Angkor Dance Troupe Cambodia

March 16-17, 2004

An Overview of Cambodia

By Jed S. Wasserman (additional cultural notes: Deborah Sommers and the Angkor Dance Troupe)

Geography:

Located in Southeast Asia, the Kingdom of Cambodia "...is bordered by Laos on the north, by Vietnam on the east, by the Gulf of Thailand on the south, and by Thailand on the west and north."ⁱ At 69,898 square miles in size, the country is slightly smaller than the state of Oklahoma. The climate is tropical, alternating between a dry season and a rainy, monsoon season, with the temperature averaging 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The terrain is mostly flat, with plains and forests covering much of the country, and mountains situated in the north and southwest. Cambodia's capital is the city of Phnom Penh, located in southwestern Cambodia. The country is made up of twenty provinces and three municipalities.

History and Politics:

The Early Kingdoms:
The history of Cambodia can be traced back to the first and second millennia B.C., when the region was inhabited by a Neolithic culture. The Khmer people, from which modern Cambodians are descended, arrived in the area from southeastern China sometime prior to the first century A.D. The name of the first Khmer kingdom is unknown, but early Chinese records referred to it as Funan, which "...derives from the Chinese rendition of the old Khmer word bnam (meaning mountain)." Funan was located in the delta area of the Mekong River, and its people were heavily influenced by Indian culture. Funan is also believed to have been a strong maritime power, as evidenced by the discovery of Greek, Indian, Persian and Roman artifacts at during the excavation of Oc Eo, the kingdom's main port located in what is now Vietnam.

By the early seventh century, the power of Funan had destabilized enough for Chenla, one of its former vassal states, to conquer it in 613. Despite the demise of Funan, many of its institutions were preserved, and even absorbed, by the Chenla state, including the culture derived from India. According to Chinese records, rivalries led to Chenla dividing into two states, known as Upper Chenla or Chenla of the Land, and Lower Chenla, or Chenla of the Water during the eighth century. It was the latter of these states that centered around the Mekong delta and occupied the former lands of the Funan.

In the eight century, Lower Chenla came under attack by the so-called 'Java Empire'. "Dispute among the historians about the center of this Java Empire still has not been resolved, as it could be either the Java Island of today Indonesia or the Malay Peninsula." By the early ninth century, Lower Chenla had fallen to the conquering Java, becoming a vassal state of the Sailendra dynasty. Yet though they were subjected to Java rule, this would eventually provide an opportunity for the Khmer people to build a new, and even greater, civilization.

The Angkor Era:
In 802, a Khmer prince by the name of Jayavarman II declared independence from the Java and founded a new kingdom, marking the beginning of the Angkor period of Khmer history. During this period, Khmer reached a golden age, where it flourished both politically and culturally. Though Jayavarman II's kingdom was located further inland than Funan had been, it still continued a tradition that was influenced by Indian culture. In fact, upon ascending to his throne, Jayavarman II had crowned himself a 'god-king', using a ritual from Hinduism to establish his rule as a divine kingship. "The kingdom founded by Jayavarman II also gave modern-day Cambodia, or Kampuchea, its name. During the early ninth to the mid-fifteenth centuries, it was known as Kambuja, originally the name of an early north Indian state, from which the current forms of the name have been derived."^iv

Following Jayavarman II, were various Angkor Kings of note. Indravarman I, who ruled from 877-889, was known as the first great builder of the Angkor rulers. He constructed some very important early Angkor temples and expanded the Khmer territories. His successor, Yasovarman I, who reigned from 889-910, was responsible for the building of the large East Baray Reservoir, one of the kingdom's largest. "The water capacity of East Baray was estimated at 55 million cubic meters, and this water was used to irrigate over 8,000 hectares of farmland. Sanskrit inscriptions were found on the stele at each corner of the East Baray to praise the Hindu goddess Ganga, being revered in India as the river-mother goddess of the great Ganges River."^v Yasovarman's system of canals and reservoirs were responsible for much of Angkor's growth over the following centuries. The contribution of Rajendravarman II, who ruled from 944-968, included the division of his kingdom into different provinces, and the sacking of the Champa kingdom to the east.

