The Cloth of Kings: A Guide to the Cambodian Sampot

The Cloth of Kings: A Guide to the Cambodian Sampot

The Ancient Weave The history, styles, and cultural significance of the Sampot, Cambodia's national garment. Chapter One: The Ancient Weave: The History and Origins of the Sampot The national garment of Cambodia is a masterpiece of elegant simplicity. Known as the Sampot (សំពត់), it is not a tailored piece of clothing, but a single, long, rectangular piece of fabric that is skillfully wrapped, folded, and tucked around the lower body. It is a tradition that has graced the kingdom for well over a millennium, worn by both men and women, by kings and by commoners. While the humble, checkered krama is the cloth of everyday utility, the Sampot is the cloth of culture, of ceremony, and of national identity. Its history is a story of artistic exchange with ancient India and the development of a uniquely Khmer style, a story that is told most vividly on the stone walls of the great temples of Angkor. The Indian Ancestry The practice of wearing a draped, unstitched lower garment has ancient roo…