Puthisan Neang Kong Rei
Encyclopedia
Puthisan Neang Kong Rei is a Khmer
folk tale. Originally an ancient Sanskrit
story, the tale can be found in many countries but under other names, for example Nang Sib Song
in Thailand. A wealthy Khmer poet named Mien Pakley had adapted the tale into a poem. The tale has had several film adaptations. The tale involves the powerful love of Neang Kong Rei for Puthisen.
Eventually tiring of the toil of their lives under the terrifying giants, the 12 fled their bondage and made their way to a neighboring kingdom where they were wed en masse to its king, Preah Bath Rothasith.
But the giant Santema was unwilling to allow the dozen former servants of her daughter to live in even the relative freedom that polygamous relationships of the time allowed. Instead, Santema concealed her identity - not a small matter considering her physical stature and reputation - and charmed Rothasith into making her his 13th wife.
Once she had gained the trust and sympathy of her new husband, Santema feigned a deadly illness, one that all the doctors and medicines of her husband failed to cure.
Santema capitalized on Rothasith's growing desperation and informed him that only a potion concocted from the eyeballs of her 12 pregnant co-wives would save her life. Entranced by Santema's wiles, Roth-asith ordered his soldiers to carve out the eyes of 11 of the 12 women, with wife Neang Pov allowed to keep one of her eyes.
After their ritual mutilation, the now blind or nearly blind women were confined in a cave, where they were forced to consume their newly born children one by one.
Only one-eyed Neang Pov was allowed to let her son, Puthisan, survive. In the darkness of the cave with his blind, grief-crazed aunts, Sen quietly fortified himself with dreams of revenge as he nourished himself with the flesh of his dead cousins.
When he became an adult, the evil Santema began to fear the consequences if Puthisan became King. To circumvent any possible acts of revenge by Sen, Santema sent him a letter instructing him to use it for passage into the Forest of Giants. In fact, the letter was a death warrant that stated "When Pothisan arrives, eat him".
But the letter was cunningly altered by a hermit living in the forest to read : "When Puthisan arrives, marry him to my daughter."
Thus when Pothisan entered the Forest of Giants, the letter was read and its instructions obeyed by the sentinel giants. Unbeknownst to Santema, her beloved daughter Kong Rei became the adoring wife of her greatest enemy.
After their married, Kong Rei had told Puthisan all about the magic thing in her Kingdom including the Eyeballs that belonged to Puthisen's mother and aunts.
Predictably, rather than fulfilling his conjugal duties Puthisen took advantage of his new position to steal back the eyeballs of his long-suffering aunts along with some magical potions designed to facilitate his escape.
When a stricken Kong Rei attempted to pursue Sen, he used the magical potion to turn the land between them into water, allowing him to flee. Kong Rei cried and begged him to come back to live with her but he refused cause he should thought of his mother stronger than wife. Kong rei cried until she died and became the Mountain called Kong Rei Mountain at Kampong Chhnang
When he arrived in his kingdom, he made his mother and aunts have their eyeballs again and killed Santema. Finally, Putisan, his mother and aunts lived happily in the royal palace with Santema's body turned to stone and abandoned in the deep forest.
. Along with sightseers, the mountain attracts spiritually motivated laymen and women who come to pray and meditate.
At the base of the mountain there is a hut for resident monks and lay followers to do prayer and meditation. Leading from the hut to the top of the mountain is a path named plov sdach {king's path}.
While in previous decades a hike up the mountain involved the potential risk of encounters with tigers and other animals, the area is now sadly denuded of wildlife.
Chan Pav, 40, a resident of Trabek village at the mountain's base, says that Kong Rei's attraction for spiritually-minded visitors are caves that possess strong spiritual power. While Pav said that spiritual power noticeably decreased during the Pol Pot
regime, recent peace and stability had put it on an upward trend.
"The scientists seem not to believe in spirit power, but we here must believe in it because it is true," he said. "This mountain requires [visitors to express] the truth. If not [they] will get trouble.
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
folk tale. Originally an ancient Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
story, the tale can be found in many countries but under other names, for example Nang Sib Song
Nang Sib Song
Nang Sib Song is a well known and popular Thai folktale which originally from Sanskrit Tale that also spread to many countries in Southeast Asia such as Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Malaysia but in different title. Nang Sib Song means Twelve sisters in English...
in Thailand. A wealthy Khmer poet named Mien Pakley had adapted the tale into a poem. The tale has had several film adaptations. The tale involves the powerful love of Neang Kong Rei for Puthisen.