The next noteworthy Angkor King did not ascend to the throne until in 1113. His name was Suryavarman II, and he was responsible for the expansion of the kingdom's territories, and waging several successful wars against the Champa states to the east and the Haripunjaya Kingdom to the west. Suryavarman II's greatest accomplishment, however, was the building of Angkor Wat, a temple dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu. "The Temple was constructed over a period of 30 years, and illustrates some of the most beautiful examples of Khmer and Hindu art."^vi

Following Suryavarman II's death, the power of Angkor started to wane, its throne occupied by a series of minor rulers. For a time, it was even under the control of the Champa. In 1181, Jayavarman VII, the last of the great Angkor kings and a follower of Buddhism freed the kingdom and ascended to the throne. Among Jayavarman VII's accomplishments was the construction of a new capital, Angkor Thom, featuring the famous Buddhist Bayon Temple. He also built a system of roads that connected all of the major Angkorian cities.

When Jayavarman VII died in 1219, Angkor began a slow decline from which it never recovered. Much of this decline was due to the deterioration of the Angkor irrigation system that was integral to the stability of the kingdom. Another factor was the spread of Theravada Buddhism, a version of the religion that was inconsistent with the concept of a 'god-king'. Few records remain detailing the post-1309 period, but it is known that in 1431, a Thai army took the Angkor capital for good, effectively putting an end to the Angkor Era of Khmer history.

Post-Angkor:
Besides a brief period in the mid-sixteenth century when there was an attempt to re-establish a Khmer Kingdom, Cambodia spent until the mid-nineteenth century under the domination of either the Thai or the Vietnamese. The Khmer people suffered equally at the hands of the Thai and the Vietnamese, even though their conquerors had vastly different perspectives about them. "The Thai shared with the Khmer a common religion, mythology, literature, and culture...(they) wanted Cambodia's loyalty and tribute, but they had no intention of challenging or changing its people's values or way of life. The Vietnamese viewed the Khmer people as barbarians to be civilized... (They) regarded the fertile Khmer lands as legitimate sites for colonization by settlers from Vietnam."^vii

During the nineteenth century, French interest in Southeast Asia grew, and in 1863, an agreement between France and King Norodom of Cambodia made the latter a French protectorate. A little over twenty years later, Cambodia's status changed to that of French Colony, part of Indochina Union (or Union Indochinois) consisting of Cambodia, parts of Vietnam and later Laos. "In subsequent decades the French colonial masters install a European administrative system in Cambodia and improve the infrastructure of the country. Nevertheless, the economical development of the French Union Indochinois does not reach the extent of Burma's or India's development under British rule."^viii

The first half of the twentieth century also saw the growth of nationalism and renewed interest in Khmer culture among Cambodian elite. Much of this interest was spawned by the French restoration of Angkor architecture, one of the Khmer culture's greatest achievements. In 1936, the first Khmer language newspaper, Nagaravatta was published. With the surrender of France to Germany in 1940, and the establishment of the Nazi allied Vichy Regime there, Japan took control of Vietnam. However, it left Cambodia in the hands of Vichy France, until the end of the war, when Japan dissolved the colonial government and King Norodom Sihanouk, the great-grandson of the ruler who agreed to Cambodia becoming a French protectorate, declared his country's independence.

Despite the post-War desire of France to reclaim its hold over Southeast Asia, a treaty in 1949 granted Cambodia semi-independence from the European nation, and full independence was attained in early 1954. However, the controversial rule of Sihanouk was far from stable, especially in the midst of the war taking place in Vietnam. In 1970, Sihanouk was deposed in a coup staged by General Lon Nol, who in turn had to face the rebellion of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia's Communist Party that had been a struggling force within the country for years. "On April 1, 1975, President Lon Nol resigned and left the country. His exit was prompted by fear of certain death if he fell into Khmer Rouge hands."^ix Soon after, the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge, placing the country firmly under their control.

Under the leadership of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge transformed Cambodia into the brutal nation of Democratic Kampuchea. "The new government carried out a radical program of evacuating cities, closing schools and factories, and herding the population into collective farms. Intellectuals and skilled workers were assassinated, and a total of perhaps as many as 1.5 million died, inclusive of starvation and forced marches."^x The Khmer Rouge was driven from power in 1979, when Vietnam invaded Cambodia, and put a new Communist regime in charge. During the 1980's, Cambodia was torn apart by a massive civil war involving the Vietnam supported Communists led by Hu-Sen, the Khmer Rouge, and other factions, including a coalition force led by the former ruler, Sihanouk.

