 And just, and his queen who was his pleasure in the royal sovereigns would have been complete, except for one thing, there was no heir to the throne. Queen sought the coolness of the palace gardens, eyes took in the beauty of the old temple buildings, and her lips smiled, but in her heart there was little joy. For there would be no one to inspire her people to create and to build for the future generations to come. She knew that although her husband the king did not say it, in order not to hurt her feelings, his mind and heart yearned for a son who could inherit the throne. And the queen, for tender love of her Lord, longed to give him a son, a son as kind as just as her royal husband. But alas, neither wishes nor love sufficed to beget for her Lord an heir, and gloom hovered over the kingdom like a depressing cloud. Oh, she prayed that God takewardly seeming to be happy, deeply hiding her sadness and despair. The blaze of green light fell, astonishing the queen and her mother, Pinsarkea, the supreme God of the Tava Timsa. From his heavenly abode, he had looked earthward and taken pity on the sorrows of their majesties. He decided to perpetuate their dynasty. Upon the queen, he showered fragrant blossoms. From the celestial flowers, the queen conceived and in due time would give birth to a son. This son, she would name Praya Ketmalaia, confided that she had conceived from the flowers. In the same time, a goddess was condemned by Indra for stealing six flowers from a painter. For six years must she live on earth as the wife of this mortal. Prosperate yourself to me, said the goddess, for I was sent by Indra to be your wife from this union of goddess and artist. So great was his genius for building and sculpture that Indra placed him under the tutorship of the builder gods. On his knees, Praya Piznakar awaited his lord. Praya Ketmalaia was on the eve of his coronation. Praya Ketmalaia too had visited the abodes of the gods. He had taken a fancy to their dwellings and had ordered Praya Piznakar to build their replicas in his realm. Praya Piznakar had obeyed, exhibited his handiwork, the earthly counterparts of the temples of the gods. As the legend was how anchor was built. Glorious of all days, the coronation of Praya Ketmalaia, the sacred sword, symbol of his absolute power, and wished Praya Ketmalaia, son. Along Praya Ketmalaia, Jayavarman II, he was the first devaraja or god-king of Cambodia. The first powerful Khmer sovereign to unite all of Cambodia under one rule ordered the celestial dancers, the Apsaras, to reveal the secrets of their dancing to the Cambodians since the death of Jayavarman II. Magnificent temples built after his reign by a long succession of Khmer builder kings, there now remains which reveal the architectural genius, the grandeur, the glory of the vanished Khmer empire. Even now, in their decay, the monuments stand, unsurpassed in their artistry and architecture, the proud legacy of the present day Khmeres, the wonder and admiration of the modern world. The Apsaras still smile their enigmatic smiles as they dance on the lotus blossoms on the cracking walls of Angkor. They depict postures and gestures that their earthly counterparts in Cambodia have miraculously preserved, despite the passage of centuries. From the sovereign down to the common people, the descendants of the ancient Khmeres treasure their traditions. The dancers are a part of these traditions. Thus at the royal palace in Phnom Penh, under the personal supervision of Her Majesty the Queen, royal dancers continue to perform. The dances are still taught, just as they were long ago. Ballet corps start their training at an early age. The chief ballet mistresses have signed the parts to be played by each student. It may be that of a king, a queen, prince, princess, divinity, giant, ogres, or any of the characters of the Indian classic, the Ramayana, or of the Cambodian legends. Whatever the role, the chief ballet mistresses base their choices on the physical type of the student. The basic postures and gestures are painstakingly taught the little novices. In time, the ballet mistresses would teach them the various dance movements, then entire parts. But years will have passed. The little apprentices will have grown into mature girls, before they fully acquire the ability to move through the complicated postures and gestures gracefully without effort. A gesture that is easy to understand but which requires much practice to execute with grace is the Anjali salutation. It signifies adoration, homage, worship, respect. In its simpler form, it is the gesture of greeting used by the Khmeres in everyday life. Grace and extraordinary flexibility of the joints are requisites for a royal dancer. To