ouk! pg 20 • holy hot pink caterpillars pg. 34...
TRANSCRIPT
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People, Places, and Cultures
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1st printing Quad Graphics Midland, Michigan August 2016
ABOUT THE COVER Cambodia is a country on the rise.
After decades of unrest, this Southeast
Asian country is using education and
technology to improve the lives of its
citizens. Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com
PHOTO?MYSTERY
Do you know what this is? Answer is on page 48.
C
FEATURES8Recovering from Wars
by Colette Weil Parrinello
12A Time to Celebrate by Kathiann M. Kowalski
16 The Cultural Rebirth of Cambodia by Christine Graf
20Ouk! by Donna O’Meara
22Swallowed by the Jungle: Unearthing Angkor Wat by Pat Betteley
26Dangerous Ground: Landmines in Cambodia by Christine Graf
30Leng Ouch Fights to Save Forests by Colette Weil Parrinello
34Holy Hot Pink Caterpillars . . . by Kathryn Hulick
42The Final King of Angkor Wat retold by Pat Betteley
DEPARTMENTS
12
30
34ACTIVITIES
37 Cambodian Crossword41 Fallen Proverb
CONTEST 36 Cambodian Art Contest
2 High 54 At a Glance6 Critter Corner29 Where in the World? 38 A Closer Look41 Face Facts 46 Art Connection48 Guest Review48 Editor’s Pick49 One Last Face
26
HIGH FIVE
2
Visiting Cambodia
Cambodia is a country recovering from a turbulent recent
past, but it is also a country with a glorious past that
includes the ancient city of Angkor. Here are five facts
about this Southeast Asian country to get you started on
your journey.
1. Nearly 2 million people were murdered during the Khmer
Rouge reign of Cambodia in the 1970s. Most of those killed
were educated or professional people. The country is still
dealing with the repercussions of these killings.
2. Bon Om Tuk, or the Water Festival, celebrates
the receding of the Tonle Sap lake back into the
Mekong River. It marks the beginning of the
annual fishing season.
Fishing on the Tonle Sap is an important industry in Cambodia.
3
3. Angkor Wat is one of the most
recognizable sites in the world. The temple
was built around 1113 by a powerful Khmer
ruler to honor the Hindu god, Vishnu, and
took workers 35 years to complete.
4. During more than 30 years of armed
conflict, four to six million mines were
laid in Cambodia. Approximately 20,000
Cambodians have been killed by landmines
(half of them children), and another 40,000
have been severely injured or maimed. One
in every 290 Cambodians is an amputee.
5. Cambodia’s warm, wet climate is perfect
for growing rice. It is the country’s most
important crop and the Cambodian phrase
for “eat,” sii bay, means, “to eat rice” when
translated literally.
4
map by Mary Rostad
Kampong Cham
Oudong
PHNOM PENH
Kampong Luong
Tonlé Sap
Siem ReapAngkor
Pursat
Koh Kong
Battambang
Poipet
Pailin
KampotSihanoukville
Anlong Veng
CAMBODIA
THAILAND
Gulf of
Thailand
5
CambodiaOfficial Name: Kingdom of Cambodia
Area: 69,898 square miles (181,035 square kilometers), about the size of Missouri
Capital: Phnom Penh
Population: 15.7 million (July 2015 estimate)
People: Khmer, 90 percent; Vietnamese, 5 percent; Chinese, 1 percent; others, 4 percent
Official Language: Khmer; English and French are also spoken
Religions: Buddhist, 96.9 percent; Muslim, 1.9 percent; other, 1.2 percent
Land: Cambodia’s most important geographical region is the central plain, which is flooded by the Mekong River to create fertile fields. The flooding makes this area perfect for growing rice and a variety of vegetables
Highest Point: Phnom Aural (5,948 feet, or 1,813 meters)
At a Glance
Stung Treng
Kratié
Kampong Cham
PHNOM PENH
Kampong Luong
Siem ReapAngkor
CAMBODIA
VIETNAM
South China Sea
LAOS
CRITTER CORNER
6
“Look, up in the tree. It’s a pinecone!”
“It’s an anteater.”
“No, it’s a Pangolin!”
Also known as the Malayan or Javan
Pangolin, this armored mammal feeds entirely
on ants and termites it finds in forests and
plantations in Southeast Asia. With its strong
sense of smell, the Pangolin seeks out its prey,
tears into an ant nest or termite mound with
powerful claws, and gathers insects with its
sticky tongue that is longer than its entire body.
No need for teeth, the adult Pangolin swallows
its dinner whole — at the rate of about 200,000
ants or termites per day, or 70 million insects a
year. Talk about effective pest control!
Though its body is covered by rows of
scales, the Pangolin is actually a mammal,
not a reptile. The tough scales are made of
by Pat Betteley
This historic scientific illustration of a cod is from 1796.
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Digitized by Harvard University, MCZ, Ernst Mayr Library
a compressed, hair-like material called keratin,
the same protein that makes up human hair
and fingernails. As its belly lacks scales, the
Pangolin protects itself by rolling into a ball when
threatened. Like the skunk, it can also emit a foul
odor. The Pangolin is nocturnal (feeds at night),
and spends its days resting in tree holes or hiding
among plant leaves. The Pangolin is a good
climber with a prehensile (grasping) tail that is
so powerful it can hang upside down from tree
branches. Other handy adaptations are special
muscles that seal the Pangolin’s nostrils and ears
closed to protect them from swarming insects.
The Sunda Pangolin (scientific name Manis
javanica) has been classified with anteaters,
aardvarks, and armadillos for obvious reasons.
However, after more extensive DNA testing, some
scientists now believe that Pangolins are actually
Scaly anteater of Cambodia
The Sunda Pangolin
A Pagolin’s scales
are made of a
compressed, hair-
like material called
keratin.
7
more closely related to raccoons and
giant pandas.
Though most people think of the
elephant or rhino as poster animals for
illegal trade in wildlife, the little known
Pangolin is actually the most frequently
trafficked (captured and sold illegally)
mammal, according to wildlife experts.
Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy
in parts of China, and its scales are used
to treat skin diseases. In fact, Pangolins
have been traded for hundreds of years.
In 1820, King George III of England was
presented with a suit of armor made from
Pangolin scales. Customs officers seize
thousands of Pangolins and hundreds
of pounds of scales each year. These
illegal shipments are cleverly buried
beneath dog biscuits or falsely labeled as,
“communications equipment,” or even
“frozen fish.” Though Cambodia has laws
against hunting Pangolins, enforcement
is often weak. The temptation for local
poachers in poor areas to catch and sell
Pangolins (which sell for high prices on
the national and international market) is
strong. Also, Pangolins prefer to live in
tree hollows in undisturbed forests, which
are rapidly disappearing. Because of
these factors, the Pangolin population in
Southeast Asia has crashed in many areas,
and the species is considered critically
endangered. Conservation groups are
focusing on preventing poaching, ending
illegal trade, and protecting their habitat
so Pangolins don’t become extinct before
people even realize they exist!
This historic scientific illustration of a cod is from 1796.
STATSScientific name: Manis javanica
Diet: ants and termites
Average Life Span: unknown how long they
live in the wild; some live up to 20 years in
captivity
Size: between 12 and 39 inches long
Pagolins roll up in a ball to
protect their bellies, a spot
not covered in scales.
