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VU Research Portal VU Research Portal Weaving into Cambodia ter Horst, G.C.H. 2008 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) ter Horst, G. C. H. (2008). Weaving into Cambodia: Trade and Identity Politics in the (post)-Colonial Cambodian Silk Weaving Industry. Eigen Beheer. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 07. Oct. 2021 WEAVING INTO CAMBODIA Trade and Identity Politics in the (post)-Colonial Cambodian Silk Weaving Industry John ter Horst Photograph on the cover: ‘Métier á tisser Cambodgien’. Léon Busy (1921). Aix en Provence, France: FR CAOM 30Fi 104/78. ISBN/EAN: 978-90-9023232-4 © 2008 by John ter Horst, the Netherlands All rights reserved. Save exceptions stated by the law, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system of any nature, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author, application for which should be adressed to the author. ii VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT WEAVING INTO CAMBODIA Trade and Identity Politics in the (post)-Colonial Cambodian Silk Weaving Industry ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. L.M. Bouter, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen op vrijdag 10 oktober 2008 om 10.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Gerhardus Cornelis Hendrikus ter Horst geboren te Harderwijk iii promotor: prof.dr. H. Dahles-Schnetzinger copromotoren: prof.dr. O.J.H.M. Salemink dr. J.G.G.M. Kleinen iv Table of contents Tables, maps and graph……………………………………………………. ix Glossary of silk weaving terms …………………………………………… xi Preface……………………………………………………………………………xiii Introduction: An elder silk weaver at work………………………………17 Cambodian silk weaving: an example of Khmer modernization…………… 20 Traditional modernity……………………………………………………………….. 23 A marginal Chinese narrative……………………………………………………… 25 Towards the next chapters…………………………………………………………. 29 Chapter 1: How to Dress the Khmer?: A theoretical exploration.. 33 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 33 Chinese migration to Southeast Asia……………………………………………. 34 The rise of transnational trading and business networks………………….. 37 Identity politics……………………………………………………………………….. 41 Materialism……………………………………………………………………………. 44 The logic of subsistence……………………………………………………………. 48 A traditional modernity………………………………………………………………51 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….. 55 Chapter 2: A Plural Society Against Its Will……………………………. 57 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 57 The dominant discourse about Cambodia…………………………………….. 58 The arrival of foreign hegemonizers……………………………………………… 60 Postcolonial processes of ethnic homogenization…………………………….. 63 A painful reality………………………………………………………………………. 66 Flirting with the Chinese again…………………………………………………… 71 Silk weaving: a Cambodian blessing?…………………………………………….74 Chapter 3: Weaving Into Cambodia: Deconstruction of a myth…… 77 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 77 The origin myth of the sampot hol ……………………………………………… 80 Sericulture in ‘The Dark Age’ of Cambodia…………………………………….. 82 Sericulture in ‘The Age Of Commerce’…………………………………………… 85 The arrival of the Cantonese silk weavers……………………………………… 91 The arrival of French silk industrials……………………………………………. 98 Buddhists do not kill silk worms…………………………………………………. 100 Competing hegemonies……………………………………………………………… 103 v The 1930 economic depression…………………………………………………… 107 The 1940 Pacific war………………………………………………………………… 109 The revival of the sampot hol ……………………………………………………… 111 The sampot hol : a trauma symbol ………………………………………………. 115 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….. 118 Chapter 4: From Worm to Sampot: Silk producers and traders in Cambodia……………………………………………………………………125 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 125 The labor-process………………………………………………………………….... 126 Silk weaving regions in Cambodia……………………………………………….. 131 Silk weaving regions and their specialties……………………………………… 133 Kandal Province………………………………………………………………………. 135 Prey Veng/Kampong Cham………………………………………………………… 137 Phnom Srok…………………………………………………………………………....140 The Tan Chau spinnery…………………………………………………………….. 143 The wholesalers and ‘their’ middlemen…………………………………………. 