Khmer traditional clothing

Khmer traditional clothing refers to the traditional styles of dress worn by the Khmer people throughout history. Tracing their origins back to the early Common Era, the customary styles of dress worn by Khmer people predate the indianization of Southeast Asia. The evolution of these clothing customs can be traced through archaeological artifacts from the 6th century to the post-Angkorian period, evolving from the simple pre-Angkorian Sampot to vibrant and intricately embroidered silk garments.
The sampot is the traditional garment of the Khmer, still popular among men and women of the lower class. It is basically a sarong similar to those worn in neighboring Laos and Thailand, with slight variations. Measuring approximately one and a half meters long, the two ends of the cloth are sewn together to form a tubular garment that is worn over the lower half of the body, extending to the ankles. The wearer ties a knot of excess cloth in front to secure it at the waist. The sampot varies in color, material and dimensions, depending on the gender and social class of the wearer.
Historically the sampot dates back to the Funan era, in which a king, at the request of Chinese envoys, ordered his subjects to cover themselves.
Sompot Chong Kben (Khmer: សំពត់ចងក្បិន) was the preferred choice of women of the upper and middle classes for day-to-day wear, although the practice died out at the beginning of the twentieth century. It dates back to ancient Cambodia, when deities were said to wear it. Scholars consider it ultimately to derive from the Indian Dhoti. Unlike the typical sampot, it is more like pants than a skirt. It is a rectangular piece of cloth three metres long and one metre wide.
It is worn by wrapping it around the waist, stretching it away from the body and twisting the knot. The knot is then pulled between the legs and held by a metal belt. Regardless of class, all Cambodian women wear the sampot chong kben on special occasions. Men may also wear it, but in traditional patterns suited to their gender. The sampot chong kben has also been adopted in Thailand and Laos, where it is known as a chong kraben.
Sampot Tep Apsara (Khmer: សំពត់ទេពអប្សរា) is a type of sampot from the Khmer Empire era associated with courtly Apsaras. Its depiction can still be seen on the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat. Generally, the sampot tep apsara is both knotted at the waist and secured with a belt. Long pleats are gathered at the front, running the full length to the wearer's ankles.
The sampot tep apsara is actually knotted twice at the waist, one on the left and one on the right; the left knot is longer, while the right knot is more decorative. Scholars trace this garment to the sari of India. Today, the sampot tep apsara is worn by traditional dancers in modern Cambodia.
Sampot chang samloy (Khmer: សំពត់ចងសម្លុយ) is a long unisex daytime skirt. The word samloy initially referred to colour, which in ancient times was always black; now it is sometimes used for a thin, soft fabric with decoration and pattern similar to the sarong Batik, although the garment may be smaller. This style of dress needs a knot to secure it, making it similar to the sampot chang kben. However, it also needs a fold at the left or right side, like a sarong. Another similar sampot, primarily worn by women and known as the samloy, was knotted in the middle and hitched at the knee to facilitate leg movement. Scholars consider this style of dress to derive from the Indian Lunghi. The samloy was commonly worn in the post-Angkor era.
Sampot Charobab (Khmer: សំពត់ចរបាប់) is a long silk skirt embroidered with gold thread. It is worn by women in Khmer classical dance, by newlyweds and by the character of Mae Huo (មេហួ) in the Cambodian Royal Ploughing Ceremony.
Sampot Seng (Khmer: សំពត់សេង) is an embroidered silk short skirt.
Sampot Sesay (Khmer: សំពត់សែសយ) is a monochromatic skirt with a band along the lower hem embroidered in gold or silver. Today, this skirt is more popular among Laotian women than among the Khmer.
Sampot Lbaeuk (Khmer: សំពត់ល្បើក) is a long silk-embroidered skirt. Today it is worn in marriage ceremonies, as is the Sampot Sabum. The Sampot Lbaeuk was mostly worn by Cambodian nobility in the Longvek era.