8 8
by Colette Weil Parrinello
Cambodia is a young democracy that struggles to modernize after decades of brutal wars. While Cambodia is among the poorest countries, it’s among the countries that have made the most rapid reduction in poverty, from 48 percent of the population in 2007 to 17 percent in 2015. Cambodians are a resilient people and look ahead to build a new future for their families. Once reduced to ghost towns, larger cities such as Phnom Penh and Battambang now bustle with new businesses, housing, and markets, while the economy continues to grow. The new parliamentary democratic monarchy has firmly declared that education is the key to jobs and poverty reduction.
recovering
In recent years, the Cambodian
government has made improvements
to the country’s education system.
a99
emerging from the civil warsCambodia endured decades of violence and
murder of its people. The radical communist
movement called the Khmer Rouge (DK) took
over Cambodia in 1974 turning the country into
a land where all the citizens worked together in
a government-owned collective rice-growing
machine. DK marched people out of the cities
into the countryside and murdered anyone
who was educated or professional and not a
peasant, nearly 2 million people — accountants,
teachers, government officials, religious people,
shopkeepers, doctors, nurses, hospital workers,
those who disagreed with the Khmer Rouge,
and foreigners. They emptied the schools
turning them into prisons, burned books, stores
and churches, ended money use, radio, TV and
newspapers, Buddhism, and individual freedoms.
The communist Vietnamese captured
Phnom Penh from the Khmer Rouge in 1979 and
occupied Cambodia until 1989. The Vietnamese
began rebuilding the cities, roads, hospitals,
and schools. Civil war continued until a peace
accord was signed in 1991.
As the country recovers, the results of this
devastation shadow the movement forward. It is
estimated that 7 million land mines were planted
throughout the country of which 1.6 million
have been removed. Every month around 80
people step on a mine.
Government TodayThe present day Cambodian government is a
fragile democracy structured as a parliamentary
recovering from wars
constitutional monarchy. In 1993 under the
guidance, funding, and protection of the United
Nations, Cambodians voted in their first free
democratic elections. A new constitution was
adopted that guarantees equal rights for men
and women, voting rights, ownership rights, and
defines the government.
In this governmental structure the executive
branch is composed of the king and the prime
minister. The king is a member of the royal
family and must be at least 30 years old. This
is a sacred role and a symbol of unity with no
power to rule or govern.
Legislative power lies with the parliament
that consists of the 120-member National
Assembly. The cabinet is led by the prime
minister and includes state ministers and state
secretaries. The Constitutional Council is a nine-
member council that interprets the constitution
and laws passed by the National Assembly.
A woman casts her vote
in a recent election.
10
New Jobs and Growing Industries
Cambodia has made strides in developing
industries and jobs. The economy has grown
steadily in the past ten years. Tourism to
Cambodia is the fastest growing industry.
Nearly five million people visited last year! The
garment, textiles, construction, fishing, timber
products, and agricultural industries are also
growing, along with mining in gold, bauxite,
iron, and gems.
Education is Crucial for the FutureCambodia lost an entire generation of
people, skills, and education to civil wars and
genocide — a quarter of the population. After
the Khmer Rouge eliminated all schools and
teachers, the communist Vietnamese brought
back some schools that included teaching
communist doctrine.
In 2000, the new government instituted
overall education reforms and made K-9th
grade education mandatory, including
preschool. With the help of worldwide
partners, they opened new schools.
There has been much progress. The
literacy rate for those 15 and over who
can read and write is at 77 percent of the
population, but the rate for females and
those living in rural areas is significantly
lower. The lack of trained teachers, supplies,
and schools that don’t offer up to six grades
hinders growth. Rural schools are especially
underfunded, may lack drinking water or
toilets, and can be located long distances
from a village.
Poverty forces children out of school.
Nearly 39 percent of children ages 5 – 14 work
due to the necessity to help their families. They
work as tour guides, in restaurants, and in fish
processing and cement plants. Others stay at
home to help on the farm.
During the Khmer Rouge, schools and
hospitals were turned into prisons.
Some rural schools still lack some basic
necessities such as drinking water.
11
A Country of Youth and Resilience Not only is Cambodia a country with a young
democracy, it is a country of young people. The
average age in Cambodia is 23 years old. In urban
areas, young people look for jobs, higher education
and opportunities. Urban people dress in Western
styles, have access to Internet, zip around on motor
scooters and in cars, and are surrounded by radio,
TV, and newspapers. In rural areas, young people
struggle in poverty with inadequate education
and opportunities. Their daily lives revolve around
gaining the necessities of adequate food, water,
education, housing, and sanitation.
Binding nearly every Cambodian is their
Buddhist faith, which stresses the temporary nature
of an earthly existence and emphasizes moderation
and self-improvement. A Cambodian’s lifestyle
pace is friendly, calm, and relaxed. They hold
deep respect for their elders, family, and personal
relationships.
The rest of the world can only honor this small
country and the resiliency of its people, beaten
and brutalized from wars, invaders, genocide,
and corruption, as they continue to make slow
progress to lift themselves into the modern
world.
FAST FACTS
• In modern Cambodia, there is a growing gulf
between the elite rich and the poor.
• During the Khmer Rouge all books, libraries,
and the written language were destroyed. The
National Library was converted to a stable. The
Library now contains more than 10,000 books.
• Students in schools learn their language,
Khmer, along with English as the official second
language.
Colette Weil Parrinello is a frequent writer for
children’s magazines and is a co-regional advisor
for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators.
11
Independence Monument in Phnom Penh commemorates
Cambodia’s independence from France.
12
Cambodian families celebrate Prachum Ben
by preparing special cakes and rice balls.
According to legend, the King of the Land of the
Dead allows spirits to visit their earthly relatives
during this festival to honor the memory
of Cambodians’ ancestors. Ceremonies for
Prachum Ben center on the country’s Buddhist
monasteries and temples.
The exact dates of Prachum Ben and certain
other Cambodian holidays depend on the cycles
of the moon. Prachum Ben usually occurs at
the end of September. In late April, Cambodians
celebrate Visak Bauchea, another religious
holiday that honors the Buddha’s birth and
enlightenment.
Later in the fall, excitement washes through
Cambodia as the country celebrates the Water
Festival (Bon Om Tuk). The festival celebrates
an extraordinary natural phenomenon. During
heavy summer rains, the Tonle Sap River flows
backwards into the Tonle Sap lake, which
is Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake.
Translated, Tonle Sap means “freshwater lake.”
The floodwaters expand the Tonle Sap lake up
A Time to Celebrate!By Kathiann M. Kowalski
Cambodian Buddhists burn batches of incense and
light candles during a festival in Phnom Penh.
13
A Time to Celebrate!
to ten times its normal size, to cover as much as
13,000 square kilometers. When the monsoons
taper off in October, water levels go down.
In late October or early November each
year, the Water Festival celebrates the annual
reversal of the Tonle Sap back into the Mekong
River. For the fishing industry, the Water Festival
ushers in the annual fishing season.
Each year, tens of thousands of Cambodians
celebrate the Water Festival in Phnom Penh
with colorful boat races. About 400 long boats
— some with 50 rowers each — compete in
the name of different pagodas and farming
communes. After the races, which last three
days, fireworks are set off and a lighted flotilla of
boats parades down the Tonle Sap River.
