(Estimated reading time: 2 minutes)
This vivid Khmer proverb links rice fields and warfare to teach a timeless lesson: no endeavor can succeed without the right resources in place.
ធ្វើស្រែនឹងទឹក ធ្វើសឹកនឹងបាយ Tveu srae neng tœk, tveu sœk neng bay
“Farming with water, waging war with rice.”
Whatever you do, you must have basic resources as your foundation.
Farming with water
All agricultural activities depend on water as their most important resource. Therefore, in rice farming, if there is no water, one cannot obtain any yield. Rice plants constantly absorb water to nourish their stalks and grains. So if there is no water source, there is no point in expecting to grow rice and get a harvest.
Waging war with rice
Waging war likewise requires “capital”, that is, provisions as the basic foundation. When people have rice to eat and are full, they have the strength to carry weapons and fight on the battlefield. That is why, whenever a military column is on the move, the supply units always go wherever the troops go. If the supply column cannot keep up, or the provisions fail to reach them, the soldiers will run out of strength, lose the will to fight, and then be defeated. The army will fall apart, the troops will scatter in all directions, and the battlefield will be abandoned.
That is why people say: “You wage war with rice; without rice, you can only abandon the battlefield.”
