Tourists help Cambodia weave way to longest scarf record

Phnom Penh: Cambodia's longest handwoven scarf or krama in Khmer, entered the Guinness Book of Records on Sunday.

The 88cm wide and 1,149.8metre-long krama took nearly five months to complete, reports Xinhua news agency.

Official from the Guinness World Records adjudicator Swapnil Dangarikar watches the measuirng of the famed hand woven scarf. AFP

It was made by weavers from 20 krama-weaving communities and thousands of tourists who also added a few centimetres when they visited its weaving site in front of the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

"With 1,149.8 metres, you have set a new Guinness World Record style for the longest scarf," Swapnil Dangarikar, a Guinness World Records adjudicator, announced to a huge crowd of more than 20,000 people at an event here.

Cambodia was the first country that had attempted to break the Guinness World Records for the longest scarf, he said, adding that the basic criteria for this attempt were that the scarf must be 30.5 cm wide and at least 1,000 metres long.

Swapnil Dangarikar awards a certificate to Sann Vathana (3rd L) from the GoGo Cambodia movement, after a 1,149.8 metre-long krama scarf was named as the world's longest hand woven scarf. AFP

Krama, which is made of cotton, is commonly used in Cambodia, and it reflects the Khmer culture and traditions, said Sann Vathana, head of GoGo Cambodia, an organisation that launched the campaign.

In 2015, Cambodia gained world records for the largest dance involving 2,015 participants and the biggest traditional sticky rice cake that weighed 4.04 tonnes.