Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Cambodian Way of Life
For many older Cambodians, life is centred on family, faith and food, an existence that has
stayed the same for centuries. Family is more than the nuclear family we now know in the
West, it's the extended family of third cousins and obscure aunts - as long as there is a
bloodline, there is a bond. Families stick together, solve problems collectively, listen to the
wisdom of the elders and pool resources. The extended family comes together during times
of trouble and times of joy, celebrating festivals and successes, mourning deaths and disap-
pointments. Whether the Cambodian house is big or small, there will be a lot of people liv-
ing inside.
The Cambodian and Lao people share a close bond, as Fa Ngum, the founder of the original Lao
kingdom of Lan Xang (Land of a Million Elephants), was sponsored by his Khmer father-in-law.
For the majority of the population still living in the countryside, these constants carry on
as they always have: several generations sharing the same roof, the same rice and the same
religion. But during the dark decades of the 1970s and 1980s, this routine was ripped apart
by war and ideology, as the peasants were dragged into a bloody civil war and later forced
into slavery. The Khmer Rouge organisation Angkar took over as the moral and social
beacon in the lives of the people, and families were forced apart - children turned against
parents, brother against sister. The bond of trust was broken, and it is only slowly being re-
built today.
The purest form of animism is practised among the minority people known as Khmer Leu.
Some have converted to Buddhism, but the majority continue to worship spirits of the earth and
skies and their forefathers.
For the younger generation, brought up in a postconflict and post-communist period of
relative freedom, it's a different story - arguably thanks to their steady diet of MTV and
steamy soaps. Cambodia is experiencing its very own '60s-style swing, as the younger gen-
eration stands ready for a different lifestyle to the one their parents had to swallow. This
creates plenty of friction in the cities, as rebellious teens dress as they like, date whoever
they wish and hit the town until all hours. More recently this generational conflict spilled
