Calliope articles from January 2002

Calliope archives from January 2002

True solitude (or loneliness) ... is possessing learning, but not teaching others. (Musings).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... --From a cbap, a collection of laws used in Buddhist teaching Few books give more than a passing reference to the southeast Asian country of Cambodia. Often the accompanying illustration focuses on the Khmer Rouge, the brutal regime that...

Glossary.(Cambodian history)(Brief Article)(Glossary)
January 1, 2002... Angkor: the state that sprang up in Southeast Asia in the A.D. 800S. Angkor Wat: one of the major temples of Angkor. It literally translates "city that is a temple." (Wat is the Khmer word for "temple.") Angkor Wat was never abandoned and...

Who were the Ancient Khmers? Cambodia's ancient past has fascinated travelers for centuries. When French explorer Henri Mouhot visited the area and first glimpsed the buildings of Angkor Wat in 1860, he considered it grander than the monuments of ancient Greece and Rome.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... But he had many questions: Who were these people--the ancient Khmers--who had built Angkor Wat? From where had they come? And where did they go? We can learn something about their identity from what survives of their written records. The...

The kingdom to the south.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... TRADE AND THE NEED FOR TIMBER AND OTHER FOREST PRODUCTS BROUGHT THE ancient Khmers, who lived inland, into contact with those in the kingdom to the south. As the coastal trade centers declined and inland communities became more important, the...

The founder of Yasodharapura.(Yasovarman I)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... FOLLOWING A TERRIBLE CIVIL WAR THAT LEFT CAMBODIA'S CAPITAL CITY Hariharalaya (present-day Roluos) badly damaged and its royal temple mountain, the Bakong, treated with disrespect, the ruler Yasovarman I came to power around 889. To start...

A King at Angkor.(Jayavarman II )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... After a period of exile in Java, Jayavarman returned to Cambodia around A.D. 780. He was about 20 years old at the time. Almost immediately, he officiated at a ceremony in the eastern part of the country (possibly involving human sacrifice)...

Suryavarman I: `a universal monarch': a dynamic and innovative ruler, Suryavarman I claimed control of Angkor in 1002. Calling himself a "universal monarch," he reached the capital city of Yasodharapura only after waging a long civil war against a rival prince who also gave himself that title.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Suryavarman came from northeastern Cambodia, and the civil war involved winning not only military campaigns, but also the loyalty of officials who controlled the territory between his power base near the Mekong and the royal capital. In...

Word origins. (Fun With Words).(Khmer)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The word "Khmer" refers to both the language of Cambodia and the people who speak it. "Cambodia" is the English translation of the Khmer word Kampuchea, which is a derivative of the Sanskrit word Kambuja, meaning "born of Kambu" and the name of...

English words with Sanskrit roots. (Fun With Words).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ENGLISH SANSKRIT ROOT (MEANING) answer svara (voice) guru guruh (venerable, heavy) maharaja maha (great) and raja (king) Sanskrit sam (together) and skrta (made) yoga yoga (union)

Cambodian words translated into English.(Brief Article)(Glossary)
January 1, 2002... CAMBODIAN WORDS TRANSLATED IN TO ENGLISH CAMBODIAN ENGLISH MEANING angkor city apsara celestial dancer baray large reservoir, often associated with ...

Angkor Wat.
January 1, 2002... The most amazing archaeological site in the world. It stands, and is perhaps destined to stand, the noblest monument raised by man. --Richard Halliburton's The Royal Road to Romance LOCATED ON A VAST PLAIN NORTH OF THE TONLE SAP ("GREAT...

The myth of the churning of the ocean of milk.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... THE HINDU MYTH OF THE CHURNING OF THE OCEAN OF MILK UNFOLDS ON THE EAST WALL OF the Gallery of Bas-Reliefs at Angkor Wat. Renowned for its original interpretation and skillful workmanship, the scene centers on a team of 88 gods (wearing conical...

Reviving classical dance. (From Past to Present).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Fifteen-year-old Sokhoeun lives in Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh. Whenever she has a chance to visit the famous 12th-century temple of Angkor in Siem Reap province, she pays special attention to the great number of crowned female...

Marvelous masks. (Activity).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... You Need: * plastic trash bag * 1 balloon at least 15 inches in diameter * newspaper * measuring cup * mixing bowl * spoon * flour * water * bowl large enough to support the balloon * scissors ...

Beauty in ceramics: ceramic vessels played an important role in ancient Khmer society and were used everywhere--at home, in court ceremonies, and for religious rituals.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The people of Angkor cooked their food in earthenware pots and cooled drinking water in earthenware jars. Skilled potters, most likely women living in villages, made these containers and sold them in local markets. Replacing a broken...

Glimpses of daily life.
January 1, 2002... IT'S EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY SCHOLARS HAVE DEVOTED MORE EFFORT TO STUDYING THE monumental architecture and art of the ancient Khmer than the remains of their everyday lives. Stunning temples and sculptures have always overshadowed the more...

Shadow play. (Activity).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... According to legend, a royal housekeeper was pulling up old buffalo hides that had been used to cover the floors when he noticed light shining through the holes worn in the skins. The idea came to him of cutting out of the battered hides...

At the Heart of Khmer Society: rice, water, and control of the water needed to grow the rice have been and continue to be at the heart of Khmer society.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... This water also supports life in Khmer rivers and streams, and in Tonle Sap, one of the richest freshwater fisheries in the world. Khmer civilization is itself a story of ever more important chiefs, queens, and kings seeking to control water,...

When climate rules.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... THE ANGKOREAN EMPIRE COINCIDED WITH THE MEDIEVAL WARM PERIOD, WHEN GLOBAL temperatures were higher than at present. Research into climate data history suggests that the Khmers may have chosen to move their capital to Angkor because they could...

An empire in decline.(Jayavarman VII)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... A FERVENT BUDDHIST WHO SPENT MUCH OF HIS EARLY LIFE IN EXILE IN eastern Cambodia and in the neighboring kingdom of Champa, Jayavarman was a royal prince out of favor with Angkor's rulers. In 1179, he seized power at Yasodharapura after a Cham...

World history archaeology project. (Calliope's World).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... As the group of students assigned the ancient Khmer civilization researched the culture and studied archaeological techniques in order to create a simulated Khmer archaeological dig site for another group to unearth, they developed a terrific...

On the net. (Off the Shelf).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... For detailed information on the people and language of the Khmers, with links to other related sites, check out: www.cambodia-web.net/info/country/country7.htm For an overview of the history and geography of the ancient Khmers, Angkor...

Books. (Off the Shelf).(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
January 1, 2002... Angkor: Heart of an Asian Empire by Bruno Dagens (Harry N. Abrams, 1989) details the rediscovery of Angkor Wat and other temples as it focuses on the history of the ancient Khmers and their empire. An excellent collection of illustrations and a...

Reference. (Off the Shelf).(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
January 1, 2002... A History of Cambodia by David P. Chandler (Westview Press, 1983) The Khmers by Ian Mabbett and David Chandler (Blackwell, 1995)

Taking care of Angkor. (Digging up the Past).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... IN 1864, THE FRENCH COLONIZED CAMBODIA, VIETNAM, AND LAOS INTO A Single protectorate known as Indo-China. Some 40 years later, the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient (French School of the Far East or EFEO) was established. Soon after, a period of...