Sampot Anlonh (Khmer: សំពត់អន្លូញ) is a long skirt with vertical stripes, commonly worn by old people or farmers in the countryside. The Sampot Anlonh is similar to the Burmese Longyi.
There are many tops or shirts (Khmer: អាវ, av) worn in Cambodia. The traditional aor was invented at the end of the Khmer Empire at the turn of the 14th century.
Av chang pong (Khmer: អាវចងពង់) is a piece of fabric in any color worn by Khmer people at the end of the 13th century. It was primarily worn by women, who started using it to cover their chest, leaving only the stomach uncovered. This method, called "Chang Pol", covered the back and each side of the fabric to join at the chest and was rolled up and tied. It then evolved into Tronum, a thick and strong fabric cover on the chest, which hugged the body closely.
Sometimes, the common style of wearing this garment was similar to that of the Av Chang Pok. However, Av Tronum did not leave as much skin uncovered as av chang pok. The av tronum was popular among wealthy young women in the Chatomok era; today it is an important costume in Khmer classical dance.
The Av Bampong (Khmer: អាវបំពង់) and Av Bupok are traditional Cambodian garments that have been worn for centuries, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the nation. The Av Bampong, translated as 'tube shirt' in English, is named for its tube-like shape, fitting closely at the neck from where it hangs down freely, resembling a long, loose shirt. The Av Bupok is a long shirt or tunic, more comparable to a dress than a regular shirt. It shares design aspects with several traditional garments from other cultures, including the Vietnamese Ao Dai, the Indian Kurta, and the Malaysian Baju Kurung. A distinctive detail of the Av Bupok is a small hidden cut at the hem, akin to an Av Dai, allowing the lower part of the shirt to spread out. The length of Av Bupok tops can vary, with most extending to knee-length, and some stopping at the thigh. Historically, the Av Bupok was notably worn by wealthy women during the Longvek and Oudong eras, a significant period from the 16th to the 17th century. Today, these garments are not as commonly seen in everyday wear, but they continue to hold cultural significance. They are often worn during traditional ceremonies and celebrations, such as the Khmer Coming of Age Ceremony in villages and the Royal Plowing Ceremony, a national agricultural festival. Despite its decreased prevalence in daily wear, the Av Bampong continues to be favored by women of all ages due to its practicality. For daily work at home or in the fields, Av Bampong made from black padded cloth are preferred for their ease of washing and stain-concealing color. The long and body-close fit of the Av Bampong also offers protection from the sun and potential hazards like thorns, making it a versatile piece of clothing that meets the needs of women in various activities and environments.
Even though the younger generation may not see it often in their daily life, the Av Bampong can still be seen in cultural artifacts like pagoda paintings, which depict scenes from historical or religious narratives, providing a visual record of this traditional attire. In summary, the Av Bampong and Av Bupok are more than just traditional garments. They are significant parts of Cambodian cultural heritage, reflecting the country's rich history and societal changes, while also serving practical purposes in the daily lives of its people.
Av Dai Paong (Khmer: អាវដៃប៉ោង) is a traditional blouse from the Longvek era. Dai paong means puffed short sleeves. This top usually had a row of buttons down the front. Only the wealthiest women of that era could have afforded it.
Av Phnat Kbach (Khmer: អាវផ្នត់ក្បាច់) is a formal shirt primarily worn by wealthy young women. It is often adorned with a row of pleats with floral decorations and often paired with a collar and sleeve hems in the same style. The period in which this shirt was invented is not known. This top is quite similar to a Burmese style, and may have been influenced by Burmese culture.
Av neang nov is a women's long-sleeved shirt.
Av Bar Bov is a sleeveless coat worn over the Av Neang Nov and Av Dai Paong. It has double buttons at the pleat. The name of Av Bar Bov is Thai for lotus leaves.