In 1991, a peace treaty was signed between all of these factions, agreeing to democratic elections sponsored by the United Nations. These elections were held in 1993, and the Royalists and Hu-Sen's Party were the clear winners of the election. For a time, the new coalition government existed peacefully. However, fighting between these two factions broke out, and Prince Norodom Ranariddh, leader of the Royalists, was temporarily driven from the country. The elections were also boycotted by the Khmer Rouge, who continued their fighting, though by the end of the 1990's, Pol Pot was dead and his party had fallen apart. The 1993 constitution created a "...multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy...",^xi and Norodom Sihanouk was crowned King of Cambodia again, over fifty years after the first time he was made king. New elections held in 1998 voted in Hu-Sen as the premier of Cambodia, with Prince Ranariddh was elected as the President of Cambodia's National Assembly, positions which the two political rivals both occupy to this day.

Economy:
Cambodia is considered to be one of the poorest nations of the world, ranking in at number five behind Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Somalia in terms of GDP. The economy was seriously damaged due to the fighting of recent years, and although attempts are being made to revive it, the Cambodian economy faces a long struggle ahead. 40% of the economy is made up agriculture and 40% is in services, while the remaining 20% is in industry.

Cambodia's currency is known as the Riel. The country's two main exports are rice and rubber, and it also has large fishing and timber industries, as well as a growing tourism industry. "Mineral resources are not abundant, but phosphate rock, limestone, semiprecious stones, and salt support important local mining operations."^xii Crops, including cotton, corn, peanuts, sugar palms and tobacco, and livestock such as buffalo, cattle, hogs and poultry, are also raised.

The People:
As stated, the majority of Cambodia's approximate population of 13,382,400 belong to the Khmer ethnic group, while 5% of the population is Vietnamese, 1% is Chinese, and the remaining 4% belong to other groups. 95% of the Cambodian population speaks Khmer, the country's official language, which "belongs to the Mon-Khmer family of the Austro-Asiatic phylum of languages."^xiii Both French and English and are also spoken in Cambodia. Theravada Buddhism is the primary religion of Cambodians, with 5% of the population belonging to other religions. The life expectancy for a Cambodian male is 55.49 years, and the life expectancy for a Cambodian female is 60.47 years, and 57.92 years for the total population. Universal Suffrage exists in Cambodia for those over eighteen years old. 70% of the Cambodian population over fifteen years of age is capable of reading and writing.

Culture:

Angkor Folk Legend:
There is an old legend concerning the Khmer people that is as follows: thousands of years ago, a young man by the name of Kambu traveled from India to the location of present day Cambodia. There, he discovered a small kingdom ruled by a fairy queen called Willowleaf. Kambu and Willowleaf eventually marry, and together they established the Kingdom of Funan. Strangely enough, this story might have some factual basis, as Funan was heavily influenced by Indian culture, possibly because it had an Indian ruler. Also, the term Kambuja, from which the word Cambodia is derived, is believed by some scholars to have come from the name of an ancient state located in northern India.

The "Rediscovery of Angkor Culture:
The French who first came to Cambodia were initially dismissive of talks among the native people concerning such folk legends, and about the existence of ancient temples claimed to exist in the jungles. A French Botanist, Henry Mouhot, is the one credited with rediscovering Angkor and its temples in the 1860's, although some scholars claim that the first Western contact with Angkor occurred as early as 1550. Even after the discovery of Angkor, it was not until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that the French realized that this architecture was in fact built by the Khmer people, and not some older civilization that had once occupied their lands.

