Weddings Cambodia

Weddings are important events in Cambodia. Rural Cambodians often use matchmakers and have arranged marriages, while city kids increasingly choose love matches. Premarital sex is considered unacceptable — for women, at least — and divorce, while easy to obtain, is uncommon. Most Khmer young people marry before the age of 25, and women in the provinces often get married as teenagers. Travel Indochina Cambodia
A traditional wedding is a complicated and expensive affair that can go on for days, requiring multiple intricate outfits and lots of very early morning wake-up calls. A wedding usually lasts three days, with many different ceremonies relating to ancient mythical Khmer stories that are done in a specific order to join the bride and groom in matrimony. Some weddings can last a week while others are only a day long, determined usually by the wealth of the parties involved.
Even if you don’t know any Cambodians when you first arrive, you’ll find that you’re often invited to weddings. Unlike Western weddings, where the guest lists are closely monitored, Cambodians will often invite all and sundry to their weddings, hoping to make the affair as large and impressive as possible. When foreigners are invited to weddings they are usually only invited to certain portions that are meant for an audience, or to the final evening celebration. In the cities, these are often held in large halls or on the street under a canopy. Tours in Cambodia
Khmer Wedding
In Khmer wedding, it has a lot of ceremonies held in chronological orders. They show the historical roots related to the Buddha’s period which existed ages ago. According to a book “Khmer Wedding Rules” of Oknha Nov, it puts that in ancient Khmer wedding laws, people perform a song describing God Vesandor Borom Pothisat arranging the marriage between his children – Chealy and Kroesna. And some other songs are about the marriage arrangement of God Ream and Seda. Oknha Nov wrote that the current wedding preparations are arranged according to the rules drawn up by King Preah Chey Chesda Thebdey.
According to the king’s book, it puts that all ceremonies in Khmer wedding are related to mythical stories such as a story "Som Sla Kanseng". It is told that there were two men who went to feed their buffalos in the field would like to make friends with each other and wanted to be relative by marriage with each other because one had a son and the other had a daughter. In order to prove their words, they ask for betel nuts packed in krama from each other to show their promise that their children would marry to each other.
Another story is “the three betel flowers”. It describes that there were four men who had different skills – swimming, shooting, fortune telling, and magic. After completing their study, they returned home. Along the way back near a stream, the fortune teller said that day they were going to meet a girl and become their wife. Then a big bird swooped down on a girl, Khemry, who was having a bath. Right away the shooting man took his bow and shot the bird down back to the stream.
The swimmer then swam to bring her to the ground but she was just dead. After that the magic man helped her be alive again. All four men felt in love with the lad, so they were judged by the Buddha that she would become a wife of someone who swam to help her because he was able to touch her body first. And the fortune teller, magic man, and shooting man would become the father, mother, and brother respectively. Since then in all weddings, the bride and the groom must have three betel flowers in order to show gratitude towards their parents and brothers/sisters.
Setting-the-date ceremony and the groom holding the scarf are told that Prince Thaong was married to Princess Tevtey, a daughter of the sea dragon king. After setting the date already, Tevtey had to bring him to her father at dragon world, so the sea dragon’s daughter asked the prince to hold her scarf in order to dive into the dragon world. In the meanwhile, the dragon king commanded his man to kill the prince at the gate in order to test the prince’s ability. But the daughter had known this; hence, she disguised herself as the prince by changing her skirt and it was put on the prince instead so that the killer was not able to kill the prince. That is why in the current Khmer wedding it was seen that there is clothes change between the groom and the bride, and the groom holding the bride’s scarf in to the room, accompanied by “Phat Cheay and Neang Neak” songs, etc.

People in Mekong delta Vietnam

People in Mekong delta Vietnam
LIFESTYLE OF PEOPLE IN MEKONG DELTA
Mekong Delta not only owns beautiful scenery of bright sunshine, blue sky and fresh air but also frenetic and exciting lifestyle of people here. Highlighted by the livelihood supported by the waterways of Mekong River, the lifestyle in Mekong Delta owns rustic appeal but dynamic and exotic beauty. Indochina tours Vietnam
People in Mekong Delta have various ways of living. Most of population live in the flat plains near the river and the other part live their floating lives. People living on land earn livings by farming and feeding. They gather to form villages or hamlets and keep close-connection between people in the same hamlet and among hamlets. These people live on planting wet rice, fruits or other agricultural products and feed the castles or making handicraft. Each province is famous for a particular product, for example, Ben Tre fames for its coconut candies and a variety made from coconut, Vinh Long becomes well-known with the making of conical leaf hats. Another traditional and unique way of living in Mekong Delta is floating lives. It has been clearly and vividly described in the famous movie “Floating lives”. These people accommodate on houseboats, moving their boats between fields to fish or feed castles in flood season of Mekong River.
MekongRiverattaches with many daily activities of people in Mekong Delta. The most beautiful and outstanding image of this lifestyle is floating market. Hundreds of boats gathering on the water surface, each sells a particular product: watermelon, pineapple, avocado, durian or plum, making the crowded and frenetic scenery. Mekong delta tours Vietnam

