Stories of Cambodian Angkuoch: Documenting a rare musical instrument, its makers and players

Abstract

Background: With online versions in Khmer and English, this 24-page illustrated bilingual printed booklet is the outcome of an international research project funded by the Endangered Material Knowledge Program of the British Museum (UK), documenting the musical instrument Angkuoch in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. Developed for a public readership, the booklet presents key project findings through text (Grant and Song, translated by Say) and photographs (Grant). Situated within the fields of applied ethnomusicology and intangible cultural heritage, the booklet documents and advances publicly accessible knowledge about this highly endangered instrument.

Contribution: This work represents the first in-depth text-based contribution in either Khmer or English to knowledge about Angkuoch-making and -playing. It is distinctive in being written for a public audience, and for presenting the contemporary social and cultural context of Angkuoch-making and -playing in addition to organological information. Drawing on fieldwork observations and excerpts from in-depth interviews with makers, it advances general knowledge about this aspect of Cambodia’s intangible cultural heritage.

Significance: Author Grant has been interviewed about the research in a live 10-minute interview on ABC Radio (Sept 2019). Respected local media outlets Phnom Penh Post and Koh Santepheap Daily ran articles about the project (Jan 2020), and the British Museum included a section on it in a blog post about endangered knowledge (Nov 2020). The International Jew’s Harp Society posted two blog entries by author Grant about the project (Jan and Dec 2020), and a forthcoming chapter authored by Grant in World Music Textbook presents the findings. UNESCO provided funding for disseminating the outcomes of this project in Cambodia. The project has led to revived local Angkuoch-making, including the making of the first iron angkuoch instruments in more than half a century.