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Member Since: 4/2002 From: Massachusetts, United States Gender: Female Height: 5'8" Body: Obese Status: Divorced Season: Spring Schooling: Grammer School Hobbies: Internet Ethnicity: Hmong ]
MY HOME (Proud to be an American)
MY HEART
MY KING (Jayvarman V11)
Inscriptions in Sanskrit at AngkorWat translates: In all the sciences and all the sports and in the arts,languages,writings,dancings and singings; he was as clever as he had been the first inventor of them and God in seeing the King and astonished and said "WHY DID I CREATE A RIVAL FOR MYSELF IN THIS KING?"
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF HIS MAJESTY AND WIFE
In 1181, at the age of 61, he was crowned a sole king of Khmer Empire and began a brilliant reign of more than 30 years, during which he brought the empire to its zenith, both in terms of territorial expansion and of royal architecture and construction.
Jayavarman VII was a warrior. The greatest military achievement of his reign - perhaps the greatest of the entire history of Cambodia - was the capture and sack of the capital of its rich and powerful neighbor, Champa, in 1190. His military activities also bringing southern Laos, portions of the Malay Peninsula and Burma under his control.
But increasingly he devoted his energies and organizational capacities to the kind of religious and religio-political construction projects that had been carried on by his royal predecessors. He built a large number of awesome new temples, including the Bayon, a distinctively Mahayana Buddhist central pyramid temple designed to serve as the primary locus of the royal cult and also as his own personal mausoleum; personal funerary temples of the Mahayana type, which were dedicated to his mother and father; and a series of provincial temples, which housed reduced replicas of the Royal Buddha. He rebuilt the city of Angkor Thom and rebuilt and extended the system of highways, which radiated outward from the Bayon and the royal palace and reached far into the provinces. In addition, he constructed 121 rest houses along these roads.
During his reign, the King built 102 hospitals, which he dispersed throughout his kingdom. Those hospitals were built in an attempt to improve conditions of the King's subject.
Jayavarman succeeded during his lifetime in creating a legacy that few monarchs in Khmer history have been able to equal. He was more than 90 years old when he died in around 1215.
"On the great routes there are places of rest like our post relays" CHOU TA-KUAN referring to the rest houses.
"He suffered from the maladies of his subjects more than from his own; for it is the public grief which makes the grief of kings, and not their own grief." Inscription referring to the hospitals.
"asceticism, her virtuous conduct, her tears, her likeness to Sita, found by her husband and then separated from him, her body thinned by observances, her religion, her devotion to him, her joy at this ultimate return." Inscription describing Queen Jayarajadevi after her husband went into exile.
3-D Animations of the Rise and Fall of Angkor
Killing Field Memorial
Oath : Be without FEAR in the face your enemies, Be brave and upright that God may love thee, Speak the truth always even if it lead to your death, Save God the helpless and do no wrong. (Kingdom of Heaven)
Why this page?: I feel like Cambodian nowaday lack pride in their national heritage. Some even ashamed to admit that they're Khmer, to me these type of people have no HONOR whatsoever. For those who claimed proud to be Khmer, if you don't know your own CULTURE, HISTORY and PEOPLE, how can you make such a claim?
Hobbies: Volleyball, Science, Math, amateur Magician, Poetry, Khmer Kickboxing, Working-out, Khmer music (pinpaet..etc, oldies, and some moderns)
Goals: Get my career establish, go for another degree (maybe...Physic/Computer/Electrical/ or continue with my minor--->French).
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
COINCIDENCE????????
In Memories: Strangers who help us in time of need amids the killing field. One man who lived in the jungle put me on his shoulder and carried me all the way to the Thai border--no cost! Another man who's willing to walk ahead of the group so we won't step on landmines. Their kindness and generosity to risk their life for me will NEVER be forgotten.
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THIS IS SOME OF THE STUFF WHY I'M PROUD TO BE KHMER (PROUD DESCENDENT OF THE KHOM)..)I have khmer-heart Uploaded by Freeman4u
http://ecaimaps.berkeley.edu/animations/2003_03_khmer_animation.swf
Khmer Krom (7 million Khmer living in South Vietnam-use to be our land, fighting to keep our cultural identities); Khmer Surin (660,000 speak ethnic Khmer--we lose a few provinces to Thailand during the French occupation)
(TGNAI NA PKA REEK....----->translate---->SOMEDAY THE FLOWERS WILL BLOOM)
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"... We can know through the universal language of dance when we are moved, and when the quality of a people's art has touched our common humanity. That is the case with the Khmer classical dancers.
And of course, there is something hopeful here in that dance. From the very presence of past holocaust, we take some comfort in these dancers and their renewed dedication to all that is good and noble and beautiful and lasting in the culture of Cambodia. Your grace inspires us. Through you, your nation and it's traditions will live on after the barbarians of the recent past are remembered only in the nightmares of your brave people."
Frontline: After the Khmer Rouge were overthrown, how did classical dance help you to address the trauma of what you and others had experienced during their rule?
