Music and Song as History and Story: The Example of “Champa Battambang”

Author: Christine Su
Grades: 10-12

Suggested Amount of Time: 120 Minutes
Area of Study: Introduction to Cambodian History

Compelling Question

• How does learning about Cambodian history promote a greater understanding of Cambodian American experiences?

Lesson Questions

• What was the Cambodian music scene like/what were the major influences on Cambodian music prior to the Cambodian Genocide?
• How did historical events, such as the takeover of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge regime, impact Cambodian artists/musicians? 
• What sources can we examine that provide examples of that impact/change?
• How can students also be inspired by music and culture to engage in the community (civic action) and how can students engage in discussions about structural oppression via a study of music and culture?
• What can we learn about the history and culture of a people from the art/music they create? 

Lesson Objective

Students will investigate the connections between Cambodian American history, culture, and art/music. By analyzing a song's text, they'll examine its connection to war and the Cambodian genocide. Students will also evaluate the ongoing role of music in Cambodian American culture and reflect on its potential impact in their own lives.

Lesson Background

Sample Reading: Khmer Music | Asia Society https://asiasociety.org/education/khmer-music

Quote from Sam Ang Sam, Khmer Ethnomusicologist

Khmer music is an important aspect of Cambodian life and culture. It is a significant component in religious and traditional ceremonies such as weddings or temple celebrations. Khmer civilization reached its peak during the Angkor period, from the ninth to fifteenth centuries when great monuments were built, with elaborate carvings depicting myths, gods and aspects of daily life. The carvings of musical ensembles on bas-reliefs are nearly identical to the ensembles performing in Cambodia today, where virtually every village in Cambodia possesses a music ensemble. This continuity is testimonial to the strength of this ancient tradition.

Excerpt from Mamua (see reference above):

“The historical lineage of Cambodian popular music is rich and multifaceted.Western musical instruments were introduced during the late 1800s by the French, who, as colonists or technically ‘protectors,’ established institutions for the training of Europeanized concert performers. Privileged Cambodian youth sent to be educated in France returned with popular chanson and cabaret music.

In the early 20th century, the people of the Philippines, by this time considerably Westernized due to Spanish and North American contact, provided a concert band of professional musicians to the Cambodian royal court,a gift that exposed and disseminated marching and brass music. From the1930s, Caribbean genres such as rumba, cha-cha, bossa nova, tango, and others began emerging on Phnom Penh's dance floors. These genres, originating in the African diasporic South Atlantic, were diffused by sea trade to Manila. In the Philippines they were acculturated and soon rendered accessible via direct culture contact and (early forms of) mass media to neighboring Cambodians,who in turn, adopted these styles syncretically. Such music became known as phleng Manila or ‘Manila music.’

Both economically and artistically, the most prosperous decade for pre-Khmer Rouge Cambodian pop music was the 1960s. Major popular musicians of the era included Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serly Sothea, Pen Ran, Mao Sareth, Hudy Meas, and Sos Moth. Norodom Sihanouk, who ruled as the nation's king and later head of state from 1953 to 1970, was additionally an avid popular singer (recording prolifically), amateur saxophonist, and accomplished filmmaker, an identity that rendered him relatively tolerant of popular music culture and its industry underpinnings. Affordable consumer technologies such as the transistor radio and audio cassette, along with the rise of discotheques in urban areas such as Phnom Penh, galvanized interest in new music and dance styles. Access to mass produced musical instruments, such as electric guitar, bass, and drum kit further enabled popular music participation and the formation of indigenous combos of primarily Western instruments.”

Image Citation: Wikipedia contributors. (2023d, December 5). Sinn Sisamouth. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinn_Sisamouth