Photo Essay—Symbodia

2018-12-10

In shallow parts of Tonlé Sap Lake, arrow-shaped fish traps are anchored to the muddy bottom with wood or bamboo.

Cambodia achieved independence from French colonial rule in 1953. Its king, Norodom Sihanouk, subsequently promoted the country’s modernization, leading to a brief political and economic golden age. Sadly, the Khmer Rouge destroyed everything built in this period during its 1975–1979 reign. The regime burned books, persecuted religion, and massacred intellectuals and the bourgeoisie during its three years and eight months in power, leading to decades of poverty and social problems, as well as cultural regression.

There are fewer than ten temples more than 100 years old left in Cambodia. Most have not been a focus of preservation efforts, and are deteriorating from the dampness.

Bonn Om Tuk: Primarily a celebration of the end of the rainy season and the start of the fishing and planting seasons, the festival is closely connected to the rhythms of Cambodian life.

I spent nearly eight years exploring and documenting Cambodia beginning in 2010. During that time, I saw nearly 20 years of foreign investment and economically focused policy spur the rapid development of Cambodian society and the disappearance of many of its cultural assets and traditional customs. Without intellectuals to pass along the country’s history, knowledge, stories and traditional ways of doing things, it lost a great many of them.

Pchum Ben: Pchum Ben is a Cambodian festival for the dead similar to the Tomb Sweeping Day familiar to the Chinese-speaking world.

Meak Bochea Day: Meak Bochea occurs on the full moon of the third month of the Buddhist calendar, and its ceremonies are usually held in temples at night. In the photo, lay people stand in a mandala made of candles to find peace.

Decorative auspicious elements atop traditional-style sloped roofs usually include the year the building was constructed, as well as religious elements that vary by region.

The Institute of Foreign Languages, designed by Internationally trained architect Vann Molyvann.

Present-day Cambodian intellectuals are attempting to create a cultural renaissance movement, using the power of culture to heal the collective war wounds and rebuild the Cambodian people’s confidence and pride. Because they have only limited resources and knowledge, they are collecting and preserving large numbers of images that they hope to incorporate into a database and integrate with the educational system as a means of bringing the country closer to that goal.

Cambodian shadow puppetry has a long history and is generally divided into two genres: Sbek Thom uses large puppets and deals with myths; Sbek Toch uses smaller puppets to tell folk tales.

During the festival, Cambodians prepare homemade glutinous rice balls, cakes, fruits, candles and other offerings for the spirits of the deceased, then, led by monks, carry them around the temple on small plates to distribute them to the spirits.

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