Dear Lauk Kru Gaffar: I would like to thank you for sharing such an important expression about our Khmer folk tales. Although the society has set a certain standard for us all to follow, however most important keys to a healthy living is to keeping conversation simple and stay positive. Here are some of my healthy habits that I had shared with my friends and families.
Praying for someone Forgiving everyone Rejoicing in the midst of the storm Uplifting a friend Encouraging a sister, a brother Respecting everyone Repenting daily Volunteering to help someone Loving yourself and others Thank you with my warmest regards, //Perom On Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 1:23 PM, PuppyXpress <[email protected]> wrote: > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Gaffar Peang-Meth <[email protected]> > Date: Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 11:11 AM > Subject: Folk tales fostered Khmer revolt > To: > > > > *PACIFIC DAILY NEWS > * June 2, 2010 > > *Folk tales fostered Khmer revolt > * > By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth > > My columns on culturally embedded behaviors common among the Khmers have > led some readers to react spontaneously to comments they see as an attack. > > But a considered analysis is distinct from an attack, which many have > appreciated. A Western reader thinks I have dealt with an aspect relevant to > the situation in which Cambodia finds herself. And so I will expand a bit on > the same topic today. > > Once a regionally powerful empire, the Khmer Empire of Angkor collapsed in > 1434, its royal capital sacked in 1431 by neighboring Ayudhya to the West. > Khmer kings moved the capital between Chaktomuk (the "Four Faces" in Phnom > Penh) and Longvek, aka Lovek, and Oudong until 1866, when King Norodom moved > his royal court back to Chaktomuk. > > When the French colonialists arrived in 1882, Khmer elitist conservatives > already produced poems, advice and codes of behavior, teaching respect for > customs, traditions, the establishment and authority. > > Years of teaching thus molded ways of thought and a culture that rewards > unconditional respect, obedience, loyalty and embedded acceptance of > leader-follower, superior-inferior, patron-client relationships. > > Unlike the French revolutionaries, who turned radical and brought down the > French traditions and institutions, the Khmer revolt took the form of > amusing folk tales -- revolutionary, as they belittle wealthy aristocrats, > palace officials, the king, the Buddhist monks; and popular, as they appeal > to the sentiments and touch the hearts of the people, then and now. > > In the folk stories, two insolent boys, A Chey and A Lev, from poor > families, ride roughshod over the old world, represented by elitist codes of > behavior called "Chbab Kram," or "Codes of Civility"; "Chbab Srey," or > "Codes of Conduct for Women"; and "Chbab Koeng Kantrai," that makes the king > the final and supreme judge. The boys are abetted by "Sophea Tunsay," the > "Wise Rabbit," wicked, cunning, deceptive, witty and tricky, who acts as > judge. > > A Chey's antics were more sophisticated than A Lev's. A Lev and Sophea > Tunsay had no scruples about how to attain an end, using wiles and street > smarts. Here are some excerpts from the tales. > > > To gain revenge against a wealthy aristocrat, the Sethi, whom A Chey > thought had duped him to choose a flat-bottomed, large basket over a deep, > smaller basket containing more pulverized rice grains, A Chey begged his > mother to borrow money from the Sethi and offer him as the Sethi's servant. > Armed with Buddhist-instilled demeanor -- respectful, acquiescent and > responsive -- A Chey shamed the Sethi at every turn and nearly bankrupted > him, materially and mentally. > > To the instruction to talk softly, A Chey moved his lips, making > incomprehensible sounds when he alerting the Sethi his house caught fire; he > made a fortune betting with palace officials that he could order the king to > do what he wanted: He begged the king to turn his head just a little and the > king did. A Chey bet that the king's order forbidding him from entering the > palace would be reversed: He insulted the Head Buddhist Monk entering the > palace and the Monk, furious, petitioned the king, who ordered A Chey be > brought into the palace for questioning. > > The unethical A Lev found customs and traditions of no value and sought all > means to justify the ends. He wanted a wife, so he kidnapped one. He told > her a marriage proposal takes long, may or may not be accepted, which is a > waste of time. Elope now, have a traditional wedding later! > > In love with an aristocrat's daughter, he concocted an elaborate scheme > through lies and deception until the aristocrat gave his daughter as A Lev's > wife. > > A Lev desecrated Buddhism. He corrupted a monk by instilling sexual desire > into the monk and told a neighbor he can find him a woman for a fee. A Lev > then arranged for the monk and the neighbor, each with their heads covered > with a cloth, to meet on a dark night, then blackmailed the monk for money. > > The rabbit? He played dead in the path of an old woman carrying a basket of > bananas on her head. Thinking it was her luck to have a rabbit for dinner, > she picked him up and tossed him into the basket. The rabbit ate his fill > and jumped off. > > A judge rabbit? A crocodile crawled on a path from a dried-up lake, looking > for a new place with water. He begged an old man driving an ox-cart to > transport him. Afraid of falling off, he asked the man to tie him to the > cart. Reaching a lake with water, the crocodile, who hadn't eaten for days, > demanded the man's ox as the price for tying him too tightly, causing him > pain. Frightened, the old man proposed to find a judge, for he had done no > harm to the crocodile. > > Bananas in hand, the old man went crying, looking for a judge. A rabbit saw > the bananas, a conversation ensued and the rabbit agreed to act as judge. > > Back at the ox-cart, where the crocodile was waiting, the rabbit asked the > man and the crocodile to re-enact the scene. After the old man tied the > crocodile to the cart and the crocodile could no longer move, judge rabbit > told the man to hack up the ungrateful crocodile for food. > > Today's Khmer customs view a rabbit as deceptive, tricky and untrustworthy, > and a crocodile as ungrateful. > > So, the Khmer elitist literature teaches codes of behavior, respect, > obedience and loyalty; the popular folk tales tell the opposite. A dichotomy > of personalities emerges: Respectful, obedient, loyal as society requires, > while A Chey, A Lev and Sophea Tunsay hunker down and wait to surface. > > *A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam, > where he taught political science for 13 years. Write him at ** > [email protected]* <[email protected]> > > > http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201006020300/OPINION02/6020327 > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. > This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. > Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc > Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org -- Perom Uch http://perom.businesscard2.com/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/peromuch http://www.khmernavy.com/ http://www.watkhmersanjose.org/ http://www.thinkmassmedia.com/PUINT01.html http://ibuddhi.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org
