A sampot ( /sɑmpʊət/ ), is a traditional dress in Cambodia.Emma C. Bunker, Douglas Latchford. Adoration and glory: the golden age of Khmer art. Art Media Resources, 2004, p. 35
Etymology Sampot () is a modern Khmer term that refers to "cloth", "woman's skirt",Huffman, Franklin Eugene; Im Proum (1978). English-Khmer Dictionary. New Haven, CT.: Yale University Press. pp. 110, 537. "cloth n. sell x សំពត់", "skirt n. woman's x សំពត់." and "a piece of cloth used as a lower garment, specifically the Khmer sarong." It is derived from several terms, including "saṃbata, sambata, saṃbūta, saṃmbuta, sambattha, and sabvata," which can be found in groups of the Inscription Modern Angkor Wat (IMA) from the 16th and 17th centuries CE, during the middle Khmer period. The root of the word sampot is ba't and ba'ta, which mean "to encircle, surround." The terms *sbatJenner, Philip Norman; Cooper, Doug (2011). A Dictionary of Middle Khmer. Canberra, A.C.T.: The Australian National University, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies Pacific Linguistics. p. 352. and 'sba'ta are derived from this root and mean "to gird, wrap, or envelop (the body)."Green, Gillian (2003). Traditional textiles of Cambodia: Cultural Threads and Material Heritage. Bangkok: River Books. pp. 197, 214. p. 197. "The word sampot is used in modern Khmer vocabulary to mean ' a piece of cloth ' as well as ' woman's skirt'." p. 214. "Huffman (1978: 110, 537). The root of the word of sampot is ‘ba'ta’ pronounced /put/ meaning ‘to encircle, surround! The word ‘sba'ta’, pronounced /sput/ is constructed employing this root. It means ‘to gird, wrap, envelop (the body): From this root samba'ta /samput/ is derived. It is glossed as ‘the sampot or Khmer sarong (sic); (by extension) length of cloth; cloth; material’ (Jenner 1982:1 87, 8)."
Indian scholar Ramanlal Nagarji Mehta suggests that the Khmer word sampat-hol for textiles may date back to the Sanskrit word sam-patola (), meaning "like a Patola." It is highly likely that the fabric and technique were brought by Hindu immigrants in the 3rd or 4th centuries CE, if the Khmer word is derived from Sanskrit.Mehta, Ramanlal Nagarji. "Patolas," in Baroda State Museum and Picture Gallery (India) (1949). Bulletin of the Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, Vol. 7 (Parts 1–2). Baroda: Museum and picture gallery Baroda. p. 67. "In Cambodia the word for textiles in Patola technique is Sampat-hol, which may go back to a Sanskrit equivalent like Sam-Patola, i.e. "like a Patola". If the Cambodian word may be of Sanskrit origin, it is very likely that also the fabric and its technique might have been brought from there by the Hindu immigrants in the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D."
