Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Kingdom’s youths seek to promote the unique art of making Num Ansom

Kingdom’s youths seek to promote the unique art of making Num Ansom

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
A youth makes traditional Num Ansom at Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC) on September 15. UYFC

Kingdom’s youths seek to promote the unique art of making Num Ansom

Num Ansom cake is known to all Cambodians and is popular during major festivals, especially Pchum Ben. They are an important part of the Khmer identity, but there is only a small group of people – predominantly older women – who understand how to prepare them and wrap them in the traditional banana leaf packaging. This has led to concerns that the knowledge may one day be lost.

The Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC) recently organised an event called “Let’s Pack Num Ansom Together”, with many of the young people who participated saying they would like a similar event to be held every year, hoping it would inspire the younger generation to maintain the delicate art.

Among the large crowd at the September 15 event, Thai Sinmonireaksa, a 12th grade student, described how he was excited to be a part of this important traditional activity.

“I hope that we don’t lose sight of the things that make us Khmer though. If we ignore these traditions, they may be lost to us,” he added.

Khorn Leang Eng, another of the participants, said she was very pleased to learn how to pack these uniquely Khmer cakes from experts.

“Packing Ansom is really difficult! Maybe this is the reason why not many people want to learn any more,” she said.

She encouraged more youths to participate, believing that it would help youths to understand the process, and also experience the community relation building that Cambodians have always had.

Another well known participant, who most people know through environment promoting events “Run with Sai”, Uon Pakthom – known as Sai – admitted that he was a proud Cambodian, but did not know how to prepare the cakes.

“I enjoy the cakes at every festival, but I had no idea how difficult they are to pack,” he said.

He added that he thought it was difficult for young people to learn how to prepare them. Even if they wanted to know, they did not know where they could go to be taught. That was the driving force for the event, he said.

The event was held at the head office of the UYFC in Phnom Penh, and ran for three days from September 15, 17 and 18. The days were selected to correspond with the 5th, 7th and 8th Kan Ben Days, which are part of the 15-day Pchum Ben Observance. The event was open to the public and free of charge.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Siem Reap airport to close after new one opens

    After the new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) opens in October, the existing complex serving the northwestern province will be “completely closed”, according to State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha. SAI developer Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co Ltd (AIAI) last month

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on