acquire them, the students regularly exercise for suppleness. The natural suppleness of youth comes to the aid of the students in these complicated, difficult exercises. The themes for the dances were derived from the Indian epic, the Ramayana. In the Ramayana, Sita, the wife of Prince Rama, was abducted by the giant, Ravana. Hanuman, the monkey god, and his army of monkeys, aided Prince Rama to rescue the beautiful Sita. For the future roles of Hanuman and the members of his mischievous horde, male dancers are trained early in life. Except for a few male dancers who play the animal and comic roles, all the characters, whether male or female, are assumed by female dancers. Notwithstanding the charming legend about its celestial origin, the Cambodian dance had its beginning in the ceremonial dances of India. In the course of time, the Khmeres imprinted upon them the marks of their own culture, their personality, and artistic taste. Making the dances, the postures, and gestures the unique creation of their genius, to the teachers are retired dancers. But young women still dancing in the Royal Ballet Corps help out also with the training of tomorrow's artists, interpretive roles to play in Cambodian dancing. However, all the major expressions are left to the skill and expense, is spared in the preparation of the dancers' costumes, threads of gold and silver abound. The unbelievable attention to details displayed by the ancient sculptors in the decorative sculptures of Angkor is evident in the fanciful designs and adornments of these colorful costumes. Born twin to the dance, the masks, or the art of making them, have outlived the thousand years. They will last as long as the ballet endures, for they are essential to the royal dance. Making the masks is one of the traditional arts taught at the École de Beaux-Arts. It is there where the masks of the royal dancers are made. Although the female roles do not use them, most of the male roles require masks to represent the characters depicted. The most expensive item of the dancers' costume, the makat, or crown, is usually made of gold. Sadness, entreaty, appeasement, love, and on through the whole gamut of human emotions, all these can be expressed by the gestures in Cambodian dancing. Sometimes the gestures are easy to understand. At times they require careful thought and study. But easy or hard, the gestures are done with the exquisite poetry and grace born of years of rigid discipline and ceaseless practice. A prince pays court to a princess, and his amorous advances are rejected with gestures that were created centuries ago. Each gesture and posture are practiced rigorously, severely, exactly. Not even a full-fledged dancer is permitted to introduce her own innovations or deviate even a mite from the fixed, age-old patterns handed down by the Apsaras. Like custodians of a priceless heirloom, and the Cambodian dance is a priceless heirloom, the teachers watch sharply, quick to rectify. Even after they have attained full stature as royal dancers, the members of the royal ballet corps, like all true artists, keep regular rehearsals. Waving canes in lieu of the jeweled swords they use in actual performances, two dancers practice the epic encounter between Prince Rama and the many-headed giant Ravana. In the end, goodness triumphs over evil. The hero of the Ramayana vanquished the giant who had abducted his beautiful wife Sita. In a real performance with glittering, colorful costumes, and the fearsome mask of Ravana, the combat becomes a fantastic duel in a fairytale world. The royal dancers performed in the half-clad fashion of the legendary Apsaras. His majesty, King Ong Dong Harirak Arayamea, who reigned from 1841 to 1860, commanded full costumes for the dancers. In themselves, the jewelry and costumes are worth a fortune. Gold, silver, diamonds, and other precious stones ornament the costumes of brocade, Ramayana or silk of each principal character. The dancers are also made and repaired at the Aikul de Bozar. These, again, like the pastures and gestures and the masks, are a part of the tradition of the dance. Each piece of jewelry is a replica and design of the ornaments worn by the stone Apsaras of Angkor, a projected performance slightly. There is always a rehearsal where the ballet mistresses make certain that all the gestures and movements are executed correctly. A charming number enacts the legend of the hermit who forgot his vows. Four kinari, mythical creatures, half woman and half bird, flew down from the clouds to pick some flowers in the forest. Two monstrous spiders attacked the sisters. His forest dwelled a hermit, faithful in his practice and adherence to the sacred precepts. He had withdrawn from the noisy