Publisher and Angkor Wat researcher Kent Davis and his wife, Sophaphan, lost everything when their home in Holmes Beach burned down last year. But after finding new housing Davis quickly rediscovered his passion for Cambodia. STAFF PHOTO / E. SKYLAR LITHERLAND

RECOVERY: As life after a fire is rebuilt, passion for Khmer culture is reborn

By VINCENT F. SAFUTO Correspondent – Reprinted with permission Sarasota Herald Tribune – Full credits at bottom.

Book publisher Kent Davis and his wife, Sophaphan, escaped from their burning Holmes Beach house with only the clothes on their backs and a cell phone.

Sophaphan & Kent Davis in front of their home on the morning of April 17th, 2008. The fire began 33 years after the day that Khmer Rouge troops entered Phnom Penh to initiate one of worst genocides in human history.

Lost in the blaze were all their personal possessions, among them a prized library collection of rare Asian books and 20,000 research photos of Angkor Wat, a giant Cambodian religious temple built in the 12th century and rediscovered by French archaeologists in the 19th century.

But Davis and his wife are rebounding from the April 2008 fire, and his passion for Cambodia, its culture and the Angkor Wat temple has found new beginnings as well.

Davis’ first love affair with Southeast Asia and its culture began nearly two decades ago when he worked in Bangkok, Thailand from 1990-95. It was then that he met his wife, Sophaphan, who is Thai.

The fire consumed hundreds of rare first edition books about Southeast Asian history.

His “second love affair” began in 2005 when he and his wife took a side trip to Cambodia during a visit to see her family in Northeastern Thailand. Seeing the ancient Khmer capital of Angkor inspired the Davises to build a school in Cambodia, begin a research project about the role of women in ancient Cambodia, and to begin publishing books about the region. The venture went well, until the fire interrupted all of their plans.

In early 2009, as he and his wife continued their struggle to regain their footing and establish a new home after their fire, Davis experienced interest in his work from an unexpected place and his Cambodian works soon became official state gifts given on behalf of the United States to the King of Cambodia.

King Sihamoni of Cambodia receives official US gifts from Ambassador Rodley.

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This was possible because Davis’ fire-devastated publishing company, DatAsia Press, has resumed producing books about Southeast Asia.

So, when U.S. ambassador to Cambodia Carol Rodley was looking for a gift to present to King Norodom Sihamoni at her formal presentation of diplomatic credentials and gifts in January, she contacted Davis.

“I was looking for a gift that would symbolize the connections between the United States and Cambodia, and ideally for something related to Cambodian culture,” Rodley said in an e-mail.

These two books published by Kent Davis were given to the Cambodian king. STAFF PHOTO / E. SKYLAR LITHERLAND

Davis offered Rodley three gifts from DatAsia: Angkor the Magnificent, an English-language book first published in 1924 that opened up Cambodian tourism to the English speaking world; Earth in Flower, the most complete history of Cambodian dance ever written; and a DVD copy of a rare American documentary about Cambodian dance made in the early 1960s.

Davis worked in Thailand from 1990 to 1995. He wanted to learn the language and joked that he met Sophaphan while looking for people to talk to. He had heard about Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but only as a cool place to visit. In the early 90′s Cambodia was still recovering from the Khmer Rouge era and remained too dangerous to visit in Davis’ view.

Davis and his wife moved back to the US in 1995 and in 2001 moved to his family home in Florida to develop and run a Thai-themed resort on Anna Maria Island. In 2005 they sold the resort and took their first vacation in four years, going  to visit Sophaphan’s family in Thailand. They were looking to go somewhere they had never been before and decided to visit Angkor Wat.

It was a momentous decision.

“From the minute I walked into Angkor Wat, I saw something that just made me ask a question: ‘Why is Angkor Wat, the largest religious structure in the world, filled with the images of women?’” Kent Davis said.

One of 1,780 female portraits at Angkor Wat.

Not men, not warriors, not children. Women.

“I found that to be a question I need to answer in this life.”

There are 1,780 women carved in the temple, and no two are alike, he said.

“Some of them are very elaborate and have royal crowns; some of them are simpler and have simpler hairstyles; they wear strange jewelries; they’re all in specific poses; they’re all in very specific locations.”

“My theory is that these women represent a hierarchy that embodies the complex Khmer culture that created Angkor Wat. Women who, in fact, played a very important role in Cambodia’s history,” said Davis.

