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July 7, 2007
Kong Nay, Cambodian Chapei Master
When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, they killed nearly all of the country's intellectuals, artists and musicians. One of the few to survive was Kong Nay, a master of the stringed instrument known as the chapei. He was forced to perform songs praising the Khmer Rouge, and only managed to survive being executed when the Vietnamese overthrew the regime. Blind and in his 60s, he is one of the last chapei masters. Here he makes a rare US appearance at the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC.
Tags: Cambodia | chapei | culture | genocide | Khmer Rouge | Kong Nay | music | Smithsonian Folklife Festival | tradition | Washington DC
Posted by acarvin at July 7, 2007 8:32 PM
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