he coronation ceremony is a formal ceremony to crown a sovereign. This
ceremony is always performed in the Royal Palace, specifically in the Throne
Hall. Among royal traditions, it is the greatest, longest, most solemn and important
ceremony. The coronation ceremony of King Sisowath Monivong in 1928 and King
Norodom Sihanouk in 1941 each lasted six days. While it is a royal tradition, people
from all over Cambodia gather around the Royal Palace in the capital, Phnom Penh,
to take part in the celebrations.
Performing arts take place every day of the coronation ceremony to entertain guests.
On the first three days, many important festivities can be observed, such as the
ritual of bringing the new King to the bedroom, paying homage to his ancestors,
listening to the monks’ sermon, giving alms, practising meditation, and appointing
and honouring court officers.
The most important ritual of the coronation ceremony takes place on the fourth day,
shown in the mural painting here, during which the King is crowned, dressed in
the attire of a sovereign (wearing a coronation ceremony gown) after taking a holy
bath with water from the Kulen mountains in Cambodia. In the morning, the new
King offers food and gifts to monks as an act of merit-making. After performing
religious rituals led by Brahmins, a minister announces the formal title of the new
King. Then, the chief minister announces the offering of the royal crown, wealth,
armed forces, royal families, all level of country officers, and the entire country’s
agricultural fields, territory, forests and mountains to the new King. In return, the
King gives out official seals to officials according to their position, as well as land,
forests and mountains to his people. The King is then invited to sit on the Diamond
Throne under the Great White Umbrellas – the symbol of kingship – while royal
regalia, including the royal crown, the sacred sword, the royal slippers, etc., are
offered to His Majesty. All participants bless the new king before they leave.
On the fifth day, the King dresses up in the sovereign’s gown and parades around
the city. On the sixth day, the King takes an ‘oath of allegiance’ (a solemn promise
from the new King, invoking a divine witness in regards to his future actions and
behaviour towards his people and country) and puts out the light of the ‘victory candle’
(on the first day of the coronation, the crowned King lights the ‘victory candle’,
a representation of invoking and inviting gods to witness and inaugurate the
ceremony). Finally, the King ends the ceremony by giving alms and gifts to monks
at the end of the ceremony as an act of merit-making.
Preah Reach Pithi
Reachea Bhisek
T
The Coronation Ceremony
I Cambodia I
30 31
The Cambodian painting presented here is in the style of mural paintings found on
the interior walls of Cambodian Buddhist temples. These paintings are thus seen
within a religious context, more specifically Buddhist. The main function of paintings
on the walls of Buddhist temples is to display religious stories. In addition,
these murals can provide a glimpse into the every day lives of the people, showing
various elements such as clothing, performing arts, music, architecture, as well as
social events and festivities that were practised in Cambodia during or prior to the
context in which the artists lived.
The art form of this Buddhist monastery murals is known as ‘traditional painting’,
whether referring to an ancient painting or a recent one. The common trait of this art
form, particularly in depicting high-ranking people and divinities, is that the people’s
costumes and poses resemble those of Cambodian classical dance, combining
grace and majesty. All characters are shown in small scale and are always depicted
in the same size regardless of the distance from the viewer. Generally, for this style of
painting, there is no perspective, no vanishing point on the horizon. The composition
is a combination of mass and lines. The figures are drawn with an even, flowing
contour, and are then filled in with flat colour, after which the details and ornaments
are applied. Buildings, furniture, chariots, and other elements are done in the same
way. The paint comes from vegetable dyes, which are colour pigments obtained
from natural plants.
For terms in blue, see Glossary of Terms pages 148 - 158
Description of the Artwork
The activities depicted in this painting are the most important event of the coronation
ceremony, during which the royal regalia is given to the new King. In the painting,
the building in the centre is the Throne Hall, built in traditional Cambodian
architectural style. This single edifice is a representation of the entire royal palace
with its surrounding walls. Inside the Throne Hall, the new King, who is dressed
in traditional Khmer (Cambodian) monarch attire, sits on the throne, joining his
palms together, holding a sacred sword. To his right and to his left are the King’s
family and court ladies, who are carrying fans.
In front of the Throne Hall, there is an altar flanked by Brahmins, who are blowing
conch shells to accompany the festivity, while an ensemble of pinpeat, Cambodian
traditional music, is being played to the left. To the right and to the left, guests, officers,
relatives and court ladies are witnessing the ceremony.
In the background, there are several kinds of art performances to entertain people
outside the royal palace (on the other side of the palace walls). On the left, acrobatic
and wrestling performances are shown. On the right, in addition to the circus
performance, women are performing a Cambodian classical dance, accompanied
by pinpeat music and two men are fighting each other with long sticks, a kind of
m