Kun Preah Me - The Merits of Rice Performed by: Troupe of the Royal University of Fine Arts, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Folk dance plays an essential part in social life. It serves not only as a recreational and entertaining resource, but also as a psychological dynamic of the many dimensions of life. It reflects custom, tradition, culture and social life. Folk dance is thus a fundamental device in helping us understand society, because folk dance is a means to describe the people’s way of life.
Among most rural Khmer, animism is a part of their livelihood. Almost every Khmer peasant’s activity takes place in a social context. Fears of disaster develop into certain art forms accompanied by music, dance, drama and folk dance. The art forms serve to increase the communal sense of security. The dance becomes a sacrificial rite, a prayer and a predictive vision. Dance serves as a means of communication with the ancestors and other spirits to bring luck and to prevent disaster.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, an interest in folk art emerged among a group of teachers who decided to create the National Conservatory of Performing Arts and the Royal University of Fine Arts to which the majority of folk dances performed today owe their origin. Members of this newly established department were assigned to search for dances in various regions of Cambodia, modifying some aspects of the original dance.
To preserve the authenticity of Khmer culture and tradition, all teachers started polishing improper wording in the songs and narrations to suit educational standards, and to improve music, song, movement, gesture, costume, décor, lighting and the sound system to a high standard. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Royal University of Fine Arts offered folk dance in its curriculum. During the late 1960s to the early 1970s, all teachers were sent to schools and universities to teach folk dances to students. At the same time, many tours were organized to extend the outreach of traditional art to people of all levels and careers across the country. Folk dance, as other art forms, disappeared from 1975 to 1979. It was reborn in 1981 at the same time that the Royal University of Fine Arts was re-established.
Folk dance is traditionally performed in rural areas at communal ceremonies and festivals, and after harvesting crops in order to celebrate the joyfulness after long periods of hard work. It is also performed at national-level celebrations to welcome distinguished delegates.
Synopsis / Description
Folk dance stresses the importance of nature and reflects the daily lives of peasants and farmers. The title of the dance, Kun Preah Me (The Merits of Rice), suggests and signifies the meaning of the dance. The performance presents the various processes in the cultivation of rice starting from planting to harvesting. The dancers use symbolizing materials to depict the various activities related to the production of rice, such as sowing the rice, pulling and transplanting the rice seedlings, harvesting the rice, etc.
The movements are slow and soft, performed and accompanied by the peasants’ tunes. The dance is composed of graceful bending, swaying and turning, and is accentuated by stamping the feet. It shows the movements and gestures of the actual process of planting and harvesting rice, as well as the happiness the people experience from their productive crops. The performance ends with the dancers praying and giving thanks to the rice, considered as the country’s main staple food, with the very last episode depicting the display of joyfulness after all the hard work has been completed.
The dance is said to reflect the Khmer peasants’ lives through the meaning of music and song, agricultural tools, national dress, and movements and gestures, all of which are immediately recognizable. It is called a “dance of life”, which is directly inspired by the daily lives of peasants.
Credits:
Troupe Coordinator
▪ Prof. Dr Kim Pinun
Stage Manager and Trainer
▪ Mr Hourt Bunny
Dancers
▪ Mr Hou Cheychanrith
▪ Mr Theng Kimsor
▪ Mr Oem Veasna
▪ Mr Nget Rady
▪ Mr Chhourn Outdom
▪ Ms Cheam Sothearoth
▪ Ms Sous Ratha
▪ Ms Yem Raksmey
▪ Ms Leav Chanlyka
▪ Ms Oeun Sokunthea
*This performance was showcased on Day 2 of SEAMEO SPAFA's 'Spiritual Dimensions of Rice Culture in Southeast Asia - Performances and Seminar' held from 11-14 May 2015 at Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand.
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