In one community around a Buddhist monastery, Lkhon Khol Wat Svay Andet – a community of about ten kilometers east of Phnom Penh along the Mekong River – it is practiced by men wearing masks, accompanied by an orchestra and melodious recitation. It is performed in order to protect and bless the Neak Ta (guardian spirits of the community, places, and people), thereby protecting and bringing prosperity to the people, their lands, and their harvest Spirit mediums participate when Lkhon Khol is performed, providing interaction between the Neak Ta, the performers, and villagers. If the spirits are satisfied with the performance, the villagers receive blessings; otherwise, the dancers stop, the music continues, and the audience falls silent, attentively listening to the spirits. Lkhon Khol’s performe most related to ritual purposes, mostly related to the cycle of rice farming and the needs of farming communities.
One of the most important nights of the three (each night a different episode is performed) is the final night, because the ritual asks for rain. Sometimes, on the last night, rain will come. It has happened often enough to maintain belief in the efficacy of the ritual. Everyone attends the performance, and the element is also used at the Neak Ta rituals. Most farming villages conduct rituals annually to appease the Neak Ta by offering food and music. However, Lkhon Khol is performed at Wat Svay Andet as a special offering because it pleases the local deities. In addition to ad hoc ceremonies, communities may request the troupe of Wat Svay Andet to perform on certain occasions to ward off diseases or calamities that have struck their communities and/or individuals.
Although the element has been transmitted generation after generation, several factors now threaten its viability. These factors include environmental issues, insufficient resources, the community's economic migration, and the 14-year break caused by the Khmer Rouge regime and war from 1970 to 1984. The word Khol is found in a number of stones, including K.566-a which describes wearing a mask dance, at the end of the 10th century in Stung Srengin Siem Reap Province.
There are other places in Cambodia that perform Lkhon Khol at funeral ceremonies; however, the difference is that in Wat Svay Andet it plays a much more important spiritual role. For example, in Battambang Province, a family may hire a Lkhon Khol player for entertainment at their funerals, as well as to accompany the ceremony, but it would not be integral to the ceremony as a whole.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/lkhon-khol-wat-svay-andet-01374) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakhon_Khol) (https://www.ichlinks.com/archive/elements/elementsV.do?nation=KH&page=1&elementsUid=13829896116948900057&mode=grid) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakhon_Khol)