Cambodian Traditional Of Cambodia in Khmer Khmer New Year Khmer New Year comes the time for Cambodian folks to return to their homeland to reunite with their families and celebrate. If they happen to be born in Phnom Penh, they either go to the homeland of their parents or they stay in the silent capital. Khmer New Year also comes with the crowded celebrations at many meeting points for the rural population. Even under the heating sun, Khmers are very festive. Many traditional games are played by the crowd amongst youngsters and children while the elders watch over the party. These are the commonly played traditional games of Cambodia. CHHOUNG Choal Chhoung as illustrated in the drawing.
Credit: universalcenter To play this game, two teams are needed-a team of girls on one side and boys on the other. A krama is tied into knots until it becomes like a large cloth ball with loose edges to grip and throw it. There are two distinct types of chhoung. The first is chhoung rorm chreang (singing and dancing chhoung), when the boy’s team throw the chhoung into the girl’s team. If the girls cannot catch it, they must pick it up off the ground and throw it back. The boy who gets the chhoung next can try to hit the girl he likes with it. If he gets her, she must sing and dance for him. If not, it is the girl’s team’s turn to try and hit a boy to make him sing and dance. The most popular song goes: “I can catch this chhoung and break it into four parts. Oh my darling, please get this chhoung”. For the other variety, chhoung loh kangom, the rules are the same, except if a boy is hit, he must go to the girl’s side, and vice versa. ANGKUNH Girls and Boys team in Bos Angkunh. Credit: Kampong Chhnang Department of Information Angkunh is the large, dark brown nut of a vine. To play this game, two groups of players get together a boy’s team and a girl’s team. The teams take the Angkunh, which are now called kuoy for the purpose of the game, and place three to five on the ground. These are called the “planting kuoy”. Each team then takes more of the nuts and throws these “hitting kuoy” at the planting kuoy, trying to hit them.The team that hits the least planting kuoys loses, and the other team then gets to hit them on the knee with kuoys. There are two ways of doing this. Bai trachheak (cold rice) means the winner puts one kuoy on the opponent’s knee and hits with another one. Bai gadao means they put two kuoys together as before but harder so it makes a cracking sound. If no sound is created, the person being hit is allowed to do the same back to the person who has failed to produce the sound. TEANH PROART Despite the physical advantages, the two sides are based on male and female. Credit: Kampong Chhnang Department of Information Proart is a leather rope or line. Teanh means to pull. Much the same as tug’o’war. Girls and boys form two teams. A boy and a girl are chosen to stand at each end of the rope. A referee shouts “yak-or” and the players reply “ho-verr” three times to ensure everyone is ready, then the referee rings a bell as each player pulls until he sees which one has been pulled over the line drawn in the dirt by the opponent. That player is the loser. LAIK KANSENG Laik Konseng at BonPhum, an annual hosted event to celebrate Khmer New Year in accordance to the tradition. Credit: as tagged. This is played throughout Cambodia. About 10 people sit in a circle. They are not allowed to turn around or look behind them. One person takes a krama tied the same way as the chhoung and runs around the circle behind the players. He or she drops the krama behind one of the circle. If that person does not then hit the player next to them in the direction the runners is going in, or the person who should have been hit will pick up the krama and hit the unfortunate person whom it was dropped behind with it instead. They then become the runner until they can trick someone else, and so on. CHAB KON KHLENG or KHLENG CHAB KON MOAN People singing the Chab Kon Khleng song. Credit: Kampong Chhnang Department of Information The original guideline to play this game is quite long, so I will just simplify. This game will require one person with the strongest physical ability to plays the role as a hen to protect its chicks (played by the fellow people) from the one who plays as hawk, whose role is to prey on the chic. The other players, who play as the chicks, must queue and hang to the one before them on the waist. During the starting phase, the group must sing as follow: Hawk: Doun doun ouy som kon muk Hen: Ov puk min oy Hawk: Som kon krouy Hen: Kom bak kom bek yok jos As of the stage, the hawk begins chasing for the chick at the end of the queue. While at this, the hen must try to protect the chicks. The chicken must try to hold on to the queue, if caught or separated, they are out of play. PONG ROT KON KROMOM Pong Rot Kon Kromom normally takes up to more than 10 people to start the game.
Both guys and girls have to hold each other’s hands to form a circle of people. Then 2 people would have to voluntarily walk around the circle while deciding which couple they want to break away. Once decided, they must tap on the holding hands of the couple. Upon realization, the two couples then run in opposite direction to compete for the blank space left by the old couple. It is to remember that the couple must not be separated or they will lose automatically. The couple that did not get the blank space loses and will have the walk around deciding which couples they want to break away. The process is repetitive until upon exhaustion.
