Cambodia: A woman with a krama wrapped around her head transports a pot (image on Cambodian banknote)

The krama, more than any other item of clothing of everyday use, is quintessentially Cambodian. No other country in Southeast Asia uses this scarf-like head-wrapping, and it’s arguably a sign of Cambodia’s ancient links with Indian, the land of turbans par excellence. Krama, which are made from cotton or silk, are most commonly found in red-and-white or blue-and-white check, and they have a considerable variety of uses.

Just about every province of Cambodia produces krama in its own, distinctive patterns. Kompong Cham produces large silk krama in shades of burgundy, maroon, crimson, indigo and emerald. Some are said to resemble Scottish tartans, others are stripey in effect. Quality varies immensely, from the simple, coarse cotton chequered scarf used by the poorest peasants, to elegant, finely-woven silk krama with gold-fibre edgings.

The colours of the cheaper, cotton krama are usually duller, coming in shades of ochre, ginger, and chocolate brown which are generally produced using natural dies. The colours of the more expensive silk krama are often much brighter, today utilising chemical dies which allow a wider range of hue. Such variations in colour took on a distinctly menacing tone under the Khmer Rouge, when special blue-coloured krama were issued to inhabitants of the eastern zone contiguous with Vietnam. These unfortunates were considered by the paranoid Khmer Rouge leadership to have ‘Vietnamese minds in Cambodian bodies’, and the wearing of one of the special blue krama marked the possessor for eventual execution.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia