Cambodia: The forgotten temple of Banteay Chhmar | DW Documentary

[Music] the bantay chima temple is a hidden jewel that lies deep in the cambodian jungle engulfed by the rainforest it's been forgotten by the rest of the world [Music] for the local villages it remains a sacred place [Music] 900 years of monsoon rains looters and war have taken a heavy toll on the temple [Music] yet even today it's lost none of its magic [Music] stray mom pay regular visits to the temple to pray their daughters have also been taught to respect buddha from an early age both sopeng and sreymom are active within the village council for the restoration of the temple and the preservation of the traditional khmer values [Music] stray mom was born in the village back then it was completely overgrown by plants and jungle i wasn't aware of how important the temple was back then i was just very happy to be here the residents of are proud of their temple a magical place full of wondrous tales [Music] [Music] [Music] before sunrise the monks at the bante chima monastery congregate for the first prayer session [Music] [Applause] a mantra keeps their mind from distraction the meditative repetition of the sacred sutras taken from the ancient theravada scriptures the early morning chanting is their alarm clock starting at 4 30 am prayers are relayed through loudspeakers to all corners of the village bantei chama is home to a few thousand residents and is situated in a remote region of northern cambodia not far from the thai border until a few years ago there were no paved roads to the outside world so peng and his wife's raymond have lovingly created this traditional wooden house the village now has electricity but no drinking water from the tap it needs to be collected from the property's private well [Music] they grow coconuts winter melons and herbs for cooking in their garden and are helped out by parents who also live in the house most of the time stray mom grew up in humble surroundings her mother had a food stand and even as a child she'd help her by selling sweets as a teenager she couldn't wait to leave the village but then she met sopeng her parents gave them a rice field and land to build a house on as a wedding present so they stayed in the village my plan was to study in the city after leaving school and then find a job my family had problems so i returned to the village [Music] my two brothers were also studying and as it was a difficult time for the family i decided back then to discontinue my studies [Music] chicken feathers are used as a natural fertilizer so peng's great passion is gardening rice and cassava cultivation are the main source of income for the family [Music] recently sopeng took on a part-time job as a temple guide for the few visitors who find their way to bantay chima the temple belongs to the villagers who don't want it to become a mass tourist attraction like the world famous angkor wat for almost a thousand years the stone temple guards here have kept a watchful eye [Music] four bridges span them out into the temple the gods are enthroned on the left hand side the demons on the right even now everyone follows the basic rule always walk in the middle of the path between good and evil to maintain spiritual balance [Music] the village council meets once a week in the community centre an obligatory date for all the volunteers they discuss the restoration work of the temple organize english lessons for the children and find rooms with host families for guests who wish to learn about khmer culture sopeng is late but makes it in time for the most important item on the agenda the planning of bonom at the end of the rainy season this water festival is celebrated throughout cambodia with a traditional rowing boat race as the highlight the village council will proudly send their own team to compete it's a good stretch for boat races and we've used it for years the whole world should know about it it's special and also amusing okay now let's begin you first is the race just for men or can women join in maybe the village cooks good idea they could form their own team let's choose the race committee first [Laughter] training takes place [Music] the whole village is cleaning up for the event which takes place in three weeks time the only asphalt road to the village is repaired and the moat is dredged for the racecourse during the rainy season the moat gets clogged up with water lilies and weeds they need to be cleared before training can take place [Music] the temple complex has a geometric construction with four moats surrounding it bantai chima was one of five major temples during the khmer empire in the 12th century it had a library meditation halls and a healing center the tower of faces presides over the complex each side has a smiling face to gaze in all four directions each smile symbolizes a different state of mind today the ceremony of awakening the long boats takes place throughout the rainy season they were safely stored in the monastery where they're said to have been sleeping for several months it's time now to rouse them for the race [Music] during the string ritual the spirits are asked if they agree to the boats being awakened the villagers communicate their prayers through the string to the end of the a boat candle symbolizes the process of awakening [Music] oh the boat race is not just a competition it's also about respecting local history the slim racing boats are built the same way today as they were about 800 years ago when the khmer army fought its legendary sea battles [Music] [Applause] um the younger men carry the boat to the moat where it will be renovated over the coming days by the village elders the women can only watch however stray mom consoles herself with the knowledge that the neighbouring village has a women's boat [Music] the women have created their own team and are competing in the 40 to 50 age group they call themselves the granny gang old but wilde honey do you think the village will win this year we'll do our best maybe you'll finally win [Laughter] yeah for many of the villagers preparing for the bon om tuk is one of the happiest times of the year [Music] and at the end of a hard day's work the gods and demons on the temple bridge ensure that the bante chima villages maintain a good balanced frame of mind just as they've