Other agricultural festivals are also cause for
celebration. Each year in mid May, Chrat Prea
Angkal, the Royal Plowing Ceremony, features
bulls pulling a decorated plow to mark the start
of rice-sowing season.
Civic and political holidays are cause for
celebration, too. Like many countries around
the world, Cambodians celebrate International
Labor Day on May 1. The United Nations’
Human Rights Day is observed on December 10.
Cambodia’s own Constitution Day is celebrated
on September 24. October 23 honors the Paris
Peace Agreements in Cambodia. Independence
Day on November 9 celebrates Cambodia’s
freedom from French rule. January 7 is Victory
Day over the violent Khmer Rouge regime. His
Majesty the King’s Birthday and Her Majesty the
Queen’s Birthday are also times for celebration.
His Majesty the King’s Birthday is marked by a
three-day observance. Children and women
have their own holidays as well. Women’s Day is
celebrated in March, and Children’s Day is in June.
Colorful parades highlight the Water Festival.
14
Cambodia has an official holiday
on January 1 for International New
Year’s Day, and ethnic Chinese and
Vietnamese in the country usually
celebrate Tet, the Chinese New Year, in
late January or early February. But the
biggest New Year’s celebration comes
in mid April with the traditional Khmer
holiday, Chaul Chhnam.
As it is bad luck to begin the
New Year with a messy house, each
family spends the last day of the old
year thoroughly cleaning their home
inside and out. The family statue of
the Buddha is gently washed, and
the home altar is lovingly decorated.
When New Year comes, families
visit the local temple and pray for
good fortune. Sprinkling the statue
of the Buddha with water is a way of
asking for extra good luck. Molding
little mounds of sand outside the
temple and mounting tiny flags
on top, Cambodians pray for a life
filled with as many days as there are
grains of sand. Children especially
enjoy making and decorating kites
from bamboo cloth. Using vegetable
dyes, they paint the cloth with
animal shapes or bold geometric
designs. Then they fly their unique
kite creations. Fireworks add a
wonderfully festive air to the New Year
as Cambodians exchange traditional
Buddhist greetings and wishes of
good luck. To add to the playful spirit,
Cambodians splash one another with
water. It can get very wet, but it is a
fun way for families and friends to start
the New Year together.
Row, row, row your boat! Boat races are held over
a three-day period during the Water Festival.
15
WORD HELPA pagoda (pa-GO-da) is
a Buddhist temple.
Fireworks light up the sky of the capital city during a festival.
°
16
Cambodian musicians Arn Chorn-Pond and
Youen Mek performed together at New York
City’s Lincoln Center in 2013. Mek taught Chorn-
Pond to play the flute in the late 1970s when he
was just a young boy. Their lessons didn’t take
place in a school or music studio; they took
place in a Khmer Rouge prison
camp. At the time, the thought of
one day performing together at
Lincoln Center would have seemed
ridiculous and unimaginable.
For most of Cambodia’s history,
the country’s performing artists
were highly respected. Members
of the royal family were dancers
and musicians, and the monarchy
recognized the importance of all
art forms. After the Khmer Rouge
The Cultural Rebirth of Cambodia
took power in 1975, all forms of art and music
were banned except for those that glorified the
government. Approximately 90 percent of all
Cambodian artists, dancers, and musicians were
killed, and the rest went into hiding or were
sent to prison camps.
Chorn-Pond came from a
family of artists and musicians
who ran an opera company for
generations. After his parents were
killed by the Khmer Rouge, he was
sent to a prison camp where he
learned to play the flute and the
khim, a small stringed instrument.
His flute teacher was Youen Mek,
and the two became friends and
watched out for one another.
Chorn-Pond believes his musical
by Christine Graf
A master musician teaches a student on a traditional instrument.
°
17
The Cultural Rebirth of Cambodia
talents saved his life. He saw children being
killed on a regular basis, but soldiers spared
his life because they enjoyed his music. Out
of 700 children, he was one of only 60 who
survived. Two of his own siblings died at the
camp from starvation, and the other nine
were killed by the Khmer Rouge.
He was eventually forced to become
a child soldier, but managed to escape
into the jungle. Months later, he made it
to the Thai border where he was found
unconscious and malnourished. It was
there that he met an American pastor who
adopted him and took him to the United
States.
Adjusting to life in the United States
was not easy for the orphaned Cambodian
teenager who didn’t speak English and
had never attended school. With the
support of his new family, he was able to
graduate from high school and college. In
the mid-1990s, 32-year-old Chorn-Pond
returned to Cambodia. He found just one
surviving member of his family, a cousin
who had been trained in opera by Chorn-
Pond’s father. He had a feeling that Youen
Mek might still be alive, and he searched the
streets for months before finding his former
flute teacher.
“Even after 25 years, we recognized
each other immediately,” says Chorn-Pond.
“He was on the street under a makeshift
roof, cutting hair for a living. We hugged,
and he cried. He begged me to help
him play and teach music again.” When
Chorn-Pond returned home to America, he
knew he had to do something to preserve
Cambodian’s traditional performing art
forms before they were lost forever.
In 1998, he established The Cambodian
Master Performers Program (now called
Cambodian Living Arts) to support
Without the hard work of the Cambodian Living Arts organization,
many of the country’s traditional arts would be lost.
The musical group Mango Dream combines
traditional Cambodian music with Mediterranean jazz.
°
Cambodia’s surviving master performing
artists. He returned to Cambodia and searched
villages and city streets for master artists who
had survived the genocide. He found several
including one of Cambodia’s greatest opera
singers. She was drunk and lying in a ditch
when he found her, and he convinced her
that she could sing again. She, Chorn-Pond’s
cousin, Youen Mek, and several other master
artists joined the program and were given
salaries, health benefits, instruments, and
teaching space in their provinces. They
worked one on one with students who
were paid small stipends to help support their
families. Since 1998, hundreds of students
from nine different provinces have been taught
by 30 different master teachers. The program
has helped to keep traditional forms of art and
dance alive in Cambodia and has served as a
bridge between generations.
Chorn-Pond began his program at the same
time that Cambodia’s newly-established Ministry
of Culture and Education began working to
restore art and culture to the country. The task
has been difficult because most of the country’s
performing art forms were never documented.
Instead, they were passed from one generation
to the next. This has been especially problematic
for the Cambodian Royal Ballet, which has
existed for more than 1,000 years. Only 20 of
its dancers and five of its teachers survived the
Khmer Rouge, and they had to rely entirely
on their memories to recreate complicated
dances that involve thousands of graceful hand
movements. Sadly, some of their history can
never be recovered.
18
Dancers perform a contemporary dance at the Festival of Chapei in Phnom Penh.
°
Although Cambodia has
a long way to go to reclaim
what it lost at the hands of
the Khmer Rouge, the people
remain determined. They value
their art and culture and believe
that it is the very soul of their
beloved nation. And it is that art
and culture that is helping to
heal their own wounded souls.
FAST FACTS:• Chorn-Pond is the founder of the
Khmer Magic Music Bus,
which transports master musicians
and their students to villages
throughout the country so that
they can perform.
• Many of the masters that Chorn-
Pond found in Cambodia were
near death when he found them
and brought them to hospitals.
