Khmer Legends: Part III

By Dẻmaz Baker

Khmer Legends Part III is Dẻmaz’s new collection of Cambodian folktales, one of which is the famous story of A-Lẻv. The narrative is about a boy born of poor and uneducated parents. At the age of seven, A-Lẻv already understood the meaning of being deprived of even the basic necessities of survival. He wanted to make a difference, not only for his parents but also for himself. From a teenager to an adult, his shrewd brain concocted mischievous, hilarious schemes to cheat people out of their belongings or to gain money so his parents could survive. He created trials and tribulations in doing so just to amuse himself. As years went by, he had a firm desire to educate himself by beginning to learn to read and write in order to deal with a high society that flaunted its wealth and status upon the poor and less fortunate. In the end, his humility and humbleness gained him more respect in the society that rejected him because of his low economic status. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Nov 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781977264992

Dẻmaz Baker

Dẻmaz Tep Baker was born and raised in Cambodia. She spent two years at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, where she obtained a Diploma in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Upon her return to her country, she was assigned to teach French and English in a Cambodian High School and, briefly after, became Director of   the Public Affairs office at the Department of Education in Phnom Penh. After the Khmer Republic fell to the communist’s party in 1975 which was followed by the killing of more than two million innocent Cambodians, she arrived in Washington DC in 1976. Working for the Federal Government (DoD), she enrolled in night school and earned a Bachelor and a Master’ s degrees in Business Administration. She did not stop there. Having a culinary “flair” for Cambodian cooking, after eight years of teaching Cambodian cooking classes in Arlington County, VA, she published a cookbook A Taste of Cambodian Cuisine in 2009 (on sale at Amazon.) Her residence in Annandale, VA, was the center of entertainments to showcase her talents in authentic Cambodian cuisine to her international friends. After working at the Department of Defense for twenty-five years, she retired in 2004, but she continued to keep herself busy working in the private sector for another fourteen years. At the same time her interest had shifted from cooking to writing Cambodian Folktale Stories. She is the author of Khmer Legends (2009), Khmer Legends Part II (2016) in which she included several nostalgic poems from her country. She finally retired from the private sector in 2016 to enjoy her four beautiful grandchildren. Dẻmaz Baker seems to have endless energy. She is an avid tennis player and never passes up an offer to compete with her friends. Feeling restless these last five months, she decided to reinvigorate her love for writing, and has decided to write Khmer Legends Part III.

Book preview

Khmer Legends Part III

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2023 Démaz Baker

v5.0

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Outskirts Press, Inc.

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Cover & Interior Illustrations by Novina N. Tep

Outskirts Press and the OP logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

For my grandchildren

Lucia, William, Penelope, Isabelle

And Justin

Contents

Introduction

The Story of A-Lév

A-Lév Has Great Ideas

A-Lév Fell in Love

A-Lév and the Pirates

A-Lév Found His Nest

The Royal Egg

The Stories of Sophea Tonsay

The Rabbit, the Tiger, the Otter, the Heron and the Chicken

Racing the Frog

The Rabbit Needs the Crocodile’s Help

The Rabbit

Has Many Tricks Up His Sleeves

The Tiger, the Monkey and the Rabbit

The Rabbit Always Has the Last Word

The Crab Digger

The Great Tiger

Aur-Chhoeuteal

Aur-Chhoeuteal

Glossary

Acknowledgments

Author Biography

Works Cited

Introduction

Legends exist in every culture and society. Folklore has existed in some form through the ages. Cambodia possesses a body of heroic folktales neglected by time and the war of 1975. This senseless war generated by the ultra-leftists headed by Pol Pot destroyed practically everything valuable to the country.

I have been fortunate to have come across a dedicated nationalist, a retired medical doctor who has spent endless time gathering information from numerous sources and has compiled a noteworthy collection of folktales entitled Prachuum Roeung Khmers. These precious stories were first collected from locals and put in writing by a Frenchman, H. G Monod, in 1922 under the name "Contes Khmers. The collection of Khmer folktales was then translated from French into Cambodian and finally published by the Buddhist University in Phnom Penh in 1972.

