Research over Cambodia

Throughout the semester I did research on the culture of my interest and I have learned many things. With the addition of learning that many Cambodians are Buddhist they meditate often at the temple. During meditation they would relax and try to overcome their negative thoughts and concerns so that they can focus on having a positive mindset and being at peace (Ring). I found a few neat images below to show you what a temple looked like if you have never seen one before along with their God Indra.

The magnificent jungle temples of Cambodia were produced by the Khmer civilization, beginning as early as the eighth and extending through the fourteenth century A.D ("Dinosaurs in ancient Cambodian temple"). 


The Hindu god Indra


I also found out some really neat facts like their language Cambodian consist of 5 different dialects which are Battambang, spoken in the north, Phnom Penh, the capital dialect, Northern Khmer, spoken by ethnic Khmer native, Khmer Krom or Southern Khmer, spoken by indigenous Khmer people of the Mekong Delta, and Cardamom Khmer, spoken by a small population in the Cardamom mountains and Central Thailand. Their language is influenced by Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, and Cham. Their language is the second most widely spoken of Austroasictic language after Vietnamese.

I hope you have enjoy reading about my experience exploring Cambodia and has influenced to explore and try understand other cultures to increase your knowledge of the many different cultures around us.


Reference:
. Dinosaurs in ancient Cambodian temple. Bible, n.d. Web. 26 Apr 2012. <http://www.bible.ca/tracks/tracks-cambodia.htm>.
. U.S. Census 2000, Cambodian Population, by State. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr 2012. <http://www.hmongstudies.org/CambodianAmericanCensusData.html>.
Ring, Lindsey. Buddhism. N.p., 2011. Web. 26 Apr 2012. <http://meditationinmadison.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91&Itemid=115>.

Khmer New Years 2012

Cambodian New Year is also known as Chaul Chnam Thmey. This year, in 2012, new year was from the 13th -15th of April. Cambodian new year is a very festive event filled with games, music, and food. I was looking forward to experimenting new year with Sipo and his family but due to bad weather we couldn't attend. I asked him about what it was typically like though. He told me that before new years came they would prepare for the new year by cleaning their house and offering food like fruits on the mantle. Cleaning the house is a sign to show a new year with a clean house will keep the house clean throughout the year and the offering is to thank their God for all they have if they are Buddhist. Their new year is a three day event, day 1 is called Maha Songkran where they dress up and light candles for the members of each family to offer thanks for the Buddhist teachings, Day two is Virak Wanabat where they contribute charity for those who are less fortunate, and day three is Tngay Leang Saka where they clean the Budda statue believing it will bring them luck, happiness, and prosperity in life. Since Sipo is Christian, he and his family didn't do all of the ceremonies but they normally would go to the temple to meditate and enjoy the festival for new years. When its new years, they usually go to the temple to meditate for a few hours then afterwards they would go out and enjoy the festival. A tradition that I found really interesting and funny was that they would throw shaving cream at each other. Sipo said mostly kids did this event but there are a few adults who would get in on the fun also. There are many traditional games that he told me they did for new years like the throwing of shaving cream and a klan klok which is a gambling game where you would make a bet on six different animals then the dealer would roll the dices and whatever the animal shows up would win. I hope to attend Cambodian new years next year to see the festival and compare it with mines to see the similarities and differences.

My Interview

My interview with my friend Sipo was very interesting. I learned many neat facts about their culture. I found out that majority of Cambodians are Buddhist. His religion is Christian and he comes from a small family with two older brothers. I asked him many questions that dealt with family, relationships, and education.

When discussing about his family dynamics, he told me that he came from a relaxing family. His parents would have curfews and expected certain things like doing well in school and getting an education but they didn't expect a perfect child who got straight A's and have too much pressure like many Asian parents. The structure is very similar to many other Asian cultures, I believe, with the guy being the provider and making many of the decisions outside of the household as for the women taking care of the kids and the household duties. The naming system is like my Vietnamese culture, when speaking with elders we address them depending on their age. Respect is an important factor to their culture; family values are important where they need to recognize their elders and respect them.  

As I asked questions about relationships, he said that his parents did not mind who they talked to as long as they were happy. He talked about a traditional Cambodian wedding. First they have a meeting of the family where both come together and exchange gifts, eat, play music. Usually this is a family ceremony including the bridesmaid and grooms but friends are also welcome to come. After this on the day of the wedding in the morning, the groom, groomsman, and his family walk over to the brides house with gifts and food to ask for her hand in marriage and they have a small ceremony with blessing called soat mun. They then have a ceremony thanking the parents for all they have done. After all of the ceremonies they have a wedding and reception.

When it comes to education, it is an important factor but his parents never stressed him or put too much pressure on him. They just wanted him to try the best he could in school and do well to get a good job to support his family in the future. Sipo and his siblings learned their language from their parents, they only speak Cambodian at home to keep up with their culture.

Khmer New Years is coming up next month and I look forward to seeing what they do when they celebrate the new year. Till then, go out and learn something new about another cultures.

Facts about Cambodia

As I begin my research on Cambodia, I find many facts. Below is the Cambodia flag and their map. As you can see Cambodia is between Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.

Cambodia's capital is Phnom Penh, also the largest city in Cambodia. consisting of over a million people. Their government is a multiparty liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy. An upcoming holiday they celebrate is Khmer New Year between the 13th and 16th of April. This holiday is a three day festival that occurs at the end of harvest season. During this time Cambodians would "clean and decorate their houses with altars of offerings" ("Infoplease,") along side of this tradition they also play traditional games like Voo (below is a link that shows you how the game is played). There were also a few other games that are shown in this video. One of them looked like the game Mancala which we play here in the U.S. Along with games they have fashion shows and perform cultural dances. I hope you found this information intriguing. I look forward to finding more information from my friend Sipo Thao about his culture and traditions he grew up with. Until next time, try new things and research about other cultures to open your mind for others view.

Voo Game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFnu68wmuqk

Reference: 

Infoplease. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107378.html?pageno=1

Intro

I have chosen to do research on the Cambodian culture. I don't think many know or hear about their culture often so I will interview my friend about his culture and his tradition he grew up as a kid. I don't know much about their culture but I look forward to learning more. I will discuss about their culture, learning style, and belief. I hope you guys look forward to learning more about Cambodians and their culture.