Shapiro: Every time I think about the tragic (events) that happened to me, to my family and to my people during the Khmer Rouge, I have to think also about something that is beautiful about my culture and about my country. And one thing that is beautiful is the dance and music.
Frontline: You became a classical dance apprentice when you were 14. Can you describe the classical dance you studied?
Shapiro: Technically and asthetically, Cambodian dance has very slow and stylized movements that use hand gestures to communicate and to translate the lyrics to the audience ...
It functions as a medium that connects Earth to heaven.
Very intricate hand gestures express belief -- when you put your hand flat or all your four fingers together and then you tuck your thumb to the front and that is belief. If you put your finger into a point, a pointing gesture, that represents a tree, and when the tree grows up, it has leaves. And then if you put your thumb and your index finger together and then spread the other three finger apart, that is the flower. So the tree has the flower. And then, fruit: When you put your thumb and the middle finger and form a circle and then you put the three other finger backward, the tree has fruit. And when the fruit get ripe it drops, and when it drops the seed just falls into the ground and grows up as a tree again. So these are just the four basic hand gestures that embody the meaning of the circle of nature, the circle of life. And that's the theme that classical dance usually focuses on.
Frontline: Tell me about the costume you wear when performing classical Cambodian dance.
Shapiro: The costume that we wear is very elaborate. It's decorated with sequins and beads and arranged in a very unique pattern to Cambodia. We use silk skirts which have very beautiful patterns, and we also wear headressess ... we wear (costumes) and gold-painted jewelry to transform the dancer into the divine being ... .
This is how we connect the earth and heaven, by transforming the dancer into the divine being, and the divine being descends from heaven to bless the earth with peace and prosperity
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Here's the ensemble playing Khmer classical music to one of my favorite dance--robum Apsara (PUSH THE 'PLAY' BUTTON). Khmer classical dance is fit only for royalty--it's an honor to seranade you (visitors to my page) so sit back,turn-up the volume and enjoy.
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THE ORIGINATOR OF THE SPORT "KUN KHMER BORAN" (well-known by westerners as Muay Thai)
The Angkorian Empire far pre-dated the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1350-1767) and even the Sokothai Kingdom (1200)," Mr Chuch Phoeun, Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of Culture said. "A senior Thai expert, a friend of mine, recently conceded to me at an ASEAN cultural experts meeting that prior to the Ayutthaya Kingdom, that Siam copied
from the Angkorian Empire, and Sokothai was still in the feudal stage."But war, Khmer experts like this say, has meant that the inventors of the sport now lag well behind their neighbors in practice. That, officials say, will change over coming years as the Khmers fight back to regain recognition in the sport. (Leisurecambodia.com)
A Pradal Serey fighter being blessed by his kru (The carving is at Angkor Thom)
Well-known technique used by modern martial artists known as KIMOURA use for breaking bones.
Pradal Serey was developed in Cambodia around the 9th Century during the Angkor era when the Khmer Empire dominated and controlled most of what is now Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. It was broadly used among the Cambodian military to protect the country from being invaded by its rival nations. The art is believed to be the fighting system of the Angkor army and one of the reasons why the Khmer empire was such a dominant force in South East Asia.
BETRAY
Beads of sweat drip from my browse,
Taste of salt on my lips,
Clash of steel blade ringing in my ears,
Enemies blood splashed on my body,
Monsoon rain was crimson red,
Awashed from pools tower of Angkor,
Afraid not my enemies,
Kill thousands by thousands,
Cold steel blade pierced my armor,
Deep chill penetrated through my heart,
Not in the hand of my enermies,
But in the hand of my Apsara of Angkor,
On my knee I fell.....
Bayon bas-relief of the Cambodian military getting ready to go war using Pradal Serey and War elephants.
Some people view the sport as barbaric and frowned upon it, the fact is-- it is part of our culture passed down from generations.....
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It was born in the deepest of Khmer history, engrave in the stone of Angkor. Its violence comes as a counterpoint to the softness of its inhabitants' gestures and the gentleness in their eyes. It's reminiscent of the dazzling brutality which can be accumulated by restraint. Insecurity pushes further the limits of physical pain, thus poor countries (Cuba, Angola), or socially depraved areas ( the Bronx, Les Minguetees) produce good fighters. CAMBODIA IS NO EXCEPTION! (John Vink)
The Ancient Khmer martial art of Bokator is something which belongs only to Cambodia. The proof is "written in stone" on the walls of Angkor Wat.
Unlike kick boxing, which is a sport fighting art, Bokator was a soldier's art, designed to be used on the battlefield and practiced by King Jaya Varman VII.
Khmer Bokator is a very complete martial art, which uses strikes, throws, drags, trapping, locking and ground fighting. In Bokator every single part of the body can be used as a weapon. Bokator practitioners are trained to strike with knees, hands, elbows, feet, shins and head. Even the fingers, hips, jaw, and shoulders can be used to pound an opponent.
