Arts in the Everyday Lives of Cambodians (Written 6/20/05)

Cambodians are a people who use their hands, they weave, mold, build. cook, farm, and carry things, cut, pound, and wash. In fact, there are 13 different words just to describe ways of carrying. Everything is done by hand, with no conveniences and no room for being lazy. Getting around Kampong Cham on my rickety $20 bicycle, I have been observing the craft, and the creativity of the residents here. Just today, I spotted some builders on a break playing checkers on a hand-drawn board right on the cement with different shades of rocks as pieces. A little further and a young man was painting a sign which consisted of a girl’s portrait being copied from a small photograph. Noticing all the signage with frontal portraits and simple drawings; advertising wedding dresses, e-mail, hair-cuts, music for sale, baked goods, and a bread shop, I realized just how much of the population is illiterate due to the past destruction of the Khmer Rouge and the current state of the education system. These signs are so important for the community to function.

I observe men carving stone pillars and decorative pieces, painting spirit houses, women sewing various vibrant shades of Cambodian silk into beautiful fitted gowns and skirts, an elderly man molding clay into pots, sisters weaving varying styles of baskets, carving wood into beds and various furniture pieces, smoothing, staining, and carving decorative pieces, building heavy-duty wooden doors, and huge steel gates being intricately welded together.

Learning to cook Khmer food, I have learned patience. This is an art form in itself. Most girls grow into women helping and learning each day the precise way of preparing each dish, and by the time they marry, they are well prepared. Most Cambodians in the provinces still cook over charcoal although gas is widely available, the average family can not afford it. Chopping, cutting, every vegetable has a specific way it must be peeled, cut, and prepared for cooking. Countless soups all with their unique flavors and ingredients, everything fried or boiled. Meat, although sparse due to its price, is seasoned and spiced, and always flavorful. The variety of fruits and vegetables is just amazing and even after five months, I’m still coming across things I’ve never seen nor tasted. The food is colorful and always eaten with rice.

In a culture that is poor and everyone has known poverty at one time or another, there are always creative solutions and innovative handmade tools to get the job done faster. A few nights ago, the children here in the orphanage constructed a contraption for catching grasshoppers. It was pretty impressive! Just a fluorescent light with a plastic tarp draped underneath it and there were more grasshoppers than could be caught. They were then cooked the next day and eaten as a snack.

The Cambodian culture is rich in tradition, arts, and crafts and I’m beginning to broaden my narrow-minded ideas about what art is, starting to recognize that art can be seen and observed in the everyday lives of people here. As my understanding changes, I am able to appreciate the Khmer culture, even more, each day and am better able to relate to the common people here. My quest continues…