Krom Ngoy (born Ouk Ou; 1865 – 1936) was a Cambodian poet and a master of khsae diev.^[1][2] His fame spread to Thailand at that time, not now and he was invited to sing for the then Thai king. He was well-liked by the king and officials and was titled "Phai-ros Loe Koern" in Thai or "Phirum Pheasa Ou" in Khmer, meaning one who is excellent in the use of language.

Krom Ngoy was educated as a Buddhist monk. He was one of the most famous of the traveling bards of the late 19th and 20th centuries, and was known as a poet of the people.^[1]

He generally included issues relevant to ways of life of the people in his songs and poetic teachings. They include: working in the farm to earn a living, choosing a spouse, poverty and its causes, ignorance of the people, consequences of laziness and inactiveness, dominance of the French over the Khmer people, the loss of sovereignty, and the decline of the Khmer culture and literature.

He was called for an audience with and sing for the King Sisowath of Cambodia and was given a title as “Neak Preah Phee-rom Pheasa Ou”, translated as the elevated one who is excellent or perfect in the use of language. He was later given another name, Ngoy, by the King in order not to duplicate with another royal official whose name was also Ou. His educational poems were delivered orally and not recorded. He was later on invited by the then-director of the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh, Suzanne Karpeles, to sing his poems in a slow phase so they could be written down for later generations. His poetic teachings have been published by the Buddhist Institute.

His wife's name was In and he had six sons, Doung, Cheng, Cha, Chen, Chong, and Chev.

Ouk Ou died at the age of 71 on the 6th day of the waxing moon, 2479 Buddhist year or 1936 AD.

References