Culture and Religion of Battambang
Culture and Religion

The provincial department of culture and fine arts of Battambang is a body working in the field of culture while at the same time organizing some commercial activities in order to collect money for the state. The department has 6 offices under it and its line offices in the 13 districts of the province.

1. Culture and tradition and custom rehabilitation

The people of the Battambang province have managed to preserve their tradition and custom, by:

* Celebrating national and traditional ceremonies during which popular games and dances as well as traditional outfits are upheld,
* Organizing exhibitions at the dragon statue fountain near the Bodhi tree, where local food and desserts are displayed,
* Organizing popular games and dances at the Phnom Sampov recreation site during the Cambodian New Year days,
* Organizing boat racing in the province at the end of the Buddhist Lent,
* Taking part in the 2005 20th national kite flying festival in the province of Siem Reap,
* Conducting surveys of cultural, tourist and agricultural potential in three villages in the Wat Kor commune, Battambang district,
* Cracking down on broadcast of sex videos,
* Collecting the statistics of libraries at schools of all levels as well as pagodas,
* Collecting the statistics of wedding dress-up and photo studio shops, bookstores, and printing houses, and encouraging the owners and operators to apply for licenses
* Opening the provincial library every day for the public,
* Opening the photo exhibition for visitors during the working hours, and
* Working with Krous Sar Thmey to organize exhibitions and fairs.

2. Heritage, national culture and treasure preservation

* Cooperating with the respective departments and the local authorities to prevent the illegal excavation and looting of ancient artifacts,
* Stopping land grabbing near Treykaun or Bovel temple, in Bovel district
* Protecting the ancient hills from being encroached upon by the provincial Cadastra department during land titling and measuring campaign for local people,
* Visiting all temples and clearing all vegetation around the 5 ancient monuments: Baset, Banan, Ek Phnom, Snoung Lech, and Stung Keut, so that visitors feel comfortable to visit everyday,
* Disseminating information to local people, chief monks, laymen, and the pagoda committees about the law on the protection of cultural heritage and the directives on collecting all ancient artifacts that lay scattered and unprotected in the forest to be kept in the museum,
* Collecting and keeping 71 pieces of stone carvings, pots and other objects in the museum, and
* Opening the provincial museum for the public, as well as foreign and local visitors during the working hours.

3. Plastic arts and handicrafts

* Encouraging the owners and operators of handicraft shops and the stores, which sell handicraft objects, souvenir gifts, and paintings to apply for licenses to operate their outlets,
* Teaching the sellers of CDs and VCD about copyrights and similar protections,
* Making progress in the effort to promote professional art performance in the province in 2006,
* Working on the regulations governing the development of culture, plastic arts, and handicrafts, and
* Helping in the preservation of some popular art performances found in some villages and communes, which are on the verge of extinction.

4. Art performance and shows

a) Art performance

* Some artists have helped train local people in some dances and short dramas,
* Conducting research on the history of the folk dance Kantrim Min in Chamkar Somrong village, Chamkar Somrong commune, Battambang district and in Cham Lang Kouy commune in Samlot district,
* Inspecting traditional music and songs played by the Christ church in Tahen village, Rokar commune, Sangke district,
* Helping revive 2 traditional dances: Chay Yam and Kantrim Min, and
* Organizing Trod dance during the Cambodian New Year days at the provincial department, tourist sites, and educational establishments in the province.

b) Popular art performance

* Encouraging this type of performance among local people, pupils, and students as well as the non-governmental organizations, and
* In 2006, with financial support from the Seila program in the province, a group of 12 Pinpeat musicians in Tasanh commune, Samlot district, were trained for 90 days.

5 . 2007 planning

* To organize traditional and modern song festival in the province,
* To organize art show and popular games during the Cambodian New Year days
* To conduct research on some lost dances and to train people in folk shows Yike and Bassac,
* To supervise plastic arts and handicrafts,
* To continue to crack down on sex video and films, and to do research on ancient hills,
* To draw map defining the areas of the 4 temples,
* To conduct inventory of ancient artifacts in the museum and the former museum in Wat Pothiveal,
* To launch a campaign to collect all artifacts in all pagodas,
* To help create a group of Pin Peat music in Chnal Maun commune, Kors Kralor district,
* To renovate the painting exhibition hall,
* To put on art show during the King’s birthday, and
* To recruit more people trained in Bassac and Yike dramas, traditional dances, plastic arts, handicrafts, and archaeology, as well as casual staff.

6. Pagodas and religion

There are 307 Buddhist pagodas in the province, including 13 of the Thammayut sect, and 5,169 monks, as well as a considerable number of holy shrines dedicated to other religions. Most of the Cambodian pagodas are decorated with the typical Khmer carvings.

Pagodas are not only the place of worship, but also serve as the learning cradle for young Cambodians. There are:

* 88 Buddhist teaching schools with 115 classes,
* 37 primary Buddhist schools with 45 classes,
* One Buddhist high school, and
* Three classes of Buddhist upper secondary education

There are also 29 hermitages, 50 donation halls, 51 assembly halls, and 4 acumen centers. In 2006, monks in 3 pagodas were trained, and a number of pagodas were assisted with renovations such as Wat Kampheang, Wat Somrong Knong, Wat Ek Phnom, and Wat Sampov, which receives many local and foreign visitors. There are also other religions:

* Islam: 7 mosques and 11 Surav
* Christianity: 24 assemblies, one Bahai church
* Milik: 2 shrines, one shrine for Goddess Kong Si Eam