world in order to give himself up to deep meditations, undisturbed, when who should see him at the kinari? The ravelin creature complained to the hermit about the spiders. They urged him to kill the monsters. The ascetic replied, no, no, he could not do that. His way of life for bad killing any living creatures, however evil. The sisters refused to be discouraged. They put their pretty heads together to plot. The kinnari gone, the hermit returned to his old place in the forest. Once more was he engaged in profound meditation. When behold, there came the kinnari again. But this time, bringing their youngest sister, Rathvadai, a charming creature, more mischievous than her older sisters. Humbly, the kinnari begged his forgiveness for disturbing his holy meditations. They assured him that they understood his refusal to kill all the spiders. As proof that they held no resentment against him, they were giving him their youngest and prettiest sister to serve him. Let's go. A last, poor, guileless hermit, the fluttering wings of love beat dizzyingly against his face. Blinding his eyes, confusing his mind, chasing all austere thoughts therefrom, forgotten were all his somber meditations, forgotten the sacred precepts. Like all lovers since time eternal, the hermit sought to please his love. He gallantly promised to slay the spiders. His search led him to one of the creatures. He had killed a living creature and he was proud of his deed. The skinning canary gave him praise. Having no more use for him, the young grateful canary tried to fly away with their youngest sister, but the hermit was too quick. The hermit thought rat fadai would remain his forever, but the deceitful creature slipped away when he wasn't looking. The old man was left with the spider he had slain, and the bitter realization that the canary had made a fool of him. With magic powder and prayer, he tried to bring back the spider to life in vain. He of his sin now broke full force upon him, poor hermit. Men wiser than he in the ways of the world had been beguiled before by a pretty face, but this, in his inexperience, he could not know. All he knew was that he had betrayed the sacred precepts, the long years of prayers, of self-denial, of following the holy path. Throughout his life, he must bear the crushing burden of his broken vows, chanchaya, or rehearsal hall, craftsmen repair or make musical instruments for the royal palace orchestra. In ancient times, earthly apsaras swayed to the accompaniment of cymbals, zithers, and the deep-bass drum, or saccourt tom. The saccourt tom survived time and choice, but the cymbal and zither gradually disappeared from the orchestral ensemble. In their place, other instruments, mostly of Javanese origin, make their appearance. Cambodian music is an oral tradition handed down from teacher to pupil. The musical instruments, wrote a Chinese ambassador to the ancient Khmer court, render a clamorous music that charms the spirit. In the Cambodian royal dance, the musicians play to the dancers, keeping time to their movements, unlike in the Western dance, where the dancers follow the beat of the music. The traditional ceremony of the salutation to the teachers, the spirits, and the masks is to student dancers, but graduation exercises are to students of conventional schools. The ritual is started by Her Majesty, Queen Kosemak Nerirot, when she lights the ceremonial candle. Part of the ceremony is the presentation of novices to the Queen. This is symbolic of the continuation of the ballet. As apprentices join the ranks of the accomplished performers, their place is taken by others. In the days of the Devaraja, or God-Kings, parents offer their most beautiful daughters to the palace as a symbol of loyalty and devotion. Accepted, the girls received, as advanced pay, from two to four silver bars. Less colorful, but more in keeping with today's world, the dancers now receive a monthly salary. In sacred water, symbolically ties Her Majesty to the future of the graduating students, for whom she wishes prosperity, happiness, and long life. To the golden image of the patron of dancing, to all that contribute to the ballet, the graduates make offerings of flowers and food served on gold and silver trays, to the teachers, to the master of ceremonies, to the spirits of the masks and headdresses, to the musicians and the spirits of their instruments, especially the sample drums, the favorite instrument of the spirits of music. For the invocations, tapers and incense sticks are lighted. The master of ceremonies recites the invocations to the spirit of dancing, making known to it the new group of graduating dancers. To signify acceptance of the new dancers, masks and headdresses are made ready to