Sophaphan Davis was born and grew up in a village near Kalasin, a city in northeastern Thailand about 120 miles directly north of Angkor Wat. Northeastern Thailand was part of the Khmer Empire in the 12th century when the temple was built.

In November, Davis returned to Cambodia, to retake 7,000 pictures at Angkor Wat, beginning anew his research photo collection of the sacred temple.

“I fell in love with Cambodia, too,” Sophaphan said. “The nature, people and lifestyle there remind me of my home when I was a child.”

Cambodia

CAMBODIA FACTS

CAPITAL: Phnom Penh

POPULATION: 14,241,640 (July 2008 estimate)

SIZE: 69,898 square miles, slightly smaller than Oklahoma

ETHNIC GROUPS: Khmer, 90 percent; Vietnamese, 5 percent; Chinese, 1 percent; other, 4 percent

Languages: Khmer (official), 95 percent; French and English

RELIGIONS: Theravada Buddhist, 95 percent; other, 5 percent

GOVERNMENT: Multiparty democracy under constitutional monarch

CHIEF OF STATE: King Norodom Sihamoni (since Oct. 29, 2004)

HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Prime Minister Hun Sen (since Jan. 14, 1985)

Source: CIA World Factbook

© 2009 Sarasota Herald Tribune - This article and photos appear with the kind permission of the copyright holder. No further reproduction is permitted.

King Sihamoni of Cambodia receiving official gifts from newly appointed US Ambassador Carol Rodley, accompanied by Embassy Spokesman and Cultural Attache, John Johnson, and Executive Assistant, LaVonya Hayward.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (PR WIRE) – Surrounded by crenulated walls and elaborate tropical gardens, Cambodia’s Royal Palace is an exotic world onto itself. Since 1866, this has been the royal abode of this proud nation’s monarchs, whose lineage stretches back to the great Khmer Empire that once ruled most of Southeast Asia.

For nearly 150 years, all important state ceremonies have taken place in the Throne Hall, called Preah Thineang Dheva Vinnichay in Khmer, which means the "Sacred Seat of Judgment."

For nearly 150 years, all important state ceremonies have taken place in the Throne Hall, called Preah Thineang Dheva Vinnichay in Khmer, which means the “Sacred Seat of Judgment.” It was here that King Sihamoni received US Ambassador Carol Rodley, accepting her diplomatic papers and, as protocol dictates, conducting an official exchange of gifts between the two nations. Ambassador Rodley chose her American gifts quite carefully.

Years of foreign service and a true appreciation for Cambodian culture prepared Rodley for her important post. Already a Khmer speaker from an earlier Cambodian assignment in 1997-2000, Rodley began preparing for her royal ceremony weeks in advance. Her research led her to US publisher, Kent Davis, a Khmer history specialist and researcher with Devata.org.

“My books are primarily for Cambodians and academics, so I was curious when a Virginia woman sought out these specialized titles. That woman was Ambassador Rodley,” said Davis.

"Earth in Flower" and "Angkor the Magnificent"

Rodley chose two books and a DVD as official gifts to include in her ceremony: “Earth in Flower” by Dr. Paul Cravath, the most complete history of Cambodian dance ever published; “Angkor the Magnificent” by Helen Churchill Candee, an evocative account of the Khmer Empire; and a rare digital copy of a 1962 film about Cambodian dance featuring the King’s sister, Princess Buppha Devi, from the US National Archives.

Weeks later in the gilded Throne Hall, the newest United States Ambassador presented her credentials to King Sihamoni in his native language and wearing a Khmer silk business suit. Presentation of her diplomatic credentials was soon followed by the uniquely American gifts of Cambodian scholarship, which delighted her royal host.

The Ambassador’s actions and her gifts embody American appreciation and respect for Cambodian culture. With diplomatic empathy like this, I believe the United States can regain its reputation as a world leader known for sharing knowledge, culture and freedom. I’m honored my books were part of this event,” said Davis.

Website: www.DatAsia.us

Contact: Kent Davis kdavis@DatAsia.us Direct line 941-778-3086 (FL, USA)

Publisher: DatASIA, Inc. is a US publisher affiliated with the Independent Book Publishers Association, and Small Publishers Association of North America. The company has offices in Florida, USA and Bangkok, Thailand. www.DatAsia.us

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