The term "Sampot" also entered the Thai court as sompak () and song pak.Lisuwan, Wibun (2007). Saranukrom pha khruang thaktho [Encyclopedia of woven textiles and weaving machines of Thailand] สารานุกรมผ้า เครื่องถักทอ (in Thai). Bangkok: Muang Boran. p. 139. "ผ้าปูมเขมร ผ้ามัดหมี่ของเขมรที่ราชสำนักสยามสั่งซื้อเข้ามาเป็นผ้านุ่งของขุนนาง เป็นผ้าขนาดใหญ่กว้างยาวมาก มักมีเชิงคล้ายผ้าปาโตลาของอินเดีย เรียกผ้าปูมเขมร บางทีเรียกสมปักหรือสองปัก" [Pha poom khamen" is a type of Khmer silk fabric that was traditionally worn by nobles in the Siamese royal court. This cloth is known for its large size, wide width, and long length, often featuring a border similar to that of Indian patola cloth. It is also referred to as "sompak" or "songpak."] () According to historical records, "An official letter from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Ayutthaya to an official in Surat", dated 2 December 1662,Chirapravati, Pattaratorn (M. L.); Kim-Ju, Greg Morae. "Refashioning the Identity of Siamese Monarchs: Hybridized Siamese and Indian Dress Styles," in Ghosh, Lipi (2017). India-Thailand Cultural Interactions: Glimpses from the past to present. Singapore: Springer. p. 94. during the 16th and 17th centuries of the Ayutthaya period, the Siam court ordered textiles from India and Cambodia known as "pha poom, sompak poom (pha sompak puum), and sompak lai."Cheesman (Naenna), Patricia (2004). Lao-Tai Textiles: The Textiles of Xam Nuea and Muang Phuan. Chiang Mai: Studio Naenna. p. 155. These textiles were later narrowed down by the Siamese court as the traditional attire worn by Siamese nobles that was bestowed upon Siamese nobles by the King of Siam.Chandracharoen, Thirabhand (2019). Phaa khien thong: Phra phuu saa borom raa chaa phi sek phra ma haa ka saat sayam [Gold patterned textile: The Royal Coronation Attire of the Kings of Siam] ผ้าเขียนทอง: พระภูษาบรมราชาภิเษกพระมหากษัตริย์สยาม (in Thai). Bangkok: Matichon. p. 41. "เครื่องแบบขุนนาง เรียกว่า "สมปักลาย" ซึ่งคำว่า สมปัก ดังปรากฏในเอกสารโบราณเหล่านั้นเป็นคำเขมรหมายถึงผ้านุ่ง แต่สยามนำคำนี้มาใช้โดยกำหนดความหมายให้แคบลง มิได้หมายถึงผ้านุ่งทุกประเภทสำหรับชนทุกชั้นดังความหมายเดิมในภาษาเขมร แต่หมายถึงผ้านุ่งที่ขุนนางได้รับพระราชทานจากพระมหากษัตริย์เป็นเครื่องแบบมีลวดลายตามลำดับชั้นยศในทำเนียบศักดินา มีสีสัน ตามสังกัดและหน้าที่การใช้สอย" [The traditinal attire worn by Siamese nobles was known as "Sompak Lai". This term "Sompak," derived from Khmer, means "lower garment." However, the meaning of this word was later narrowed down by the Siamese court. Unlike its original meaning in Khmer, it did not refer to all types of lower garments worn by Siamese nobles of different social classes. Instead, it specifically referred to the lower garment that was bestowed upon Siamese nobles by the King of Siam. These garments were adorned with patterns that denoted their rank in the feudal system, and were also distinguished by colors that represented their affiliation and role.]
Origins
Scholars say its acceptable to contend that the Khmer sampot chong kben corresponds to the dhoti, the sampot samluy fashioned with bunched pleats corresponds to the sari, and the knotted version of the sampot corresponds to the lunghi. The ancient bas-reliefs provide a complete look at what fabrics were like, down to patterns and pleats.Joachim Schliesinger. Ethnic Groups of Cambodia Vol 2: Profile of Austro-Asiatic-Speaking Peoples. 312 pag. ,
The sampot dates back to the Funan era. Kang Tai and Zhu Ying, a third-century Chinese envoy to Funan, reported that the people were “naked” with women wearing only “tube-shaped” cloth. In response to the envoy’s remarks that people in this “beautiful country" are “so indecently exposed,” the king ruled that the men of Funan wear “horizontal cloth wraps.” The wealthy manufactured brocade for these garments whereas the poor only wove cloth. Zhao Rukuo reported in the early 13th century that Cambodia exported raw silk, though according to Zhou Daguan's late 13th century report, silk was not produced or woven by the "locals" at Angkor, the area he visited and Cambodia's capital in the late 13th century. Instead, kapok was weaved on a backstrap loom. Zhou wrote that the King as well as ordinary people, "go naked to the waist, wrapped only in a cloth. When they are out and about they wind a larger piece of cloth over the small one."