receive those who will use them in the future. In the pupil of Shiva, ask for a memento of the God. He was given a goal-important steps of the life of a Cambodian. Passed three times around to the left, it marks the dancer's new status. Then her majesty showers pop trice on her dancers. With each handful of pop trice, go the gracious wishes of the queen. Learn rapidly, dance perfectly, live peacefully. To the Khmer people, pop trice signifies happiness, peace, and prosperity. The essence of religion are woven into the royal and into the daily lives of the Cambodian people. Be they queen or subject, dancer or teacher, Cambodians are devout and they know the teaching of the Lord Buddha. Nothing in this world is permanent, everything is transitory. Themselves testament to the passage of time, these teachers once were dancers of the Royal Ballet Corps. Their dancing time has passed, but they still are valued by the court Their minds and bodies remember the movements of the dance and can pass them on to those who will succeed them as they learned from those whose golden anklets had graced the palace floors before them. Hand guiding hand, foot following foot. So has been transmitted the dance of the Cambodian Royal Palace from generation to generation. There is no written manual. Teacher transmits tradition to pupil. One of the wonders of the Cambodian dance is that it has retained its purity down through the thousand years. To the spirits of the past kings of Cambodia, to their majesties, Andong, Norodom, Sisawat, Monibong, Suramarit, and others long before, a plea is made by a queen concerned for the well-being of her people. Her plea is made in the form of a ceremony called Bung Sung. Because she asks for peace for her nation and her people, this ceremony must be perfect. The ritual food offerings of the finest are served on solid gold plates. The tapers and incense sticks must burn cleanly. There can be no flaw, for this is offered for the protection of the Cambodian people. Ballet dancers, who are an integral part of the royal court, receive food offerings, which they in turn will present to the spirits of former kings. Her princess joins the ranks of the dancers, in a ballet arranged especially by Her Majesty the Queen for this Bung Sung. Performed by Her Royal Highness, Princess Bopatevi, the dance is to further the pleasure of the spirits of the former kings while they enjoy the food offerings. In its perfection of posture, its adherence to classic forms, and its deliberate pace, this ancient dance offers to the royal ancestors of the princess the utmost in reverence. This is the Cambodian ballet at its height of perfection, polished and perfected over a unique contribution to the world's culture. When it was introduced in Paris for the first time in 1908, Auguste Rodin, arbiter of the arts in Europe at the time, wrote, The Cambodians have shown us all that antiquity can contain. Their classics are as great as ours. It is impossible to see human nature brought to a higher state of perfection. We have only the Cambodians and the Greeks. They have found postures which we had not dreamed of, movements which were unknown to us even in ancient times. Since then the royal ballet has won the acclaim of audiences the world over, has gained a renown surpassed only by the masterpieces at Angkor. This fame and the enduring freshness of the royal dance, which lies behind the acclaim, are due to the care lavished on the ballet by the Cambodian royal family itself. Forming an intimate part of palace life, it has participated in by young princes and princesses who grow up steep in its discipline and lore. And in the country of its birth, the dance has influenced far beyond the palace walls. The grace it has perfected and perpetuated, the gestures it has preserved and refined, are reflected in the greetings, the popular dance, the purity of movement of the Cambodian in his everyday life. Remains a cultural legacy only of the salutation to the teachers, the spirits and the masks, is to student dancers, but graduation exercises are to students of conventional schools. The ritual is started by Her Majesty, Queen Kosimak Niriut, when she lights the ceremonial candle. It's a presentation of novices to the queen. This is symbolic of the continuation of the ballet. As apprentices join the ranks of the accomplished performers, their place is taken by others. In the days of the Devaraja, or guard kings, parents offer their most beautiful daughters to the palace as a symbol of loyalty and devotion. Accepted, the girls receive as advanced pay from two to four silver bars. Less colorful, but more in keeping with today's world, the dancers now receive a monthly salary. Potically ties Her Majesty to