Kreung Ethnicity - United Nations in Cambodia

Case study 16: A historical tale
A villager recalled that a man, Yak Nginh, entered Brou Mountain/forest to
set a wild animal trap, and caught a monkey. As nobody ate monkey, he
threw the body of the monkey away. During the night, a villager heard gong
music and the sound of people crying at a funeral ceremony coming from
a neighbouring village. Another villager from the neighbouring village also
heard gong music and people crying. When both of the villages met with
each other, they were astonished as nothing had happened in either of
their villages. Everyone started talking about this issue in the villages.
Yak Nginh wondered about what he had done in the jungle, and went
back to locate the monkey’s body. He found that that the monkey’s body
had been perfectly laid out on a beautiful banana leaf. He brought this
information back to the village, and from then on everyone believed that
the mountain was a spiritual place.
Cemetery
The Kameng village cemetery is not far outside the village – approximately 500
meters away. The cemetery is located close to the village because the dead
are relatives and villagers don’t want their relatives to live far from them. It is
also easier for villagers to carry the body for burial, as well as during sacrificing
ceremonies.
The cemetery is not a forbidden area. However the villagers believe that those
who enter the cemetery should not perform any acts of disrespect to the dead,
such as shouting or destroying the surrounding environment. If they fail to
follow such rules, it is believed that ghosts will make them sick. The cemetery is
traditionally separated into two areas, one for what is considered ‘normal death’
and the other for accidental death.
52 Kameng village, Rattanakiri province