Sompot chong kben (សំពត់ចងក្បិន)[1] combines three Khmer words: សំពត់ (/sɑmpʊət/,sampot),[4] a long, rectangular cloth worn around the lower body; ចង (/cɑɑŋ/,chang),[5] to wrap around; and ក្បិន (/kbən/,kben),[6] referring to the lower body cloth that is wrapped around the waist then pulled back between the legs and tucked in at the back. The name of this cloth,kben orchong kben, literally means "to wrap or to wear the kben" in Khmer.Chong kraben (โจงกระเบน) is used among Thai people and derived from these Khmer words.[2]
Young Khmer women performing in Khmersampot chong kben.
It is believed the Khmer people inFunan first began wearingsompot chong kben after KingKaundinya I began importing a very similar type of clothing in the 1st century CE, the Indiandhotis.[7][failed verification]
The back of thesompot chong kben is in reference to the tail of Hanuman.[8][9] By the 17th century, the royal court of Siam had also adopted thesampot chong kben.[10] In 1856, SiameseKing Mongkut gifted US PresidentFranklin Pierce four Khmer silk garments. Three were woven silksampot chong kben inhol pattern, a textile achieved from the distinct, sophisticated Khmer uneven twill groundweave.[11]
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