In Khmer art, deities in the pre-Angkor era are depicted in "skirt cloths," or sampot samluy, knotted at the waist. This style of the garment are depicted only on women starting circa the 900s AD. During this period, two styles retained by Cambodians today appear: pleating edge panels of the sampot into a draped bundle fastened with a belt, and the sampot wrapped around and tucked into the waist.
The 12th-early 13th century depicts the sampot’s pattern pushed into a fold and secured with a belt. On the refined sampot of apsaras or devatas seen in Angkor carvings from this era, art historian Gillian Green writes that the fabric emerging from the devatas' waist can be explained by a second garment, perhaps a chong kben undergarment. Both bear “weft-oriented bands” on the ends. An elaborate male counterpart is chong kben featuring lengths of fabric with a pendant sash (or pamn muk) front and center. In the pre-Angkor era, unadorned or plain “warp-striped” pieces of fabric are depicted. By the Baphuon period (11th century), pleats were popular. “Random or ordered” floral patterns were fashionable in depictions by the 12th and 13th century.
For an 1856 Gift of Mutual Respect, Siamese King Mongkut and his Second King Phra Pin Klao presented US President Franklin Pierce three woven pairs of Khmer silk sampot chong kben of hol variety, in addition to “a similarly-patterned silk shoulder cloth.” Gillian Green writes that the method and design showed high sophistication, suggesting a long history of practice. Author and archaeologist Lisa McQuail wrote that King Mongkut describes the Thai silk items included in the Harris Treaty Gifts as “second quality,” likely because they were not as fine as the Khmer hol silks included.
In the run-up to the 1993 Cambodian general election, Khmer leader Son Sann in a heated debate called for a sampot test to be used to establish whether or not women could vote or not in the election; walking a few yards in a tight sampot would be a sign of true Khmer identity, in contrast with the Vietnamese women who would usually wear pants under the áo dài.
Silk weaving was an important part of Cambodia's cultural past. People from Takéo Province have woven silk since the Funan era. Complex methods and intricate patterns have been developed to make the cloth, one of which is the hol method which involves the uneven twill technique. The reason they adopted such an unusual method remains unclear.Textiles of the Highland Peoples of Burma, Vol. 2: The Northern Mon-Khmer, Rawang, Upland Burmish, Lolo, Karen, Tai, and Hmong-Mien-Speaking Groups, 2005. Michael C. Howard. White Lotus Co Ltd.,
In 1858–1860, Henri Mouhot, a French naturalist and explorer, embarked on a journey to mainland Southeast Asia (Indochinese Peninsula) where he had the opportunity to meet the king of the Khmer court. In his diary, Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos, during the years 1858, 1859, and 1860, Mouhot described the attire of the Cambodian king during his encounter:
In George Groslier's Recherches sur les Cambodgiens (1921), a French director of Cambodia Arts during the French protectorate of Cambodia, observed the sampot:
In 1936, Harriet Winifred Ponder, a British traveller who journeyed through Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, documented her experiences in Cambodia. In her writings, Cambodian Glory, she described the traditional Cambodian attire:
In Angkor Empire (1955) by George Benjamin Walker, recorded the origin of the modern sampot, which was compiled from these historian authorities: R. C. Majumdar, Reginald Le May, Kalidas Nag, Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales, George Charles Brodrick, Lawrence Palmer Briggs, Cedric Dover, and French scholars of the French School of the Far East:
Textiles
refers to the Khmer ikat technique. For patterns, weavers first resist-dye portions of weft yarn prior to weaving. The noun kiet in the Cambodian dictionary is defined as, "a silk material dyed by the Cham method, i.e. by binding up different areas in turn so that they do not take up the color." As a verb, kiet means "tighten, roll up, draw up." In Khmer, chong kiet means "tying strings."