Cambodian History and Culture..

To understand the present day people of Cambodia and to understand the Ankor Temple (Hindu and Buddhist temples) is to the understand the history of Cambodia.....

Below is brief introduction to Cambodian history....

1. From 1st to 6th century was part of the Kingdom of Funan, whose prosperity was due to it's position on the great trade route between China and India. Indian had the greatest culturual impact and it's language, religion, and culture was absored by Cambodians. Then a series of small kingdoms then developed and they unified to create the Chenla empire, the mightest in the history of Southeast Asia.

2. Rise and Fall of Angkor...The Khmer empire of the Angkorian era know for it's achievement in architecture and sculpture began under Jayavarman II in 802. Thais sacked Angkor in 1432. Thai and Vietnamese kingdom's steadily occupied areas of Cambodia and the kingdom of Cambodia was in danger of being squeeze off the Map.

3. Enter The French....It was the French that preserved the borders, establishing a protectorate from 1864 until independence in 1953. The French were more interested in Vietnam's economic potential and left Cambodia to fester. As WWII drew to close, there were still no universities and only one secondary school.

4. Independence...A new world emerged from the war and Cambodian's King Norodom Sihanouk, began his crusade for independence from the French. The French gave Cambodia it's independence in 1953. For 15 years King Sihanouk, prime minister dominated Camobidan politics. The late 1950's and early 1960's was Cambodia's golden years as the economy prospered. However Sihanouk's erractic and repressive politics alienated both the left and right, the army overthrew him in 1970 and he fled to Beijing. Under pressure from the Chinese he threw in his lot with Cambodia's weak, indigenous rebels the Khmer Rouge (French for 'Red Khmer').

5. Coming of War...From 1969 Cambodia was sucked into the Vietnam Conflict. The U.S. secretly began bombing suspected communist base camps in Cambodia and shortly after the 1970 coup, American and South Vietnamese troops invaded the country to root out Vietnamese communist forces. They failed and pushed Cambodia's communists and their Vietnames allies deep into Cambodia's interior. Savage fighting engulfed the whole country and Phnom Penh (capital of Cambodia) fell to Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975 two weeks before the fall of Saigon.

6. Khmer Rouge...After taking Phnom Phen, the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot's (a Cambodian) leadership implemented one of the most heinous revolution the world has seen, it was 'Year Zero' and Cambodia was to become a Maoist, peasant dominated, agrarian cooperative. Between 1975 and 1979 almost two to three million Cambodians were killed. Most of them were the country's educated people, people who spoke foreign language or wore spectacles. 1978 Vietnames invaded and overthrew the Khmer Rouge, who fled westward to the jungles of Thailand. Many Cambodians set out of foot to find family members. Khmer Rouge maintained a guerilla war throughout the 1980's armed and financed by China and Thailand against the Vietnames backed govern. in Phnom Penh.

7. Peace... 1991 both sides met and signed a peace accord, a new constitution was drawn up and adopted and Norodom Sihanouk once again became king.

It's interesting to see the Indian impact on the Cambodian culture. Most of the Ankor (Hindu and Buddhist temples) are mainly based on two of Indians classical stories the Ramayana and Mahabarta and various Hindu gods like Vishnu, Shiva, Brahman. The language is Khmer, which is sanskirt based, the traditional outfits that the Cambodian woman wear they closely resemble the Indian sari, the Cambodian dance called Apsara, the dance style and the outfits are very similar to Bharat Natyam (the Indian classical dance), they believe in the dowry system for marriage. Most Cambodians are short, with tan to brown skin, with Asian features, they look a mix of Chinese and Indian.