The Process of Re-Construction and Revival of Musical Heritage in Contemporary Cambodia

Abstract

The on-going process of preservation and revival of traditional performing arts in Cambodia is leading to a phenomenon of “patrimonization” of music; this heritage building process can be defined as the use of music as a trait of cultural identity in order to characterize local communities or cultural minorities within a larger nation and, at the same time to foster economic process of which local communities may benefit. It is a controversial trend that implies also nationalistic views and the freezing of cultural process with the aim of keeping repertoires and practices that are gradually disappearing with a different function. Connected to this issue is the term of heritage including the controversial action of UNESCO with its Intangible Cultural Heritage. This article aims to show the current situation of preservation and revival of traditional music that are leading to a transformation of arts through a case-study of Cambodian Living Arts (CLA) association based in Phnom Penh that works for promoting and re-constructing the Khmer cultural identity that has been lost after the bloody Khmer Rouge regime.

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