From the Pearl to the Phoenix - An Overview of Cambodia’s Cultural History

Part 1 - The Pearl of Asia

I will begin by setting the scene for the beginning of this story of the cultural history of Cambodia….. Its 1960 and there are girls in mini skirt with beehives perched on top of their heads, there is rock and roll in the air and twist dancing on the dance floors, there are guitars, and drums and psychedelia and hippies and go-go dancing, there are men in flares and girls in tight dresses, there is noise and laugher and glitter and color and energy and life…. it could easily be London, or New York, but its Phnom Pehn, Capital of Cambodia.

Khmer Rock Band - 1960s

“This nation of 14.8 million was once home to a vibrant contemporary art and music scene that saw psychedelic rock groups, led by Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea, take south-east Asia by storm.” (Hodal. 2012)

Listen to the sounds of Cambodia in the 1960s here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtI6f_t-OL8

Dubbed ‘The Pearl of South East Asia’, Phnom Pehn was a cultural mixing pot of traditional Asia dance and music and American influenced fashion and rock and roll all merged together with a thriving film scene led by the King himself. King Norodom Sihanouk was an actor, film director and cultural ambassador who recognized the importance and significant of the arts and culture for his beloved Cambodia.

“Cambodia has a long tradition of classical music, dance and film. King Norodom Sihanouk, who ruled the country until 1970, used to appoint artists to Cambodia’s diplomatic missions. Sihamoni, his youngest son and the current king, trained as a ballet dancer in Paris and Prague.” (The Economist. 2013)

The King on set in the 1960's

The capital was a meeting point for artists all over Cambodia coming to share their music, dance and film creations. Phnom Penh was the center of culture for the country, a place for people to come and share and learn and dance and play.

“Phnom Pehn was called ‘The Pearl of South East Asia’. It was the hub where bands from the countryside met.” ("Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll". 2014)

Phnom Pehn was a cultural core of creativity, experimentation and celebration, it was vibrant and exciting and also making an impact on the world stage.

Album cover - Khmer Band 1960s

Album cover - Khmer Band 1960s

“Cambodia had a vibrant film industry during the 1960s and Asia’s first international film festival was held in Phnom Penh in 1968.” (The Economist. 2013)

'Hippies' dancing at a music festival - Phnom Penh. 1960s

Creativity was celebrated, it was central to the people of Cambodia and there was a saying in Cambodia that,

“…. Music is the soul of a nation”

("Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll". 2014)

Khmer Band - 1960s

Khmer Band - 1960s

The city was alive, full of ideas, youth and energy; people were trying new things and being influenced by artists across the globe including The Beatles and The Bee Gees. As well as new art; traditional dance and music were strong and enjoyed by all, costumes were extravagant and there was a Royal Ballet Company, traditional musicians and singers and in the middle of it all was Angkor Watt, the 7^th Wonder of the World, a physical representation of Cambodia’s creativity and innovation over the centuries.

Angkor Wat

The Royal Ballet Company - Cambodia 

Bayon Temple - Angor Wat

But suddenly, overnight, this all disappear without a trace; artists were surplus to requirements, unnecessary, redundant….dead!

“All that changed with the arrival of Pol Pot in 1975. He regarded artists as superfluous.” (The Economist. 2013)

Part 2 - Year Zero

The Khmer Rouge rose to power due to a secret bombing campaign by the United States in 1969, where Cambodia got caught in the cross fire of the USA’s war with Vietnam.

Bombs fall on the outskirts of Phnom Penh

“1969 - The US begins a secret bombing campaign against North Vietnamese forces on Cambodian soil.” (BBC News. 2014)

The bombing was unprecedented for a country that was not even directly involved in the Vietnam War. As a neighboring country to the war, Cambodia was bombarded by,

“…. One hundred thousand tons of bombs, the equivalent of five Hiroshima’s…. illegally and secretly they (USA) bombed Cambodia, a neutral country, back to the stoneage.” (Pilger. 1979)

USA Bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam war - Highlighted in red.

The bombing caused uprising in the countryside areas of the country that were mostly affected by the bombing and a new party was born– The Communist Party of Kampuchea, otherwise know as the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot. On the 17^th April 1975, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Pehn and other cities in the country and Democratic Kampuchea was born - a very different Cambodia from what had gone before. 7.30am on the 17^th April 1975 was the start of ‘Year Zero’.

