Tradition of Masked Dancers Lives On in Cambodia

 

Cambodia’s centuries-old tradition of masked dance was almost completely lost during the genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge¹. But a small number of people have managed to keep the ancient art alive. Now, they are passing it down to a new generation.

The Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975 after a bloody², five-year civil war. During the Communist group’s rule, it opposed education and religion and banned Cambodia’s traditional arts and written language.

An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians were killed in the four years the Khmer Rouge was in power. The deaths were mostly caused by starvation, overwork, disease, execution³ or torture. Among the victims were artists, writers and dancers.

Sun Rithy’s father and grandfather were both performers of the country’s traditional dance, which is called Lakhon Khol. Study of the dance was banned in Cambodia during most of Sun Rithy’s childhood.

“In the Khmer Rouge, I was young and they didn’t teach people dance. Lakhon Khol was destroyed,” he told the Reuters news agency.

Sun Rithy was finally able to start learning the dance once the Khmer Rouge was removed from power. He was 14 at the time. He is now 48 years old and leads one of the last remaining groups performing the dance. The group includes about 20 performers and students between the ages of 6 and 15.

Sun Rithy says the best way to help the tradition survive is by teaching the dance to new generations. “I don’t want Lakhon Khol to go extinct⁴,” he said.

The traditional dance was recently identified by the United Nations as an art form that should be protected. The U.N.’s Education, Science and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, added Lakhon Khol to its Intangible Cultural Heritage⁵ list.

Different kinds of the dance are performed in other nations in Southeast Asia as well. The dancers wear colorful painted masks that are made to look similar to characters from an ancient poem. The poem is called Ramayana. It tells the story of a prince who rescues his wife from a demon⁶ with help from an army of monkeys.

People who study the dance recently rehearsed at a special theater at a Buddhist⁷ temple outside Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

Pum Pork said his 11-year-old son, Pum Meta, is learning the dance. “I want to have my son trained to perform so that in the future we won’t lose the ancient art,” he said.

Cambodia’s Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, Phoeurng Sackona, said the dance needs to be protected. She urged all people to get involved to help. “Elderly performers are trying to preserve the dance,” she told Reuters. “But it is up to young people whether they agree or not to receive knowledge from the elders.”

Neighboring Thailand’s version of the dance has not suffered the same problems. But dancers there also see the importance of bringing the art to a new generation of performers.

In Thailand, the dance tradition is called Khon. It is based on royal history. Many Thai schools and universities now teach the dance.

Mom Luang Pongsawad Sukhasvasti followed in his father’s footsteps in making Khon masks. He started doing so at age 10. Now he is 67. He still makes dance masks by hand from his home in Thailand’s Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok.

Pongsawad said each mask takes about a month to complete. He says he hopes the UNESCO listing will raise awareness⁸ of the issue.

“Teachers now must do more than teaching the dance. They need to help students understand the roots, as well, to preserve it,” he said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

mask – n. a covering that hides the face

extinct – adj. no longer existing

demon – n. an evil spirit

rehearse – v. to practice a play, dance, etc. in order to prepare for a performance

elderly – adj. an old or aging person

preserve – v. to keep something the same or prevent it from being damaged or destroyed

1 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

2 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

3 execution   

n.死刑，实行，执行，履行，演奏，表演

参考例句：

• The musician's execution was perfect,but he played without feeling.演奏者的技巧完美，但他演奏得毫无感情。
• His original idea was good,but his execution of the scheme was disastrous.他的设想很好，但实行起来却糟糕透顶。

4 extinct   

adj.灭绝的，不再活跃的，熄灭了的，已废弃的

参考例句：

• All hopes were extinct.所有希望都破灭了。
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。

5 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

6 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

7 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。