ROBAM TIYAE/ BOUNG SOUNG- HRH Norodom Bopha Devi

[orocambodiamusic]

How amazing that SINN SISAMOUTH performed Royal Ballade Song. It is really rare to hear this.

[MusaboruOo]

Her crown/headdress is just so beautiful and so finely crafted. It always bothers me to see the the ones used today do not look like this anymore. :[ Especially how the crowns today have the "wing" part bent close towards each other. It is not suppose to touch each other. There is also another lotus petal-like piece in the back center that is often omitted in these type of crowns today.

Just want to let local dance troupes know what the original style looks like. Please try restore old style.

[ldzplove]

beautiful! the world is richer for having preserved cambodian cultural traditions.

thank you so much for sharing.

[fartknocker31]

Whoever the 1 person is that clicked "Dislike" is a douchebag

[KhmerSanjose]

WOW!!!!! SHE'S BEAUTIFUL. A TRUE KHMER BEAUTY!!!!

[saroeuteang]

she's very beautiful! I love khmer dance and khmer music!!!

[USAKhmer1]

Their make up back in those day was so natural not like in Srok khmer now. Tell me why is that, now should be better you would think. i was a classical dancer once.in cambodia.long a go.

[luciboras]

i've heard that Thai/Siam people are duplicating Khmer royal classical ballet in Thailand for tourist. Sad

[vn868]

Graceful and beautiful ! Thank you for sharing.

[lchan90a]

@vn868

you're welcome! =)

[angkorpisey]

I wonder if those jewelery are real gold !! Look at the "Sorang kor" it's very beautiful and shining like diamond. She is very beautiful!!!!!

[khmermorn]

1 word: "Wow"

[lchan90a]

@khmermorn

thanks =)

[tatchomrern]

She is very beautiful

[KINHTOC]

vietnamese fan ! merci pour cette belle chanson .

[tresorvilnius]

most beautifull woman i've ever seen

[sivhengu]

Wasn't she beautiful and graceful in her dance? The princess is now over 60 and she is still beautiful. This was from the 60's. I used to go see her dance when the king went to Battambong.

[lchan90a]

wow, you are lucky to have seen these performances back in the days.

[KhmerSerey1]

Let the princess translate for you Ichan90a,how can i take my eyes off her ?? that's like telling me to stop breathing  ;))))

[lchan90a]

haha ok feast your eyes on her as long as you want, i will not disrupt you =D

[KhmerSerey1]

Comme un'ange dans le ciel,elle est la coeur du Cambodge.Vive ma princesse Devi du Cambodge,je t'adore mon petit papillon,fleur celeste...;))))

[lchan90a]

can someone please help translate??

[karilagan]

Translation from French to English:

"Like an angel in the sky, she is the heart of Cambodia. Long live my princess Devi of Cambodia. I love you my little butterfly, heavenly flower."

[karilagan]

Sorry, forgot to add that this is the translation of the beautiful comment in French added by KhmerSerey1 a month ago.

[xthia25]

@lchan90a Translation as follows:" Like an angel in heaven, she is the heart of Cambodia. Hail my princess Devi of Cambodia, I adore you my little butterfly , celestial flower."

[KhmerSerey1]

So Ichan90a,what are you willing to sacrifice for the Khmer Princess ?? How about a piece of your ears ?? Vincent Van Gogh the painter cut off his ears for love sake ;))))))

[lchan90a]

umm why would i do that?! i need to think for myself you know, i have a life too. it seems like you can't get your eyes off from this video!....lol

[KhmerSerey1]

I want to cut out my beating heart and present it to her in a platter as a gesture of undying love and adoration.Serey Pheap Du Siam Reap,forever her servant and her subject,can't say the same for her father though,forgive me princess ;)))))))

[lchan90a]

wow, such strong feelings you have for her. =D

[lchan90a]

i guess, its obvious that its from the pre-khmer rouge era.

[KhmerSerey1]

Kuor oy japp arom tiak-tianh chett mane tane,preah ong mjass Bopha Devi Kampuchea...

[cameronechris]

Cocowave Hello ! This woman is so beautiful and I read she has been a dancer and a minister of culture too ! If I understand what I have seen these dances as the cambodian culture gives a major importance to self-control each gesture have to be perfect ...It might be uneasy to mix this influence with latin emotional rushes of passion and perhaps others ...

But the most difficult way is often the most interresting and drives to unexepted tresures as this dance and another I apreciated too !

[lchan90a]

wow, thanks for your very kind words! =)

[athinaab]

Her Royal Highness, Princess Bopha Devi, is amazing in this video...

[MUMHFUL]

Yes, we Khmer are BEAUTIFUL in brown skin and black hair.

