In ancient times, a Hindu prince named Preah Tong was chased away from his land by his father. The prince reached Kok Thlok island, which was only a mountain with a tree on top.
Here, he fell in love with a female serpent. For a gift, her father, King of the Naga, drank the water surrounding the mountain, offering the couple the new land, and Cambodia was founded.
That is, at least according to legend retold in “The Tonle Sap Lake, a Source of Lives,” a traveling exhibit organized by Cecile and Pascal Favrel of the NGO Krousar Thmey (New Family).
The legend is an introduction to the importance of the water of the Tonle Sap Lake.
The exhibit, mostly photographs and maps, is based in Siem Reap but has passed through 16 towns over the last nine months. It will remain at Wat Lanka, near Independence Monument, until Aug 31 and is open Monday through Saturday.
Its main goal is to educate Cambodians about the wealth of the country’s resources—the Tonle Sap lake, forests and agriculture—and how important it is to preserve these resources.
The exhibit traces Cambodia from its origins to the Funan kingdom of the 5th century and the Chenla kingdom in the 6th century to the cities of Angkor and the present day.
During the Angkor era, many reservoirs, considered to be sacred sites, were built.
Today, some 3 million people—more than a quarter of Cambodia’s population—live along the lake and its flood plain. The Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia—its surface usually quadruples during the rains. Villagers on the flood plain usually live in wooden stilt houses; when the lake shrinks during the dry season, they move to lighter huts near the edge of the water.
In addition to highlighting the way of life along the lake, the exhibit details how deforestation, water pollution, chemicals and pesticides have hurt the lake.
in recent years.
