Cambodian literature
Like most Southeast Asian national literatures its traditional corpus has two distinct aspects or levels: A testimony of the antiquity of the Khmer language are the multitude of epigraphic inscriptions on stone.
These writings on columns, stelae and walls throw light on the royal lineages, religious edicts, territorial conquests and internal organization of the kingdom.
The Reamker comes in rhymed verses and is staged in sections that are adapted to Cambodian dance movements interpreted by local artists.
The episodes of Ravana's death, the rescue of Sita and her trial by fire, and the triumphant return of Rama and his troops to Ayodhya, are all missing.
King Thommaracha II (1629–1634) wrote a poem directed to the Khmer young generation which is still a well loved traditional piece of poetry.
Kakey social norms were traditionally taught to high-born young Khmer girls and the story's values have cultural relevance even in present times.
It is about Kong Rei, a faithful wife ready to sacrifice her life for her husband Puthisen the son of one of twelve sisters.
[7] There exist around thirty-four copies of chronicles in Khmer language, along with three texts transcribed in Latin (systeme des missionaires) in the French National Library.
[12] There are two hills in Kirirom National Park — Phnom Sruoch District and Kampong Speu Province — named after the two heroic princely brothers, Vorvong and Sorvong.
[13] Tum Teav is a classic tragic love story set in Tboung Khmum Province that has been told throughout the country since at least the mid 19th century.
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.
These new writers would write in prose, illustrating themes of average Khmer people, set against scenarios of ordinary Cambodian life.
Since Cambodian writers were largely from an urban background, they were among the people expelled from the cities in 1975 after the victory of the Khmer Rouge.
[17] The defeat of Pol Pot's regime and the establishment of the People's Republic of Kampuchea brought about a reinstatement of the Cambodian writers' prestige, as well as a partial restoration of Buddhism as the state religion and a renewed interest in traditions and local folklore.
The restoration of cultural life during the PRK, however, was marred by socialist-minded, pro-Soviet and pro-Vietnamese restrictions hampering creativity that would only be lifted towards the end of the 1980s under the SOC.
Novelists such as Vatey Seng (The Price We Paid) or Navy Phim (Reflections of A Khmer Soul) wrote frank accounts of their ordeals under Pol Pot rule as part of a healing process that needed expression.
