Cultural Village… no joke

The Cultural Village in Siem Reap still a great option for visitors to the temples’ city, but especially for families with children. Definitively, those with a serious interest in archeology, anthropology, culture or just sensitive to art, would find it childless – or not… it’s a question of likes. That’s not bad, as it is a good place for families at all, local or foreigners. A very illustrative way to introduce something of the Cambodian culture and even history to children.

“Choosing Fiancè” at the Kroeung Village, an attempt to represent how Cambodian ethnic minorities live, but it falls into a worrisome joke of what they really are, making fun of delicate traditions most Cambodians do not know and neither understand.

What I find a little disturbing, is the portrayal of the Cambodian ethnic minorities. The work of the artists is really amazing. It must be near 50 artists or even more running from program to program, from village to village, making very well dedicated performances and even juggling. We must congratulate those efforts very well and we expect that they receive a good reward for that.

But when you watch the program related to ethnic minorities, you would expect a great show where you could understand in a very illustrative and synthetic way the language, traditions, beliefs and even problems of the Cambodian ethnic minorities, especially those living in the eastern part of the country like Mondolkiri to Ratanakiri. That’s not what you would find. You will find rather a sort of comedy and laughing about the Cambodian ethnic minorities. Their languages are reduced to funny sounds and their traditions to the performance of artists doing it as a funny and ridiculous act, while staring to the public as saying “look, this is how ridiculous they are.”

In my last visit to the Cultural Village, bringing Cambodian students, among of them some members of Jarai and Tampung indigenous communities, I asked to some of the artists if there were Cambodian ethnic minority artists. There was none.

It is sad, because it is about introducing the lives of indigenous groups they do not know, to people who know nothing about them, deeping their marginalization. While the artists were having fun on the Kreougn Village, I could see the laughing of Khmer children who got the idea that Cambodian indigenous were actually funny, odd and non important within the Cambodian society. Asking one of my Jarai students what he feels about the performance, he said “it’s just fun, but it’s not how we are at all.”

Art is also an instrument of education, peace and communication. It would be great if the leaders of this good place such as the Cultural Village, could do a better effort to include Cambodian indigenous artists to represent themselves. Surely, it would be a great deal, bringing Kreougn, Jaira, Phnoum artists from Ratanakiri, Mondolkiri and another Cambodians provinces to represent what it is really about, so, when Cambodian children see it, they would understand how great is Cambodia to have them as part of the national culture.

The Muslim Village at the Wax Museum is a good work.

One of my Jarai students taking a picture with the Khmer artists that represent the Cambodian ethnic minorities…. good performances, but poor content, since it falls into a joke, rather than a honorable representation of what the indigenous communities really are.