Cambodians have been remembering a legendary singer considered one of the country’s great musicians for his mastery of a centuries-old art form known as chapei dang veng.
Kong Nay gained international recognition for his solo performances with a long-necked string instrument – known as a chapei – while singing or reciting traditional stories or semi-improvised and sometimes humorous topical material. He passed away on June 28 at the age of 80.
“This is a real loss because the talented chapei dang veng musician mastered the skill, which has become so rare,” said Chhun Bukthorn, a student of chapei dang veng and a member of the Chapei Amatak Association, which teaches younger Cambodians how to play traditional musical instruments.
Traditional art forms like chapei dang veng have for years struggled to retain an audience, particularly among a younger generation that is more focused on contemporary music, according to Pich Sarath, who studied under Kong Nay and is the president of the Chapei Amatak Association.
But Kong Nay managed to see a rebirth in interest in his music after joining the popular Cambodian rapper VannDa in a breakaway hit.
In 2016, Unesco added chapei dang veng to its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
‘Nicknamed the master’
Kong Nay was born in 1945 in Kampot province. He became blind as a 4-year-old after contracting smallpox. He began studying chapei at 13, learning from his great uncle until he began playing professionally as an 18-year-old.
He survived the civil war and the Khmer Rouge regime, which wiped out the majority of Cambodia’s musicians and artists.
In 1991 – as the country was rebuilding and was attempting to revive its cultural and artistic traditions – Kong Nay won first prize in a national competition.
In the following decades, Kong Nay went on to receive honorary certificates from the Royal Academy of Khmer Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. He also taught music at the ministry’s Department of Performing Arts.
In 2013, he was among 17 artists declared by the Cambodian government to be National Living Human Treasures.
"For almost eight decades, when talking about the long chapei instrument, one would think of a great artist who was nicknamed the master, Kong Nay," the nonprofit Cambodian Living Arts said in its profile of Kong Nay.
Prime Minister Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen both expressed condolences in Facebook statements.
Pich Sarath said he hoped the government would consider adding chapei lessons to the school curriculum and providing a monthly stipend to young chapei dang veng artists.
“We see that chapei always sends and shares an educational message and knowledge to audiences,” he said. “The sound gives peace, a sound that is reminiscent of the memory of Cambodian children.”
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed.