TEGAR
ERRIPSAPUTRA

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Photographer

Tegar Erripsaputra

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Location:

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Cambodia 2023

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របាំជូនពរ Robam Jun Por (Blessing Dance)

For ceremonial occasions, Robam Jun Por (Blessing Dance) is a piece of art cultivated by Queen Sisowath Kosamak Nearyrath. The dance is meant to welcome and convey blessings and well wishes to the visitors//distinguished guests.

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Visitors coming to the kingdom should be treated with the utmost respect and courtesy by the people of Cambodia. In a general sense, Khmer people seek to depict themselves as kind, courteous, and sincere, and they want to enrich friendships and work toward unity.

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Early on, the Kings and their royal visitors used to perform this art to rid wickedness and sanctify it. In other words, the blessing dance was initially performed in Cambodian royal palaces to ward off evil spirits and bestow blessings on the Royal Kingdom.

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 The dance is used to worship various formal occasions like weddings, and opening ceremonies and welcomes travelers from all over the world.

When a group of young Khmer ladies (3, 5, or 7 persons)  in traditional Cambodian ballet costumes performs this dance as "Devata" (angels), they want to bring luck, contentment, and good fortune to the audience by blessing them with their presence.

The dancers' golden goblets are filled with fragrant flowers (mostly Jasmine, Lotus, or Romdoul) while performing exquisite and graceful dances. A gentle rain of blessings from God falls on the audience, metaphorically represented by the blooms that gently cover the crowd.

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