Cambodian Traditional Clothing – Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia blessed with a beautiful, amazing, and naturally blessed landscape.
Traditional clothing is a reflection of the deep connection that exists between the Cambodians and their historical experience. The cultural attire gives a clear exposure to the depth of Cambodian culture.
The colorful textures of the Cambodians are a symbolic portrayal of the identity of the native Khmer people, who make up the majority of Cambodia.
This native costume attests to the protected and preserved culture that has continued to exist even in an evolving world.
As things continue to change and development continues to take place in the sphere of man’s life, this native attire remains relevant.
Cambodian traditional clothing is attractive, and it comes in different colors and beautiful designs. Their clothing attests to the creativity of the Cambodians.
Aside from the fact that Cambodian clothing has great aesthetic value, it also signifies the resilient spirit of the Cambodians.
Different attires are meant to serve different functions, perform different purposes and suit different occasions.
There are a lot of influences that have had a significant impact on the traditional clothing of the Cambodians.
In this article, the different factors that have influenced Cambodian Traditional Clothing will be fully examined.
This will shape our understanding of Cambodian Traditional Clothing and the significant symbol that some of this Cambodian traditional clothing may carry or portray.
We shall also examine in detail the festivals where these traditional clothing are worn.
Let us embark on a journey where we explore Cambodian history, discover their traditional clothing, and appreciate their sense of fashion and style as we write about them.
Historical Development and Evolution of the Cambodian
We need to understand the history of the Cambodian people. Let’s examine the traditional clothing of the Cambodians in phases.
1. The Funan Era
The traditional clothing of the Cambodians dates back to as early as the first century. During this time, the traditional attire that was made mandatory for the Cambodians to wear was the sampot.
An attire that the Khmer king was compelled by the Chinese for the people of Cambodia to wear.
The men’s attire is known as Sampot Chang Kben, while the women wear Sampot Sarabap, and they are available in different colors.
Women during this period covered their bodies with a sarong. Women also used other accessories, such as jewelry and earrings, which are usually made with wood or gold.
The type of Sampot that the upper class in society wore during this period is known as Sampot Chan Kben, which was used as regular wear. The peasant’s clothing was made from straw and animal hide.
2. The Ancient Khmer Ages
Cambodian traditional clothing has its roots in the ancient Khmer Empire of the 9th century.
The country’s capital and the spiritual home of the Cambodians were the Khmers, exactly between the 9th and 15th centuries.
Clothing was one of the things that served as a status and class distinction between the influential and the laborers.
Both male and female laborers hair was usually tied up into a knot and wore scanty clothes that left their bodies exposed. Golden buckles are used by women to cover their chests.
Sampost is another traditional attire that was popular among the Khmer people. The cloth can be styled in different ways; however, the most famous style is the Sampost Tep Asparagus, which has long-running pleats in front of the garment sweeping backwards just below the wearer’s calf, fastened at the waist and secured by a gold belt.
The styles of the court dancers were made using elaborate designs, as the colour was made of a Sarong Kor, which is a red rounded colar designed with gold and beadwork.
The king’s costume was made from more elaborate designs with a flowery pattern, which was only a special design specifically meant for the king.
He wears a golden crown and sometimes covers his head with flowers, and he moves around carrying a golden sword in his left hand as it is made are golden crowns, Joelle’s belts, and fabrics that are heavy and consist of flowery patterns.
The queen’s outfit was also elaborate, made from floral Sampot and gold.
Other accessories used by the royal family included gold and pearl bracelets, which were used to adorn their bodies. Also, diamond headdresses were worn by the queen.
This era ended in 1431, when the Khmer Empire fell and dissolved, witnessing external intrusion.
3. Charktomok Period
After the end of the Angkor kingdom in 1431, the style and clothing of the Cambodians underwent some changes. There was a difference in the clothing of the upper and lower classes.
For example, the king’s attire was a shirt with long sleeves. Having a collar with rich embroidery at the top. The shirt had a special decoration on it, like a shoulder piece pointing upward.
There were chains on the front of the shirt, forming an X shape and a diamond-shaped pendent on top of them. There were also short pants that fit tightly around the legs and had fancy designs at the bottom.
The pants were covered by a cloth that reached the thigh and had a waist belt. The king also wore and adorned himself with other accessories. Ordinary men’s attire was a wrap, and they were without shirts most of the time. The men of higher status wore round shirts. The woman dressed would usually use a wrap to cover her body while leaving some part of her stomach uncovered.
