"Can you talk to your father about us, again?” Isan asks Savanna, hoping she will speak to her father on his behalf.
Savanna gives him a warm smile of acceptance. “Let’s go right now and ask my father for his blessings,” she says, taking him by the hand. They walk off and disappear into the crowd.
THE WEDDING DAY
NOVEMBER 11, 1970
Great Moat Village of Siem Reap nestles along the earth-filled embankments of an ancient reservoir approximately four kilometers in circumference.
During the wet season, which lasts from June through October, the Mekong River is buffeted by monsoon rain and melted Himalayan snow from the Tibetan Plateau.
Every year, as long as Savanna can remember, the Mekong River swells up like an open sea and reverses its course to flow northward instead of southward. For three to four months of the year, depending on the amount of rain and melted snow up north, the Mekong River overflows its banks and dumps the extra water into Tonle Sap River. The surplus water from Tonle Sap River floods the land and fills the Great Moat annually.
In the low and central plains, sugar palm trees and rice fields dominate the landscape. Crops such as corn and tobacco cover the high plain.
Thatched huts, varying in shapes and sizes, are built around the Great Moat on stilts as high as three meters off the ground, as a precaution against flooding. The basic structure generally consists of bamboo frame and bamboo floor with at least one wooden ladder to provide access to the upper level.
The moat is teeming with water lilies in every shade of color during the dry season from November to April. Villagers harvest vegetation, bathe, fish, swim, and wash their clothes in it daily. Their livestock eat, drink, and bathe in the same vicinity.
There’s only one major dirt road passing through the village. Just ahead, to the right, a small pebbled path branches off the main road. Along the pathway, tropical flowers dance in the gentle breeze. At the end of the winding trail, an outdoor chapel made of bamboo poles and coconut fronds, comes into view. From all around, the air is filled with song and sounds of happy people talking and laughing.
A year has passed since Isan asked Savanna to marry him. Soon the couple will be husband and wife.
People of Great Moat Village have been celebrating the couple’s wedding ceremony for three days.
Dressed in their best clothes, relatives and friends, from near and far, bring gifts and money to help pay for the expenses.
At the outdoor kitchen, cooks and bakers are preparing food for the reception. Five rows of wooden tables behind them are filled with fried quail, roasted ducks, roasted chicken, and all kinds of treats wrapped in banana leaves. Silver platters are filled with countless exotic tropical fruit such as banana, papaya, pineapple, mango, mangosteen, lychee, longan, rambutan, and many more. The majority of these foods and fruits are donated by people in the community and they also volunteer their time to help with the festive event.
To add to the excitement, groups of dancers and musical bands on the platform are getting ready to perform for the cheerful crowd.
The main theme of the wedding originated from the beautiful legend of an exiled Indian prince who fell in love with a Naga princess, the only daughter of the great Naga king, the divine serpent, who ruled the Water World of Southeast Asia. As a marriage gift, the king swallowed part of the water from the ocean, thus creating dry land along the coast of the South China Sea and the Mekong Delta, and gave the new kingdom to the young couple to reign over. With the Khmer people by their side, they ruled the land long and wisely. The prince and the princess were known as Lorka Varaman, the protector and the preserver of the land. While they ruled, they always kept in mind that the love and trust of the people was the source of their power. Neither did they forget to take care of the land and other creatures within their realm. From that time onwards, the Khmer Traditional Wedding has been one of the most joyous occasions for the Cambodian people. During ancient times and in the present day, the bride and the groom in the Kingdom of Cambodia, rich or poor, are customarily treated like royalty on their wedding day.
Dressed in a golden royal robe made of native yellow silk, Isan kneels before the priest in front of two burning candles and waits patiently for his bride under the thatched roof of the spacious chapel.
Wearing golden traditional silk suits spun by hand from silkworm threads, Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri, the groomsmen, sit down on the straw mat behind the groom.
As the musicians end the final song, the gong clangs three times in the background. The rattan curtain opens. Savanna appears as a princess, garbed in an elaborate golden royal court costume.
Savanna walks down the central aisle toward the chapel with Money and Molly by her side. Hundreds of people crane to see her.
Dressed similarly, Money and Molly, the bridesmaids, escort the bride to meet her bridegroom.
Isan comes forward to meet Savanna. She puts her palms together like a lotus bud in front of her chest and bows slightly to show him respect. With a smile, Isan responds in the same manner.
The couple sit shoulder to shoulder in prayerful positions. Isan whispers softly in Savanna’s ear, “You look very beautiful.” She responds with a soft smile.
The Priest, Savanna’s father, picks up a decorative ceremonial sword and says to the groom, “Isan, you are now the protector of the house. God of our first ancestors has given you this sword for you to protect yourself and your spouse. It is your duty to keep your family safe as long as you live."
The Priest then turns to the bride, saying, “Savanna, you are now the manager of the house. It is your duty to take care of your spouse and your family, remain loyal to them as long as you live.”
“Do you both accept your responsibilities?” asks the Priest.
“We do,” the bride and the groom reply in unison. They lean forward and place their hands on a pillow to receive the holy gift.
“This Sacred Sword,” the Priest says to the young couple, “represents a Sacred Trust that binds you two together as long as you both shall live." With a pleased smile, the Priest gives them the Sacred Sword and proclaims the completion of the marriage ceremony, “With this holy sword, I pronounce you husband and wife.”
The Priest turns to the crowd and encourages them to anoint the newlyweds with holy water. “Please offer them your blessings,” he says.
The elders of the village sprinkle holy water on the couple’s heads and throw white palm buds at them as a way to wish them good health, prosperity, and happiness.
THE BOMBING RAID
AUGUST 6, 1973
Time seems to pass very quickly. Almost three years into their marriage, Savanna and Isan have not yet been blessed with a child.
Savanna, her husband, Isan, and her childhood friends, Money, Molly, Ratanakiri, and Mondulkiri are in their early twenties. Their friendship has been growing stronger with each passing year. Savanna and her friends still do many things together. They are like brothers and sisters to her.
Money married Mondulkiri a few months ago and Molly and Ratanakiri will be getting married in May next year.
Early one morning, they board a double-decker boat filled with goods at Bassac River with the intention of visiting Neak Loung, a small ferry town on the Mekong River in southwestern Cambodia near the Vietnam border to buy diabetes medication for Savanna’s father.
Isan, Ratanakiri, and Mondulkiri built the boat