Cambodia & Culture: Preserving the tradition of palm leaf manuscripts

Keen to preserve Khmer culture and tradition, a former monk who has mastered the art of palm leaf manuscripts has turned it into a full-time job.

Lorth Loeng also accepts personalised requests for modern texts and phrases, including birthday wishes and greetings. Photo supplied

At the age of 15, Lorth Loeng, who is now 39, joined the monks. In 2001 - a year after he began wearing the yellow robe - he began mastering the craft in a pagoda in Siem Reap province.

After leaving the monastic life, Loeng married and now has three daughters. He lives in the village of Samrong in Siem Reap, Leang Dai commune, Angkor Thom district. His childhood fascination with the ancient art of inscribing manuscripts has turned into a business that supports his family's daily life.

"My wife sells brooms made from wild herbs and fruits, while I work on palm leaf manuscripts. My three daughters, thanks to practice and my advice, are gradually acquiring this know-how. One of them is one of my ten students. I can inscribe five or six palm leaves containing around five rows of text. The leaves come in three different sizes, cut into rectangular strips. Each leaf is sold for 15,000 riels, but is sometimes sold for less because most buyers are not rich. They buy it because of their love for Khmer art, culture and literature," explains Loeng.

Most of Loeng's buyers are monks, elderly people who strictly practise Buddhism, or people who have been monks. While some need the manuscripts to make an offering to the pagodas, others buy them simply out of respect for this traditional craft.

"Most of the time, I'm asked to produce a complete series of palm leaf manuscripts of a specific story chosen by the customer. It takes me around two to three months to finish, with around 400 leaves in all," he says.

The dried palm leaves are treated with smoke for a few days before they are strong enough to be used to make manuscripts. Photo supplied

The profession of palm-leaf scribe involves a number of difficulties. For one thing, it's not exactly a recipe for fame or fortune. For another, it's a complicated process that requires a great deal of skill and patience. It takes about a month and a few steps before the leaves are dry and strong enough to be written on.

"A type of palm leaf called Sloek Rith needs to be freshly cut. The trees are found in abundance in the Chhaeb district of Preah Vihear province. The leaves must be cut into pieces of the same size, then dried for a whole month. They also have to be treated with smoke for a few days before they are strong enough to go under the blade," explains Loeng.

Lorth Loeng

It is believed that the production of palm-leaf manuscripts began in India and South-East Asia around the 5th century BC. In Cambodia, palm-leaf manuscripts were used to inscribe the "Tripitaka" - also called Preah Trai Bekdok in Khmer - which are sacred Buddhist texts containing the teachings of Buddha.

Lorth Loeng also accepts personalised requests to inscribe modern texts and phrases, including birthday wishes and greetings. Despite his efforts to modernise palm leaf manuscripts and expand the market for them, Lorth Loeng fears that he is one of the few people struggling to keep the craft alive.

"As far as I know, today in Angkor Thom district, there are only three or four people, including me, who have the skills needed to make palm leaf manuscripts. In my commune, Leang Dai, hardly anyone makes palm leaf manuscripts. Only my family still carries on the tradition", explains Loeng.

That's why he asked the government for help before the pandemic to preserve this Khmer tradition.

"I asked for the support of the relevant ministries and departments so that together we could find the most encouraging way of preserving our heritage, our culture and our literature. Let's hope that this intangible heritage will endure," he explains.

There are around 4,000 sets of palm-leaf manuscripts in the Saravoan Techo pagoda, another 2,000 in the National Museum and 2,500 in the National Library. Many others can be found at the Royal University of Phnom Penh and in the country's pagodas.

Mech Khoeun, a representative of an ancient document preservation group at one of the local libraries, also expressed concern about the loss of Khmer palm-leaf manuscripts, particularly those containing historical and educational documents:

"I think it is very important for the development of our country not to forget the past. Palm leaf manuscripts contain a lot of interesting information about our ancestors, such as how they lived. They are a great reference for our literature.”

Knowing the importance of palm leaf writing, Loeng is determined to pass on the craft to his children. As well as making a living from it, I devote my free time to passing on my skills to children who are passionate about this art. Today, I teach around ten of them for free. Among them is my 11-year-old daughter, the only girl in the class", concludes Loeng.

Pann Rethea with our partner The Phnom Penh Post