A ‘crime’ against local history: Cambodia’s lost manuscripts

Despite decades of efforts to preserve the Kingdom’s historic manuscripts, the majority have disappeared – lost to neglect, war and now a black market catering to tourists

In Russian Market, among the variety of trinkets hawked to tourists as souvenirs, are items whose cultural importance seems to have gone unnoticed by buyers, vendors and indifferent law enforcement.

In the same stores where you can find cheap Buddha statues, amulets and other kitschy items are traditional Khmer manuscripts, etched in palm leaf or wood bark paper, which carry unique written records of Cambodian history, religion and culture from the fall of Angkor to the beginning of the French protectorate.

Despite decades-long efforts and international funding to catalogue and preserve these documents, many still end up being sold illegally – mostly to unwitting customers with no knowledge of their origin or the meaning of the text. Scholars, meanwhile, say that the theft and sale is tantamount to the destruction of invaluable cultural knowledge.

READ THIS LONG ARTICLE http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weekend/crime-against-local-history-cambodias-lost-manuscripts

 

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