The Khmer Rouge enter Phnom Penh

“Year Zero - A dawn of an age where there would be no families, no sentiment, no expressions of love of grief, no medicine, no hospitals, no schools, no books, no learning, no holidays, no music, no song, no post no money…only work and death.” (Pilger. 1979)

At first the residents of Phnom Penh cheered; here were the people who would stop the bombing, little did they know that the very next day, life would change beyond recognition and many people who be dead by the time the sunset on the following day.

“All city dwellers are forcibly moved to the countryside to become agricultural workers. Money becomes worthless, basic freedoms are curtailed and religion is banned. The Khmer Rouge coin the phrase "Year Zero". (BBC News. 2014)

 

The cities of Cambodia are emptied in hours

The entire city was emptied by the end of the day on the 18^th April 1975; its residents marched at gunpoint out in to the countryside. Sick people were dragged from their hospital beds, the elderly and disabled dumped by the side of the road and dying children carried in plastic bags by soldiers who were only teenagers themselves. Anyone who was seen as a threat was killed. The saying; “…tuk min chamnen, dak chenh ka, min kat—“to keep you is no gain, to kill you no loss”.” (Economist. 2013), rang out through loud hailers and they meant it. Anyone who was intelligent and educated was a threat, if you could speak a different language, if you were a teacher, a doctor, and academic, even if you wore glasses, you were dead. In the chaos of the emptying of the cities, thousands of people disappeared never to be seen again.

A Khmer Rouge solider shouts orders to people to leave the city or be killed

“Many artists were a direct target of the new order that killed an estimated 2 million Cambodians within four years.” (Hodal. 2012)

Over night, the talented, energetic and inspiring artists and stars of the ‘Pearl of South East Asia’ that was Phnom Pehn were lined up and shot, some just vanished, some went in to hiding, but most were never seen again.

“When Khmer Rouge soldiers marched through Cambodia’s cities in 1975, sending its people to oppressive labor camps, film stars and musicians were some of the brutal regime’s first targets and, like many of his peers, Sisamouth disappeared.” (Knox. 2014)

There are many rumors about what exactly happened to the likes of Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sreysothea, the stars of the Cambodian music scene. Some people here say they made it to the work fields, but died of starvation like many others, some believe the story that Sinn Sisamouth was finally discovered by soldiers in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, when they lined him up to be shot, he asked permission to sing one more song before they killed him, he did, but the soldiers were unmoved and shot him in the head, but no one knows if this is true. But the fact that Sisamouth was educated, popular, well-off and an artist, almost definitely meant he would have been killed early in the regime. 

Sin Sisamouth

As for Ros Sreysothea, details are unconfirmed, but there are rumors that she made it to a village only to be forced to marry a Khmer Rouge general and sing propaganda songs before being killed, others say she died of starvation in the work camps. Her two sisters who survived believe she was taken to the coast and executed days after the fall of Phnom Pehn. She was an artist and was therefore a threat and like many other artist alive at the start of the regime she was murdered by the Khmer Rouge on direct orders from Pol Pot.

Ros Sreysothea

“Between 1975 and 1979, during the Khmer Rouge’s years of terror, 90% of the artists living in Cambodia – like much of the educated class – were systematically targeted and killed, really pushing back and limiting cultural activity in the country.” (Jackson. 2012)

Artists were the voice of the people, they had a public outlet and could make comment on the government, on political situations and people listened to them. The artist of Cambodia, along with people who were educated could topple the regime that wanted,

“……to bring back the sense of identity and having everyone equal. They wanted to have everyone in a society that is based on the work with the earth and so agriculture and peasantry, rural people with no religion, no culture and no education. The extent of the tragedy afterwards I would refer to year zero for Cambodia; we had to start from scratch.” (Jackson. 2012)

Pol Pot - leader of the Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge saw the power that the artists had and they knew that they would have to be the first people to go if they were to combat any resistance to the new way of running country. There was no room for artistic input, freedom or creativity in the new Democratic Republic of Kampuchea.

“If you want to eliminate values from past societies, you have to eliminate the artists. Because artists are influential, artists are close to the people” ("Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll". 2014)

Along with so much that represented Cambodia, the artist were destroyed and with them the music, the dancing, the songs and the films disappeared too and culturally Cambodia was reduced to a pile of ashes with so many ideas and talents lost forever.

