Cambodian literature

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Cambodian literature (Khmer: អក្សរសាស្ត្រខ្មែរ, Âksârsastr Khmêr [ʔaʔsɒːsah kʰmaɛ]), also Khmer literature, has a very ancient origin. Like most Southeast Asian national literatures its traditional corpus has two distinct aspects or levels:

• The written literature, mostly restricted to the royal courts or the Buddhist monasteries.
• The oral literature, which is based on local folklore. It is heavily influenced by Buddhism, the predominant religion, as well as by the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.