Teanh Prot
| Teanh Prot | |
|---|---|
| Khmer name | ល្បែងទាញព្រ័ត្រ |
| Also known as | Teanh Proat; Lbaengteanhprot; traditional tug-of-war; Cambodian tug-of-war |
| Practice type | Game |
| Usual occasion | Khmer New Year |
| Subjects | Celebrations & Life Passages |
Teanh Prot is a traditional game practised in Cambodia and Khmer communities. (Wikipedia)
Practice
Two teams, commonly men and women, pull opposite ends of a rope across a marked line in an open village space or Buddhist monastery compound. Referees begin the contest after ritual cries intended to repel malevolent spirits, and the winning team pulls the other across the line. The rope is traditionally broken or cut at the end, symbolizing the end of the old cycle and the beginning of a new year, rice-growing season, and period of fertility and prosperity. (Wikipedia; Archive.Unesco-ichcap)
History
The supplied accounts associate Teanh Prot with the Hindu myth of the churning of the ocean of milk, represented in Cambodian architectural and sculptural imagery at Angkor. The practice was inscribed in 2015 on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as part of the shared tradition of tugging rituals and games. The sources also describe concerns about its decline because of migration, urbanization, industrialization, and changing forms of entertainment. (Wikipedia; Archive.Unesco-ichcap)
Variations
The practice is reported among rice-cultivating communities around Tonle Sap and north of Angkor Wat, and it is also described in villages such as Krang Thnung and communities in Kampong Cham. Team size, participation by married or younger people, rope materials, playful bets, and whether the rope is physically cut or ritually treated as broken may vary by community. (Wikipedia; Archive.Unesco-ichcap)
Communities and practitioners
Village elders or older participants organize and referee the game, while men, women, married adults, and sometimes younger unmarried people participate. Buddhist officiants known as Achar may traditionally cut the rope, and communities gather to watch and take part in the accompanying festivities. (Wikipedia; Archive.Unesco-ichcap)