148 The retailers…………………………………………………………………………… 151 The customers………………………………………………………………………… 159 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..162 Chapter 5: Dragons United: Ethnicity and trade relationships……. 177 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 177 Case-study…..………………………………………………………………………… 178 A feminized business……………………………………………………………….. 182 A female conglomerate……………………………………………………………… 185 Another case-study………………………………………………………………….. 189 The image of the lazy Khmer………………………………………………………. 191 Ethnic saving clubs…………………………………………………………………..195 Patron-client relationships………………………………………………………….197 Mimicry Chinese……………………………………………………………………… 198 Processes of ethnicization………………………………………………………….. 200 The art of gift giving………………………………………………………………….. 203 Strategic marriage……………………………………………………………………. 206 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….. 210 Chapter 6: 100% Khmer, Sir!: Ethnicity and consumer behavior….215 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………… 215 Case-study…………………………………………………………………………….. 216 A multi-layered identity…………………………………………………………….. 219 The Chinese ban on landownership……………………………………………… 221 A Pure Khmer ………………………………………………………………………… 223 Afraid being labeled ‘351’…………………………………………………………… 224 Khmer men do not peddle………………………………………………………….. 227 Can Buddhists become rich?……………………………………………………… 229 vi The myth of a harmonious diaspora ……………………………………………. 231 100% Khmer, Sir!…………………………………………………………………….. 232 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………... 236 Conclusion.……………………………………………………………………. 239 Appendices.……………………………………………………………………. 251 Appendix A : A mobile research approach……………………………………… 253 Appendix B : The CAS silk census………………………………………………. 257 Appendix C: The interviews…….…………………………………………………. 259 Appendix D: An historical approach……………………………………………. 267 References……………………………………………………………………… 271 Samenvatting………………………………………………………………….. 291 vii viii Tables, maps and graph Tables Table 1: Chinese junks from Southeast Asian ports to Japan (1651-1724)……… 89 Table 2: Cantonese in Cambodia by place of origin……………………………………. 96 Table 3: French sericulture investments in Indochina (in piasters)……………….. 104 Table 4: Cocoon and silk yarn production in Cambodia, 1921-1930 (in kg)…….. 109 Table 5: Trade balance Indochinese silk eggs (in100kg)……………………………… 109 Table 6: Time schedule of the weaving process…………………………………………. 129 Table 7: Demographic figures of the silk weavers per region………………………… 140 Table 8: Retailers, stock and customers per market…………………………………. 159 Maps Map 1: Migration patterns Cantonese silk entrepreneurs to Cambodia …………. 97 Map 2: Silk weaving regions Cambodia………………………………………………….. 147 Graph Command pyramid structure of the Cambodian production and silk trade…………………………………………………………………………………… 165 ix x Glossary of silk weaving terms Alkali: a chemical silk weavers use to soften the silk yarn Charobab: An ikat woven sampot with silver and golden metal threads. Cocoon: a pupal casing made by moths, caterpillars and other insect larvae. Dye stuff: natural or chemical materials silk weavers use to colour the silk yarn. Ikat weaving: a silk weaving technique in which the weaver creates various patterns and colours before the weaving process. Kaben: a measure term silk weavers use to indicate the length of the silk cloth. In Khmer lexicon one kaben is about four metres. Kiet: Red, purple or indigo coloured silk head clothes worn by Cham/Malay women Koli: an weight indicator silk weavers use. One koli of silk yarn means two kilogram silk yarn. Krama: a garment with many uses, including as a scarf, bandanna, to carry children and to cover the face. Loom: a machine or device for weaving thread or yarn into textiles. Phamung – a plain woven skirt from Thailand. In Thai language Pha means ‘fabric’ and Mung means ‘purple’. Pidan: a type of silk cloth used in Cambodian weddings, funerals or Buddhist ceremonies as a tapestry. Sampot hol: an ikat woven skirt with a variety of designs such as birds, flowers, Buddha temples, or boats. Sarong: An ikat woven skirt made of silk yarn dyed in different colours. Sericulture: the rearing of silk worms for the production of raw silk. Warping: preparing the warp by rolling all the warp-yarns on to a beam, under the same tension, strictly parallel to each other and in a certain order. Yarn: a long continuous length of interlocked
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