Av Pak (Khmer: អាវប៉ាក់) is a recently popular fashion blouse worn by Cambodian women. It is the Khmer version of the Javanese Kebaya with plain stamped cotton, elaborately hand-painted and embroidered with silk and gold thread. In the past, this kind of top was pure white in colour with a high, fully embroidered collar. Today, it has more gold thread and embroidery in several colors. It also has a narrow cut very popular with young and middle-aged Khmer women, to the point where it has been used as a modern costume affirming national identity when worn both inside and outside the country. It is usually combined with a sampot hol, occasionally with a sampot chang kben. The Khmer people consider the Av Pak to be a classic yet modern suit-dress which uses traditional Cambodian embroidery, it is particularly worn for formal and buddhist ceremonies.
The Khmer term "Sbai" encompasses any thin and soft garment, particularly referring to a shawl-like or breast cloth mainly worn by women and occasionally by religious men. In the founding legend of the Khmer nation, the Preah Thong and Neang Neak legend, the Sbai symbolizes the tail of the Naga princess.[9][10]
despite toplessness being common, upper body garments were depicted in Bayon, Preah Khan, and other temples. Women were often portrayed wearing shawl-like sbai, while religious male figures showcased stylized versions. At Angkor Wat, depictions included topless Apsaras holding sbai connected to their sampot, and a section of the northern wall showcased ladies wearing long sbai while holding various offerings.
In contemporary Cambodia, sbai, along with chang kben and sampot, is considered the national costume. It plays a significant role in traditional Khmer weddings, especially during the rite of Preah Thong Taong Sbai Neang Neak, symbolizing the foundation of Funan. Both the groom and bride wear sbai, with the groom holding onto the bride's sbai as they proceed to their room, recreating a legendary scene of the myth.
For men, especially Brahmin and Buddhist monks, the sbai is known as sbong sbai trai chivor, considered the robe of Hindu and Buddhist monks. Women freely use sbai in different ways, such as wrapping it around the body, covering the shoulder, and commonly concealing the breast and stomach over the left shoulder. Cambodian women embrace various sbai styles based on their preferences and adherence to traditions.[11]
Cambodians traditionally wear a checkered scarf called a krama (ក្រមា). The krama has been a feature of Khmer dress since the first-century reign of Preah Bath Hun Tean, although it is unclear exactly when the krama became fashionable in the street. The krama is one trait that distinguishes the Khmer from their Thai, Vietnamese, and Laotian neighbours. It is used for many purposes, including for style, for protection from the hot sun, as an aid for one's feet when climbing trees, as a hammock for infants, as a towel, or as a sarong. A krama can also be easily shaped into a small child's doll for play. Under the Khmer Rouge, all Khmer were forced to wear a checkered krama.
In addition to their stylistic features, sompots especially are differentiated by the fabric they are made from.
Silk and cotton weaving in Cambodia have a long history. Written records, bas-reliefs and the report of the Chinese emissary Zhou Daguan who stayed in Angkor in 1296 show that looms have been used to weave sompots since ancient times. Women learned to apply highly complex methods and intricate patterns.
According to Zhou silk production was brought into Angkor via Siam, "In recent years people from Siam have come to live in Cambodia, and unlike the locals they engage in silk production. The mulberry trees they grow and the silkworms they raise all came from Siam. They themselves weave the silk into clothes made of a black patterned satiny silk". Silkworms have since been breed by villagers along the banks of the Mekong and Bassak rivers as early as the 13th century. There are three important silk textiles in Cambodia: (1) the ikat silks (chong kiet in Khmer), or hol; (2) the twill-patterned silks; and (3) the weft ikat textiles. Patterns are made by tying natural or synthetic fibers on the weft threads and then dyeing them. This process is repeated with different colors until the patterns firm and cloth is woven. Red, yellow, green, blue and black are the most commonly used colors. Colours were traditionally allocated to different days of the week: starting at Monday, they were dark yellow; purple; green; light green; dark blue; dark red; and bright red. The hol or ikat method involves dyeing patterns on silk before it is woven. A method unique to Cambodian weavers is the uneven twill technique. Although it is unclear why they adopted such an unusual method, the ancient bas-reliefs provide a detailed look at fabric patterns and pleats. Silk-woven pieces are used to decorate temples; heirloom pieces are worn at weddings and funerals.
