Kreung Ethnicity - United Nations in Cambodia

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Village background
Kameng village is an old indigenous village located in the Rattanakiri basal
highland. It is home to 570 villagers comprising of 85 Kreung ethnic families.
The villagers live as a small gathered community and maintain their own
ancient identity, traditions, culture and belief systems. The villagers subsist
on farm cultivation, non-timber products and hunting. The villagers live
peacefully together and a strong solidarity exists among the community.
One villager explained:
‘One part of this peace comes from the strong belief of the villagers in our
tradition, culture, and our Traditional Authority who knows and conserves
these beliefs. These cultures and traditions are importantly considered as
the rules governing our community, dealing with disputes, keeping peace
and happiness in the community’.
The origins of indigenous village traditions are found in the following historical
anecdote related by villagers. In the period of Siam governance in the region,
there lived two magical brothers, Yak Kaol and Yak Poey who were good at
waging war in order to protect their village against Siam solders. Years later they
divided their village into two, so that one village belonged to Yak Kaol and
the other to Yak Poey. When Yak Peoy died, those villages spread out into four
more villages – Kanchueng village, Koy village, Kreh village and Taghach village.
After Yak Kaol’s death, his village was also spread out into four more villages –
Kameng village, Krola village, Svay village and Santuk village. Yak Poey’s
name became the name of the commune, Poey commune, which includes all
eight villages listed above.
During the 1960’s, there lived a Kreung family led by a man named Kameng
who came from his original village to clear land to build a house and farm.
Kameng was a gentle man who was helpful and had an in-depth knowledge
of the Kreung tradition and culture. The family subsisted well thanks to the
Kreung Ethnicity: Documentation of Customary Rules
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