19
Dancers perform a contemporary dance at the Festival of Chapei in Phnom Penh.
"The Fishing" is a folk dance performed
during festivals and other celebrations.
Many of Cambodia’s dances have been
performed for hundreds of years.
20
Board games are a great way to engage
in friendly competition while developing
strategic and problem-solving skills. One of
the most popular board games in the world is
chess. No one knows where chess originated,
but it is believed to be a very ancient game.
It may have been invented in India as early as
the seventh century.
Around the world, the game board,
pieces, and rules of what is commonly called
international chess are all the same. But
Cambodians like to play their own traditional,
national form of chess. Cambodian chess,
called Ouk Chhoeu trang (uke chow-oo
by Donna O’Meara
Ouk!trang), is the most popular game in the country.
Ouk Chhoeu trang can be traced to the
ancient Khmer civilization of Angkor Wat. During
the ninth century, Angkor Wat was a thriving
cultural metropolis, and chess pieces, which
were shaped from gleaming bronze, reflected
that wealth. Today, Cambodian chess pieces
are carved from wood. The word for wood in
Cambodian is Chhoeu.
The object of both traditional and
Cambodian chess is to force a position called
“checkmate” in which the enemy king can
be captured. Ouk is a word that mimics the
sound the chess piece makes when it taps
Chess is an ancient game and has many variations around the world.
21
the board during checkmate. Cambodian
chess players must say “ouk” when they
“check” their rival’s king to win the game.
(In international chess, the player must say
“checkmate.”)
The board is composed of 64 side-by-
side dark and light squares. Two players
compete to win in international chess. In
Cambodian chess, two teams of players
duel for the rival king.
As in international chess, each team
begins with 16 pieces that include: eight
pawns called trey (fish); two rooks called
tuuk (boats); two knights called ses (horses);
two bishops called koul (generals); one
queen called neang and a king called ang.
The wooden pieces resemble international
chess pieces in shape, but a light or dark
wood differentiates the sides instead of pieces
being white and black. Two different types of
cowrie shells may be used to represent the
trey pawns. Cowrie shells have a polished,
colorful appearance. The chessboard is set
up traditionally with 16 dark pieces lined up
in two rows on one side of the board and 16
light pieces lined up on the other. The game is
won when the ang is checkmated. There is no
point-tallying system in Cambodian chess; the
game is won, lost or, if there is no clear winner,
a draw is called.
Each team begins with 16 pieces.
22
Wading across swamps and cutting
through the dense Cambodian jungle
was all part of the job for Henri Mouhot
(moo-OH) in 1860. He was a French explorer
and scientist collecting samples of local plant
life for Britain’s Royal Geographical Society. After
hearing rumors of a mysterious lost city and
monuments hidden deep in the jungle, Henri
hired a local guide to take him to the spot. He
described the eerie mood at the site. “Hardly
a sound echoes but the roar of tigers, the
harsh cry of elephants and wild stags,” he said.
Among vines and tree roots, the “size of an
elephant’s legs” that choked the stone ruins,
Henri gazed at the remains of a great city that
lie in northern Cambodia, in a region called
Angkor (ANG-kor).
Angkor first arose in the early 800s CE
(Common Era), and reached its peak in the
1100s and 1200s. It was the home of rulers, as
well as a center of culture, business, and religion
for the Khmer (kuh-MEHR) Empire. The city was
very well planned, with advanced networks for
storing and distributing water, grand temples,
and galleries with detailed artwork.
Angkor’s largest and most famous temple
is Angkor Wat (ANG-kor WAHT). “It is grander
than anything left to us by Greece or Rome,”
Mouhot reported. The temple was built around
1113 by a powerful Khmer ruler to honor the
Hindu god, Vishnu, and took workers 35 years
to complete. (The structure has since been used
as a Buddhist temple, also.)
Today, Angkor Wat is one of the largest
ancient structures in the world. It is actually
more of a mini-city than a temple, containing a
by Pat Betteley
whole complex of buildings. Archaeologists tell us
that Angkor Wat is a magnificent example of the
Temple Mountain design, which is deeply tied to
the Hindu faith. The large pyramid-shaped temple
stands for Mount Meru. (In Hindu mythology,
Mount Meru is a golden mountain that stands
in the middle of the universe. It is home to the
gods.) Each of the five huge towers at Angkor Wat
represents one of the mountain’s peaks. A moat
around the temple represents the ocean. Lining
the walkway that crosses the grounds is a railing
carved to look like a snake. Three-dimensional
pictures called reliefs are carved on stonewalls in
the temple. These reliefs help archaeologists see
how Angkor’s ancient residents dressed, how they
played games, and even the type of wildlife found
in the Cambodian jungle surrounding Angkor
(monkeys and peacocks).
“What has become of this powerful people,
so civilized, so enlightened, the authors of these
gigantic works?” Mouhot wondered. Historians
have some theories about what caused Angkor
to mysteriously collapse sometime between the
1300s and 1400s. Some believe that Cambodia’s
climate changed drastically causing problems
with farming and food supply. Others think that
the population just grew too large for farms
to support them. (It is believed that Angkor
supported up to a million people at the peak
of the Khmer Empire.) Eventually, in 1431,
armies from neighboring Thailand attacked and
conquered the weakened Angkor.
In the centuries after the collapse of Angkor,
the soft sandstone buildings eroded, enormous
trees sprung up among towers and courtyards,
and undergrowth and tropical rains destroyed
23
A monk’s brightly colored robe can be
seen in a passageway of Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat took about 35 years to complete.
Today the site is a major tourist attraction
as well as a religious destination.
24
For Position Only! Members of the
Basque club of Miami compete in a
friendly game of tug-of-war, or sokatira.
all written records. In the early 1900s, local
Cambodian craftsmen and archaeologists
became interested in the ancient site. They
began to fit fallen rocks back into position like
a giant jigsaw puzzle. Bit-by-bit, they repaired
temples and bridges, uncovered sunken
gardens, and dug out moats. The stone gods
were mended, and experts in Khmer and
Sanskrit translated many inscriptions engraved
on Angkor’s buildings to slowly reveal the
mysteries of the Khmer.
In the 1960s, Cambodia was torn by
civil war. There was a lot of violence in the
country, and no one guarded the monuments
at Angkor. People stole statues and carvings
from the site, and sold them for large amounts
of money. A radical group then took control
of Cambodia in 1975. The workers at Angkor
were forced to leave, weapons were stored in
the monuments, and a bomb hit part of the
temple. After the area became more stable in
1992, The United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) got
involved at Angkor, and gave the Cambodian
government extra help conserving Angkor’s
monuments.
By 2007, new radar images of the Angkor
settlement showed that the Angkor site was
even larger than experts had thought. The
technology revealed the paths of many canals
25
For Position Only! Members of the
Basque club of Miami compete in a
friendly game of tug-of-war, or sokatira.
and more than one thousand ponds that
showed the Khmer watering system for farming
was larger than anyone had seen before.
Meanwhile, Angkor has become a great
tourist attraction, with hundreds of thousands of
international visitors each year. Buddhist monks
wearing bright orange robes visit the temple
regularly to pay their respects. Experts warn
that the huge numbers of visitors are placing a
lot of stress on the monuments and the land.
The challenge for the future will be to honor
Angkor’s majestic past, and keep it as a treasure
for the whole world to value and protect.