Raising silkworms in Cambodia is mainly women's work. The knowledge of raising worms, harvesting the silk thread, and processing the thread into correct quality yarn for weaving has been passed down through generations. However, due to the neglect of mulberry plantations during nearly 30 years of war, Cambodia's "golden" native yarn production fell from around 150 tonnes a year in the 1960s to about six tonnes a year today. All silk textiles woven in Cambodia prior to the war were woven from Khmer Golden Silk, so-called because of its natural yellow colour. Today Cambodia produces around 10 per cent of the silk used: most comes from Vietnam and China.
Sampot Phamuong (Khmer: សំពត់ផាមួង) are, with many different variations, traditional Khmer textiles. They are single colored and twill-woven. There are currently 52 colors used in sampot phamuong. The phamuong charobab is a luxurious fabric woven with up to 22 needles. The most valued silk used to create the phamuong is Cambodian yellow silk, known for its fine quality. New phamuong designs draw inspiration from ancient silk patterns and usually contain floral and geometrical motifs. Popular variations include rabak, chorcung, anlonh, kaneiv and bantok. The word phamuong comes from the Siamese language, that pha means fabric and mung means indigo.
Sampot hol (Khmer: សំពត់ហូល) is a typical traditional textile. There are two kinds of sampot hol; one is a wrapping skirt that uses a technique called chang kiet (ចងកៀត); the other uses a twill weave. Influenced by the Indian patola, it has become a genuine Khmer art style after hundreds of years. The sampot hol comes in over 200 patterns and three to five colors (yellow, red, brown, blue and green). There are four principal variations: sampot hol, sampot hol poa, sampot hol kben and kampot kol katong. Patterns are usually formed with animal, geometric or floral motifs. Unique patterns are crafted for special occasions such as weddings or for novice monks upon their entrance into the pagoda. What uniquely distinguishes Khmer woven sampot hol is its unique weaving technique called uneven twill, resulting in one side of the cloth being brighter and the other darker, while the pattern remains identical on both sides. The sampot hol is traditionally worn by individuals of both genders in Cambodia and continues to be worn that way to this day. The Khmer Sampot hol was introduced as a ceremonial skirtcloth to the Thai court as sompak poom or pha poom in the 19th century. During that period, the Siamese court mandated Khmer weavers to create silk hol patterned textiles to present to their courtiers. The Khmer minority in Thailand, despite residing in close proximity to Thai and Lao weaving communities, has retained the traditional uneven twill technique of the sampot hol. This technique starkly contrasts with the plain groundweave employed by Thai and Lao weavers, resulting in a uniform colour hue on both sides of the cloth.
The Sompot Hol is used as a lower garment as is the Sompot Chong Kben. The Pidan Hol is used as a ceremonial hanging for religious purposes. Photographs from the 20th century capture these textiles being suspended under the roofs of Buddhist temples. Offering gifts to the temple, whether in the form of money, materials, or labor, is a traditional way of earning merit for the donor. While traditionally painting Buddhist images on temple walls was reserved for male artists, weaving pictorial panels for Pidan Hol provides women with an opportunity to showcase their artistic talents and accumulate merit. The complexity of the pictorial elements in Pidan Hol can vary greatly. Some exceptionally talented Khmer weavers create intricate compositions featuring a series of distinct elements, each portraying episodes from the Vessantara Jataka or the life of the Buddha. This demanding task involves specific dyeing preparations for each element, making this form of hol pidan exceptionally challenging and typically attempted only by highly skilled weavers.
The Khmer sampot with its many variations was generally regarded as the national dress of Cambodia. But variations in clothes sharply indicated position in a firm social hierarchy, as well as regional and period changes. New fashions were slowly passed down to the generations, though some clothing styles disappeared only to be restored in a later period.
