Ayai

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The Ayai art form originated from popular routines, like many other Khmer traditions. In the past, Cambodian people would perform traditional games - which often included singing and dancing - in their villages, most often during the Khmer New Year festival and other celebrations. Because of the ribaldry of the language used, ayai singing was considered lewd and this type popular leisure was not recommended for well-bred women in the traditional code of the Chbab Srey. During the terror regime operated by the Khmer Rouge, most traditional forms of culture, including ayai, were controlled, if not banned. Occasionally, however, it survived as witnessed by Cambodian genocide survivor Daran Kravanh, who was asked to “sing a question and answer back and forth” by his guards feeling nostalgia for these ayai love songs. Khmer singer San Yoeun also confesses singing ayai for the regime’s propaganda. After the 1980s, culture was more free, small groups promoting traditional culture were set up in various provinces such as those by Chheng Phon, and ayai became a popular tool of political contestation, during the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia. During those years, Ayai icon Prum Manh rose to fame and some of his best pieces have become classics of Cambodian folklore music. Since 2010, ayai traditional chant has fallen in popularity, and “ayai is only heard at weddings or in small villages nowadays”. In 2009, another controversy erupted as the government broke down on the “pornographic” character of the ayai songs and the matter obtained attention of world media. However, others, such as Cambodian American rapper Prach Ly, see ayai as the inspiration for the new generation of Cambodian rappers in the 21st century as rap is also, a form of “wisdom competition in continuous rhymes.” Through rap, ayai is coming back to more popular topics and contemporary social concerns such as welfare and drug abuse.

AY on Music Theory Print

Ayai

History#