PHNOM PENH — The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts will hold a three-day nationwide Chapei Dang Veng Competition at the ministry’s Department of Performing Arts in Phnom Penh.

Taking place under the theme “The bamboo shoot grows up to be bamboo,” the festival is meant to contribute to national prestige and encourage chapei dang veng musicians to perform and keep on doing so, the ministry said on its Facebook page on April 27.

The chapei dang veng is a stringed, long-necked type of guitar. Mostly played in traditional music festivals and during celebrations, it is often used to accompany storytelling or poetry being recited. The chapei dang veng was inscribed on the UNESCO Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Nov. 30, 2016.   

According to Pich Sarath, a chapei dang veng teacher from the Community of Living Chapei, the competition is essential for keeping the tradition of chapei dang veng alive. This is also a way to show respect and gratitude to the country’s ancestors who created this instrument and passed it on along with the traditional music across the centuries, he said. 

The Community of Living Chapei, which is led by Sarath, is actively involved in teaching and promoting this traditional Cambodian musical instrument.

“My students have the skills to join the competition,” he said. “Although there are few people left in this field, I hope they can compete in national events along with students from the Community of Living Chapei.”

Some superstitious people believe that playing the chapei dang veng can cause blindness, Sarath said. The musicians singing and playing chapei dang veng for a living on the street have often been blind. This has made some people afraid and less interested in learning to play this instrument, Sarath said. But this competition will help show that this belief is false and will encourage more people to learn this instrument, he said.

Moreover, Sarath said, chapei dang veng players should be recognized for helping to preserve Khmer traditional music.

The competition: rules and procedures to follow

As the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts explained on its Facebook page, in order to take part in the competition, a candidate must be of Cambodian nationality and not have won first place in a previous chapei dang veng competition. Musicians with disabilities who play chapei dang veng are encouraged to compete, the ministry stated.

The competition includes three stages. The first qualifying stage will be a 15-minute performance on a free-topic on an educational-content video. The candidates will be required to put their performance on a video, which will have to include both playing music and singing live. Voice-over will not be allowed and candidates doing so will be automatically disqualified.

The semi-final stage will be on the theme “The bamboo shoot grows up to be bamboo.” Then the final stage of the competition will take place at the ministry’s Department of Performing Arts and will last 15 minutes for each participant. Musicians will be asked to perform what they had played in stage two of the contest, and also perform on a theme submitted by the judges.  

The winner will receive a gold medal and 6 million riels (around $1,500). The second-place winner will receive a silver medal and 4 million riels (around $1,000), while the third-place winner will receive a bronze medal and 2 million riels (around $500). The honorable-mention winner will receive a certificate of appreciation and 1 million riels (around $250).

The contest contributing to promote Chapei Dang Veng

For Pich Sarath, this competition is excellent as it will help make better known and promote this ancient instrument and art form. He also suggested expanding the scope of the competition to include preservation, development, and creativity categories.

Chapei dang veng musicians play solo and at times also perform with other musicians at events such as weddings and ceremonies as part of Phleng Mahori, Phleng Arak, and Pleng Ka ensembles.

In the future, the competition could include team performances, Sarath suggested.

He also suggested including a question-and-answer portion in the contest, which would enable the participating musicians to share their knowledge and commitment to promoting chapei dang veng.

What questions should be asked? “One question could be: when was chapei dang veng inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” Sarath said.