FAST FACTS:• In 1860, Henri
Mouhot described
Angkor’s sculptures
as the “work
of an ancient
Michaelangelo.”
• Winner of the
2015 Traveler’s
Choice Award for #1
Landmark in the Entire
World: Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is one of the largest ancient structures still standing.
26
“One less land mine, one less child without a leg.”
- Aki Ra
Dangerous Ground: Landmines
in Cambodia
Aki Ra doesn’t know when his birthday is. In fact, he isn’t even sure of
his age. He thinks he was born in 1970, a few years before his parents
were killed by the Khmer Rouge. He grew up at a Khmer Rouge work camp
where orphaned children were treated like slaves and forced to become child
soldiers. Each day they were also expected to bury at least 100 landmines,
small containers filled with explosive materials and fragments of sharp metal.
Landmines, heavily used since World War II, are buried just below ground
level or hidden where they aren’t easily seen. Originally used during warfare
to defend strategic locations and prevent enemies from using important roads
and bridges, they explode when stepped on or driven over. More recently,
landmines have been used to target civilians, restrict population movement,
and prevent access to farmland.
by Christine Graf
Dangerous Ground: Landmines in Cambodia
Large rats have been trained to sniff out landmines.
27
During more than 30 years of armed conflict, four to six million mines were laid
in Cambodia. Approximately 20,000 Cambodians have been killed by landmines (half
of them children), and another 40,000 have been severely injured or maimed. One in
every 290 Cambodians is an amputee.
Landmines are present in 50 percent of Cambodia’s villages, and 35 percent of
the country’s land is too dangerous to use. Cambodia’s agricultural production could
double if this land was safe to farm. Without landmines, people living in poor, rural
farming villages would have a chance for better lives. They would no longer have to
live in fear of taking one wrong step.
Because there are millions of unexploded landmines in Cambodia, the problem
has attracted international attention. In 1992, the United Nations sent peacekeepers
to the country to coordinate a demining operation. Aki Ra and other Cambodians
volunteered to work alongside the peacekeepers. After they left, he spent the next
15 years working on his own. Using just a knife and a stick, he removed and diffused
tens of thousands of mines — many of which he laid himself when he was a child.
After traveling to England for training in 2005, Aki Ra became an accredited deminer.
In 2008, he established a non-profit called Self Help Demining. Today, his team of
30 deminers works mostly in poor, rural farming villages. Although there are other
demining organizations operating in Cambodia, they typically work in areas that are
considered more high priority. Self Help Demining’s work has allowed more than
100,000 impoverished people to move onto land that was previously unusable.
Large rats have been trained to sniff out landmines.
Experts estimate that there are still
millions of unexploded landmines
buried throughout Cambodia.
28
Cambodia’s deminers use metal detectors
to detect mines, steel prods to gently loosen the
ground around them, and explosives to blow them
up. Their work is dangerous and painstakingly slow,
and metal detectors can’t distinguish between
landmines and other metal objects. It takes several
days for a deminer to clear a patch of land the size
of a tennis court. The cost associated with finding
and destroying one mine can be as high as $1,000.
The cost of the mine itself is as low as $3.
Specially-trained dogs have been successfully
used to locate mines, but each dog costs about
$40,000. Rats happen to be much cheaper. Yes,
rats! A Belgian non-profit demining organization
has successfully trained African giant pouched rats
to sniff out mines. These cat-sized rats have terrible
vision but an extraordinary sense of smell. Each rat
requires nine months of training at a cost of about
$6,500, but they are able to work for several years.
Rats are fitted with harnesses attached to ropes that
are laid out in grid patterns on parcels of land. They
walk from one end of the rope to the other while
sniffing the ground. Their noses are so sensitive that
they are able to detect as little as 1 ounce (29 g)
of explosives. Rats indicate the presence of a
mine by scratching at the ground. If their handler
discovers a mine in that location, the rat is given a
banana as a reward.
Rats have several advantages to humans
when it comes to mine detection. Unlike humans
using metal detectors, rats do not detect nails and
metal fragments. They also don’t weigh enough to
detonate mines even if they are standing directly
on top of them. These factors enable rats to work
much faster than humans. In just 30 minutes, a rat
can complete the amount of work that it could
take an entire day for a deminer to finish.
Although rats and dogs are helping with
Cambodia’s landmine problem, there are limited
numbers of these animals available. Experts
estimate that it could take up to 20 years for all
landmines to be cleared from the country, and
the work could not be done without people like
Aki Ra, a man who says, “My only goal in life is to
make my country safe for my people.”
About one in every 290
Cambodians is an amputee.
29
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
D
o yo
u kn
ow where this reader is enjoying her copy of FAC
ES?
HERE IS A HINT: This golden structure was
built in 1866.
The answer is on page 48.
29
FAST FACTS:• Aki Ra opened a landmine museum to
help fund his work, and he also runs an
orphanage for children.
• More than 100 million landmines have
been laid in 78 countries throughout the
world, and millions more are stockpiled
and available for use.
• Landmines have been used in every war
since 1938.
Aki Ra (third from the left) was recently honored
for his work to rid Cambodia of its landmines.
30
Environmental activist awarded 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize for exposing illegal logging and corruption by corporations and government.
Leng Ouch is like a secret agent working for
Cambodia’s rural people and the forest. He puts
his life in jeopardy to hunt down the corrupt
people who have robbed the country and its
people of their valuable land and trees. He’s an
environmental activist who goes undercover
to gather evidence on the uncontrolled illegal
logging activities. For his devotion and passion, he
was awarded the highest honor for environmental
activism, the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize.
Environmental Devastation and Human
Suffering
Cambodia is losing its forests at an unparalleled
rate and has the fifth fastest rate of deforestation in
the world, primarily due to illegal logging. As one
of the poorest countries in the world, nearly one
fifth of Cambodians
live in dire poverty
on less than $1.25 a
day. Eighty percent
of the population live
in rural areas and rely
on forests for their
livelihood in small-scale
agriculture.
In the early 2000s,
the government started
issuing ELCs, Economic Land Concessions,
to stimulate the economy by giving large
corporations long-term agricultural land leases
to develop sugar and rubber plantations. But
these long-term leases were cover-ups for large
corporations’ illegal logging, the theft of local land
rights from rural farmers, and timber poaching in
the national parks. It is estimated that 90 percent
of the logging is illegal. The illegal timber is
being used for fuel for manufacturing and for the
valuable rosewood. The rosewood is smuggled
and sold illegally to Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
China uses the rosewood to feed their huge
appetite for hongmu furniture.
Ouch Puts His Life on the Line
Ouch is in constant deadly danger as he
exposes how illegal logging has devastated the
countryside. The illegal logging is among the
world’s greatest environmental disasters and has
stripped impoverished Cambodians of their only
source of survival. He’s used various disguises
such as a driver,
tourist, timber dealer,
laborer, dockworker
and cook to gain
evidence on corrupt
government officials,
LENG OUCH FIGHTS TO SAVE FORESTS
by Colette Weil Parrinello
Cambodia’s forests are being cut
down at an alarming rate.
31
the military and large corporations. During
his undercover work he takes photos, records
conversations of bribes and illegal deals,
and uses drones to document the illegal
forest clear-cutting. He posts the shocking
photos, videos, and recordings and receives
worldwide Internet, radio, and TV coverage.
