The Literature of the

Kingdom of Cambodia
I. Kingdom of Cambodia
Primary Description
▪ Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia
is a country located in the southern portion of the
Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia.
▪ The official religion is Theravada Buddhism,
practiced by approximately 95 percent of the
population. Cambodia's minority groups include
Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 hill tribes.
▪ The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the
political, economic, and cultural centre of
Cambodia.
Primary Description
▪ The kingdom is an elective constitutional
monarchy with a monarch, currently Norodom
Sihamoni, chosen by the Royal Council of the
Throne as head of state.
▪ The head of government is the Prime Minister,
currently Hun Sen, the longest serving non-royal
leader in Southeast Asia, ruling Cambodia since
1985.
Political Environment
• Since 1979, Cambodia’s political and economic systems have
transformed over time from civil war to peace, from a planned
economy to a free market approach, and from authoritarianism to
a developing democracy
• Several daily newspapers (in print or online) in Phnom Penh,
including one in English, reflect a range of political views.
• Television and radio, however, are generally controlled by the
dominant Cambodian People’s Party; a number of Cambodian
journalists hostile to the regime were killed in the 1990s, and
others have been imprisoned.
• More than a dozen major radio stations cater to an array of
audiences with different religious, linguistic, and, to some degree,
political orientations.
• Several television stations offer a range of programming in
Khmer and other languages.
Economic Environment
•Cambodia's economy has sustained an average growth rate
of 8% between 1998 and 2018, making it one of the fastest
growing economies in the world.

•The current Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted

Cambodia's Economy in 2020 especially their main engines
for growth - tourism, manufacturing, exports and
construction which together account for more than 70% of
country's growth.
Economic effect on Literature
• During the 1960s and early ’70s, Cambodia’s traditionally
conservative literature came under Western influence, as did its
audience of young urbanized Cambodian elite.
• Novels, poetry, visual arts, and films came to reflect international
taste and enjoyed a flowering; in the early 1970s, for example,
some 50 new novels appeared each year, and new films were
frequently released.
• However, they were banned by the officials of Democratic
Kampuchea. Writers and artists were murdered or driven into
exile, and the communist regime systematically destroyed existing
works of art and literature, resulting in the loss of most of the
country’s books, manuscripts, and paintings.
• There is no market for novels or serious nonfiction; in addition,
government patronage of writers, which flourished in the 1980s,
has ceased. As a result, most Cambodian writers now live and
publish in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Socio-cultural Environment
• Cambodia has a long literary tradition, based largely
on Indian and Thai literary forms.
• Most Khmer are familiar with the stories of such
traditional epic figures as Neang Kakey and Dum
Deav as well as the Jataka tales relating episodes in
the life of the Buddha since Buddhism is the official
religion of Cambodia.
• There is a long tradition of the use of writing, with
important religious texts, royal chronicles, and epic
poetry
• Music, dancing and drama were also important forms
of artistic expression.
II. Historical Development of the
Literature of the Kingdom of Cambodia
Cambodian or Khmer literature has a very ancient origin.
Like most Southeast Asian national literatures its traditional
corpus has two distinct aspects or levels.
Written literature mostly restricted to the royal courts or the
Buddhist monasteries.
Oral literature is based on local folklore
❖ Ancient stone inscriptions
A testimony of the antiquity of the Khmer language are the
multitude of epigraphic inscriptions on stone. The first written
proof that has allowed the history of the Khmer empire to be
reconstructed are those inscriptions.
❖ Buddhist texts
Following the stone inscriptions, some of the oldest Khmer
documents are translations and commentaries of the Pali
Buddhist texts of the Tripitaka written in the Khmer script.
❖ Reamker
The Reamker is the oldest form of Cambodian theatre. The
Robam Sovann Maccha - a certain dance from the Reamker
about Hanuman and Suvannamaccha, the golden mermaid, is one
of the most renowned pieces of classical dance in Cambodia.
❖ Court literature
King Thommaracha II (1629–1634) wrote a poem directed to
the Khmer young generation which is still a well-loved
traditional piece of poetry. King Ang Duong (1841–1860) is
known in Khmer literature for being not only a king but a famous
classical writer in prose.
❖ Modern literature
The era of French domination brought about a
requestioning of the role of the literature in Cambodia.
The first book in the Khmer script in a modern printing
press was printed in Pnom Penh in 1908. It was a
classical text on wisdom, "The recommendations of
Old Mas", published under the auspices of Adhémard
Leclère.
The influence of French-promoted modern school
education in Cambodia would produce a generation of
novelists in the Khmer language beginning in the early
decades of the 20th century.
III. Forms of Literature in the Kingdom of
Cambodia
A. POETRY
There are three types of poetry and these are the following:
1. Narrative Poetry. This form describes important events in life either real or
imaginary.
2. Lyric Poetry. From the earliest times in Cambodia, epic poems and folk tales
were transmitted orally; spontaneous literature of this type may still be found
today amongst certain ethnic minority communities of the north and north east
of the country.
3. Dramatic Poetry. Encompasses a highly emotional story that's written in verse
and meant to be recited. It usually tells a story or refers to a specific situation.
Example:

Epic Poem
Example: REAMKER Example: Angkor
Wat

Folk Tale
Examples: Puthisan Neang Kong Rei
B. PROSE
There are many types of prose. King Ang Duong (1841–1860) is
known in Khmer literature for being not only a king but a famous
classical writer in prose.
a. Novel. This is a long narrative divided into chapters. The events are
taken from true-to-life stories…and span a long period of time. There
are many characters involved.
Example: Kakey or Ka key (from the Sanskrit word for a "female
crow")
b. Short Story. This is a narrative involving one or more characters,
one plot and one single impression.
Example: Origin of the Tiger
• Most distinguished of all Forms
The best-known epic is the Reamker (“Honour of Rama”; Eng. trans.
Reamker), the Cambodian version of the Ramayana, one of the great
epic poems of India. Reamker is a Cambodian epic poem, based on the
Sanskrit's Ramayana epic.
The name means "Glory of Rama". The earliest mention of this
epic's manuscript in Cambodia dated back in 7th century based on Veal
Kantel inscription.
 IV. Significant Literature
Cambodia is famous for a Hindu temple known as
Angkor Wat temple.
Angkor Wat is the most famous ancient temple site
in Cambodia. With its 5 lotus-like towers rising 65
metres into the sky, it is an awe-inspiring sight. Located
in Siem Reap, this UNESCO World Heritage site was
once the largest pre-industrial city in the world. It
remains one of the world's ancient wonders and is a
must-see for any visitor to Cambodia.
Although it is no longer an active temple, it serves as
an important tourist attraction in Cambodia, despite the
fact it sustained significant damage during the autocratic
rule of the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s and in
earlier regional conflicts.
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