|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By
: May Titthara, Picture Courtesy of Ministry of Culture
and Ms. Toan Sophie.
|
 |
|
|
A group of students rehearsing
the coconut dance routine.
|
| |
|
The
coconut dance is a routine that Cambodian
people traditionally perform after working
hard in the fields and on occasions such as
Khmer new-year and sometimes at weddings.
The dance means a lot to Cambodian people,
especially singles in the countryside, who
tend to value traditions like these more highly
than city-dwellers nowadays. The dance symbolises
youth and fertility, and also represents how
much people value the life-giving coconut
fruit and its by-products, which are a staple
crop across the nation.
Cambodian villagers like to plant coconut
palms around their houses, and harvest products
like the roots, trunks, leaves, shells, fruit
and nectar from the trees. The shell of the
coconut is used in rural areas to make useful
household items such as scoops, measures,
combs, bowls and musical instruments.
The coconut shells make a sweet sound when
knocked together and such 'music' encourages
villagers to dance and relax especially after
a hard day working on the paddy field. It
has since developed into a |
|
|
favorite
pastime for unmarried people in the villages, who
often assume different forms, such as the praying
mantis, to tease and arouse interest in each other.
The coconut dance originated in Romeas Heak district
in Svay Rieng province, and is thought to have been
composed some time around 1960. |
|
The dance
tells of the tradition of love between adult men
and young girls in the countryside. The coconut
shells represent a man and a woman, traditionally
symbolized by water and earth in Khmer art and legend.
People today still perform the coconut dance to
a traditional Khmer music almost similar to that
played during wedding ceremonies, just as their
ancestors did in the past. There is a particular
kind of music that is reserved for weddings - a
well-loved Khmer tradition, which to Cambodian people
symbolizes the start of a new, married life. The
music of the coconut dance is almost as pleasant
and cheerful.
Nou Sokha, chief of the committee of traditional
Khmer music at the Royal University of Culture and
Fine Arts, explained the complexities of ceremonial
wedding music.
"There are about 133 songs people play during
wedding ceremonies. It is very important for starting
a new family life for Khmer adults and girls and
it is a strong souvenir between a husband and a
wife," he said.
The instruments that are used to perform the music
are: The stringed 'Tror' (the Khmer violin), the
'Kse Deav' (a typical Khmer string instrument with
a nut on one end), the
|
|
|
Students breakup into smaller
groups to practice the coconut dance steps
on their own.
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
A student receiving instructions
from a teacher on proper body movement.
|
| |
|
'Chapei Dorng Veng'
(a guitar-like instrument), the 'Pei Or' (a type
of reed instrument), the 'Skor Dei' (a drum), and
the 'Chhing' (a pair of tiny cymbals).
Men and women wear different costumes to perform
the coconut dance. Female dancers wear a green silk
'Changkbin' (looks like a layered sarong folded
between the legs to form pants) and a shirt that
but tons up at the back. Men traditionally wear
a dark red 'Changkbin' and a yellow shirt.
Ngoun Sam Art, director of traditional dance at
Royal University of Culture and Fine Arts, said,
"The university recompiled documents related
to the coconut dance in 1968, for the young generation
to learn." He added that, "In the past,
people in countryside staged this kind of dance
during national ceremonies and at weddings, the
same type of music is played to accompany the groom
to the bride’s house."
Seng Kalyvan, a student of coconut dance at the
university, warned that although the coconut dance
can be performed by anyone, it takes a professional
to get it just right. "We only allow dancers
who have trained at the school for at least two
years to perform the coconut dance on stage,"
he said.
Seng Kalyvan is an old hand - while some may be
worried about making mistakes, for him, performing
the complex routine on stage is easy: "I don't
find the dance too hard to perform because I have
studied already and so I am not afraid of performing,"
Seng Kalyan said.
Although it may have begun as a dance to tease and
for relaxation, the coconut dance has |
|
| evolved
to become a popular item performed at almost any
big restaurant around the nation. Ngoun Sam Art
added that, "One of the reasons Khmer people
performed the coconut dance was because they wanted
to show the importance of coconuts that can be decorated
for international and local visitors to know about
Khmer property. Perhaps it is just the perpetuation
of a tradition and with the abundance of the fruit,
we can understand why such a dance came about, and
why it has remained so popular." |
|
 |
|
A pair of students rehearsing
the graceful movements of the
coconut dance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Suite
B8, Regency Square, InterContinental Hotel, 294 Mao
Tse Toung Boulevard,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel: (855) 23 213 133 Fax: (855) 23 213
033
E-mail:
editor@leisurecambodia.com |
|
|
|
|
Read
Leisure By :
