Kreung Ethnicity - United Nations in Cambodia

Case study 4: A historical account
This is a historical account during the time in which Kameng ruled the
village. Kameng’s two sons had a fierce argument, during which the older
brother Yak Royan bit his brother Yak Sar in anger. However Yak Sar did
not bite him back. Their father came and yelled at Yak Royan as well as
physically beat him in order to correct his behaviour. Consumed by anger,
Yak Royan left the village with his family to build his own house in another
location, which later became a village. Another man Yak Srech also left to
establish his own village with his family and friends.
With the exception of this case, there has never been any dispute in the
village during which violence has caused injury. The villagers reported that
disputes generally take the form of verbal arguments, especially while drinking
wine or when intoxicated. The dispute is most often forgotten the next day
when normal relations resume.
4.1.5 Injury or death caused by a trap
Villagers usually use traps to protect crops in their farms against wild animals
that often enter their farm, such as wild pigs and deer. Usually traps are placed
on pathways frequented by wild animals or at the entrance of the farm.
Before setting the traps, villagers are informed about the location of the traps.
In addition to the announcement, they also build warning signs (such as a
small bow and arrow placed in the trees close by or tying up bushes or grass) at
a place that people can easily see.
If anyone dies or is injured by a trap while accidentally entering the farm, the
responsibility would not fall on anybody. There would not at all be any tatch
or claim. The villagers remarked, ‘They should be dead if they do not know
that those traps are for animals only’. However, if anyone in the village is injured
by a trap, they have to perform a ceremony, Chrolab Chreh, to rid the victim
of bad luck.
Kreung Ethnicity: Documentation of Customary Rules
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