Cambodian Dress: Auction Spotlight

{Auction item: Sarong ~ 6 available in various colors and patterns}

The 30 days fo hope auction will begin online this week and items are available for preview at www.modohome.com/auction.html. I wanted to spotlight a few items from Cambodia that we received from my mom. The beautiful fabrics of Cambodia we have are made into sarongs {wrap skirts} and scarves. Below is also a summary and history of Cambodian dress.

{Auction item: Sarong~ detail of bottom}

The national garment of Cambodia is the sampot {meaning dress} and more popularly in the form of the sarong. It is typically worn by men and women of all classes. Through economy and ease, it is just a rectangular piece of cloth wrapped and tied at the waist.

{Cambodian woman weaving silk}

Silk weaving dates back to the Funan era around the 4th century B.C. Since these ancient times, women have learned highly complex techniques and patterns on the loom. Traditionally, five colors were used: red, yellow, green, blue and black. Unique to Cambodian weavers is the uneven twill technique which involves weaving with three threads so that the colour of one thread dominates on one side of the fabric, while the two others determine the colour on the reverse side.

Cambodian ‘yellow’ silk comes from a silkworm indigenous to Cambodia that produces a fuzzy yarn, giving the finished silk a unique shimmering quality and strength.

The "Krama", the Khmer checkered scarf, has been a symbol of Cambodian dress since the first century and is the something that distinguishes Cambodians from their neighbors, which is why all Cambodians were forced to wear the Krama under the Khmer Rouge reign.

{Auction item: Krama ~traditional and currently fashionable scarf}

"The scarves are made from cotton and the most famous of which are found in Kompong Cham and Takeo Provinces.

Krama have a multitude of uses, they are primarily used to protect Cambodians from the sun, the dust, and the wind, and it is for this reason many tourists end up investing in one during a visit. However, they are also slung around the waist as mini-sarongs, used as towels for drying the body, knotted at the neck as decorations, tied across the shoulders as baby carries, placed upon chairs or beds as pillow covers, used to tow broken-down motorbikes and stuffed inside motorbike tires in the advent of remote punctures – the list is endless."

{http://www.ksilks.com/}

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Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_clothing

www.ksilks.com
http://www.culturalprofiles.net/cambodia/Directories/Cambodia_Cultural_Profile/-1821.html
http://iktt.esprit-libre.org/en/