Image of a Khmer musician taken at a prison camp before execution

“Artists are often seen as a marker of the cultural freedoms and developments within a country. Their right to publish or work, and the environment in which it is created reflects on the progression (or regression) of a country. This is part of the reason given behind the Khmer Rouge’s targeting of artists.” (Jackson. 2012)

Image of a Khmer musician taken at a prison camp before execution

The soul of Cambodia was strangled and along with it, its hope and innovation, its vision and heart. If music is the soul of the nation, as the Cambodian saying goes, and the artists are influential in society and close to the people, then they hold immense power, more power than tanks and guns and therefore they must be removed.

“The Khmer Rouge targeted artists, Chorn-Pond explains, because "they expressed who they were as human beings." While brutal regimes like the Khmer Rouge or the Taliban recognize the threat that cultural identity and expression pose to their totalitarian control.” (Schneider. 2013)

Part 3 - Nothing Left

“In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge murdered some two million Cambodians and sacked the country’s cultural treasure, attempting to exterminate all art, knowledge and religion.” (Weaver. 2012)

The Khmer Rouge regime lasted for four years, ridding the country of education, family, love, expression, creativity, culture, heritage, money and religion and killing at least 25% of the population. As people died from starvation their knowledge and skills died with them, including medical knowledge, business knowledge and creative and cultural knowledge. Many traditional dances were lost and many original pieces of music destroyed. 90% of the country's dynamic and progressive artists were lost in those four years, destroying all the creativity that had lived before.

Human remains discovered at a 'killing field' in Cambodia

Human bones unearthed at a 'killing field' in Cambodia

Skulls found at another 'killing field' in Cambodia

“A nation that lost 90% of its artists, musicians, dancers and intellectuals to the brutal Khmer Rouge regime of 1975-79”. (Hodal. 2012)

The country was reducing to nothing; education and learning was punished and to survive people lied about who they were and what they did to the extent that they even forgot what they once were. All skills other then agriculture were lost and there was no such thing as money or an economy. Monks were killed and religion was banned, people of the countryside were seen as ‘pure people’ and the only people who could lead Cambodia forward, this later became more extreme as only children were seen as totally pure and were brain washed in to spying on their parents and families and turning them in for the smallest of crimes to be executed.

Khmer Rouge child soldiers

A child soldier trains in the rice field of Cambodia

By the time the Khmer Rouge were over thrown and world was allowed access to Cambodia once again in 1979, more than two million people were dead and everything the country that had been strong before was now gone, including its culture.

“The country's rich artistic culture was destroyed in the 70s by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.” (Hodal. 2012)

One of the temples destroyed by the Khmer Rouge

Part 4 - The Phoenix of Asia

Once the regime of terror was over, it took a further twenty years for the country to rebuild itself, for infrastructure to be developed, for skills to be re-learnt and an economy to grow. This meant that culture and artistic expression took a back seat, as literal survival became a priority.

Rural house in Cambodia

Hospital in Cambodia

“Twenty years of economic hardship followed, preventing Cambodia  from regenerating itself artistically.” (Hodal. 2012)

Once the basic survival needs were addressed, the artists were found, there were very few of them left, but they were the only ones that held the knowledge of what had gone before as no records remained. Many who had survived had been through unimaginable horrors, some being forced to become soldiers and those with musical talents were forced to play propaganda songs, which ironically saved their lives. After the regime, many people did not have a family or a home or even hope. Many people were reduced to nothing and were experiencing the effects of the traumas they have lived through; the only way to cope, homeless on the streets was to drink.

“Pond said: “I saw master Youen Mek (a traditional musician) for the first time in 25 years. He was drunk and working as a hairdresser on the streets of Battambang….. I found Chek Mach, one of the last opera singers. I’d heard her before in Phnom Penh on the radio, and now I found her on the streets, also drunk. I found the king of the flute, Mr Yim Saing, also drunk on the streets.” (Wight. 2014)

A group was formed that brought the creative masters of Cambodia, that were still alive, back from the brink. Their skills were invaluable in the rebuilding of the country's cultural heritage and they needed to be saved if the arts of Cambodia were not to be lost of ever.

Musical Master - Kon Nay

“One by one, he discovered the remaining icons of Cambodian music – all of whom had been dealt a hefty blow by the war – and brought them together to form the Cambodian Master Performers Program in 1998, which later became Cambodian Living Arts, to honor and support the masters of traditional arts.“ (Wight. 2014)

Once the artists were found and were given the support they needed to be able to pass on their skills to others, people began to realize that Cambodia needed more than just the basics to move forward, it needed to find its soul again and that soul existed in its music and in its culture.

