusual feature is that this investigation raises more questions than it answers. The evidence it reveals gives readers the tools to join the experts and to participate in solving this historical mystery.

In development since 2006, the book has been repeatedly delayed by Devata.org’s rapidly expanding body of research so that new theories can be properly expressed. August 22, 2010 marked the release of the world’s first scientific study of the devata, “Clustering Face Carvings: Exploring the Devata of Angkor Wat”, in progress with the Michigan State University computer vision team since 2008.

We now anticipate Advance Reading Copies of “Daughters of Angkor Wat” to be available to the press by early 2012. We are as anxious as you are to see it as you are!

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NKFC dancer performs blessing ritual at Siem Reap city shrine. Photo Kent Davis.

By Aye Sapay and Cherry Thein © 2010 The Phnom Penh Post This article appears with the kind permission of the copyright holder. No further reproduction is permitted.

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Fourteen young Khmer girls, dressed in flowing white garb with coconut flowers in their hair, danced sinuously to the rhythm of traditional classical music. The Preah Ang Chiek Preah Ang Chhorm Shrine in Siem Reap, next to the Royal Residence, was the venue enlightened by their sashays.

As the girls went through their paces on the evening of January 26, a growing band of lucky tourists gathered, gob-smacked, to watch this ritual unfold. The looks of delight on the crowd’s faces proved they knew they were seeing something special, but of course they were unaware of the significance of the proceedings.

They were unaware that the shrine where the ritual was taking place was the most sacred site in Siem Reap and that the images of the divinities within the shrine are considered the most powerful in the town.

They were unaware, too, that the ritual was unfolding in the presence of royalty and that two of the three women sitting on a prayer mat among the dancers were princesses, including one of Cambodia’s most legendary classical dancers, Her Royal Highness Princess Buppha Devi, and her daughter, Princess Norodom Sisowath.

The third woman was the “mother” of the tribe of little dancers, Lady Ravynn Karet-Coxen, although she was quick to say, “You can drop the lady bit and just call me Ravynn Karet-Coxen as it is more in tune with the work I do with the most destitute, thank you.”

HRH Princess Buppha Devi and Ravynn Karet-Coxen preparing a morning ceremony at the NKFC school. Photo © Anders Jiras.

The dancing girls were part of a troupe of more than 160 children who had been lovingly trained by Ravynn Karet-Coxen, the founder of the Nginn Karet Foundation for Cambodia (NKFC) Conservatoire Preah Ream Bopha Devidance school, of which Coxen is chairperson.

Princess Buppha Devi, the patron of the school, had come to the sacred shrine on the evening of January 26 to partake in the ritual and to pray for the good health of King Father Sihanouk and King Sihamoni, to pray for the government so that it can lead the country well, and to pray to the dance divinity and the dance spirit of ancient Angkor.

But more importantly, the ritual at the shrine was the culmination of a day of celebration marking the third anniversary of the Royal Patronage of Ravynn Karet-Coxen’s dance school at nearby Banteay Srey; the first and only arts school in the Angkor Archaeological Park and the only school of its kind in the Kingdom.

The onlooking tourists were lucky to see the performance because usually the dancers are hidden and protected from the prying eyes to “preserve their purity” as Ravynn Karet-Coxen put it.

Girls and boys train in folk dance and traditional music. Photo © Copyright Anders Jiras.

he said her school was not intended to train dancers to entertain people for money.

She proclaimed the dancing taught in her school helps the children learn to respect their god and divinities, and explained that the little dancers usually perform in temples and sacred areas for the gratification of the Gods and the King. Last year the dancers performed their first royal private performance for the king’s birthday.

She added that her dancers are never allowed to wear heavy costumes, jewellery or make-up on their faces, like the so-called traditional dancers who perform in public for tourists. Her dancers are also instructed to dance in bare feet on Mother Earth or on simple mats, and not on stages.

“We do not dance for entertainment or money,” Ravynn Karet-Coxen emphasised. “And certainly not to amuse tourists in the hotels. We don’t need that. We are dancing for our God.”

Rural students attend the school at no cost to their families, who live below poverty level. In 2010, NKFC initiated a program enabling supporters to sponsor young dancers and musicians. The cost is only $5 per week but even that small amount of money will change a child’s life and future.

Special thanks to photographer Anders Jiras for sharing his images for this article.

Earth in Flower: The Divine Mystery of the Cambodian Dance Drama

A wartime twist of fate made Paul Cravath one of the only Westerners in history to gain full access to the formerly sequestered troupe of the Royal Cambodian Ballet. In 1975 he interviewed royal dancers and teachers and gained full access to their theater and archives. Then, war and genocide nearly obliterated the thousand year old tradition.

Over the ages, Cambodia’s sacred dancers have been goddesses, priestesses, queens, concubines, hostages and diplomats. Cravath’s award-winning book Earth in Flower, reveals the complete details of their tradition for the first time. This multilingual newscast from Supreme Master TV documents the book and its awards:

Royal Cambodian Dance Book Wins Awards

Earth in Flower is dedicated to Her Royal Highness, Princess Buppha Devi, the living embodiment of Cambodia’s ancient royal dance tradition. In the video below, the princess performs a dance of offering for Cambodia’s former kings before her grandmother, Queen Sisowath Kossamak Nearirath.

This ritual offering in the Royal Palace is especially significant because it marked the occasion of Queen Kossamak passing responsibility for the unbroken royal tradition to her granddaughter.

With the special permission of Queen Kossamak  in 1961-62, a USIS film crew in Cambodia captured this sacred ritual and other performances. The film disappeared for decades only to reemerge from the US National Archives late in 2008.

In presenting her credentials to Cambodia, the the new US Ambassador Carol Rodley presented His Majesty King Sihamoni with a digital copy of the entire original film showing these historic Cambodian dance performances. This documentary of the Royal Cambodian Ballet is now available in DVD form on Amazon.com.

The DVD first features the troupe performing a dance about the legendary origins of Angkor; it then covers a visit to the school of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh with scenes showing dance instruction of boys and girls, a dress rehearsal, costume design, and mask-making. Finally, the DVD contains footage of the school’s graduation ceremonies, including a presentation of novices to the school’s patron Queen Kossmak. The conclusion is the solo dance by Princess Norodom Buppha Devi featured in the clip above.

In 2009, Princess Buppha Devi made her first official visit to the only school of dance in music in Cambodia under her royal patronage. Cambodia’s royal tradition now continues and individual donors are invited to sponsor dancers and musicians at the NKFC dance school to maintain this sacred legacy.