Grand Master Sam Kim Saen is the man credited with reviving this wonderful martial art, which was almost lost.
"During the Khmer Rouge time, masters of traditional arts, such as painting, dancing, music and martial arts were hunted down and killed," explained Kim Saen. "All of my training brothers and students, as well as two of my children, were killed by the Khmer Rouge."
After the Khmer Rouge Regime ended and the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia began, martial arts were completely outlawed.
To keep the art alive, Kim Saen taught martial arts in secret, but was eventually turned into the authorities by an informant. Afraid for his life, he escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand and later fled to the USA.
Although he and his family were safe in America, Kim Saen was still concerned about his country. "Khmer young people don't even know their own history. They don't know about our greatness in the past, the ancient arts which were taught by the grandfathers' grandfather, which is running in our blood."
He moved back to Phnom Penh, and in 2001 began teaching Bokator. In the hopes of bringing all of the living masters together, he began combing the countryside, looking for any Bokator teachers who had survived. The few men he found were old, ranging from 60 to 90 years of age. After nearly 30 years of oppression they were afraid to teach the art openly.
"I tried to tell them it was OK, we already had permission from the government, but they wouldn't listen," said Kim Sean. The old men wanted to stay in the province. But Kim Sean insisted, "You have a great gift which was given to you by our ancestors. Do you want to steal it from our children? When you die, the art will die with you."
In the end, they believed him.
"Some of them broke down in tears," laughed Kim Sean, who seemed like he could be persuasive when he needed to. "In April of 2004 we held the first Bokator conference in Phnom Penh. Now, there are schools in eight provinces and we are preparing for a national championships."
Bokator, like Chinese Kung Fu, has various styles, which teach the students to emulate the fighting of a particular animal.
According to Kim Saen, the fingers can be trained to be as tough and piercing as the fangs of a lion. With a small movement he can deliver a painful finger strike, piercing a pressure point on an opponent's body. He demonstrates how a double finger strike can be used to rip out a collarbone.
Bokator Khmer uses colored Krama (traditional Khmer scarves) instead of belts. The art contains ten animal styles. The five white krama animal forms include: king monkey, lion, elephant, apsara (traditional Hindu sacred nymph) and crocodile. The green krama forms include: duck, crab, horse, bird and dragon.
The first-ever National Bokator competition will be held in Phnom Penh at the Olympic Stadium, September 26, 27, 28, and 29. The competition will comprise 20 teachers, leading teams from 9 provinces.
"I feel great," laughs the Master, "This is the first time in history that we hold a National Bokator competition. We will put on a good show."
There will be competition divisions for both teachers and students. The competition will have a demonstration component, where competitors will execute a form, a pre-rehearsed and choreographed series of movements, as well a fighting component. The competition will include demonstration of Bokator weapons, the long and short stick, and short sword.
Bokator fights shall consist of three, three-minute rounds, with two minutes rest in between. Unlike in sport fighting, the Bokator fighters will not wear gloves. Instead their hands will be wrapped with krama (Khmer traditional scarf). Legal techniques will include all kinds of strikes, kicks, elbows and knees. No head-butts, eye gouges or groin strikes are allowed. Fighters may throw an opponent. Once on the ground, they are permitted to use joint locks or submissions, but no strikes.
In the developed world, mixed martial arts and professional no-holds-barred fighting competitions, which include kicking, punching, knees, elbows and ground fighting, are quickly becoming extremely popular and lucrative. Many of the rules which distanced boxing, kick boxing and sport martial arts from their combative origins have now been repealed. Bokator Khmer may prove to be a well-spring of innovative new ideas and concepts. But then, like the re-discovery of Angkor Wat, the world would not be discovering something new. They would be discovering secrets which the Khmer people have known for centuries.
Antonio Graceffo
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These classic pictures had a profound impact on me the first time I laid eyes on it as though they're looking at me from the grave. Can you guess what they're trying to say? Yes!! they're also looking at you.
My interpretation:
"ALTHOUGH YOU'RE NOT LIVING IN YOUR BELOVED HOMELAND (SCATTERED AROUND THE GLOBE), IT IS YOUR DUTIES AS CAMBODIAN TO KEEP OUR TRADITIONS ALIVE AND NOT FORGET ABOUT YOUR OWN PEOPLE'S ENDLESS STRUGGLES (PAST,PRESENT, AND FUTURE), YOUR HOMELAND AND YOUR SENSE OF IDENTITY AS KHMER AS WE HAVE DONE IN OUR PAST GENERATION"
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Tears
Bead of tears flow from your cheeks,
Its surface is like mirror,
Reflecting hurtful memories of the past,
In this cosmic dreams I sat,
Reminiecing about your past,
If I could change back time,
I would collect your tear drops in golden cup,
And throw it into the burning sun;
Snow melt from mountain top,
Your hair melt in sleep.....
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I hope you learn something on my page--please let me know if you did. Be proud of who we are (Khmer)---once a great empire (we can get there again if we unite)
which produced the finest and unique culture in the world.