Plot
Once Upon a time, There was a Rich man who turned to a poor man because of his Twelve daughters, So he abandoned his daughters in a deep forest. There the giant Neang Santema took the 12 foundlings to be the servants of her daughter, Kong Rei.Eventually tiring of the toil of their lives under the terrifying giants, the 12 fled their bondage and made their way to a neighboring kingdom where they were wed en masse to its king, Preah Bath Rothasith.
But the giant Santema was unwilling to allow the dozen former servants of her daughter to live in even the relative freedom that polygamous relationships of the time allowed. Instead, Santema concealed her identity - not a small matter considering her physical stature and reputation - and charmed Rothasith into making her his 13th wife.
Once she had gained the trust and sympathy of her new husband, Santema feigned a deadly illness, one that all the doctors and medicines of her husband failed to cure.
Santema capitalized on Rothasith's growing desperation and informed him that only a potion concocted from the eyeballs of her 12 pregnant co-wives would save her life. Entranced by Santema's wiles, Roth-asith ordered his soldiers to carve out the eyes of 11 of the 12 women, with wife Neang Pov allowed to keep one of her eyes.
After their ritual mutilation, the now blind or nearly blind women were confined in a cave, where they were forced to consume their newly born children one by one.
Only one-eyed Neang Pov was allowed to let her son, Puthisan, survive. In the darkness of the cave with his blind, grief-crazed aunts, Sen quietly fortified himself with dreams of revenge as he nourished himself with the flesh of his dead cousins.
When he became an adult, the evil Santema began to fear the consequences if Puthisan became King. To circumvent any possible acts of revenge by Sen, Santema sent him a letter instructing him to use it for passage into the Forest of Giants. In fact, the letter was a death warrant that stated "When Pothisan arrives, eat him".
But the letter was cunningly altered by a hermit living in the forest to read : "When Puthisan arrives, marry him to my daughter."
Thus when Pothisan entered the Forest of Giants, the letter was read and its instructions obeyed by the sentinel giants. Unbeknownst to Santema, her beloved daughter Kong Rei became the adoring wife of her greatest enemy.
After their married, Kong Rei had told Puthisan all about the magic thing in her Kingdom including the Eyeballs that belonged to Puthisen's mother and aunts.
Predictably, rather than fulfilling his conjugal duties Puthisen took advantage of his new position to steal back the eyeballs of his long-suffering aunts along with some magical potions designed to facilitate his escape.
When a stricken Kong Rei attempted to pursue Sen, he used the magical potion to turn the land between them into water, allowing him to flee. Kong Rei cried and begged him to come back to live with her but he refused cause he should thought of his mother stronger than wife. Kong rei cried until she died and became the Mountain called Kong Rei Mountain at Kampong Chhnang
When he arrived in his kingdom, he made his mother and aunts have their eyeballs again and killed Santema. Finally, Putisan, his mother and aunts lived happily in the royal palace with Santema's body turned to stone and abandoned in the deep forest.
Kong Rei Mountain
Kong Rei Mountain 12°18′53"N 104°42′51"E is one of the main tourist spots in Kampong Chhnang Province, particularly during Khmer New Year. The silhouette of the mountain seen from afar looks like a sleeping ladyThe Sleeping Lady
-Mountains:The Sleeping Lady is a nickname for the following mountains:*Western United States :...
. Along with sightseers, the mountain attracts spiritually motivated laymen and women who come to pray and meditate.
At the base of the mountain there is a hut for resident monks and lay followers to do prayer and meditation. Leading from the hut to the top of the mountain is a path named plov sdach {king's path}.
While in previous decades a hike up the mountain involved the potential risk of encounters with tigers and other animals, the area is now sadly denuded of wildlife.
Belief in the story
The people who live in Kampong Chhnang Province believe in the story and warn their children to not eat every vegetables on Kong Rei mountain because they could be Kong rei's hair.Chan Pav, 40, a resident of Trabek village at the mountain's base, says that Kong Rei's attraction for spiritually-minded visitors are caves that possess strong spiritual power. While Pav said that spiritual power noticeably decreased during the Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
regime, recent peace and stability had put it on an upward trend.
"The scientists seem not to believe in spirit power, but we here must believe in it because it is true," he said. "This mountain requires [visitors to express] the truth. If not [they] will get trouble.
Films
The Story has been adopted many times for films:- Puthisen Neang Kong Rei (1975 film)
- Rithisen Neang Kong Rei (2000 film).