Question about the mongkhol/mongkhon: it looks like a couple of the Khmer fighters in the pictures above are actually wearing one. In Khmer, it literally means good fortune or blessing (មង្គល). Nowadays Cambodian fighters just wear a headband with a flag on it in the name of nationalism. Is it maybe just a modern thing that the headband is only found in Thailand?
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From the pictures, I have to assume it was a common feature of both the Khmer fighters who assimilated in Thailand, and also of the Khmer people of Cambodia.
Yes, you are totally right about the Mongkhol. The word is undoubtedly of Khmer origin, and it also means 'magic (rite)'. Robes/cloths hold a special magical value within the culture of ancient Cambodia until this day. Ancient robes were used as a form of spiritual protection and believed to guard the person when in battle. I have added a picture of the ancient Khmer elite warriors of Angkor who wore these robes. You can see they wear them crosswise around their chest.
That certain types of cloth hold magical value was also the case with the well-known 'Krama' scarf (ក្រមា).
The Thai people have their own version, which uses a greater variety of color, and more elaborate dsigns. It's called the Pahkahma (ผ้าขาวม้า). It is especially worn by the ethnic Khmers of Isan region, but also adopted by a lot of other local groups, who adopted the practice from the ethnic Khmer people.
It is said that it was customary for these scarfs to be worn by the soldiers when they had to go into battle. The colors and designs of the different pieces of cloth represented different communities, and it was worn for good luck and protection. I think it is therefore no coincidence that the scarf has been worn by the Khmer soldiers. Other than that, it is of course a very practical piece of cloth in the landscape ot Thailand and Cambodia to carry something, wipe the sweat away, cover against the sun, or to keep warm at night.
The magical affinity with robes is still strongly present, especially among the rural people of Thailand and Laos. There it is customary to give a white thread to family members after they visited for good luck and protection. It is called "saisin" (สายสิญจน์). A picture is shown below. It is also still customary among all Thais to wear it after a wedding.
It shows how much value the ancient Khmer people of Thailand and Cambodia put in the supernatural power of the blessed robes and threads. I guess the Mongkon is just one version of this superstition in regards to battle and fighting. Most likely it was customary to bless all the threads around the hands and head when going into battle by the village monk, and was named 'Mongkon' as it was associated with blessing and magic. Since the bondage of the hands was replaced by Western boxing gloves, and since the head is the most holy place of the human body, the Mongkon was most likely preserved as a magical object in Muay Thai until modern times. I'm sure originally it was worn during battle as we can see in the picture of the Cambodian fighter, but became a ritualistic pbject that was only worn before a fight because of practical reasons.
I am curious then how the Mongkon was replaced in Cambodia by the headband with the national flag. I know that Buddhists were forbidden by the monarchy to carry out Sak Yant tattooing in the 19th century, while in Thailand this never became illegal by the monks. This new law could have been a factor in also losing other cultural elements that were associated with battle and warriorship.
There were many rebellions by the commoner communities against the monarchy in both Thailand and Cambodia who used magical practices to favor them in battle. It is therefore possible that the magic robes/threads that were associated with fighting, like the Mongkon, also lost importance, especially when it became seen as opposing to the more modern Buddhist faith of the elites, which wanted (the commoners) to step away from magical practices in regards to rebellions.
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That last bit about the monarchy outlawing these practices is real interesting and seems plausible as reason that we don't anymore in Cambodia. Thanks!