Khmer heritage house

HISTORY OF MS. BUN ROEURNG'S ANCIENT HOUSE

Lok Oknha NOU Pinet Phoeng and his wife, Mrs. Yin, had this a commander, but in Ms old age, he worked as a lawyer. Lok Oknha's wife was a homemaker. They had 7 children together: one son and six daughters. After Lok Oknha passed away, the house was occupied by the 6th daughters, Ms. NOU Yieng, and the 5th daughter, Mrs. NOU Phun and her spouse, named BUN Chuoy, who both are the parents of the present owners of the house. Therefore, this ancient house was occupied and maintained for three generations already.


This house measures 28 meters in length and 11.5 meters in width, and was constructed on a surface area of 5,450 square meters in Pet style (a kind of house), meaning that the house has verandahs (drying place) at the front and its two sides. The house has two staircases: the front staircase was made of concrete and the rear staircase was made of wood. The house roof was tiled with antique Naga-scale-shaped tiles, with no inside ceilings. The top portion of the roof was adorned with splendid artistic decors. The above part of the roof was made of Phcheuk wood (a type of very hard wood). The floor-board inside the house was built of Beng wood (a kind of very hard wood), and the floor-boards of the verandahs were made of Kakoh wood (another type of very hard wood). As for the walls, they were constructed of woven bamboo and plastered. The 36 pillars were all made of Phcheuk wood, and they are still strong up to today.

The said ancient house is divided into three parts:

1st part this part consists of the front and side verandahs.

2nd part: this part is the middle part of the house, which consists of a huge living room At the rear left side of the living room, there is a door leading to two bedrooms.

3rd part: in front of the two bedrooms, there is another door leading to a sided verandah and the wooden staircase. At the left side about 5 meters from the door, there is a kitchen.

In the Khmer Rouge regime, this house was used as a place for threshing rice, and storing heavy equipment, and as a common kitchen, which as a result damaged the back half of the house, which is the present kitchen.

Thank you for your reading about this ancient Khmer heritage house!

Rice in Battambang

Battambang is the “heart of the Cambodian rice bowl”. It is located around Tonle Sap Lake, blessed with many harvests of nature. Although the people of Battambang have had to endure many difficulties over the past, the province luckily has many cultural heritages to offer for tourists.

Battambang

 The old Provincial Hall building in Battambang

Battambang (also Batdambang) (Khmer: បាត់ដំបង) is a province of Cambodia. It is in the northwest of the country, and its capital is Battambang. The name literally means loss of stick referring to a legend of Preah Bat Dambang Kranhoung (Kranhoung Stick King).

The province is bordered to the North with Banteay Meanchey, to the West with Thailand, and to the East and South with Pursat

Battambang is one of the nine provinces that is part of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.

History of Battambang
During the pre-Angkor and Angkor eras, the areas to the north and to the north west of the Tonle Sap Lake were known as the territories of Amogha Boreak and Bhima Boreak. During the Angkor period, the territory of Amogha Boreak was significantly prosperous because the land was so fertile that rice crops, fruit and vegetables produced excellent yields. Many Khmer people settled there as indicated by the existence of so many ancient temples in the area. With the exception of the temples of Wat Banan, Ek Phnom, Baseth, Stung, Banteay Tey, Banteay Chmar, etc,other monuments, which were built by dignitaries and subjects at the time as places of worship to God and other deities of Buddhism and Hinduism, almost completely disappeared.

Between the 15th century and the 18th century the area was invaded by the Siamese army, forcing landowners off their land and splitting up their families.

From the late 18th century until early in the 20th century, the Siamese ruled Battambang and placed it under the rule of the Lord Chaofa Ben family, which was later known as the Akpheyyavong Family. This lasted for 6 generations and ended in 1907. While under Thai rule, the province was a changwat of Thailand called Phra Tabong.

The French Siamese Treaty of March 23, 1907, obliged the Siamese to return territories that they had occupied for more than a century. These included Battambang, Siem Reap and Angkor, in exchange for Trat province and the area of Dach Se (Lao territory) in the upper catchment area of the Mekong River. On December 6 1907, His Majesty Preah Bat Sisowath issued a royal declaration splitting Battambang into 3 provinces: Battambang, Siem Reap and Serei Sophorn. In 1925, Battambang was divided again into two provinces: Battambang and Siem Reap, with Battambang having two districts: Battambang and Serei Sophorn. By 1940, Battambang consisted of 7 districts: Battambang, Sangke, Maung Russey, Monkol Borei, Toeuk Cho, Serei Sophorn, and Bei Thbaung.

In May 1953, the Poi Pet administration was founded and ordered under the district of Serei Sophorn which was divided into two districts: Serei Sophorn and Banteay Chmar. In March 1965, the administration of Poi Pet, was elevated to the status of a district named O Chrov. In July 1965, part of the territory of Maung Russey was separated to become the administration of Kors Kralor. In March 1966, another new district Thmar Pouk was founded and the district of Banteay Chmar was cut off from the province of Battambang for incorporation into Oddor Meanchey province, another newly founded province. In the early years of the Khmer Rouge, two new districts were established: Banan and Kors Lor. During the 3 years and 9 months of the Killing Fields, Battambang saw its people evacuated by Pol Pot's men from the city and towns and relocated to remote and mountainous areas. The province of Battambang, once known as the rice bowl of the country, was turned into a site of torture, killings, and starvation.

The province of Battambang was completely liberated from the genocidal regime on January 13, 1979. At that time, the People’s Committee of commune-Sangkat was founded through the first-ever elections in 1983. Between 1979 and 1986, Battambang had 9 districts and one provincial town.

In 1986, three new districts were created: Banan, Bovel, and Ek Phnom. Until that point, Battambang had 12 districts and 1 provincial town. In 1988, however 5 districts were separated and incorporated into the newly founded province of Banteay Meanchey.

In 1998, following the integration of the remaining territory of the former Democratic Kampuchea, the province of Battambang saw part of its territory separated for the municipality of Pailin, while 4 new districts were established: Samlot, Kamreang, Phnom Proeuk and Sampov Loun. In 2000, part of the district of Maung Russey was split off to become the district of Koas Krala. [3]