Dog on the road through Soung Village. Photo: Dave Walker


Dave Walker and Sonny Chhount
August 6, 2019


They have never forgotten how Van Chhuon saved this small village of about 100 families during the Pol Pot regime’s bloodiest purges.

“The dogs always knew when people were being killed,” explains Van Chhuon. “They would howl to each other, from village to village, a very spooky howl, unlike anything I ever heard before. I believe the dogs saw people’s ghosts. In Khmer we say, chakai lou.”

So says Van Chhuon, 64, a former Khmer Rouge village chief, yet the reverence with which he is treated is at odds with the usual perception of the regime. In the village of Kuok Snuol, close to Siem Reap airport, small groups of elders gather to greet him. Their respect for him is genuine, and moving. Some still call him may (boss).

To avoid suspicion, Van Chhuon kept up appearances. “I would tell my villagers that if they stole a potato, I would bury them in the potato field. Or if they stole a banana, they would be buried under the banana tree. I had to be a good actor.”

When fellow villager Nai Kong, now 58, was arrested for complaining about the regime, he was taken to Siem Reap prison. Showing his many scars from that time, he recalls “there were 40 prisoners in one room, all shackled together. There was one cup of rice for all 40 people. I saw many people die, and thought I would die too.”

Years later, in 1992, Van Chhuon requested the help of two men to build a house in Siem Reap. A few days later, 45 villagers showed up. It was a showing of respect for a man who, in his time as a village chief during the Khmer Rouge period, lost only one person. That was Ta Khan, the former commune chief who was murdered on Van Chhuon’s first day in his new role.

Full https://southeastasiaglobe.com/the-khme ... a-village/

Cambodians believe in ghosts. It has come up on more than one occasion. For example:

I was in one village talking to a Cambodian extended family. They encourage the children to talk English with the foreigner. In this place the children talked Khmer. They said, what noise does an elephant make, what noise does a dog make, what noise does a snake make, and asked about several other animals. Then they said, what noise does a ghost make? Then they made a noise similar to the noise of a ghost in a film.

In Khmer, the word for dead person, and the word for ghost is the same.

What a great story. It shows too, how nuanced it all was.
Not nearly so black and white as in the cowboy movies.

Many races believe in Ghosts. Stereotyping is racist, in regards to "Cambodians believe in Ghosts".

KFH, definitely an interesting article. Thanks again for a good read.

When I lived in the countryside a neighbor died and the dogs really howled for an hour or so, they definitely knew. Very wolfish racket.

Just noticed who the author of that article is, some here will remember, died in 2014 if I'm not mistaken, something about trees and air...