10 Types Of Cambodian Traditional Clothing
1. Sampot
Sampot is usually referred to as the national clothing of the Cambodians. The traditional attire of Cambodia is crafted from delicate silk, employing intricate weaving methods to produce stunning textile creations.
It was originally conceived as a rectangular piece of fabric, approximately 3 meters in length and 1 meter in width, draped around the waist to conceal the midsection and secured by tying it in front.
The wearer adeptly arranges and fastens it with a knot, then pulls it up between the legs, securing it in place with the aid of a metal belt. The Sampot resembles trousers more than a skirt in its design. There are different types of sampot, which are:
Sampot Chang Kben
His type of sampot is usually worn by Cambodian women during an important event. It is a 2.7m long rectangular trouser tied around the waist, which is loosely secured and fastened with a small button while secured by a metal strap
Sampot Phamuong
Sampot phamuong looks more like a skirt than sampot chang kben and is also an ancient Cambodian style. It uses 52 colors and an incredible 22 needles to make the fabric.
Normally, sampot phamuong is designed with floral or geometric patterns. New designs always draw inspiration from ancient silk patterns.
Sampot Hol
Also one of the most famous traditional costumes in Cambodia, with two basic types: one is a conventional dress and the other is cross-woven.
The Sampot Hol dress uses fabrics similar to Indian patola fabrics, and, in addition, undergoes a long development period, Patterns and knitwear have created a delicate Hol that we see today.
This type of sampot consists of 200 patterns with yellow, red, brown, blue, and green colors according to the motif of flowers and animals.
Sampot Tep Apsara
This type of sampot is worn by apsara dancers in Cambodia. They wear the sampot Tep apsara so that they can move freely while dancing.
It is secured at the waist with a sturdy metal belt and skillfully wrapped to ensure that the pleats cascade down the center, allowing the dancers to have increased flexibility while dancing.
Sampot Chang Samluy
This is another type of sampot, which is a tubelike wrap worn around the lower body with its length reaching the foot of the wearer. It is worn by a large community in Cambodia.
The other types of sampot which include sampot seat sua, sampot leaks, sampot align and other variants of samples. However, the most popular of these sampot are sampot chan kben, sampot phamuong and sampot hol.
2. Karma
This is another traditional attire that is very popular in Cambodia. This piece of cloth can be found in almost every home in Cambodia. It was made from It is made from fabrics like cotton or silk. The cotton material is usually used by the peasants, while the rich prefer to own silk karma. It comes in different colors and is worn by both men and women in Cambodia. It is used on the scarf to protect the head from the sun, but it can also be used for other things, such as a belt, used by mothers to hold their babies against their backs.
3. Av pak
Av Pak is also referred to by the Cambodians as an embroidered shirt. It is worn by Cambodian women and it is made of plain cotton. It is a type of blouse that is decorated using golden threads as ornate material. A sampot or sampot Chang kben is worn as a pant or skirt under the blouse. The cloth is worn during important events, like cultural festivals.
4. Silk
The art of Silk weaving is part of Cambodia’s rich tradition, this ancient art spans centuries. It has been a fundamental material for traditional Cambodian clothing. One of Cambodia’s national treasures is golden silk.
5. Sarong
Sarong is another traditional garment in Cambodia. It is usually a piece of cloth with a simple design that is used as an alternative to the sampot. It is sewn at both ends and fastened around the waist.
6. Textile
Cambodia is known for its unique silk textile. Their textile-making technique is exceptional and there are 3 significant silk textiles in Cambodia namely; ikat silk, twill silk and weft ikat textiles.
The patterns of the textile are made by bundling natural and synthetic fibres on the weft yarn and subsequently dying them.
7. Sbai
It is a form of traditional clothing worn by women. It is a piece of cloth that looks like a shawl and is used by women to cover their breasts.
Conclusion
Cambodian traditional clothing is deeply enrooted in the history, beliefs and traditions of the Cambodians.
The cultural clothes are considered to be very important attire and have continued to be preserved by the Cambodians, with the most popular being the krama and the sampot.
We can see that Cambodian traditional clothing is made from very beautiful fabrics and is beautifully designed with ornate embroidery, which makes their traditional wear unique and stylish.
Some of this traditional clothing is still very relevant to this day and the style and clothing of the Cambodians have been adopted by some other regions that find their clothes fanciful.
Even in contemporary times, as things keep evolving, we can say that Cambodian traditional clothing serves as a foundation and a model for contemporary modern designs.