After the decline of the Angkor, the centuries of conflict and domination by other powers prevented the Khmer people from again attaining the cultural heights reached during the Angkor period. However, nothing was as devastating for Khmer culture as the brief period in the 1970's when the country was controlled by the Khmer Rouge. During this time, "ninety percent of the country's musicians, dancers, teachers and instrument makers were killed or made to disappear, and most written records and documents were destroyed."^xiv

The Angkor Dance Troupe:
The Angkor Dance Troupe is nationally recognized as one of the most experienced and accomplished Cambodian dance ensembles performing today. The organization was formed in 1986 by refugees of the Khmer Rouge holocaust who resettled in Lowell, Massachusetts. The 90-member ensemble performs a diverse repertoire of elegant classical dances that date to 800 AD and lively folk dances depicting age-old harvest and courtship rituals from rural Cambodia. Angkor has appeared at venues throughout the northeast, including First Night Boston, Yale University, Jacob's Pillow, Harvard University, Boston Dragon Boat Festival, and the White House.

The company takes its names from the Angkor civilization, between 802 and 1432AD, when Cambodia was a dominant empire in Southeast Asia. Dance, music, and drama have always been prominent in Khmer society, but these ancient traditions were nearly eliminated when the Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia in the 1970s. Artists were among those deliberately targeted for execution; it is estimated that close to 90% of the country's tradition bearers perished.

Angkor teaches and performs a body of work developed at the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, considered the world's cultural source and standard bearer for traditional Cambodian Arts. Angkor routinely host master artists from RUFA for extended residencies. Angkor Artistic Director Phousita Huy is a master teacher and former faculty member of RUFA and toured internationally as a principal dancer with the Classical Dance Company of Cambodia. General Manager and troupe founder Tim Chan Thou is a certified folk dance master.

In 1999 the Angkor Dance Troupe was among a select group of 10 organizations from across the country to receive the prestigious "Coming Up Taller" award from the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. The award is the nation's top honor for exemplary arts program that serve youth.

Cambodia The Arts

Music:
Cambodian music suffered in particular, because it has traditionally been passed from teacher to student by memory only, and countless compositions were lost forever when the Khmer Rouge committed their senseless atrocities. "Classical Cambodian music is based primarily on the five-tone scale...it is constructed linearly, and has no harmony in the Western sense of the word. Musicians playing together in an ensemble all have a collective melody in mind, but develop and embellish it individually."^xv Influences upon Cambodian music range from China to Europe to India to Vietnam, and they vary as much as the different instruments used by Cambodian musicians. Generally Cambodian musicians are male, while vocalists are female. There is also a great distinction in Cambodian music between religious and secular music, with different ensembles specializing in each type. There are two kinds of traditional music: one is Pin Peath with stringed and percussion instruments and the other is Mohory with only stringed instruments. Pin Peath is a group or ensemble of instruments and included in this group we have:

Pinn Peat Ensemble-a small orchestra.

This kind of music usually accompanies dances, for spiritual and religious services, and other ceremonies.

Dance

There are two types of dances in the Cambodian performing dance repertory: the court or classical dance and folk dance.

The Cambodian Classical Dance:
Cambodian classical dance or court dance developed over a thousand years with many of its stories based in myths and connected to the sacred rituals of Cambodia. During the great Angkor civilization, dancers performed blessing ceremonies to bring prosperity to the kingdom. More recently, classical dancers lived and performed in Cambodia's royal palace. Elegant and refined, classical dance combines highly stylized positions with gentle movements. Traditional characters include princesses, demons, monkeys and gods. Men usually play the monkey character, and they have to be in top physical fitness in order to jump and roll as the character demands. The costume, headdresses, and masks represent the characters individual traits. In classical dance there are over four thousand, five hundred body movements, and these movements, taught by dance masters, are learned throughout a dancer's career.

Children's pieces are designed to incorporate swaying movements of their bodies, head, waist, arms, hands, fingers, and toes.

Folk Dances:
Folk dance plays a vital part of Cambodian community life. It is rooted in rural Cambodia and depicts everyday village life. It is not only for recreation, but it is an expression of the various Cambodian ethnic groups' customs, and traditions. The dances honor skills that are typically undervalued in the rush to westernization, such as fishing and rice farming. Dance motifs are commonly based on local legends and inspired by themes of nature, as well as the ceremonies and customs that shape the lives of the Khmer people. Just as classical dance is ruled by a strict form and a prescribed language of movement, folk dance is spontaneous, created for emotional expressions. Costumes are very colorful and reflect the traditional dress of the particular province or ethnic group within Cambodia where the dance originated.

