Cambodia & Tradition: Teaching the art of phloy to younger generations
- Editorial team
- Jul 18
- 4 min read
The country has many musical traditions that are unique to the kingdom. One of the recurring problems in post-war Cambodia is finding ways to preserve and perpetuate these traditions so that they do not disappear as the country modernizes and generations of children grow up more accustomed to American hip-hop or Korean K-Pop by BTS than to the haunting melodies of an instrument from their local cultural heritage.
One Cambodian instrument facing real challenges is the phloy, which originated with the Chong people of the Areng region, located south of the Cardamom Mountains. Phloys are made from bamboo and calabash glued together with natural lacquer.
They have a very distinctive sound, sometimes compared to that of bumblebees visiting flowers, and are generally used to accompany singers, often at weddings.
According to the research team of the Khmer Magic Bus program of Cambodia Living Arts (CLA) and the Bophana Center, today there is only one place left in Cambodia where a Cambodian who truly knows how to play this instrument lives: Duong Nhek, 87, from the Areng Chong community in Pek Svay village, Koh Kong province.
Book
CLA has published a book on the subject with financial support from the US Embassy in Cambodia. In early 2022, the 60-page book entitled “Phloy” was published in Khmer and English. In addition to information on the history and cultural context of the instrument, it also features melodies and lyrics of songs composed for the phloy.
The research team consists of four members: Thorn Seyma and En Sormanak, both facilitators, Va Bophary, researcher, and Thon Dika, photographer.
Role
Each traditional musical instrument in Cambodia has a different role depending on the ritual involved or the composition of the ensemble it accompanies. The phloy is a type of wind instrument traditionally used by the Chong people in provinces such as Pursat, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu, and Koh Kong.
Phloy are used in traditional ceremonies such as the Neak Ta spirit ceremony, spirit offerings, possession and trance rituals, elephant trapping, and the elephant ritual.
The Areng region in Koh Kong province is inhabited by the Chong tribe, who still practice annual spiritual rituals using the phloy in their ceremonies once a year.
Threat
Unfortunately, the phloy and its music are threatened with extinction due to a lack of new players interested in learning the instrument and a lack of opportunities to perform with the phloy in public at various events.
As for the production of new phloys, it is becoming increasingly difficult over the years to find the raw materials needed to make them.
Manufacturing
To make a phloy, you need five bamboo pipes, a dried gourd, resin from the Koki tree (Hopea ferrea), resin from stingless bees (Meliponini), and rattan vines. The essential parts of the instrument are the sound tubes, the sound box, and its reeds.
The resin is extremely difficult to extract, as it is only found in certain large trees deep in the forest. In some cases, it can be extracted from holes in the ground near the trees, but the quality is not as good. Once the resin has been extracted from the tree trunks, it is rinsed with water to remove any debris.
The instrument is assembled from bamboo, gourd, and vines, using the resins as glue and varnish, which gives it its distinctive sound.
Spirit
Despite the lack of phloy players in recent years, the music of the Neak Ta spirit ceremony requires the Chongs to practice regularly in order to learn the melodies and songs accurately.
The indigenous Chong people and those of Por in Pursat believe that the phloy was invented by the Neak Ta spirit, which is why the instrument is never kept in an individual home, but is always kept safe in a special hut reserved for the Neak Ta spirit.
In addition to this ceremony dedicated to the spirit Neak Ta, the phloy also plays a special role in the ceremony held before setting off to gather cardamom for the inhabitants of the Veal Veng district in the mountains.
Continuing the research
"For this research and musical compilation, our team studied the history of the phloy, the melodies and songs used for the Neak Ta spiritual ritual and other ceremonies practiced in Areng, as well as how to make the phloy. Unfortunately, during the research trip in 2021, Grandfather Duong Nhek was the only one who knew how to play the instrument, and he was too old and unable to perform. With no other options available, we were only able to record his students playing the phloy," explains Seyma, co-founder of Khmer Magic Bus.
“There is an urgent need for further research and documentation on the phloy. The melody of the phloy is short, but some parts of the songs have two sounds heard simultaneously, like the sound of Ken music.”
"However, the Ken produces a pair of related notes over several octaves, while the phloy produces two or three notes separately and distinctly. The musical transcription is written in Western musical notation, and in some songs there are up to four key changes. When making the phloy, Grandfather Duong Nhek does not tune the instruments, so each one has a unique sound."
“Grandfather thought that music was more beautiful when each instrument had an incongruous sound,” she adds.
Fortunately, thanks to the work of Cambodian Living Arts' Khmer Magic Bus program, a grant from the American Fund for Cultural Preservation, and additional support from the Steung Areng Community Ecotourism Association, a phloy teaching program began in 2018.
Grandfather Duong Nhek happily passes on all his knowledge of phloy playing, traditional singing, and instrument making to his three talented students, two of whom are girls.
These three students must each travel far from home to learn phloy at Nhek's house. His lessons began in 2018 and continue to this day.
The master teaches his students to play phloy music and perform traditional songs. They also learn how to make their own instruments.
"Grandpa's students will continue to educate others and promote phloy music widely in other regions. We all hope that this artistic heritage of the Areng region will be preserved for future generations, because arts and culture are irreplaceable elements of the identity of a nation or ethnic group," concludes Seyma.
Pann Rethea with our partner The Phnom Penh Post