Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The uniquecolours of Khmer culture are part of the rich variety among the 54nationalities who live in Vietnam, said Dang Hung, head of the Bac Lieu province’sUnion of Associations for Literature and Arts.
In recent years, provincial authoritieshave carried out Government policies on ethnic affairs by reducing poverty andimproving the livelihoods of the southern Khmer and preserving the diversity oftheir traditional culture.
One of the most important events of theyear is the province’s Khmer Festival of Culture, Sport and Tourism, held at BacLieu from November 17-19. It attracted more than 2,000 artists and dancers from12 southern provinces and cities.
During the festival, the distinctiveness ofthe Khmer ethnic culture was on full display, having been preserved fromgeneration to generation for more than 2,000 years.
Srey Khmau, 21, an artist from Tra VinhUniversity’s art troupe, took part in an art performance for the first time,but not for the glory or an award. “Khmer ancient traditions and culture giveme great pride. I’m very happy that our traditional values are respected andpromoted,” she said.
Among the activities at the three-day eventwere exhibitions of the culture of the Khmer community, costume shows,performances of Khmer art troupes, culinary competitions and traditional sportcompetitions from 12 southern provinces.
Besides Khmer dances, musical performancesand folk singing at pagodas and during the festival, young artists from SocTrang province revived the Pithi Chol mlop marriage rite, attracting manyvisitors.
In earlier times, Khmer girls married onlyafter completing a rite called Pithi Chol mlop, which means “stay in shape”.Today, the rite is generally not performed, but young Khmer artists who want topreserve the tradition express the significance and meaning through theirperformances.
The restoration of Pithi Chol mlop ritehelps young Khmer avoid mistakes before marriage. A girl takes part in the rite when she hasher first menstrual period. It is done for girls who know little about theirbody or understand why certain physical changes are occurring.
The Pithi Chol mlop period lasts fromaround three months to one year, depending on each girl’s progress. The girlsare not allowed to leave their private house and meet strangers, especiallymen. If there is a need to go out, they must cover their faces.
The girls learn housework skills (cooking,weaving, and embroidery), communication skills, good behaviour, socialresponsibility and how to keep their souls “beautiful”. According to ancientKhmer customs, it is difficult for a girl to find a husband if she does nottake part in the rite.
Traditional costumes express the featuresand religious beliefs of the Khmer. They are decorated with different motifsand patterns, requiring fine tailoring skills and designs.
The costume for Khmer women is the sampetchon kpal, a special dress made from a wide fabric wrapped around the body andpassed between the legs to make short, puffy pants.
Khmer women wear skirts decorated withmotifs of oval inlays, flowers and stripes. The dresses are worn with shortsand a close shirt, with open neck and short sleeves.
The daily costume of women is similar tothe Vietnamese ethnic majority Kinh’s ao ba ba (a blouse worn by southerners)and khan ran (striped scarf) on the head or shoulders.
The traditional costume of Khmer men is asarong, a long piece of delicately embroidered cloth. They also often wearsarongs and black blouses.
Today, Khmer only wear traditional costumeson special occasions, such as art performances, ceremonial rites, wedding ceremonies,and festivals.
Unusual hats and masks are an indispensablepart of traditional costumes. The hats are designed in the shape of heads andsacred animals.
The craft requires a thorough understandingof Khmer culture. All of the work is done by hand and requires patience,creativity and care in every detail.
There are about 1.3 million ethnic Khmersliving in southern Vietnam, accounting for seven per cent of the region’spopulation, ranking second to the Kinh (ethnic Viet).
They reside in the Mekong Delta provincesof Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Kien Giang, An Giang, Bac Lieu, Vinh Long, and Can Tho City.
Most Khmer are Theravadan Buddhists andshow deep respect to Buddhist monks. Pagodas are the most sacred and importantplaces in their spiritual life.
Thach Ri Con, 29, from Tra Vinh’s Tra Cu district,said southern authotities had helped local people improve their incomes andpromoted their spiritual life by providing favourable conditions to preservetheir traditional culture and to practise their religion. “Our life now is muchbetter than in the past. We live in love and peace. We are free to preserve ourown cultural characteristics,” he said.
Through the architecture of the pagodas,Khmer artisans have preserved the tenets of their Buddhist faith, whichinspires them to do good things.
Some Khmer pagodas were built centuries agoand are recognised as national cultural and architectural relics. They are usedfor communal activities, festivals, and folk culture training classes.
Young Khmer men must spend a period asmonks to foster knowledge and values. If they do not complete their classes,they are not recognised as adults.
During their time in pagodas, the young menlearn Buddhism and write and speak Khmer, contributing to the preservation ofthe Khmer language and traditional culture. The ashes of many Khmer arepreserved in pagodas after death.

Xiem Can Pagoda, one of the biggest andmost splendid in the south, was built in 1887. It is covered by walls withdecorative images of snake genies and eye-catching motifs. Its east gate ispainted dark yellow and red, typical colours for the Khmer.
Each year, more than 10 festivals are held,including the three principal ones: the Ok Oom Bok (long boat race), Sen Dolta (worshipof the moon), and Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year).
To help them celebrate the Novemberfestival of 2017, the Bac Lieu Provincial People’s Committee granted 250million VND (11,004 USD) to upgrade traditional Khmer long boats and pentatonicmusical instruments.
In September, following a Prime Ministerialdecision on land and employment policies for ethnic people in the Mekong Deltaregion, Tra Vinh province allocated more than 36 billion VND (1.58 million USD)to provide residential land for 1,474 poor Khmer households.
In 2022, the eighth festival will featurethe sports, culture and tourism traditions of the southern Khmer in Soc Trang.It will be hosted every five years in one of the southern provinces. - VNA