Other Art Forms:

The Shadow Theatre:
Shadow theatre is a specific art form in Asia. The puppet originated from ancient India and spread across and south throughout Asia. The main role of shadow theatre is for entertainment. There are two kinds of Cambodian shadow theatre: On one hand, the Nang Sbek and the other hand, the Ayang, small leather. These puppets are manipulated behind a screen. Both kinds are accompanied by dialogue and stories, and these are usually improvised.

Masks:
Masks are used in theatrical and dance performances. Each mask highlights the particular personality of individual characters to help tell the story. Also masks are used for spiritual celebration.

Carvings:
Carvings reflect strong spiritual beliefs with its ancestry in animism. Houses have elaborate motifs on the pillars, and the roofs feature ornate motifs. Other decorative carvings can be founds on boxes and furniture.

Glossary of Terms:

1. Angkor:
Angkor is the site that served as the location of the heart of the Khmer civilization from 802-1431, in what is now Cambodia. The Kingdom's capitals and many temples were constructed in this Angkor area. Angkor is also what this period of Khmer history is referred to, and can be used to describe the Kingdom, as well as its architecture, art and other culture.

2. Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple considered to be the greatest example of Angkor architecture. It was built by Suryavarman II, one of Angkor's greatest rulers, during his reign which lasted from 1113-1150 A..D. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu, and is one of the largest religious structures in the world. Angkor Wat, along with some of the other Khmer temples, was declared by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be a World Heritage site in 1992.

3. Champa
Champa is the name for the Kingdom of the Chams, which existed in what is now Vietnam. Champa lasted from the second century A.D. uttil the seventeenth century A.D., when it finally fell to Annam, another Vietnamese Kingdom. Champa was sometimes an ally and sometimes an enemy of the Angkor kingdom. It also alternated between ruling and being ruled by the Khmer people during different periods of Southeast Asian history.

4. Chenla
Chenla was the predecessor kingdom of Angkor, and shared many features of the Funan Kingdom that ruled the area previous to it. Chenla was once a vassal of Funan, from which it split off and eventually absorbed by the early seventh century A.D. Within a century, internal problems led to Chenla splitting into two. The northern half, or Chenla of the Land, was located on the site of modern day Laos. The southern half, or Chenla of the Water, was eventually conquered by the Java Empire, in a series of events that eventually led to the formation of the Angkor Kingdom.

5. Funan
Funan was the first Khmer Kingdom of the area now known as Cambodia, located in the delta region of the Mekong River. The Khmer people migrated to the area by the first century A.D., most likely absorbing the Neolithic people that populated the area. Funan culture, one of the first cultures to undergo the process of Indianization, in which "...Indian religion, political thought, literature, mythology, and artistic motifs gradually became integral elements in local Southeast Asian cultures. The caste system never was adopted, but Indianization stimulated the rise of highly-organized, centralized states."^xvi

6. Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. Developed over thousands of years, it originated in India and to this day, is the majority religion there. Hinduism was a major influence of Jayavarman II, the founder of the Angkor Kingdom, who took the concept of divine rule from the Hindu religion.

7. Indochina Union
The Indochina Union was a union of Southeast Asian states, made up of Annam, Cambodia, Cochin China, Laos, and Tonkin, with all but Cambodia and Laos later forming together as Vietnam. The union was established in 1887, made up of French protectorates and colonies that France had gained during its colonization period. France lost its hold on the Indochina Union during World War II, due to the creation of the Nazi-allied Vichy Regime, and Japanese aggression in Southeast Asia. After the war was over, despite France's attempts to regain their foothold in the area, these states eventually attained their independence.

8. Kampuchea
Kampuchea is the more proper version of the word Cambodia, though it essentially means the same thing. It is derived from the word Kambuja, the name of an early North Indian state and the name of the Indian prince in Khmer folk legend.

9. Khmer
Khmer is the name for people that comprise the majority of Cambodia's population. The height of Khmer culture was during the Angkor Period of Khmer history, in which a great Khmer Kingdom was centered around the Angkor area of Cambodia. The Khmer first migrated to the area before the first century A.D. from China, and both Funan and Chenla were also kingdoms founded by the Khmer people.

