May Mayko Ebihara (1934-2005) was the first American anthropologist to conduct ethnographic research in Cambodia. Svay provides a remarkably detailed picture of individual villagers and of Khmer social structure and kinship, agriculture, politics, and religion. The world Ebihara described would soon be shattered by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. Fifty percent of the villagers perished in the reign of terror, including those who had been Ebihara's adoptive parents and grandparents during her fieldwork. Never before published as a book, Ebihara's dissertation served as the foundation for much of our subsequent understanding of Cambodian history, society, and politics
Author(s): May Mayko Ebihara
Publisher: Columbia University
Year: 1967
Language: English
Commentary: PhD
Pages: 717
Tags: Cambodia; PhD; Ethnography; Khmer; Religion; Village; Study; Anthropology; Social Anthropology; Ethnology
I. INTRODUCTION. • • . • • • • • . • . • . . l
Selection of a Village 5
Notes on Orthography, Currency, and Measurements 15
II. CAHBODIA AS A WHOLE
Geography
History
Contemporary Cambodia
Population and Demography
National Socio-political Structure
Economic Bases of the Country
Religion
Language
III. VILLAGE SVAY: THE SETTING AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE. 75
Village Svay: the Setting and Brief History
West Hamlet Svay
Social Organization
Family and Kinship Organization
Marriage rules, preferences and
patterns
Residence patterns, the family and
household
Kinsmen beyond the family and
household
Non-kinsmen Neighbors and Friends
"Groupings"
Social Status
Individualism and the Community
IV. ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Rice Cultivation 217
Land Holdings 218
The Cycle of Cultivation 227
Yield and Uses of Rice 268
Other Sources of Food 279
Gardens and Trees 279
Fishing 282
Other Sources of Income: Non-agricultural
Pursuits 287
Fabrication of Palm Sugar 289
Crafts and Other Specializations 294
Temporary Employment 298
Sale of Small Items 304
Full-time Non-agricultural Employment 304
Animal Husbandry 307
Finances 317
Income and Expenditures 319
Credit and Debt 328
Buying and Selling Transactions 338
Property and Inheritance 343
V. RELIGION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Buddhism 364
The Temple and Its Personnel 364
Mohanikay and Thommayut 364
Functions of the Temple in Village Life 382
Buddhism in Village Life 414
The Folk Religion 423
VI THE LIFE CYCLE
Pregnancy and Birth
Infancy and Childhood
Adolescence
Betrothals
Weddings
Marriage
Divorce
Widowhood
Old Age
Funerals
VII. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION ••••• . . . . . . . . 509
Formal Administrative Structure 509
Government, Politics, and the Village 528
Government Programs and the Village 528
Politics and the Villagers 540
VIII. RELATIONS OF THE VILLAGE WITH THE SURROUNDING
WORLD
Means of Transportation and Communication 554
Kinds of Contact with Other Communitie~ 557
Frequency of Contacts with Other Communities 560
Knowledge of the Larger World and Attitudes
Toward Other Groups 577
IX. CONCLUSION
Southeast Asian Cultures
The Concept of Peasantry
APPENDICES
A. Ethnologicc1.l Literature on the Khmer 635
B. Circumstances of the Research 639
C. Demographic Analysis of West Svay's Population 646
D. Census of Households 653
E. Kinship Terminology 656
F. Cultivated Flora in West Svay 678
G. Ownership of Property and Additional Sources
of Income 680
H. The Division of Labor in Common Activities 682
I. The Annual Cycle 683
REFERENCES CITED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684