done for the last 800 years [Music] [Music] those who don't have their own well collect water from the temple pond now and then a water truck delivers drinking water from house to house although the village celebrates tradition stray mom has nothing against a little progress her japanese moped makes life considerably easier especially when shopping at the market where people can buy everything with thai currency that their family can't grow and harvest themselves how many baht was it last time um 85 no it wasn't it was 75 okay here's the money make it 70 or 60 is better all right 70. give them yes choose a nice one you have enough money for this one here's 15 baht man it's difficult doing business with you he's tied up and give me some more pork you know i come here often i might as well give you everything free [Laughter] tonight our expenses come to about 200 a month but our income is usually less than that i buy the daily essentials here and enjoy going into town when i can go for a walk and get out of the village for a while had almost given up hope of finding work for herself when she saw that the local village school was advertising a teaching position so she applied it would be her dream job so peng who's responsible for the garden and the fields has always supported his wife's desire to work professionally in rural cambodia that's not always a given sraymom's mother grew up during the khmer rouge reign of terror even today she can't read or write as education was considered unnecessary by the communist rulers fortunately the younger generation only know about this period of genocide from history books so peng and his friend mao see the president of the village council want to see how the temple restoration is proceeding during the turmoil of the cambodian civil war in the 1970s many temple treasures and statues were looted or destroyed despite the losses there have been some successful reclamations this temple guard made of sandstone was recently pulled out of the and returned to its post the villagers are particularly proud of the reconstructed temple front a sandstone relief of almost 200 metres depicts the story of the khmer king javara man the vii the temple is dedicated to his son who died in battle here immortalized in sandstone are the wars between the kimer and the cham two great historical powers that were locked in eternal dispute [Music] the relief also depicts the origin of today's boat races it shows a naval battle which jaivaraman vii fought against the charm here you can see the royal boat between 1177 and 1181 the king fought this war before finally defeating the charm and to commemorate the glorious victory he organized the first boat race this also enabled him to find strong rowers who were always needed in the anymore entering the temple is like entering another world a mystical and magical place that radiates tranquility each visit for sopeng and mao si is unique there's always something new to discover and experience the huge sandstone blocks were transported here 800 years ago on rafts elephants and oxen were used on site during construction a feat of logistics de vara man vii built the temple in the 12th century as a second center of power after angkor visitors today are captivated by the magic of this rediscovered world [Music] the temple of bantay chima originally served as a religious center for both buddhists and hindus a multi-religious temple [Music] the back of the temple is under restoration the outer wall is being reconstructed by piecing thousands of relief remains together a huge puzzle that will take decades to complete archaeologists and chimera experts have developed computer models to help with this they've also retrained rice farmers from the village as stonemasons the sandstone blocks need to be fitted together with millimeter precision in the past restorations were only done by foreigners when cambodians came here all they saw was rubble now when they come back they'll see a restored temple wall standing again and say wow that's great they won't believe that we cambodians did it all ourselves [Music] the plan is not to completely rebuild the huge temple which would be a mammoth task but to conserve the release of artistic historical value and secure the structure to prevent further decay [Music] next to the rear exit sits the 32 armed bodhisattva the buddha of eternal compassion the temple gives me work as a guide and it's also where i come to pray i ask for well-being and happiness for my family my country and for my friends [Music] shortly before the water festival comes the start of the wedding season the spectacular khmer temple is a favorite location for photographers and couples getting married [Music] the bantema temple has again become the spiritual center for the surrounding region as well as being a hub of social life smile i want beautiful smiles and again there are just under two weeks until bonhomme took the long boats are being prepared for the traditional race let's take a look hey chief should i scrape here no you don't need to what about here like this right it's damaged here and here as well the boat also gets a new coat of paint the oldest person in the village does this himself in the weeks leading up to the festivities i fix up the boat she's old grandpa and i take care of the boot alone we seal the joints the young people should just enjoy themselves so that the youth learn about traditions and continue to practice [Music] it's still a few days before the festival begins but the fair and its entourage have already arrived in the village [Music] it's a special and exciting time of year for the family and the entire village until recently the village didn't even have electricity so the rides and neon lights emphasize the connection to the modern world [Laughter] stray mom and sopeng are aware that it won't be easy to keep their daughters in the village many young cambodians are attracted to what's thought to be an easier life in the cities it's therefore important to make village life more appealing and ensure that children don't grow up in poverty they need to receive an education and job training and to be able to make a life for themselves in the countryside if they wish to [Music] sray mom's personal dream has come true she got the job at the village school it's only part time and as