Clothing styles in the first Cambodian period was overwhelmingly influenced by India, at least until the Khmer king at the request of Chinese envoys ordered his subjects to wear the sompot. Despite some similarities, men and women wore distinct clothing styles.
Noblemen and royalty wore the sampot chang Kben in everyday life with the chest exposed. Varieties of Yantra tattooing in ancient Khmer script were inscribed on their bodies for spiritual protection. With the spread of Hinduism across the country, the King wore a crown with different colored corners to show his royalty.
Short, straight hairstyles were worn by non-royal courtiers; the chignon or topknot was typically reserved for royalty.
Unlike the rich, the poor wore a simple straw skirt around the waist or one made of animal skin or cotton. They had no jewellery but wore hairstyles similar to those of the rich.
(Khmer: សម័យចេនឡា)
Clothing styles in this period bore certain resemblances to those in Funan; however, according to the bas-belief at Vat Phou, a surviving ruin of Chenla, its national costume differed significantly from that of Funan excepting the headdress worn at that time only by the king.
In the Khmer Empire or Angkor period, Khmer styles moved firmly away from the Indian styles of earlier periods. At the same time Khmer culture spread its influence far beyond the boundaries of the Empire. In Zhou Daguan's The Customs of Cambodia the following can be found:
Among the Khmer (excluding vast numbers of hill-tribe slaves), both men and women wore their hair tied up in a knot. All were naked to the waist with a cloth around the hips. In public, they wore a larger cloth over the smaller one. All were barefoot.
From the king down, the social distinction was marked by the quality and decoration of the cloth. Only the king was permitted to wear cloth fully patterned with flowers. His head was also wreathed with flowers when he was not wearing a Buddha-like gold crown. On his fingers and toes he wore bracelets encrusted with gold and pearls. The palms of his hands and soles of his feet were dyed crimson. He carried the gold sword of office in public.
Parasols, as extensions of clothing, were severely graded in number and gilding from the king's eight or more parasols down to a Buddhist monk's one. The king's subjects' clothes were various reductions of the royal ensemble. Court officials and members of the royal family were permitted cloth showing a design in scattered flowers; low officials were limited to two flowers; male commoners had none, though common women were permitted to crimson their feet and hands and wear a cloth showing two flowers.
Contemporary inscriptions and bas-reliefs of the temples at Angkor, especially Angkor Wat and the Bayon, show that the "cloths" were various forms and widths of sampot, worn as skirts by women but hitched up into trousers or shorts by men for military action or labour.
Zhou Daguan reported that the common women had no hair ornaments, though some wore golden rings or bracelets and a metal belt. Beautiful girls were sent to the court to serve the king or his family; like concubines and other court servants, they wore crimson markings on the crown of the head. Temple evidence shows that women of the era, rich and poor, used a golden buckle to cover the upper body. The topknot allowed a long ponytail, worn over the shoulder.
Temple bas-reliefs show how celestial apsaras were conceived. To appear in this way to royalty, a court dancer added special ornaments to Khmer elements. The Sarong Kor was a round decorative collar, red coloured, highly visible, worn just below the neck and embellished with detailed gold-colored copper ornaments and beaded designs. The dancer added a loosely decorated band of beads worn crosswise called a sava. Her Sompot was more highly decorated than usual, with two knots at the waist. The right knot is long but the left knot design is more charming and fashionable.
The waist has a highly ornate belt decorated with warped, spear-like tips draped on a red cloth. The most-used jewellery is at the ankle, dangling from the ears or around the wrists. Most striking of all is the apsara's crown: a tricorn headdress of finely beaten silver or gold with two or three garlands of emeralds and gold. These were worn by royal princesses, sculptured female divinities, female dancers and female musicians. Though this costume is not usually worn today, it has become part of the high culture of Cambodia in the Apsara Dance.
Angkor court ladies' dress was a little different from the court dancers'. However, bas-reliefs show the costumes of Queens Jayarajadevi and Indradevi to have a unique sava in a glittering gold floral print instead of apsara beading. Queen Indradevi's crown has ten points and a large diamond in the center holding her headdress in place.