He’s exposed criminal collusion between
government officials and timber companies.
Ouch and his family fear for their safety
and have been threatened by the military
police. Illegal timber poachers have killed
other environmental activists, park rangers,
and police. Ouch’s former colleague and
environmental activist, Chut Watty, was
murdered in 2012.
From Poor Family to Lawyer to Activist
Ouch was raised in a poor family, his father
a Pedi cab driver. During the Khmer Rouge,
Ouch struggled to get an education. He
knows how important the forests are to
Cambodia. The forest was his family’s source
of food and medicine. With hard work and
good grades he received a scholarship to law
school. As a lawyer he has devoted himself
to humanitarian work to help the poor and
uneducated for nearly 20 years. Five years
ago he set up his own non-profit, Cambodia
Human Rights Task Force (http://www.chrtf.
net/) to expose illegal logging and the loss
of land rights. Through Ouch’s efforts rural
communities patrol their forests and report
Leng Ouch puts his life in jeopardy to protect his
country’s forests.
An activist tries to prevent illegal logging in Cambodia.
illegal activity. He makes little money from his efforts.
The international attention Ouch has drawn to the pillage and loss
of land has put increasing scrutiny and pressure on the government.
In 2014, the government canceled 23 ELC’s including two that were
inside the Virachey National Park — an area that is supposed to be
federally protected.
For Ouch’s dedication, selflessness, and bravery to document the
corruption and speak out for the return of land to his countrymen, he
is one of six recipients to receive the 2016 Goldman Environmental
Prize, the world’s largest award recognizing and honoring grass roots
activism. Recipients are awarded $125,000.
Ouch is honored to receive the award but fears that the visibility
puts increasing pressure on his work and safety. He continues to
try and stop the government from issuing more forest clearing
concessions and seeks to have the government take back the land
from the logging companies and return it to the legal owners —
Cambodian citizens.
32
FAST FACTS: • “Even though I know my life is at risk, I still try to save the forest,” said
Leng Ouch. “If I don’t do this, who will?”
http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/leng-ouch/
• Cambodia has one of the worst rates of deforestation in the world.
There is less than 50 – 60 percent of the forest left, less than 1,200
square miles, from the clear cutting starting in the 2000s.
• Clear cutting began under the Khmer Rouge as a form of revenue to
fund the war and continues today. Deadly landmines are still in many of
the clear-cut areas.
• Poor rural people not only lose their land, but illegal clear-cutting
drives the loss of habitat, decreases the quantity and health of wildlife
and the flow of rivers and fish quantities, drives rapid erosion, and cuts
fresh water access.
33
34
HOLY HOT PINK If you want to meet a striped rabbit, a
poisonous dragon millipede, or a frog with
green blood and turquoise bones, travel on
over to the Greater Mekong region in Southeast
Asia. This corner of the world including
Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam,
and some of China is packed with fascinating
critters.
According to a report by the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF), 1,068 new species have
been found there in just ten years! Here’s the
breakdown: 519 plants, 279 fish, 88 frogs, 88
spiders, 46 lizards, 22 snakes, 15 mammals, four
birds, four turtles, two salamanders, and a toad.
“Who knows what else is out there waiting
to be discovered, but what’s clear is that there
is plenty more where this came from,” says
Stuart Chapman, head of the WWF networks
Greater Mekong Program.
The Greater Mekong is also home to river
dolphins, Asian elephants, tigers, Javan rhinos,
and the largest freshwater fish in the world: the
Mekong giant catfish measuring nearly nine feet
long and weighing more than 600 pounds. But
this biodiversity hot spot is in danger. As the
human population grows, factories and farmland
threaten local wildlife.
The WWF plans to work with local
governments and businesses to protect the
environment while still helping the economy.
WWFs report, First Contact in the Greater
Mekong, illustrates just how rich this region is in
newly discovered life. Colorful caterpillars and
freaky frogs are only the beginning! Scientists
browsing a food market in Laos discovered
a species of rock rat everybody thought had
been extinct for 11 million years, and officially
identified the “new” species in 2005. The world’s
largest huntsman spider (Heteropoda maxima),
which has up to a foot-long leg span, was also
discovered in Laos and named in 2001. A black
and white striped krait from Vietnam (Bungarus
slowinskii) joined the black mamba and spitting
cobra in a growing family of super-deadly snakes
in 2005. And in 2000, scientists discovered a new
mammal, a truly rare occurrence these days!
The furry, black and brown Annamite striped
rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi) lives in Vietnam and
Laos. And then there’s that dragon millipede
(Desmoxytes purpurosea) from Thailand added
to the list of new species in 2007. This hot pink,
spiny, creepy-crawly protects itself with the
deadly poison cyanide! Are you still sure you
want to travel to the Greater Mekong?
by Kathryn Hulick
The wildlife found in Asia’s Greater Mekong region
ranges from bizarre to beautiful.
35
HOLY HOT PINK CATERPILLARS . . .
Mekong river dolphins are a
threatened species throughout the
region.
It’s easy to see how the Mekong
giant catfish got its name!
36
YOUR TURNThe Greater Mekong region is home to amazing wildlife. Imagine you are a scientist studying the area and you have discovered a new species of colorful frog. Show us what this frog would look like!
Frog Name __________________________________
Have your parent or legal guardian send us a high-resolution image of your creation to
[email protected] by October 10, 2016. Be sure the email includes your name, age,
and hometown, and states that “Cricket Media may publish the attached image in print
and online, and I am authorized to provide.”
37
Answers are on page 48.
37
CAMBODIAN Crossword
Down2. river that floods creating Cambodia’s fertile fields3. Cambodia’s official language4. an armored mammal that eats ants and termites5. Ouk Chhoeu trang is a version of this game6. a Buddhist temple
Across1. festival that honors the memory of Cambodia’s ancestors (two words)6. capital of Cambodia (two words)7. Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake (two words)8. Cambodia’s most important crop9. ancient Cambodia’s most famous and largest temple (two words)
38
A CLOSER LOOK Ricecompiled by Carolee Miot McIntosh
Rice is the most important crop in Cambodia, and throughout Asia. In fact, for about half the world’s population it is the main food.
The Cambodian word for “eat,” sii bay, means, “to eat rice” when translated literally.
Rice is ideally suited to grow in Cambodia’s warm, wet climate.
According to the Rice Association, there are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice, but only a small variety is sold.
39
How did the custom of throwing rice at a wedding begin? Rice is a symbol of fertility and abundance.
Brown rice is better for you nutritionally than white rice.
Rice is grown on every continent except Antarctica.
The consumption of rice has been traced back to 5000 B.C. in several countries including China and India.
Sake is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting rice. It is the national beverage of Japan.
A deep bowl with a tiny hole in the center floats in a bucket of water hidden inside the elephant. The bowl pulls a system of strings attached to the tower atop the elephant.
The phoenix atop the tower spins and releases a metal ball from a box beneath it, into the serpent’s open mouth.
The serpent tips forward, pulling the sunken bowl out of the water via the inner-pulley system.
The ball runs through the serpent’s body, dropping it out the opposite end into a vase.
The elephant driver is made to strike the beast, which sounds a chime, indicating the half-hour mark.
