SIEM REAP: The President of the Siem Reap Provincial Royal House, Inn Reathaserey, has questioned the APSARA Authority and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts on a ceremony held late last year in the Angkor temple complex.

Photos of the Angkor Thanksgiving Ceremony held in December 2021 circulated online, which show performers wearing Baku clothing while performing the ceremony at the Angkor temple complex on Bak Kheng mountain. Baku are royal servants who only partake in ceremonies related to the King, such as the Water Festival.

The President of the Siem Reap Provincial Royal House, Inn Reathaserey, told EAC News on Wednesday that he did not know the purpose of the ceremony, and that no Baku group of the Royal Palace had been sent to this ceremony. He expressed dissatisfaction with this activity and asked the APSARA Authority and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts to come forward and explain.

He said, "The palace did not know anything, the Baku group that is stationed in the palace did not know anything! But [the organizers] said it was a real Baku group.”

EAC News has not yet been able to receive confirmation from APSARA Authority Director-General Hang Pov, while spokesman Long Kosal said he was temporarily out of work and therefore unable to provide information.

Ministry of Culture Spokesman Long Ponnasirivath said he was unaware of the case and he did not receive any request for comment from the Royal Palace yet. He said the ministry would respond after they have received the letter.

Cultural Event Observer, Mr. Vattanak, said that organizing ceremonies to show gratitude to ancestors is not a problem, but what is wrong is to wear Baku clothing, since they are only the servants of the King. He added that through his observation, there have been two celebrations of people wearing Baku to perform religious ceremonies in the Angkor area, once during the Water Festival in 2019, and again on Phnom Bak Kheng in December 2021.

"These ceremonies, we do not have a problem with! We join in on the celebrations, to be happy, to preserve our traditions and customs. But we cannot overdo it until we forget our own status, and the level of ceremony we are allowed to do. Because our Khmer people have dignity, and a hierarchy, the people, the officials, the high officials, the King, are completely divided and cannot be interfered with,” said Mr. Vattanak.