(Khmer: សម័យចតុមុខ)
After the fall of Angkor in 1431, the surviving Cambodians lost their awareness of the old way of living and developed new modes with more affinity to Buddhism than the former Hindu influences.
Royalty: the King wore a long-sleeved shirt sewn at the top with rich embroidery and a collar sometimes with round decorations, sometimes with little sharp tips. There was a sort of epaulette sewn onto the shirt but arching upwards like Indra's bow, a Chinese style from the Tang dynasty. Crisscrossing the front were the kse-sangvar, chains of rank forming an X as they cross over one another, on top of them a diamond-shaped pendant. Below are knee-length, leg-hugging trousers decorated at the hem, covered by a Chong Kben descending to the thigh and with a belt at the waist.
Other accessories include a rectangular loin-cloth at the front and sometimes two others on the side that look like fishtails. These pieces date from the Angkor era. The King wears a crown similar to one from the Angkor period, but with sharper points and higher.
Men mostly went shirtless until they were sufficiently wealthy to find a suitable top. Ordinary Khmer males' attire was a wrap like a Sompot Chong Kben in several colours, but lifted to the thigh and strongly hugging the lower body to free it for physical work. Noblemen wore a round collared shirt with a long pleat at the front and four pockets at the side. Most males wore their hair long.
Women in this era wore highly decorated garments. Young women wrapped themselves in two metres of fabric in chong pok style, revealing a small part of the stomach. This fabric was usually decorated with several colours and pieces of silver, made of heavy or soft cotton depend on the wearer's wealth. Wealthy women wore the chong pok with extra fabric as a shawl sewn in place to the sampot.
They wore their hair up in a bun or as a chignon attached with flowers and draped over the shoulder. Older women wore quieter colors with their favorite sampot samloy and jewellery of bracelets, necklaces and earrings, made from silver, gold and other metal. Older women wore their hair in chignon style only.
Common women wore the same style of clothes as the upper class but in black, most wearing sarongs with no decoration or shawl except a serviceable krama.
During this era, the Sampot was characterised by a front panel folded, rounded, and tucked into the waistband; sometimes revealing an undergarment descending to mid-calves. Women's clothing was complemented by a sbai, worn across the chest. Spanish Dominican priest Gabriel Quiroga de San Antonio documented 16th-century Cambodian customs, namely Khmer clothing, in his work A Brief and Truthful Relation of Events in the Kingdom of Cambodia:
In the Qing Imperial Illustrations of Tributary Peoples completed in 1759, Khmer men are said to cut their hair short and to wrap their heads, leaving their upper bodies exposed while clothing covers their lower halves. Women tie up their hair, leaving their arms and elbows bare, with only their breasts covered. They wear wraparound skirts and go barefoot.
A British officer at the Oudong court in 1854, described the King as being topless and wearing only a sarong with a gold belt adorned with diamonds and rubies. His clothes were not particularly different from those of the rest of the population. The women were described as lightly dressed, with a salembang and a long silk sbai worn across one shoulder. The sbai is described by the officer as being mainly ornemental as it was common that it fell off a shoulder before being put back in place. Vietnamese scholar Pétrus Ky described in 1863 Khmer women as wearing a sarong with a sbai worn across the chest from right to left, as well as a tunic without buttons similar to those of European women.
During the French protectorate in Cambodia, textiles were primarily crafted for family use rather than for economic purposes or trade. The prevalent everyday attire for both men and women consisted of simple plain sarongs. There was a noticeable decline in the use of jewelry and decorative elements. However, among noblemen and the royal family, particularly men, there was a growing influence of Western military uniform styles, often closely mimicking those seen in European countries.
Some noblemen opted for imported textiles to cater to the French officers stationed in Cambodia. There was also a cultural fusion evident in the clothing choices, with some individuals pairing a normal shirt with a sarong, while others wore pants. Women, on the other hand, continued to wear sbai with sarongs.