The serpent tips back to its rested position, which submerges the bowl inside again, and the cycle repeats for each metal ball.
Explore a tradition in your community and share it with the world.
CHALLENGE BEGINSAugust 1st!
GLOBAL
2016 3rd Annual
FOLKLORIST CHALLENGE
challenges.epals.com/folklife2016
When you’re here, it’s OK to dwell on the past.
Subscribe at Shop.CricketMedia.com/Try-Dig
Syria
: The
Ele
phan
t Clo
ck, f
rom
al J
azar
i’s ‘B
ook
of K
now
ledg
e of
Inge
niou
s M
echa
nica
l Dev
ices
’ (13
15 C
E) /
Pict
ures
from
His
tory
/ Br
idge
man
Imag
es
™
I N T O H I S T O R Y
Where history and archeology meet.
Al-Jazari’s 12th-century clock is an elephant that won’t let you forget.A deep bowl with a tiny hole in the center floats in a bucket of water hidden inside the elephant. The bowl pulls a system of strings attached to the tower atop the elephant.
The phoenix atop the tower spins and releases a metal ball from a box beneath it, into the serpent’s open mouth.
The serpent tips forward, pulling the sunken bowl out of the water via the inner-pulley system.
The ball runs through the serpent’s body, dropping it out the opposite end into a vase.
The elephant driver is made to strike the beast, which sounds a chime, indicating the half-hour mark.
The serpent tips back to its rested position, which submerges the bowl inside again, and the cycle repeats for each metal ball.
Explore a tradition in your community and share it with the world.
CHALLENGE BEGINSAugust 1st!
GLOBAL
2016 3rd Annual
FOLKLORIST CHALLENGE
challenges.epals.com/folklife2016
When you’re here, it’s OK to dwell on the past.
Subscribe at Shop.CricketMedia.com/Try-Dig
Syria
: The
Ele
phan
t Clo
ck, f
rom
al J
azar
i’s ‘B
ook
of K
now
ledg
e of
Inge
niou
s M
echa
nica
l Dev
ices
’ (13
15 C
E) /
Pict
ures
from
His
tory
/ Br
idge
man
Imag
es
™
I N T O H I S T O R Y
Where history and archeology meet.
Al-Jazari’s 12th-century clock is an elephant that won’t let you forget.
Fallen Proverb
by Janise Gates
41
Face facts
Jumbled below you will find a well-known Cambodian proverb. The letters are directly below the column in which they fit, but are mixed up within the column. It is your job to determine where each letter goes.
Answer is on page 48.
The traditional greeting
in Cambodia is called
Sompiah. The gesture
includes a slight bow with
the hands together in
front of the chest, with the
fingers pointed up.
T N N D U A D N G T Y T
E I G H E T L D O W M
D G S A R H U A I C E A N H
L A N O R Y S M R E R N A S A N
42 42
CHARACTERS:
Narrator 1, Narrator 2, Tiger, Gibbon,
Water Buffalo, Gecko, Elephant, Pangolin, Snake
Narrator 1: Four animals sat gazing at the ruins of ancient
Angkor Wat.
Tiger: Look at those old stone carvings of kings. Kings in
parades. Kings at feasts. Kings fighting battles. I would have
been a fine king, with my amazing strength.
Gibbon: Muscles are not always the answer. I would have
been a finer king than you, as I would rule with compassion
and kindness.
Water Buffalo: What makes a fine ruler is strength of
character. If I were king, nothing could make me give up.
Gecko: What about bravery? I would have been a great
warrior who was fearless in battle.
Elephant: Many qualities are necessary to be a good
king – including strength, kindness, diligence, and
bravery.
Gibbon: Where did you come from, Elephant? I did not
see you sitting there.
Elephant: Never mind. Go to the temple on that hilltop to
find out if you are truly worthy to be king,
Water Buffalo: What temple? Do you mean that ruin over
there?
Gecko: I have been all over this jungle, but I have
never seen that ruin before.
RETOLD BY PAT BETTELEY
ILLUSTRATED BY KATIE CANTRELL
4343
Tiger: No matter. I shall beat you to the hill!
Gibbon: You will not get there before me!
Water Buffalo: I am determined to win!
Gecko: I will see you at the top!
Narrator 2: Tiger raced through the jungle. He came
to a swamp guarded by a fierce Snake. The enormous
reptile was coiled, ready to strike. Tiger took one mighty
leap, sailed over Snake’s head, and ran on.
Narrator 1: Next, Tiger came across a bird with a
broken wing. He pretended not to hear Crane’s calls for
help, and hurried on. Meanwhile, Gibbon had swung
through the trees until he met the snake.
Gibbon: You seem to be tangled in the branches. I will
help you.
Narrator 2: After untangling Snake’s coils, Gibbon
hurried off toward the hill. But soon, the monkey got
tired. He spied a Pangolin plodding through the jungle.
Gibbon: Can I hitch a ride?
Pangolin: Hop on, friend.
Narrator 1: Water Buffalo pushed tirelessly through the
jungle until she heard a hissing voice.
Snake: Do not fear. I will let you pass.
Water Buffalo: I would like to believe you, but slinky,
slithery, creatures terrify me. I will go a different route!
Narrator 2: Water Buffalo was determined to finish,
but she had to trek around the far edge of the swamp
through a tangle of twisted trees. Gecko, too, found the
Snake barring his way.
44 44
Gecko: I am not afraid. You are too slow to catch
me!
Narrator 1: Gecko dodged his way past Snake and
ran on toward the distant hill. Finally, the four animals
arrived at the temple on the hilltop.
Tiger: Is that you, Elephant?
Gibbon: I thought we left you at the ruins with all
the carved kings.
Water Buffalo: Yes, how did you beat us here?
Gecko: Very curious.
Elephant: You have done well, friends. Each has
reached the top of the hill. But your journeys have
revealed your strengths and weaknesses.
Tiger: What do you mean? Am I not the mightiest?
Elephant: Clearly, yes. Your strength allowed you to
escape danger and be the first to reach the top of
the hill.
Tiger: (roaring in triumph) Then I am the WINNER!
Elephant: But, you ignored Crane’s call for help along
the way. You lack compassion for others. There was
another who was kind to a stranger, though.
Gibbon: (nodding) It was I.
Elephant: But you tired quickly, choosing to ride
on the back of another rather than make your own
way. One animal was determined to run the race by
herself, though. She kept going tirelessly.
Water Buffalo: (snorting proudly) You noticed.
4545
Elephant: However, you lacked the courage to face
your fears. You let the Snake force you far from the path.
Another of you was bravest. He faced a terrible foe
without fear.
Gecko: (chirping happily) You are talking about me.
Elephant: Unfortunately, you were foolish not to
realize the danger you were in. You were actually
in great peril, and lacked the wisdom to understand
your situation.
Narrator 2: The animals took a walk down the path
to think about Elephant’s words. They realized that
none of them had all the qualities of a great king.
When they returned to the temple, Elephant was
gone. But all around them were wondrous carvings
of an ancient Elephant King: scenes of strength,
kindness, diligence, and bravery.
Tiger: I will try to be more considerate, like
the King.
Gibbon: I will work on not being lazy.
Water Buffalo: I must overcome my fears.
Gecko: And I will learn to be less foolhardy.
Narrator 1: All of the animals learned
something about being a good leader that
day. And they never forgot their meeting with
the final king of Angkor Wat.
