In 1954, Cambodian people believe in medicine. They believed in ghost, evil, guardian spirit, and witch. During the high tide season, Khos Samrong villagers always found woods along river to Kratie province. Mr. KHAY's father and his brother, VAN, were also finding the woods with them. One month later, they both floated the woods to the house.
When they arrived home, was getting high fever. His wife and children didn't pay hot attention to this, because they thought it was normal illness. But a few days later, he passed away. They fell very sorry and sorrowful because they didn't heatedly cure him; especially his wife was absolutely grief- stricken. He died without closing eyes. They thought that because he was still too much missing his wife and children .
In Chinese tradition, they often bury corpse in prosperity places. Therefore, they buried his body in the forest behind the house. It was about the midnight. Suddenly, his wife was screaming loudly, "Please don't harm me, you had already died." Because of this screaming, it made her children wake up and surrounded their mother. They saw mother shocking, sweating, becoming pale lip, and pale face. The oldest sister asked, "Why were you screaming loudly?"
Mother told that I had seen your father came and woke me up, but I did not get up. Then he tapped my back slightly, but his hand was as cold as ice. Just a short telling, she became shaking again. Her sons and daughter massaged her arms and legs.
Second night coming. HY LENG (the mother) called her sons and daughter to sleep in the same on net altogether. They fell not very well, because of fears. But the oldest one wasn't frightened ghost or evil. When she knew her father (the ghost) coming; she fell happy; because she wanted to see her father's face. In that night, she lighted kerosene lamp to see his face.
The midnights coming, outside the house, there was a noise of banana's leaves banging and howling with fear for long time. Without standing sleepiness, HY LENG (the mother) and her Children took a nap. While they were sleeping, they heard a voice outside, "Please open the door! It is time to find woods; AVAN was waiting under the house. Come on quickly..!" and then, they heard chains dragging harshly. The chain was taken to tie boat and woods.
Meanwhile, the oldest daughter quickly got out of the net to open the door and shouted, "Daddy! Daddy!" but without hearing anything beside that someone's step was climbing down the stairs. The oldest daughter followed quickly; it was sounded someone mumbling, but it was impossible to hear. And then, it was disappeared behind the house.
The oldest daughter climbed up the house with the lamb; however, HY LENG (the mother) was shaking and shocked as chicken. They massaged her arms and legs again. Tonight, no one could sleep anymore, because they worried about her mother's health.
In the morning,HY LENG (the mother) and her daughter invited a monk and layman to recite incantation for setting up boundary around her husband's grave and home. In the third night, there was nothing happened. Since then, they did not see her husband's soul any more.
Since their father had died, the two sons tried hard to make living for their family. One day, they went to buy thatch in the field near KANDAL pagoda about 15 kilometers away. When they harvested thatch, there were four people, the two HY LENG's sons, a ten year-old youngest child and her another nephew. Harvesting lasted for about one week. They rode two carts to thatch field and arrived there about four in the evening.
When the evening nearly came, they recognized that they had forgotten sickle. They discussed, if it is taken in the morning, it's wasteful of a half day, and if go tonight, who go? Because This trip passed KANDAL pagoda where was often known as haunted place. Finally, the both cowards decided to go back home because they thought that it took only a few minutes to walk pass the pagoda.
When they arrived at Bodhi tree, the haunted place, they saw nothing. Therefore, they were very happy; however, while they were walking to the thicket of bamboo, suddenly, there was sound of the wind blowing over their heads and sound of throwing pieces of clay behind them. They were both frightened and they held their hands together and ran quickly. "Help me! Help me!" It sounded behind them; as the result, they both ran more quickly.
Before leaving, they tied up scarf with their heads tightly, avoiding frighten. While they were running about 100 meters away, suddenly, they found two people carrying kerosene lamp and catching frogs because it was rainy season. At that time, they were very happy to see them, so they both stopped frighten and running. However, when they touched their heads, the scarf had been missing. They wondered how the scarf was missing if it had been already tied tightly. And then when they touched their foreheads, they were sluggishly bleeding.
They both walked closely to the frog catcher; they relaxed breathing and heart stopped thumping. The lamp carrier asked, "Why do you dare to walk pass that place in the night? Don't you know it is absolutely haunted place? Do you have something important?" "Yes, I know. Just a moment at the thicket of bamboo, the pieces of clay were hurled at us. We ran breathlessly but when we met you, we weren't frightened any more", replied the both cowards.
After that, the man who was carrying the basket of frog handed a few frogs to them and ssaid that they were delicious. They both answered, "No, thank because my house is so far. If I didn't meet you, I would die." saying that, the frog catcher took the frog and ate it with bleeding out of their mouths. By seeing this suddenly the both cowards screamed, "Ghost haunt..!"
This time, they ran more quickly and more frightened. They didn't hold hands each other anymore; they ran as fast as they did. Because of being afraid of ghost haunt, but they were talking with the ghost.
When they arrived home, the elders in the village got together to see and surprised, especially HY LENG. Therefore, they asked both of them. They both told them with tired and fearing gesture because of too much scared. After they had understood everything, some scattered salt and rice from head to toe by saying one, two, three... bed luck away and they threw the rice to the ground.
Since then, they both got fever for a half of month. Therefore, they got together to celebrate invoked spirits ceremony; it was believed that when someone was too frightened, the big soul went out; it left only the small soul kept in body so they held invoked spirits ceremony in order to recall the big soul back.
The ceremony was held as the following: they took Chhneng, type of dip-net, to catch the soul on the ground with invoking the soul back. They took Chhneng, type of dip-net, or using basket to collect its parts (souls) from various places and threw all to the sick people. It was believed that the too much terrified people were pushed their souls run away from the body; therefore, it was thought to recall back the soul into the body by doing like this.
- The END -
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