រឿងភ្នំនាងកង្រី - PHNOM NEANG KANG REI - [Cambo Page - ខេមបូ ផេក]

PHNOM NEANG KANG REI

In Ponror commune, Rolea B'ier district, Kampong Chnangprovince, there is amountain higher than any others nearby. If welook from the distance, this mountain looks like a woman lying.Like other mountains in the neighborhood, there are any smalland big trees growing on it, but it are strange on the side of themountain, there are many maams (aromatic herbs). The peoplenearby do not eat maams there because it isbelieved that thismountain is made up of the dead body of Neang KangRei, a femaleGiant who was Puthisen's wife. And they have regarded maamsin that place as vulva hair of Neang Kang ReiIn addition, along the foot of the mountain, there is a stone mortar and a stone pestle:Since the ancient time, it is not known who made them. It is believed that anyone who gets there must take the pestle to pound onto the mortar so that they do not get sick because of the environment and are in good health and happiness. (This is thegeneral belief of the residents living there since ancient times).The story of Neang Kang Rei is summarized as following:

Once upon a time, there was a millionaire couple. They did not have any children. They went to pray under a Chrei tree (ficus rumphii) for children. Later they had twelve daughters. After having those children, the couple became gradually poor until their all property was sold, so they could not find food for their children.

Thus, they decided to drive an ox cart in order to take their twelve children to banish in a dense forest hoping that they were lucky to meet the rich people and able to look after them in the future. The millionaire's wife who saw her youngest child so small that she felt very pitiful but because she did not want to separate her from her elder sisters, she decided to leave her to stay with her sisters.

After being banished by their parents, the twelve girls had nothing to eat. Some caught fishes, crabs, or snails, and the others picked up fruits for meal. They wandered in the forest day after day. Finally they reached an empire, the kingdom of female Giant Santhamea. The Giant had a daughter named Neang Kang Rei. When seeing the twelve girls, Santhamea magically turned herself to be a plain woman and took those girls into her castle to serve her daughter Neang Kang Rei.

Long time later, they realized that it was the Kingdom of Giants. The twelve girls fled away from that kingdom and then they met a king named Preah Bat Rathasith. Since the twelve girls looked beautiful, the king proposed them to be his wives. At the same time, Neang Santhamea magically turned herself to be a pretty girl to gently coax the king until she became the first one of his wives.

One day Santhamea pretended to be seriously ill. She incited the doctors to tell the king to put out the eyes of the twelve girls for her medicine. And then they took the twelve girls, who went, to live in a carve without giving any food. She took their eyes to keep in a warehouse in her kingdom, asking her daughter, Nean Kang Rei, to look after them.

Among the twelve girls, the eleven elder sisters' eyes were put out on both sides; while Nean Pov's eyes were put out on only one side, because in her past life she only put out one of the fish's eyes, too. The fortunate person came to be reborn during Neang Pov's pregnancy.

As soon as her eleven elder sisters delivered the babies, they lacerated their children for food. But Neang Pov, after having a baby, named her child Puthisen and hid him away from her sisters.

Seven years later, Puthisen, the character of the fortunate person, grew up more handsomely and more intelligently than other kids. One day Puthisen questioned his mother about the reason they came to live in that carve. Having heard her child ask about it, Neang Pov felt pity for him and she immediately told him about what had happened. Puthisen was so full of sorrow that his tears dropped down by itself.

Afterward, Puthisen asked his mother for permission to come out of the cave in order to get to know other people outside the cave and also to look for his father. At that time, Preah En, the king of Paradise, gave him a magic cock. Soon, he came out of the cave and met a group of kids. They made a bet on cockfighting. They said that if Puthisen lost the bet, the kids could ask Puthisen to serve them whatever they wanted; but, if Puthisen won the bet, he needed only twelve packets of rice from the kids. Finally, Puthisen was the winner and he got twelve packets of rice. He soon went to his mother Neang Pov and gave her the twelve packets. Getting the packets from her son, Neang Pov gave them to her elder sisters – one packet for each. The eleven elder sisters accepted the rice with wonder. “Where can Pov get this rice?” asked one of Neang Pov’s eleven sisters, “We’ve had no rice to eat for a long.” Neang Pov then told them about the time she hid her son away from his birth until his grow-up.

Since then, Puthisen always came out to make a bet with the people outside on various things and got twelve packets of rice for his mother everyday. Many years later, his fame was known to the king. Wanting to know Puthisen's ability, the king asked a royal servant to invite him to the palace. "I don't know any rules in the royal palace, so Your Majesty, please apologize to me," said Puthisen to the king when he met him. Having heard Puthisen's words, the king was so pleased that he started to have a bet on chess with Puthisen. Finally, Puthisen won the bet with the king. "Track him secretly, and find out who are his parents," whispered the king to his favorite royal servant, after getting food prepared for Puthisen.

After he got twelve packets of rice, Puthisen said goodbye to the king and left. The favorite servant of the king helped Puthisen carry the twelve packets and walked behind him. When arriving at haft the distance, Puthisen asked for the packets of rice and left the servant for his mother. But, the servant continued walking behind him secretly until he saw the twelve women. He came back to the palace and told the king what he had seen. Next day the king ordered the servant to invite Puthisen to the palace again and asked Puthisen about his parents. "Your Majesty, I am the son of Nean Pov, who used to be in high status," Puthisen told the king, "but now a misfortune forced her to stay in a deep cave." After listening to what Puthisen told, the king was in great suffering and then he quickly put his hands warmly around Puthisen. “My son, I am your father," said the king, "I have never thought that you are my son so far. I am very old now and I am really happy to meet you, son."

Soon this information was leaked to Neang Santhamea. The female Giant was furious and felt absolute hatred towards Puthisen, but she struggled to control her temper and pretended to love Puthisen like her real son. Years later, Puthisen became matured. In attempt to kill Puthisen, Santhamea ordered him to ride a horse to bring a letter to her daughter Neang Kang Rei. The letter read, "If Puthisen arrives at the night time, eat him at night; if he arrives in the day time, eat him in day." At first, Puthisen hesitated to go because no one looked after his mother and aunts. But, since his father claimed that he would take care of them, he decided to go, riding a finest horse, named Mony Keo, which could speak human language and could fly.

Luckily, when Puthisen arrived in the middle of the forest; he was very tired, so he had a rest in the forest. The hermit saw Puthisen sleeping and read a letter tied up to the horse neck, he torn up that letter and wrote another new one. The letter read, "If Puthisen arrives in the day time, marry him in the day; if he arrives at the night time, marry him at the night."

As soon as Puthisen arrived at the Giant Kingdom, He gave the letter to Neang Kang Rei. After reading the letter, she immediately married Puthisen. Puthisen became the king in Santhamea's kingdom.

Neang Kang Rei dearly loved and completely trusted her husband. She took him for a walk everywhere and told him about the eyes of the twelve girls and medicine to cure their eyes. She also told him about the magical medicine that could make water or mountains when it was thrown out.

When he saw good chance, Puthisen stole the medicines and the eyes, and immediately left Neang Kang Rei at midnight to cure his mother and aunts at his kingdom.

Neang Kang Rei got up just in time and ran after her husband, profoundly shocked. Puthisen saw Neang Kang Rei running quickly and calling him, he threw the magic medicine to make a river in order to stop her.

Neang Kang Rei swept with such great sorrow that her body became so weak and died in the middle of the forest. Puthisen arrived home safely. He cured the eyes of his mother and his aunts till they recovered. He killed the Giant Santhamea and became the king of that kingdom. He lived happily until the end of his life.

- The END -