Through oral tradition, local folks have kept these stories alive in the collective memory of the people, thus shaping the Khmer Culture. Some stories put more emphasis on religion, some on traditional beliefs. For example, it was thought that a black hawk, a black crow, or a female spirit who howls near your house or in the neighborhood could predict a coming death. In 1973, I woke up to the sound of a black hawk perching on a tall tree of the house across from mine. The sound gave me goose bumps on my arms. I kept telling myself I was foolish to believe in such a thing. Sure enough, two days later, the death of a member of the family in that house was announced.

Each story showcases moralistic values and self-governing skills to the young. In Cambodia, such story telling was mainly found in rural areas. It was the only way to communicate to future generations. Folktales came in various forms such as singing or dancing. Later, as literacy developed, it came in the form of poetry. In Prachuum Roeung Khmérs, I found beautiful epics of poetry that strengthen community values. They were embellished to create a lively scenario to attract the audience. Storytelling is an art. The folktale narrators have entertained generations and generations throughout time. It takes a very skillful, imaginative mind to keep the story running smoothly, mainly to keep the listeners alert to the developments in the narrative. The setting is no less important. A vivid picture of the action as the story moves from place to place is vital to capture the attention of the listeners. Of great importance also are the characters in the story. The narrator must develop a plot, a dynamic series of actions that pleases the audience and finally a resolution that is true to the story as related to him/her through time. Some endings were pleasant, and others did not end well.

The animal folktales are the most sought after and delighted children as well as adults. In Cambodian folklore, the Rabbit was considered a very smart animal. He was designated as judge of all things by using logic to solve problems. His highest qualifications were his sharp intelligence and fairness toward animals and human beings. From tales of the rabbit to the ungrateful crocodile, a semi-aquatic reptile with ugly skin to the tiny snails, there was never a dull moment.

In the fantasy element of folktales, mythical creatures such as Giants, Snakes, and many more frightening characters could destroy everything on their path. In some stories, they could change themselves into human forms, marry a human being (the story of (Neang Kangrey in my first book, Khmer Legends) and live amongst human beings.

The tales you are about to hear or read below were not translated verbatim from the sources. They are shreds of information that I have weaved into a lively, humorous and colorful tapestry of my own imagination and interpretation.

Démaz Tep Baker

February 4, 2022

The Story of A-Lév

A-Lév Has Great Ideas

Once upon a time in a remote village, a very poor couple, named Neak Ngéh (pronounced Ngé-s), and Neak Ngóh, (pronounced Ngó-s), gave birth to a boy they named A-Lév (pronounced Aaa- Lév). They did their best to raise him correctly as all parents did. From the grace of Buddha, A-Lév was an intelligent little boy. At the age of seven he was smart enough to observe his parents’ true demeanors and their way of life. He recognized that his parents were poor because they were not very bright and were lazy. They simply lacked intelligence and seemed to be content with what they had.

One morning, he said to his parents:

"Mé oeuy!, Óy oeuy! We are poor because we do not have any jobs, or any way to earn a good income. I have some ideas on how to improve our lives. First, we must cultivate rice during this rainy season on the lands we have and in summer we must work on the farms, planting vegetables raising chicken, pigs and cows for consumption and sales." Addressing his father, he said:

"Óy, Oeuy, from now on, I am going to work with you at the paddy fields. Mother can stay home and take care of the house. If we need anything such as food, or betel nuts to chew, I can run back to the house to get it."

They all agreed with the plan. A-Lév and his father packed their belongings and took enough rice and dried fish and prahok to last them for a long while. Having done that, father and son left for the fields. The next day, they both started to plow the land before sowing the seeds. Then they prayed for Buddha to dump a