Under the influence of reclamation, people of Mekong Delta have some common and typical characteristics. First of all, people in Mekong Delta are very strong-determined and hard-working. In the process of improving the soil and forming fields or orchards, people have to fight against the harsh nature which made people here not only strong-determined but also creative and sensible. In addition, the wealth of this land produced generous and hospitable people who are always welcome guests with their all sincere heart. One of the evidences is that houses in Mekong Delta are often higher, wider and more open to the outside world as compared to ones in the North and the Central. Moreover, they are quite flexible in many fields of daily life. For example, people in Mekong Delta prefer wearing simple clothes which are convenient and comfortable.
People in Mekong Delta live friendly with the environment. In the early days of settling, natural conditions had strong influence on their lives. For survival, people had to learn the way to adapt and get on well with the new environment. As a result, they got experience to exploit properly and treat friendly with environment. The precious experience has been inherited from generations to generations.
COMMON AND OUTSTANDING CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE IN MEKONG DELTA
Mekong Delta - the meeting point of favorable natural conditions, international waterways and different cultures has built up a common and outstanding characteristic of people here - FORGIVENESS. This characteristic has lead to three main results that directly affect the culture, belief and values of people in Mekong Delta.
1. Forgiveness
First of all, forgiveness has lead to the multi-culture of Mekong Delta. During the reclaiming time, different ethnics with different culture and customs co-inhabit in a land; therefore, they had to accept and respect the others’ difference. Nowadays, ethnics live together in harmony; each has its own culture and lifestyle.
Secondly, different religions co-exist in the highest density in the country in Mekong Delta. There are at least four religions of Buddhism, Muslim, Christianity and Hindu in this land. Especially, there has been the interaction among different religions.
Thirdly, characteristic of people in Mekong Delta is the unity of extremely opposite characters. For example, people in Mekong Delta work extremely hard and then play excessively hard. Interestingly, when they love someone, they will show all their hearts and souls for the other; however, if they hate someone, they even do not want to look at or talk with that one. This characteristic of people in Mekong Delta conflicts with people in the north who favored harmony and equivocacy.
2. Dynamic
The dynamic in characteristic of people in Mekong Delta is a result of many factors.
First of all, Mekong Delta is a multi-cultural land, and the interaction between cultures is quite strong. Moreover, Mekong Delta has a long time under the governance of French colony and then the influence of American culture (in the 19th and 20th century). Secondly, the first immigrants into Mekong Delta are almost the unlucky ones (poor and low social status). Therefore, they had to struggle to survive: fight with harsh nature, find new ways to fish and farm. Due to the above reasons, almost people in Mekong Delta are dynamic which is reflected in their lifestyle.
Firstly, people in Mekong Delta are easily to change their places of living. They do not attach their whole life with a particular village like people in the north. If their current living place is not favorable, they will move to more fertile land to live and farm. It is also easy for people in Mekong Delta to change their jobs.
The dynamic in characteristic of people in Mekong Delta leads to many results. First of all, they are easily to adapt the new things (cuisine, costume, custom). The second result of the dynamic is the creativity. Their creativity is represented in innovations in fishing and farming as well as producing. Moreover, the dynamic is also the encouragement for the development of commerce and trading. While people in the north consider commerce as something bad, people in Mekong Delta. Last but not least, people in Mekong Delta have risk-taking spirit in doing business.
3. Emotional and righteous
The long history of reclamation has also formed the characteristics of emotional and righteous of people in Mekong Delta. People from difference lands came here, living and helping each other. As a result, people here respect relationship between them. They can make friend easily and promise to share happiness as well as sorrow. People in Mekong Delta are quite reckless but righteous. They are not afraid of the death; they are ready die for their brothers and friends. Especially, the way people here express their love is very drastic and direct which is reflected in folk-song: “Even if I die, I will never leave you behind” or “As this night is so nice, could you let me sleep beside?”
Emotional and righteous, people in Mekong Delta disregard for money because for them, strings attached people are the most important. They can give everything they have to others who are in need because they believe that property is easy come and easy go.
Emotional and righteous, people in Mekong Delta are amazingly hospitable. Any comes are also considered friend and warmly welcomed. People here will serve guests the best things they have because making guests happy and satisfied is their happiness.
Emotional and righteous, people in Mekong Delta are straightforward and blunt. They say what they think without considering about losing other’s face. For them, love or hate should be clearly expressed; there is no place for neutral attitude.