The golden age of Cambodia was between the 9th and 14th century, during the Angkor period, during which it was a powerful and prosperous empire that flourished and dominated almost all of inland south east Asia. However, Angkor would eventually collapse after much in-fighting between royalty and constant warring with its increasingly powerful neighbors, notably Siam and Dai Viet. Many temples from this period however, like Bayon and Angkor Wat still remain today, scattered throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam as a reminder of the grandeur of Khmer arts and culture. Cambodia’s unparalleled achievements in art, architectures, music, and dance during this period have had a great influence on many neighboring kingdoms, namely Thailand and Laos. The affect of Angkorian culture can still be seen today in those countries, as they share many close characteristics with current-day Cambodia.
Clothing
Clothing in Cambodia is one of the most important aspects of the culture. Cambodian fashion is divided by the people’s differing castes and social classes. Cambodians traditionally wear a checkered scarf called a “Krama”. The “krama” is what distinctly separates the Khmer (Cambodians) from their neighbors the Thai, the Vietnamese, and the Laotians. The scarf is used for many purposes including for style, protection from the sun, an aid (for your feet) when climbing trees, a hammock for infants, a towel, or as a “sarong”. A “krama” can also be easily shaped into a small child’s doll for play. Under the Khmer Rouge, krama of various patterns were part of standard clothing.
The long-popular traditional costume known as the Sampot, an Indian-influenced costume which Cambodians wore since the Funan era, has lost popularity. However, Khmer People’s clothing also changed depending on the time period and religion. From the Funan era back to the Angkor Era, there was a strong invasion of Hinduism which influenced Cambodian fashion to have upper naked, wear Sampot and wear their jewelry like bracelets and especially, collars like Sarong Kor, a symbol of Hinduism.
After the decrease in popularity of Hinduism, leading to Buddhism, Khmer people started wearing the blouse, shirt and trousers of Khmer style. Most important of all, Khmer people, both common and royal, stopped wearing the Hindu-style collars and began to adopt shawls like Sbai with beautiful decoration instead. This new clothing style was popular from the Chatomok region to Oudok period.
Infact a Khmer lady habitually chooses the right colour for her Sampot or blouse, both to please herself and to follow the costume of good luck.
Food Of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH: Cambodian inflation hit 37.2 percent in the first half of 2008, driven up by higher international food and fuel prices, the central bank said on Monday. The National Bank of Cambodia said the rise in prices in the first half from a year earlier would have been higher but for action taken by the authorities. It did not elaborate. It said that high bank lending and investment had contributed to the spike in inflation. The central bank is considering restrictions on lending to the private sector by the 20 commercial banks in the country, many of them foreign owned. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated in June that the annual inflation rate had jumped to 18.7 percent in January from 10.8 percent in December. The IMF also said that bank lending early in 2008 had more than doubled from a year earlier. reuters
