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Document Details :

Title: Recherches récentes sur le culte des mégalithes et des grottes au Cambodge
Author(s): ANG, Chouléan
Journal: Journal Asiatique
Volume: 281    Issue: 1-2   Date: 1993   
Pages: 185-210
DOI: 10.2143/JA.281.1.2006134

Abstract :
The present article is the result of a first series of anthropological studies carried out in the field, following Cambodia's long period of relative inaccessibility. It is an attempt to evaluate the vitality of cult beliefs and practices in a country which has undergone numerous catastrophes - and from which it is still not entirely free - and where non-materialist religious ideologies have only recently become accepted. Of particular concern here is the cult of the stone spirit and the matrix cave. Derived from an extremely ancient form of animism, this cult became syncretised over time: first with brahmanism, then with Theravada buddhism. Spectacular examples, which are rare, and therefore marginal, have been avoided. The chosen sites are in fact of relatively easy access, as none is situated more than 70 kilometers from the capital.

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