Thanks for sharing this video

[lchan90a]

thank you for your kind compliments!

[lilcraziaznkid]

notice dat the nerong crowns are a lil bigger!!

[lchan90a]

yes i noticed that too! looks a bit unusual back then =/

[MusaboruOo]

Anyone notice the side ear piece for the female crowns in the background? I wonder why they don,t wear it anymore with that type of crown.

[lchan90a]

yeah i notice that too. those crowns that you're talking about is called kbang crowns. i dont know why they void out the ear piece for those crown nowadays.

[naruto10119]

i think my troupe still uses them....

[lilcraziaznkid]

khmer arts academy still uses dem 2 if i remember one of their performances

[lilcraziaznkid]

the more i keep watchin dis!!! i notice bac then da sbai is longer

[lchan90a]

yup the sbai looks much longer back then.

[acambodiandancer]

wow!!!!!!!! she dances perfectly

[SwaNyamChek]

Is the crown she wearing a royal crown? I've noticed she isn't wearing the usually 3/5 tiered crown. It seems uniquely her own. Also, she's very sah-at!

[naruto10119]

this is a different type of crown. this usually denotes princesses and major female characters. its used in many dance dramas to denote the female protagonist. used also in jun por, and other dances

[naruto10119]

i know its been four months, but I was re reading my comment and missed a detail. Sometimes, the female protaganist may switch between the tiered mokot and this one, or visa versa. It may also denote a higher female attendant.

[kemarakjun]

not just majority, all of them are made from brass and copper and such. it doesn't anyway because the quality of the design and craftmanship is so poor and low that i could hardl call them works of art.

Also the skirts (somput jorabab) were made in India through special order according to design from the palace. they did not use skirts made in Cambodia because of the low quality. Khmer did not, and still do not, have the skill to make the brocade weaving like the indian sari.

[lchan90a]

well i've heard that Khmer silk is world renown for their silk and i still kinda agree with that. well I'm guessing India has better silk because of the richer resources they have, unlike Cambodia some of their materials are scarce. also probably India has a much longer line of traditional skirt making than Cambodia.

[naruto10119]

india just has the quality the the khmer silk does not possess. if you were to take a high quality indian gold thread weft sari and compare one of the same kind with a cambodian one, you can tell the differences in desirable texture and appearance. Khmer silk posses different qualities. Indian gold and silver thread are also of very high quality, more so than regular khmer and thia produced ones ( khun peeramon uses indian gold thread )

[lchan90a]

doesn't Khmer costume use Indian gold thread too? i've seen new set of Khmer costumes and it seemed like they used some sorta gold thread instead of gold beads for lining designs.

[naruto10119]

there is a different quality to different gold threads. Indian gold thread is more sturdy and prominent. the new costumes also do use beads but they are very small. indian gold thread is very high in quality, more so than many khmer threads. the kinds of indian silk that would be used in the charobab skirts would be stiffer than khmer produced ones. the saris would yield pleats naturally better than the regular charobab.

[lchan90a]

wow so much answers. thanks a lot for responding. i think i understand now =)

[naruto10119]

also, in the old days, Indians from India most often sold cloth in Cambodia as their livelihood. it would make sense because they produced such beautiful cloth

[SwaNyamChek]

I think Khmer silk is more known for what it does that other countries have never been able to produce. My mom's a seamstress and I've seen a lot of her fabrics but what I liked the most were the fabrics for kabens. Some of them change tint, like if you were to tilt it to the side, you can kind of see it change color a bit. I don't think that it's necessarily better in any way, I think it's what it does that makes it unique. Oh and the weave of the fabric is what makes Khmer fabrics different.

[lchan90a]

yes it is, Khmer fabric is very unique in its own way. i like it how kben cloth can be folded into different costumes and such. i agree with all of your details about Khmer cloth. you can definitely see the change in color in different perspectives.

[MusaboruOo]

Um, this is not unique to Khmer silk. Almost every country in Asia makes silk like that, even the Persians. The name for Khmer silk, sarabap is actually from Persian zar-baft meaning 'gold weave'. Its not the weave, its actually the pattern of the weave that makes it different.

[naruto10119]

so what would you say if different between charobat and 'phamuang pich'? sometimes, the texture feels the same' or is that up to the use of the sompot? from what I understand, stiffer sompots are easier to keep the pleats in a kben for a neayrong and yeaks.

[lilcraziaznkid]

bopa devi moves like an angel with no effort at all!!! does this dance is still being perform now and days?

[lchan90a]

hmmm....not rarely i think. the most recent performance i've seen nowadays was done by  the Khmer Arts Academy in Long Beach, California.