the future of the graduating students for whom she wishes prosperity, happiness and long life. That contribute to the ballet, the graduates make offerings of flowers and food served on gold and silver trays. To the teachers, to the master of ceremonies, to the spirits of the masks and headdresses, to the musicians and the spirits of their instruments, especially sample drums, favorite instrument of the spirits of music. For the invocations, tapers and incense sticks are lighted. From the master of ceremonies, recites the invocations to the spirit of dancing, making known to it the new group of graduating dancers. To signify acceptance of the new dancers, masks and headdresses are made ready to receive those who will use them in the future. From a mentor of the guard, he was given a golden steps of the life of a Cambodian. Passed three times around to the left, it marks the dancer's new status to see showers pop rice on her dancers. With each handful of pop rice go the gracious wishes of the queen. Learn rapidly, dance perfectly, live peacefully. Khmer people, pop rice signifies happiness, peace and prosperity. The essence of religion are woven into the royal dance, as they are woven into the daily lives of the Cambodian people. Be they queen or subject, dancer or teacher, Cambodians are devout and they know the teaching of the Lord Buddha. Nothing in this world is permanent. Everything is transitory. Themselves testament to the passage of time, these teachers once were dancers of the royal ballet corps. Their dancing time has passed, but they still are valued by the court for their minds and bodies remember the movements of the dance and can pass them on to those who will succeed them as they learn from those whose golden anklets had graced the palace floors before them. Hand guiding hand, foot following foot. So has been transmitted the dance of the Cambodian royal palace from generation to generation. There is no written manual. Teacher transmits tradition to pupil. One of the wonders of the Cambodian dance is that it has retained its purity down through the thousand years. To the spirits of the past kings of Cambodia, to their majesties, Andung, Nohradam, Sisouat, Monibong, Suramarit, and others long before, a plea is made by a queen concerned for the well-being of her people. Her plea is made in the form of a ceremony called Bung Sung because she asks for peace for her nation and her people. This ceremony must be perfect. The ritual food offerings of the finest are served on solid gold plates. The tapers and incense sticks must burn cleanly. There can be no flaw, for this is offered for the protection of the Cambodian people. The royal court has received food offerings, which they in turn will present to the spirits of former kings, the ranks of the dancers, and a ballet arranged especially by Her Majesty the Queen for this Bung Sung. The royal court has received food offerings, which they in turn will present to the spirits of former kings, the ranks of the dancers, and by Her Majesty the Queen for this Bung Sung. Performed by Her Royal Highness, Princess Bopatevi, the dance is to further the pleasure of the spirits of the former kings while they enjoy the food offerings. In its perfection of posture, its adherence to classic forms, and its deliberate taste, this ancient dance offers to the royal ancestors of the princess the utmost in reverence. This is the Cambodian ballet that its height have pronged forgotten, polished and perfected over a millennium. It is a unique contribution to the world's culture. When it was introduced in Paris for the first time in 1908, Auguste Rodin, arbiter of the arts in Europe at the time, wrote, The Cambodians have shown us all that antiquity can contain. Their classics are as great as ours. It is impossible to see human nature brought to a higher state of perfection. We have only the Cambodians and the Greeks. They have found postures which we had not dreamed of, movements which were unknown to us even in ancient times. Since then, the royal ballet has won the acclaim of audiences the world over, has gained a renown surpassed only by the masterpieces at Angkor, enduring freshness of the royal dance, which lies behind the acclaim, are due to the care lavished on the ballet by the Cambodian royal family itself. Forming an intimate part of palace life, it is participated in by young princes and princesses who grow up steep in its discipline and lore. And in the country of its birth, the dance has influenced far beyond the palace walls. The grace it has perfected and perpetuated, the gestures it has preserved and refined, are reflected in the greetings, the popular dance, the purity of movement of the Cambodian and its everyday life.