The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (MoCFA) in close collaboration with UNESCO Phnom Penh Office organized a workshop on the preparation of the nomination file of Kun Lbokator, Khmer traditional martial arts, on the Representative List of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Cambodia on the 4th and 5th of February 2021 at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in Phnom Penh.
38 participants attended the workshop, including representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Tourism, Provincial Departments of Culture and Fine Arts, the Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO, the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, Royal University of Fine Arts, Cultural and Scientific Research Centre, Provincial Departments of Tourism, Cambodian Kun Lbokator Federation, Cambodian Living Arts, Cambodian Kun Lbokator Academy and Kun Lbokator communities (grand masters, masters and apprentices).
The workshop was moderated by H.E. Mr. Siyonn Sophearith, Director-General of Techniques for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts), Mr. Masanori Nagaoka, Culture Programme Specialist (UNESCO) and Mr. Rahul Goswami, expert facilitator on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asia-Pacific region (on-line participation).
The workshop aimed at building the capacities of communities, practitioners of Kun Lbokator (Cambodian traditional martial arts) and relevant stakeholders to prepare the nomination file based on the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The workshop consisted of a presentation of key concepts of the UNESCO 2003 Convention of Intangible Cultural Heritage, a review of the Advisory Body’s recommendation for the reasons of referral, and an analysis of successful nomination files of martial arts submitted by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Brazil and Georgia.
The workshop was moderated by H.E. Mr. Siyonn Sophearith, Director-General of Techniques for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts), Mr. Masanori Nagaoka, Culture Programme Specialist (UNESCO) and Mr. Rahul Goswami, expert facilitator on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asia-Pacific region (on-line participation).
The workshop aimed at building the capacities of communities, practitioners of Kun Lbokator (Cambodian traditional martial arts) and relevant stakeholders to prepare the nomination file based on the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The workshop consisted of a presentation of key concepts of the UNESCO 2003 Convention of Intangible Cultural Heritage, a review of the Advisory Body’s recommendation for the reasons of referral, and an analysis of successful nomination files of martial arts submitted by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Brazil and Georgia.
What is Kun Lbokator?
Inherited from Angkorian (early 9th century to mid-15th centuries) combat techniques, Kun Lbokator, or Khmer traditional martial arts have been widely practiced and learned among Cambodians from all walks of life. A few Kun Lbokator federations and clubs were founded in order to promote its practice widely. Kun Lbokator is represented by 9 masters who have trained many apprentices to date. The workshop gave Kun Lbokator communities, including masters and apprentices, the opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise:
Grand Master San Kimsean, Cambodian Kun Lbokator Academy:
“The biggest part of my life has been devoted to Kun Lbokator. I love it and I want to share all my knowledge and skills of Kun Lbokator with younger generations. Today, I am more than happy to attend this nomination workshop on Kun Lbokator in which I learned a lot on how to prepare an Intangible Cultural Heritage nomination file, especially the roles of communities and practitioners. I totally support the nomination of Kun Lbokator because this will significantly contribute to the safeguarding action of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Cambodia and beyond, and for this reason, I am ready to
contribute to the joint work, with which we altogether come up. I wish to share Kun Lbokator knowledge and skills to all people in the world so that they can be aware, appreciate and learn our history like other famous traditional martial arts of the world’’.
During the last day of the workshop on the 5th of February, apprentices and masters performed Kun Lbokator. All participants actively participated in the workshop providing historical and local knowledge about Kun Lbokator. The developed Nomination file is expected to be submitted by the Cambodian government to the UNESCO 2003 Convention Secretariat by 31 March 2021 for possible inscription at the end of 2022.
Miss Kang Sreynin, Dambang Dek Club of Kampong Chhnang Province:
‘’I joined the Dambang Dek Club of Kampong Chhnang Province, 6 years ago. I really love Kun Lbokator, Khmer martial arts. I would like to preserve and transfer this heritage from our Khmer ancestors to younger generation since Kun Lbokator contributes to my physical and mental education. I am ready to continue my commitment and my dream to consolidate the identity of my province and the nomination of Kun Lbokator on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, which will be the pride of Cambodia, especially for young people.’’
Through this workshop, based on an integrated capacity-building strategy, UNESCO hopes to strengthen the capacity of relevant stakeholders in Cambodia, especially communities and practitioners, to effectively document, protect and promote the invaluable richness of ICH existing in the country. This workshop on the preparation of the nomination file of Kun Lbokator will serve as a pilot-test for conducting nomination preparation of ICH in Cambodia in the coming years.
Further information:
Fifteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is available on: https://ich.unesco.org/en/15com
Materials of the nomination workshop are available on:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hZFrOIpiqQjobb4zDrf2qRPtNEy5O5W_
Further information about UNESCO ICH Lists is available on: