Asampot (Khmer:សំពត់ /sɑmpʊət/Khmer pronunciation:[sɑmpɔt]),[1] a long, rectangular cloth worn around the lower body, is a traditional dress inCambodia.[2] It can be draped and folded in several different ways. The traditional dress is similar to thedhoti ofSouthern Asia. It is also worn in the neighboring countries ofLaos andThailand where it is known aspha nung (Thai:ผ้านุ่ง[pʰâːnûŋ]).[3]
The sampot dates back to theFunan era when a Cambodian king ordered the people of his kingdom to wear the sampot at the request of Chinese envoys.[4] It is similar to thelungi anddhoti worn in theIndian subcontinent, thelongyi worn inBurma, and thesarong worn inmaritime Southeast Asia.Silk weaving was an important part of Cambodia's cultural past. People fromTakéo Province have woven silk since the Funan era and records, bas-reliefs, andZhou Daguan's report have shown that looms were used to weave sompots since ancient times.[4]
Complex methods and intricate patterns have been developed to make the cloth, one of which is the hol method which involves dyeing patterns on silk before weaving. What remains unique to Cambodian weavers is the uneven twill technique. The reason they adopted such an unusual method remains unclear.[5]
However, little is known about theOld Khmer vocabulary for these fabrics, and if the sampot today was simply changed over time from the original Angkorian textiles. The ancientbas-reliefs however provide a complete look at what fabrics were like, down to patterns and pleats. Silk woven cloths are used inweddings andfunerals and for decoration of temples.[6]
InGeorge Groslier'sRecherches sur les Cambodgiens (1921), a French director of Cambodia Arts during theFrench protectorate of Cambodia, observed thesampot:
The wordsampot must be a very old word, as old as the garment because it means: "star" and not a special part of the Khmer costume. Originally, it was a fabric tunic like this horizontal strip of cloth in Chinese texts, and therefore a garment tunic. From cotton, it became silk, and was decorated with polychrome designs as we studied at the beginning of this chapter. At first glance, it is nothing other than the widened belt and is draped much like it. Until the 12th century it seems narrower than the currentsampot and is only worn by men and certain sacred dancers (?). Women wear asarong and we know that the fashion for thesampot common to both sexes is modern and probably a Siamese innovation.[7][note 1]
— George Groslier, Recherches sur les Cambodgiens (1921).
InAngkor Empire (1955) byGeorge Benjamin Walker, recorded the origin of the modernsampot, which was compiled from these historian authorities:R. C. Majumdar, Reginald Le May,Kalidas Nag,Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales,George Charles Brodrick, Lawrence Palmer Briggs,Cedric Dover, and French scholars of theFrench School of the Far East:
Her dress is thesampot. Authorities say it is fromSiam. Why, no one can guess. Authorities tell us all sorts of curious things on the strength of their knowledge of the ancient texts and the historians' histories. It requires no knowledge of mediaeval Siamese history to see plentiful evidence of thesampot in the bas-reliefs, which preceded Siamese influences by centuries. Thesampot is like the Indianlungi or the Malayansarong; a length of cloth, often gaily coloured, tied around the waist and hanging down like a skirt. Sometimes it is caught up between the legs and fixed behind like adhoti, in the fashion of the women ofMaharashtra.[8]
— George B. Walker, ANGKOR EMPIRE (1955).
In the run-up to the1993 Cambodian general election, Khmer leaderSon Sann in a heated debate called for a sampot test to be used to establish whether or not women could vote or not in the election; walking a few yards in a tight sampot would be a sign of true Khmer identity, in contrast with the Vietnamese women who would usually wear pants under theáo dài.[9]
There are three important silk textiles in Cambodia. They include the ikat silks (chong kiet in Khmer), or hol, the twill-patterned silks and the weft ikat textiles.[citation needed] Patterns are made by tying natural andsynthetic fibers on the weft threads and then it is dyed. It is repeated for different colors until the patterns firm and cloth is woven.[citation needed]
Traditionally, five colors are used, predominantly red, yellow, green, blue and black.[citation needed] The Sompot Hol is used as a lower garment and as the sompot chang kben. The Pidan Hol is used as a ceremonial hanging used for religious purposes.
There are many variations of the sampot; each is worn according to class. The typical regular sampot, known also as thesarong is typically worn by men and women oflower class. It measures approximately one and a half meters and both ends are sewn together. It is tied to secure it on the waist.[citation needed]
The sompot is deeply rooted in Cambodia. Even though theFrench brought a degree ofWesternization to Cambodia, Cambodians continued to wear the sompot.Royalty and government officials used thesampot chang kben with a formal jacket. The sompot chong kben and sompot phamuong are still worn by Cambodians today during special occasions, and rural and poor Khmers still prefer it over Western-style clothing for its comfort.
The material used by poor and rural Cambodians is not hand-woven silk but printedbatik-patterned cloth imported fromIndonesia. It is still popular with both men and women alike and is regarded by the people of Cambodia as theirnational garment.[citation needed]
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