A khmer music master passes on his skills to the next generation

“Recovery from trauma and conflict  requires more than food and security. The soul of a country must also be nourished.” (Schneider. 2013)

As a developing country, Cambodia is still trying to lay strong foundations for society and even now working and living here, I can still see the affects of the Khmer Rouge all around, in the limited transport systems, limited health care and awareness, general levels of education and the psychological and physical affects on Cambodia’s people that have lived on in to the next generation.

“….even the generation that haven’t lived through this are psychologically effected by it because of their parents.” (Jackson. 2012)

To survive the Khmer Rouge people kept quiet, followed the rules and did as they were told, it was not good to be different, to challenge what you are told, to stand out, to make a fuss. To survive meant being the same as everyone else, doing what everyone else did and not trying anything new or different. This has been passed down to the next generation and when there is a culture of ‘fitting in’ and not exploring outside of the box, the arts can become extremely limited, with artists fearful of expressing original ideas for the first time.

'A Bend in the River' - Amrita Performing Arts

Cambodian artists are slowly starting to step put of the box, challenge the norms and break out from the unwritten rules of staying quiet and doing what you are told to do. With basic medical and health needs still a genuine focus in the country, its hard to see where the arts fits in and why it is needed, but many people and organisations in Cambodia are starting to see the value of arts and culture in the regeneration of the country.

Image from the recent Cambodian arts festival in New York - Seasons of Cambodia

" Phloeun Prim says “Cambodia is a developing country, so we focus on healthcare and education, but we need to cultivate the arts sector, and the government has a lot to do," (Hodal. 2012)

Cambodia has been cited as an example of how cultural development can regenerate a country and rebuild its society post-conflict. Key artists and arts managers today such as Phloeun Prim from Cambodian Living Arts have spoken about how the voice of the artists of Cambodia can be an expression of the nation and how can it help to build a new, stronger society.

Street art in Cambodia

“……if artists can play that important role of being the voice and expression of a nation I think it is how we build society and strong society.” (Jackson. 2012)

Amrita Performing Arts

Cynthia Schiner, former U.S. Ambassador to Netherlands believes that the arts and artistic expression has made a major impact in the rebirth of the new Cambodia, stating that the arts, in its various forms, has give people a voice again, a way to express what happened to them, a way to heal and find an identity again. When she talks to filmmaker Rithy Pahn he says,

"Cambodians are learning to tell their own story, something that never has happened before." (Schneider. 2013)

The Missing Picture by Rithy Pahn

Schiner goes on to say that;

“Both the U.S. and the Cambodian governments stand to learn from this game-changing lesson for post-conflict development strategy….That dramatic transformation should persuade both the American and Cambodian governments of the importance of supporting the cultural sector in rebuilding this and other post-conflict societies.” (Schneider. 2013)

Epic Encounters - Epic Arts. Cambodia 

Cambodia is rediscovering who it is again, its people are discovering their soul and the arts are thriving. The country is moving pass focusing solely on ‘saving’ the arts, as organisations had to do in the beginning, and the country is now moving towards developing its own contemporary, creative voice again.

“But today, almost 40 years later, the arts are thriving once again” 

(Knox. 2014)

Epic Encounters - Epic Arts. Cambodia 

There is something positive and interesting that is emerging as a result of the total destruction of the arts in Cambodia and that is that everyone is starting a fresh, starting from scratch and that means there is not the knowledge of the preset requirements of the different art forms - there are no rules! Cambodian has yet to make is own directive for arts in a contemporary form and this is giving artists the freedom to explore and discover truly what they believe to be the future of the arts in Cambodia.

Epic Encounters - Epic Arts. Cambodia 

“I didn’t have to worry about color. I didn’t have to worry about art history. I didn’t have to worry about sculpture, even, because it’s just a whole new territory.” (Weaver. 2012)

This new journey in to contemporary arts it’s not without its problems. People are wary of all things new and different and groups such as Amrita, a contemporary dance company in Cambodia, are struggling to get Cambodian people to open up to art forms that do not fit in to the prescribed ‘traditional’ way of doing things. It is going to take a lot of work and time for people to open up to a more modern way of thinking and to cultivate an attitude of challenging the norm when it comes to the arts,

“…..like many contemporary art groups, Amrita faces a "cultural barrier" in getting Cambodians interested in an essentially very new art form. "People come to see us and they wonder what we're doing, but the more they see it, the more they'll get used to it," (Hodal. 2012)

Art piece by Cambodian artist Lisa Mam 

There are positive steps coming from the government as they beginning to recognize the significance of the arts in Cambodia. This month the Ministry of Culture announced the first strategic cultural policy for the country.