[naruto10119]

neak kru chraya also preformed it in San Fran in 2000. you can see it on her website chrayaburt(dot)com

[uR2us]

Is this a documentary or is it from a 1960s movie? The color is so clear.

[lchan90a]

its actually a documentary from the 1960's.

[lilcraziaznkid]

is there a video of Khmer Arts Academy performing this dance?

[lchan90a]

yes i posted up once before but i had to remove it due to copy righted materials.

[tatchomrern]

She is beautiful and beautiful skin tone.

[KhmerSerey1]

Thank you Ichan90a,this is a rare footage of the Khmer princess Bopha Devi,we like to see and hear more of her,an autobiography of her life would be great,the Khmer people,we like to know more about our princess,especially the younger generation,if the royal family and Khmer art are to survive,we wanted the Khmer princess to sound off and voice out more often,she is the center of Khmer art and cultural tradition.The heart and soul of the land.

[Pheakhmer88]

I am very appreciate Her majesty Norodom Bophatevy. She is talented and beautiful woman. How amazing the dance is. i like it so much even though the film is a bit old.

[kemarakjun]

Actually, the proper styling is Her Royal Highness when refering to a princess, Her Majesty is used to address a queen, such as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2 of Britain, or refering to a consort queen of a reigning king.

[MusaboruOo]

Notice how they are all wearing orange champa flowers. I like how they use those, I think that is the traditional type. Nowadays they are not as conforming with the flowers and use more common flowers like champey (plumeria) which arent even native to Asia. Actually the dancers dont seem to wear the orange flowers anymore. Another tradition that has changed....

[lchan90a]

yes i've noticed that too. but i have seen recently they used yellow champa flowers instead of the old-fashioned orange color.

[MusaboruOo]

Are you sure they are champa flowers? Ive seen some prodiuctions use them, but they are actually fake orange champey (plumeria) flowers.

[lchan90a]

yes i think most of the orange flowers are fake, maybe they're made out of cloth or some other material? I'm not sure either.

[sleng001]

it's actually neither of the above. Its called a Kravann flower, which my mother says isn't as common as it was before the war.

[MusaboruOo]

Google image; 'Artabotrys hexapetalus' (kravan)and 'Michelia champaca' (orange champa). They look similar, but the flower they use here is the orange form of the champa.

[naruto10119]

the rose was used instead of the champey flower, as its lighter and easier to place than a heavy and bulky rose. i prefer the rose though. the style for the "rombeang" is also different. it looks simpler here, where there is just a longe, slender flower, with the phka champa being a large tassel like cluster.

[naruto10119]

the flowers change with the seasons. for the tassel, the white flowers are male Pka Lahong, the papaya flower with Pka Milis, jasmine. or at least, that what the new book on Cambodian dance says.

[Bonichthy]

Yer, lol...=D

[Bonichthy]

Oh yeah, I guess so......but I truly have never seen that. Just on youtube only, haha!!!

[lchan90a]

glad to hear that....lol

[Bonichthy]

Wow, I have never seen this dance before(O_O)

Her royal highness danced so fantastic!!!

[lchan90a]

oh you have never seen this dance before. yeah i know this dance is rarely performed nowadays, only on special occasions i guess.

[alien7blood]

is this particular piece still praticed and performed/

[lchan90a]

i'm not sure. this dance is rarely performed nowadays.

[alien7blood]

ive only seen the usual dances. i wish i can see all of em

[MusaboruOo]

The crown she is wearing looks nice. You can see good examples in the movie old Preah Chinavong also where the undersides and inner part is painted red. The little wings on top do not meet at the end point like they do today (that doesnt look so nice IMO).

[lchan90a]

aren't the ones painted underneath with red are made out of papermache? yeah i noticed that too. the ones nowadays have connected end points and they increased the wing size.

[naruto10119]

it also seems that nowadays, its not filigree like the one HRH is wearing, but more of an engraving like.

[lchan90a]

are you talking about the designs of the ear and the little wings on top of the crown??

[naruto10119]

yeah, the wings. today, it seems more of a cast aptern in the marak other than the filigree likeness on these wing tips

[kemarakjun]

Actually, all the jewels worn by the princess that you see here was made of solid gold, even the apsara crown that wore was also of solid gold originally made by the french advisors in the 1950s that helped to recreate and elevate the royal dance to interantional audience.

[lchan90a]

wow that means the jewels back then are more valuable than the ones nowadays because i know the majority of today's dance jeweleries are made out of copper or metal.

[naruto10119]

what happened to tsrey's?

[lchan90a]

i don't know what happened to hers, but i uploaded a better quality version. hope you like it.

[MusaboruOo]

Thanks very much for uploading this. I appreciate it. :D