a preschool teacher but that doesn't matter she's finally doing what she always wanted to [Music] everyone stand one arm's length behind the other now you can slowly enter the classroom step by step it's second day at work and everything is still a little unfamiliar both for the teacher as well as the children some of whom are accompanied by their grandmothers preschool lets the children get used to the school routine to stand them in good stead for first grade this is still on the board from yesterday school is compulsory in cambodia but some parents can't afford the school uniforms or they need their children to help them in the rice fields [Music] in bantay chmar the village community tries to ensure that everyone at least completes elementary school the curriculum for this month is to learn the khmer script numbers from 1 to 10 and some basic rules of conduct education is very important especially for children in rural areas the little ones don't really know how to politely say hello and goodbye when they start first grade they have to be able to do that that's my job as a pre-school teacher and parents are also happy when their children come home having learned how to be polite and respectful and for me it's a nice feeling that i can contribute to the family's income with my own salary today is helping his elderly neighbor mr mae yang hello how are you good thank you i've come to help carry the rice bags good they have to go to the race mill can you manage put it on my shoulder it's quite heavy no problem [Music] you okay yes hold the oxen please mr mayang is one of the few remaining farmers who still uses an ox and cart his grandchildren sometimes join him for short trips [Music] [Music] [Music] only three days until the celebrations the scouts perform a guard of honour as the racing boats are about to be launched the ritual needs to be performed with the appropriate dignity can you leave me some holy water okay that's enough thank you very much the moment of truth has the repair work been successful or will the boat [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] give him a paddle the good news is that the repairs are holding but there won't be any training today thirteen rowers are missing and most of the village council are at work in the fields so peng also has another appointment today [Music] as the bonhomme tuque water festival approaches some foreign visitors have arrived in bantay chmar and sopeng has been asked to be a guide for a couple from england he explains the bar relief on the wall which portrays day-to-day life during the khmer empire and this is the activity in the palace you could see like that represented at the king and the queen's the conscious bank yeah seven he got two queens yeah both are the twins very strong woman [Applause] a little shower doesn't dampen sipeng's enthusiasm he enjoys sharing the temple secrets with foreigners about 2 000 travellers find their way each year to bante chima the forgotten temple of cambodia and whatever the weather it's easy to succumb to the magic of the temple it's very peaceful this weapon but it's uh it's very peaceful and uh you feel as if you're getting away from all this mass tourism because sometimes in some of the temples like angkor wat is crazy so many people there don't you feel this is your private temple at the moment it probably is yeah i feel a bit like indiana jones at the moment foreign [Applause] [Applause] the great water festival has arrived at last and there's a buzz of excitement here in bantay chima word has spread about the boat race the only one in cambodia taking place on a temple moat everyone in sopeng's village council team has turned up and although there was no real team training expectation is high okay you all remember what to do we all need to paddle in rhythm we will win today 100. [Applause] [Music] is to place the strong paddlers in the front they have more stamina and don't lose the strength in their arms so quickly what's important are the people right at the front and right at the back the ones at the front provide the rhythm and the rowers behind follow if those at the front start slacking then the others lose their rhythm and you lose the race it's essential to keep the rhythm [Music] the competition is formidable school and student teams have turned up as well as a team from the cambodian army [Music] the chief of police personally ensures that the local political dignitaries are escorted to their seats [Music] [Music] the monks pray one last time for a happy race [Music] the teams use the same two boats whoever loses the round is eliminated [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's crunch time for the village team as they position themselves at the starting line right in front of the temple bridge it's just moments to go [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] of course raymond is also at the moat to cheer on her husband are you ready three two one [Applause] [Applause] in the opposing boats are the students and they got off to a much better start [Applause] the council boat struggles to find a rhythm [Applause] [Music] the student team wins by almost two boat lengths [Applause] a decisive defeat [Applause] [Music] we lost but even though we were defeated it was great fun anyway the important thing is that we competed together as a village community and continue the traditions of bon om took in bante chmar [Music] is a day that fills our entire nation with pride because we remember king jayvaram on the seventh and his historic victory so we're also proud to have rode today winning is not everything the important thing is that everyone has fun [Music] [Applause] and then it's time for the village council to perform the customary losers dance a fun tradition that ensures nobody leaves the water festival in a bad mood and who knows maybe they will have better luck at the next boat race during bon omtuch the great water festival imbante chima [Music] you

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 434,663

Keywords: Documentary, Documentaries, documentaries, DW documentary, full documentary, DW, documentary 2021, documentary, Cambodia, Banteay Chhmar, Khmer period, temple complex, cultural heritage

Id: mkeCUFpIDFc

Length: 42min 26sec (2546 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 28 2021