“The Ministry of Culture on Tuesday introduced the country’s first strategic cultural policy, an ambitious plan that includes setting up provincial cultural centers, launching arts education in schools, holding annual cultural events and promoting individual artists.” 

(Naren and Vachon. 2014)

Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. Cambodia

Although progress is being made in the development of a strong cultural programme in the country through the provision of arts education in in the school curriculum and supporting artists and performance venue, the government is well aware that this cannot happen over night.

“….the plan may take a decade or more to implement.” 

(Naren and Vachon. 2014)

Art work by Leang Seckon 

The soul of Cambodia is starting to flourish again, like a phoenix from the ashes, once again the music is playing, the dancers are moving and the painters are picking up their brushes and there are new ideas. The cities are becoming a mixing pot of old and new as people beginning to explore the past and rediscover the creative expressions from those artists long since lost. As the old is rediscovered and is joined with new ideas and influences; exciting, original and unique sounds can be heard floating through the air in Phnom Pehn again.

Exhibition in The White Building. Phnom Penh

“Bands such as Dengue Fever, with their Khmer-surf rock influences, and Krom Monster, which mixes traditional Khmer music in an electronic format, have helped to create a new sense of Cambodian identity and memory.” (Hodal. 2012)

Dengue Fever Album Cover

Krom Monster Album Cover

Although all seems to be well in Cambodia now and its artists are beginning to be seen as important members of society, there are rumors that something sinister still lurks in the dark corners of the country that could be seen as baring a striking resemblance to the way things once were. But maybe this is not true and these fears are part of the psychological aftermath passed on to the next generation in Cambodia that is causing a mistrust of authority and a sense of paranoia.

“……. everyone is ready to deal with such new themes, it seems, particularly the government, which some say could strike against artist or gallery at any time. "This fear of being shut down at random, of threats against artists – one was recently told he'd have his hands cut off – terrifies me," says one gallery owner, requesting anonymity. "People here just disappear. It's not about the law, it's about what goes unsaid.” (Hodal. 2012)

Political Street Art - Cambodia

References

BBC News Website (2014). Cambodia Profile. A chronology of key events. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13006828 - accessed 8.10.2014)

Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll" (2014) "Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll" [Official Documentary Trailer] Published on Feb 17, 2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipq4FefX5Ps - accessed 8.10.2014)

Hodal. K. (2012. Cambodia's art of survival. The Guardian, Wednesday 28 March 2012 (http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/mar/28/cambodia-art-of-survival - accessed 8.10.2014)

Jackson. A (2012) Phloeun Prim: “Cambodia Had to Start From Scratch”. (http://www.salzburgglobal.org/news-media/article/phloeun-prim-cambodia-had-to-start-from-scratch.html - accessed 8.10.2014)

Knox. C. (2014). Battambang, Cambodia’s art and soul. The Guardian, Saturday 30 August 2014 (http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/aug/30/battambang-cambodia-art-creative-tours - accessed 8.10.2014)

Naren. K and Vachon. M. (2014) Ministry Rolls Out New Strategy to Revitalize Arts . October 1, 2014 (http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ministry-rolls-out-new-strategy-to-revitalize-arts-68720/ - accessed 8.10.2014)

Pilger. J (1979) Year Zero - The Silent Death of Cambodia  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rpZz5I_ylo - accessed 8.10.2014)

Schneider.C. (2013). Think Again: Lessons from Cambodia’s Rebirth through the Arts. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cynthia-p-schneider/arts-cambodia_b_3249076.html- accessed 8.10.2014)

The Economist. (2013) Arts of Cambodia: Out of adversity (http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21575733-ambitious-festival-cambodian-arts-about-hit-new-york-out-adversity - accessed 8.10.2014)

Weaver.C. (2012) Cambodia's Trauma, Rebirth Reflected in Khmer Sculptor's Work. April 26, 2012. (http://www.voanews.com/content/cambodia-trauma-rebirth-reflected-in-khmer-sculptor-work-at-met/1649283.html - accessed 8.10.2014)

Wight. E (2014) Celebrations mark 15 years of Cambodian arts revival. (http://www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/celebrations-mark-15-years-cambodian-arts-revival - accessed 8.10.2014)