Tum Teav is the tragic love story of a talented novice monk named Tum and a beautiful adolescent girl named Teav. Well known throughout Cambodia since at least the middle of the 19th century, the story has been told in oral, historical, literary, theatre, and film versions. This monograph contains the author’s translation of the Venerable Botumthera Som’s version. It also examines the controversy over the poem’s authorship and its interpretation by literary scholars and performers in terms of Buddhism and traditional codes of conduct, abuse of power, and notions of justice.
Funding provided by NZAID (New Zealand).