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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Shop makes copies of carvings from Angkor Wat

About this recording

Creator
Kristin Post
Date created
February 23, 2001
Duration
3:33
Location
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
File
MP3
License
This recording copyright ©2001. Terms of use

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In this recording, you can hear a conversation between me, my friend, and a man who works in a wood carving shop. In Angkor Wat, there are many stone carvings. This shop carves the same designs, but in stone and wood or in furniture for the commercial market.

Angkor Wat is the name of an important temple built by the ancient Khmer civilization, but also has also come to refer to the expanse of temples in northern Cambodia that were built over the centuries by the Khmer. What makes these temples so impressive is their scale, their number, and the incredible carvings.

Transcript

Kristin
Is this a shop just for commercial reasons? Or do you do stone for…like I was thinking of all of the stone in the temples of Ankgor Wat — where you take away the statues and put them in the national museum…you understand…
Cambodian man
Yeah yeah yeah, copy. Copy from…
Kristin
You make copies?
Cambodian man
Yeah, make copies.
Kristin
And you put them in the temple?
Cambodian man
Oh, no no. Now not yet. Now ..the other companies or the people that makes a new..no.
Kristin
No.
Cambodian man
Yeah. Because some sculpture they make from cement copy. And they put in.
Kristin
Copies, okay. So that’s done.
Cambodian man
But now only for…to…make the business. Yeah. But I think maybe in the future. (laughs)
Kristin
How long does it take for somebody to learn how to do the carving?
Cambodian man
Oh yeah. It’s uh, they come here for training to do carving, more than one year. Yeah, more than one year, so they can start carve by their own. But if they like to (?) a skill, it’s a training more than three years. So they have the skill, yeah, for carving.
Friend
I’m sure it takes a long time to learn how to do this.
Cambodian man
Yeah, but everyday, they allow by the teacher that give, give for them to make. Yeah.
Friend
How long would something like this take to make?
Cambodian man
It not…so…it’s a (?) poem? One sculpture it have a lot of uh… that’s the carve… then that ring, or everything on the skirt….asian(?) call ap apsara…take long time. Yeah. From start, one piece of the stone, until finish make more than two months.
Friend
Two months?
Cambodian man
Yeah. Two months or maybe three months it can finish one. So, it’s a normal. Also the sculpture it’s not (?) above the skirt also have the flower everything, so it takes short time.
Kristin
o all those carvings we saw at the Bayon and everything in uh… In Angkor Thom, those took many many years.
Cambodian man
Yeah yeah yeah…yeah, more than, more than..for example, it’s to carve the Angkor Wat or Bayon, that’s they have a lot of sculpture that’s on the wall or on the column, so take very long time. Yeah. Not easy.
Kristin
Yeah. It’s hard to imagine how long it took. How many people?
Cambodian man
Include stone group, also stone carving and group also wood carving, and group also make furniture, include 20 person.
Kristin
Twenty person?
Cambodian man
Yeah. Because in my place have three groups. One group carves the stone and the second group carve the wood and third group they make the furniture. Yeah. Because make the market (?) as Angkor Wat, they make the furniture they make (?) to make the market, yes.