WORD HELP
• Diligence is careful and persistent work.
• A pangolin is a scaly mammal that eats ants.
• Foolhardy means to act recklessly or without thinking.
46
Art Cambodian StyleCambodians are in the midst of rebuilding
the arts in their country. With support from
the government and tourism they have opened
a University of Fine Arts, collected important
pieces of art, and are preserving traditional
Cambodian ways of making art. One important
artist, Chhim Sothy has helped to preserve
traditional Cambodian style in his paintings. An
example of his style and message can be found
in his painting Please Let There Be Peace. He
draws our attention to a human figure holding a
dove by painting them white and placing them
in the center of the painting. Then he surrounds
the painting with beautiful swirling designs and
shapes that are repeated throughout the painting.
To keep us looking, he hides a few surprises here
and there inside the swirls, such as pieces of
fruit, lotus flowers, and even a snake. He uses a
black background and just a few complimentary
colors of orange and blue to create a powerful
impression. His painting has a clear message –
his desire for peace even in the midst of chaos
or uncertainty. You can make a painting in a
traditional Cambodian style too.
Materials:
Drawing paper
Drawing pencils
Colored pencils
Black fine liner pen (optional)
Step 1: Choose a Theme
Think of a theme you would like to
communicate, something that is important to
you. An example might be kindness or fairness.
Step 2: Create a Central Figure
Choose a central figure that will communicate
your theme. It could be a human figure or
something else. Is there a common symbol that
represents your theme? Draw your figure near
the center of your piece.
Step 3: Fill in the Space
Look at the space surrounding your central figure.
What shapes or patterns could you create to fill in
the space around it without taking away from its
importance? One way to do this might be making
the shapes and designs a different size than the
central figure. To create a sense of harmony in
your work, repeat a few of the same gestures
or pencil lines. Is there a shape or symbol that
you could hide inside your design? It could be
something that represents the opposite of your
theme. For example, Chhim Sothy hides a snake
in his picture, which represents the opposite of
peace.
Step 4: Choose Colors
Imagine a color scheme that will compliment
your theme. Then choose a color that will
by Brenda Breuls
Your Turn: Cambodian Art Have your parent or legal guardian send us a high-resolution image of your creation to
[email protected]. Be sure the email includes your name, age, and hometown, and states
that “Cricket Media may publish the image provided in Cricket’s magazines and online, and that I
am authorized to provide the image.”
47
Art Cambodian Style
highlight your central figure. Keep the
designs in the rest of the picture muted or
subtle and contrasting to the color of your
central figure. You want it to stand out from
the rest.
Step 5: Final Touches
Sometimes outlining your piece with a black
fine liner pen makes it “pop” from the page.
Other times, an artist chooses to make the
images understated. Decide what you would
like to do with yours. Be sure to display your
finished Cambodian inspired art. Our artist’s rendering of Chhim Sothy’s style.
48
EDITOR’S PICKAnswer to Mystery Photo on inside front cover: Durian fruit is known for its spiky skin and overpowering scent.
Answer to Where in the World? on page 29: The Royal Palace has been home to the kings of Cambodia since the 1860s.
Answers to Cambodia Crossword on page 37: Across1. Prachum Ben 6. Phnom Penh; 7. Tonle Sap; 8. rice; 9. Angkor Wat.Down2. Mekong; 3. Khmer; 4. Pangolin; 5. Chess; 6. Pagoda.
Answer to Fallen Proverb on page 41:Don’t let an angry man wash dishes; don’t let a hungry man guard rice.
Answers to Can You FInd? on back cover:
A Song for Cambodiaby Michelle Lord Illustrated by Shino Arihara
When Arn was a young boy in
Cambodia, his days were filled
with love, laughter, and the
sweet sounds of music. That all
changed suddenly in 1975 when
Arn’s village was invaded by
Khmer Rouge soldiers and his
family was torn apart.
Nine-year-old Arn was taken to
a children’s work camp, where
he labored long hours in the rice fields under the glaring eyes of threatening
soldiers. Overworked, underfed, and in constant fear for his life, Arn had to find
a way to survive. When guards asked for volunteers to play music one day, Arn
bravely raised his hand — taking a chance that would change the course of his
life.
A Song for Cambodia is the inspirational true story of Arn Chorn-Pond. His
heartfelt music created beauty in a time of darkness and turned tragedy into
healing.
Ages 8 and up
Lee & Low Books, 2008
www.leeandlow.com
from April 2016 FACES: The Dominican Republic
SAY WHAT?
“Pfffft!”
– Lane R.
“Na, na, na!”
– Ruth S.
“What are you
looking at, bud?”
– Molly M.
“Want a great
deal on car
insurance?”
– James T.
Photo Credits: R. Foto/Shutterstock.com: inside front cover; Siwabud Veerapaidarn/Shutterstock.com: 2-3; pavalena: 4-5; Gil C/Shutterstock.com: 5; Andre Coetzer/Shutterstock.com: 6; Moolkum/Shutterstock.com: 7; Stephane Bidouze/Shutter-stock.com: 8; AP Photo/Heng Smith: 9, 30; Akarat Phasura/Shutterstock.com: 10 (top); SergeBertasiusPhotography/Shutterstock.com: 10 (bottom); kitsanakorn maneerat/Shutterstock.com: 11; epa European pressphoto agency b.v./Alamy Stock Photo: 12; Rick Piper Photography/Alamy Stock Photo: 13; dave stamboulis/Alamy Stock Photo: 14-15, 20; Peter Treanor/Alamy Sto¬¬ck Photo: 15; Cambodia Living Arts. Photo: Matthew Wakem: 16 (both), 17 (top); Cambodia Living Arts. Photo: Din Darathey: 17 (bottom), 18 (both); Cambodia Living Arts: Photo: Paul Bloomfield: 19 (both); Lionela Rob/Alamy Stock Photo: 21; panyajampatong/Shutterstock.com: 23 (top); Lukasz Janyst/Shutterstock.com: 23 (center); Banana Republic Images/Shutterstock.com: 23 (bottom); Lena Serditova/Shutterstock.com: 24-25; Twisterphoto/Shutterstock.com: 25; Claudio Montesano Casillas/Rex Shutterstock: 26; Andrees Latif/Reuters: 27; National Geographic Creative/Alamy Stock Photo: 28; AP Photo/Dan Steinberg: 29 (top); Aleksei Sarkisov/Shutterstock.com: 29 (bottom); AP Photo/Elaine Kurtenbach: 31 (top); Dan Vincent/Alamy Stock Photo: 31 (bottom); Claudiovidri/Shutterstock.com: 32-33; MetasZBABLU/Shutterstock.com: 34; Chor Sokunthea/Reuters: 35 (right); crazystocker/Shutterstock.com: 35 (left); anekoho/Shutterstock.com: 37, 48; imageBROKER/Alamy Stock Photo: 38-39; Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy Stock Photo: 49. Cricket Media has made every effort to trace the copyrights of these images.
49
ONE LAST FACE
Fill in the speech bubble for this photograph. Have your parent or legal guardian send your idea, with your name, to [email protected], and include a note that says “Your caption is your original work and FACES has permission to publish it in print and online.” Please put the title of this issue in the subject line. The best entries will be published in an upcoming issue!