Land dispute victims in Siem Reap during a traditional ceremony put a curse on the person who stole their land.Villagers curse stolen land
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Written by Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post
CURSED LANDA new pattern of superstition has emerged as a last resort for victims of land grabs, as government inaction sends people to new levels of desperation
Local rights group Adhoc, in their 2008 year-end review, reported a more than threefold jump over the previous year, from 40 to 125, in land disputes in which members of the armed forces were implicated in illegal conduct.
HUNDREDS of villagers from Lor Peang village in Banteay Meanchey province gathered together last week to perform a traditional ceremony in which they put a curse on the people who stole their land.
"We prayed and burned incense and cursed whoever stole our land to perish," villager Sgnuon Nhoeun told the Post Sunday. She said that using old-fashioned superstitious techniques had been the last choice for the villagers, who felt betrayed by the inaction of government and legal officials.
"The reason that we have this ceremony is because we feel helpless in the face of local authorities and the judicial system," she said.
"One person who stole our land died in a traffic accident last year after we made a similar curse," she said, adding that villagers had also planted small trees on the stolen land.
"Those who stole our land will fade like the leaves we plant on it," she said.
According to Sgnuon Nhoeun, Lor Peang villagers had sold around half of their land to development group KDC. Instead of taking half of the land, however, the company had taken the lot. The dispute resulted in the imprisonment last Novemeber of two of the village's representatives who had protested against the company.
"The villagers have conducted ceremonies like this because they believe it is their last choice. They have no hope in the local authorities or court officials to find justice for them," Sam Chankea, a coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, told the Post Sunday.
Old-fashioned curses reborn
Miech Ponn, a researcher at the Buddhist Institute and an adviser to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said that villagers had not conducted superstitious ceremonies like this in a long time.
"People feel no hope and have no belief in the judicial system, so they have decided to mark the occasion by cursing corrupt court officials to comfort their feelings," the 75-year-old said.
"It is not part of Buddhism, but there is nothing wrong with it. People have the right to their beliefs according to constitutional and penal law," he added.
10 comments:
It will work !!!! these Demon will get kill by our people curse .
The Cambodian people are praying and burnning incense and cursing the Royal Government of Cambodia who stolen their land and destroyed their personal belonging to perish as soon as possible from the earth of Cambodia.
Srok Laos rorlom, Srok Khmer rorleay, Srok Thai kchat kachay, Sombor Sabbay Srok Yuon. That was written in the book called "Rasmei Kraham" published by Hanoi Politico in 1979, and taught at Political school in Phnom Penh by Polity Penn Sovann 1979-1980.
please. stop twisting khmer prophesy. If you don't know don't make statements to mislead your fellow ignorant friends. The saying goes "Prei nokor rolom, Phnom Penh roliey, Bangkok chat chai, sabai Angkor watt".
And it is an oral prophesy recited over and over with many Khmer chapei singers. The work is known as the Puthtamniey, or the saying of Buddha. You srok youn people just like to take everything Khmer and twist it to make it yours.
Oh wow! Oppressers, you all better stop. This is very powerful cours. It is invisible power. Watch out, better stop. This cours is just not to yourself, but deep down to your children, grandchildren also,
Red-Ant.
1:56AM
Have You Read the "Rasmei Kraham" or attended political school with Penn Sovann in 1979-80? during that time, after finished school, I was Trapped by Hanoi A50, they traced me from P.P to Battambang. Because, I join KoK Sar and Seiha Movement and try to liberate back from Yuon.
I agreed that this kind of retailiation against their ennemies are working very perfectly. I have this kind of belief by myself when I was violated by my greedy landlord. After I prayed for spirits to help me, my greedied landlord has died by cancer within 6 months. I hope these victims will win through the intervention of the spirit. As we have won this kind of help from spirits many times, my wife has called me Areak Prey. I saved thousands of dollars in legal fee by just offering a rotissey pock and after the offering we can also eat that juicy pock too. Areak Prey
mAY LIGHTNING KILLED THE CORRUPTORS, TRAITORS OF RELIGION NATION, AND PEOPLE, KILLERS, AND OPPRESORS!!!
If he old like Shihanouk let him dy slowely and in pain!!!!!!!!!!!
Please include me in the occasion in cursing those have committed complicity and took advantage of those are weak and poor.
Your curse will come true.
Spirit does exist so does belief proves to be effective sometime in other parts of the world.
Supernatural and extraordinary thing living among us is believe to be good for some believers. That’s why people take oath, swear and make statement by a blessed object.
This practice has been using through out Cambodia and has been successful in some occasions where as voodoo is widely used in Haiti for their own faith.
It is an innocent tool and invisible means practiced by some people.
i respect local people's belief. whatever they believe in is fine. others have no right to impose strict personal believe on them. actually, in a field of psychology called "mental illness and psychology", local people's belief can help to alleviate their stress and mental illness. it is actually healthy for them to practice their beliefs, although it may differ from your beliefs or whatever. so, more power to the local people's beliefs as long as it helps them to cope, etc... if people get educated enough, then they will understand what i am trying to say here. so, it's ok!
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