Cambodian New Year

13-15 April 2008

 

New Year Games for DDP Students

These deaf students are playing a new year game in front of our Deaf Development Programme office building where we also have two classrooms for students, mostly in their 20s.  Khmer games always pit boys and girls against each other.  In an earlier, simpler, more innocent era--and still in the provinces, games at festivals like the new year were the only times the two sexes could mix and boys and girls meet and interact.

The games are always really simple, the kind primary school children would play in the Western world.  Many of them, like this one, involve guessing, e.g., which of the boys crossed over to the girls' line and touched this girl on the top of her head when she was blindfolded.  A correct guess eliminates one player from the boys' team.

The young people play these games on the street corners in their neighborhoods at night, alternating the games with traditional dancing to music from a boom box turned up loud.

Go to Khmer New Year main page
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