10. The Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge is the name for the Cambodian Communist Party that seized control of the country from 1975-1979, and was responsible for many brutal atrocities committed against the Cambodian people. The Khmer Rouge was led by Pol Pot, whose real name was Saloth Sar. Though driven from power by a Vietnam invasion in 1979, the Khmer Rouge continued its struggle well into the 1990's, rejecting the first democratically elected Cambodian government in 1993. The Khmer Rouge's ranks began to fall apart after a mass defection in 1996. In fighting among the group led to Pol Pot's imprisonment in 1997, and he died within a year. By 1999, the Khmer Rouge had fallen apart.

11. Mekong River
"The Mekong River is the heart and soul of mainland Southeast Asia. The 12th longest river in the world, the Mekong runs 4,800 kilometers from its headwaters on the Tibetan Plateau through Yunnan Province of China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam."^xvii The Mekong River delta was the site of the earliest Khmer civilizations, such as Funan and Chenla.

12. Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh, also known as Phnum Penh, is the capital of Cambodia. Founded in the fourteenth century, Phnom Penh was the Khmer capital after the end of the Angkor period. Phnom Penh has served as the capital of Cambodia since 1867. During the reign of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970's, Phnom Penh was all but abandoned, but the city was restored after they were driven from power. Today, around one million people live in and around Cambodia's capital.

13. Neolithic
Neolithic is a term for New Stone Age, or a period of development in human culture where humans settled in villages, domesticated animals, cultivated crops, and used stone tools. Neolithic culture occurred at different times depending on geography, and in Southeast Asia, it took place circa 2000 B.C. Most likely, the Neolithic people of ancient Cambodia were absorbed by the Khmer people when they migrated to the region.

14. Theravada Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion founded during the sixth century B.C. in India by Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. The central teachings of Buddhism have to do with suffering and the cessation of suffering, although its beliefs are much more complicated than that, and deserving of a much more thorough explanation. Through the course of history, Buddhism spread out from India to all over Asia, and today there are over 300 million Buddhists in the world.

Theravada Buddhism is one of the two major schools of Buddhism, and is most prevalent in Sri Lanka as well as Southeast Asia, including Cambodia. This form of Buddhism is considered by its practitioners to be a pure form of Buddhism, reflecting the original teachings handed down by the Buddha himself. This spread of this sect throughout the Angkor Kingdom was one of the factors that led to its decline, as the monarchy was centered around the idea of a god-king and his divine rule, which are concepts incompatible with Theravada Buddhism.

Bibliography and suggested sources:

Web sites:

1. Angkor Dance Troupe
2. Angkor Wat Information Page
3. Asiatour: Cambodia
4. Cambodia: Angkor Wat Travel Professional
5. Cambodia Encyclopedia
6. Chronology of Cambodian History
7. Country Studies
8. Encyclopedia.com
9. Hinduism
10. History of Cambodia
11. The Khmer Rouge
12. The Mekong River
13. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
14. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
15. GoCambodia.com
16. Cambodia FCC Khmer Traditional Arts
17. CDSD-Khmer/Cambodian Culture

End notes:

1. Encyclopedia.com, Cambodia
2. History of Cambodia, Pre-History and Early Kingdoms, Early Indianized Kingdom of Funan
3. Cambodia - Angkor Wat Travel Professional, Pre-Angkor Era, Chenla
4. History of Cambodia, The Angkorian Period
5. Cambodia - Angkor Wat Travel Professional, Angkor Era - Part I (834-1000 A.D.)
6. Seven Wonders: Angkor Wat
7. History of Cambodia, Domination by Thailand and by Vietnam
8. Asia Tour, Cambodia / Colonial Times
9. History of Cambodia, The Fall of Phnom Penh
10. Encyclopedia.com, Khmer Rouge
11. Nationmaster.com, Cambodia Profile: Government
12. Encyclopedia.com, Cambodia Economy
13. Cambodia - Languages
14. PBS.org, POV, Conduct a Cambodian Ensemble
15. Id.
16. History of Cambodia, Pre-History and Early Kingdoms, Early Indianized Kingdom of Funan
17. International Rivers Network, Mekong River