Neang Kmao Temple ( part 1)

About Neang Kmao temple
If we make a journey from Phnom Penh to Takeo Province, getting into Rovieng commune of Samrong district, we will find an ancient temple on the left side of street in the east. This temple is called Wat Prossat Neang Kmao. This pagoda is named on the basic of two temples situated close to each other, called Prasat Neang Kmao in the west of the Buddhist temple, right at the west entrance of pagoda. These two temples were made of tones and bricks, in the size of 4 square meters and 10 meters high with the narrow top of its lofty tower. The tale related to this temple is as the following:

The Story of Neang Kmao temple
A long time ago, there was a king named King Sorya Tevong, stayed in Chiso Mountain. The king built five temples with four ponds ducg at tall directions of the temples. King sorya Tevong had a daughter named Neang Kmao. The distance from top to the foot of the mountain was 700 meters and there were four rivers at the four directions. Tonle Om, Tonle Sngout, Tonle Sdok and Tonle Protron, where king Sorya Tevong always visited. When his daughter grew up at the age of 16 years, she was the most beautiful girl in the Kingdom.

 One Day, the princess wished to enjoy at Tonle Proton, she went to salute her father for the permission. The king permitted and ordered the royal servants to accompany her in the afternoon. Meanwhile, there was a man named Pundit Srey who had just resigned from the monkhood. He was a very handsome man with knowledge of magic.  He resided in a village in the west of Chiso Mountain near a route to Tonle Proton. With his boredom, Pundit Srey went for a walk near the route. He saw princess with her companions coming down the mountain and instantly fell in love with the princess at the first sight. Pundit Srey thought: “Today I am very lucky to see a perfect lady. But I am a son of poor family; how can I marry her. She doesn’t match me, since she’s not an ordinary citizen and she is the princess of King Sorya Tevong. What shall I do?”
 

The more Pundit thought, the more he loved the princess. He thought to himself,” if I ask her to marry me according to the law and tradition, surely, it won’t be appropriate. It’ll be my misbehavior, thus the king must punish me to death.”  His love to her was growing too much, so he decided, “although he king punish me, I would rather die for her.” By thinking so, he recalled the magic skills he had studied. He picked a leaf and rolled it. He recited the magic and blew it to make beautiful sound and then he climbed up a tree to blow it in order to make the sound louder. This charming sound attracted the heart of Princess Neang Kmao. She became confounded for a while, then she woke up and thought, “I’m a daughter of the king. I always listen to music every day, but no sound of music has made me very shocked as this does.” She could not help her temptation and lost her tongue, “Gee, what a sound! I must seek and see who’s blowing so beautifully.” Then she went to look for the sound alone. When she saw the beauty of Pundit Srey, the prince loved him stronger. They chatted in the way that a maiden and a young fellow love each other. Then they both promised to meet again and then were separated. ( read part 2)

Prohm Kil Temple ( The End)

Part 1, Part 2  He unpacked the food package the horse owner asked to keep and smelled deliciously of the food. Appetizing and uncontrollable, Prohm Kil ate it until he was full up.

Waiting for the horse owner and not seeing him return, Prohm Kil decided to unpack the bag. When he found the clothe in the bag that the old man kept with him, Prohm Kil thought of trying them on to see whether or not they suited him because from he was born till then, he had never worn any nice clothes. Then he tried on the clothes. 

Seeing that he had good appearance, Prohm Kil thought that he wanted to try riding that white horse.

When Prohm Kil was getting the horse to be calm, it did not really buck at all. Instead, it kindly let him ride on its back as he wanted. No sooner did he put one of his legs on its back then the horse suddently flew forward and that wood was name Prey Somrach (successful wood) because Prohm Kil could ride the horse. The horse flew around Angkor Thom Temple, the capital city of King Dombang Kranhoung.

King Dambang Kranhoung was furious. “Who dare ride the horse flying over my temple,” said the king angrily. Infuriated, the king took his rosewood bar ( Dambang Kranhoung) of great power to throw to the fortunate person, Prohm Kil, but missed him.  The bar went away into the forest and after then the forest was call prey Battambang (the lost bar forest) and up to now this forest has become a city, known as Krong Banttambang.

Realized that he lost his magic power due to the loss of his great magic bar, The King Dambang krranhoung fled to Lao ( the neighboring country of Cambodia).  The fortunate person, Prohm Kil was crowned the king after King Dambang Krohnoung name named King sinthpor Anouk Reach ( Prohm Kil) and during the period of his ruling, he made change on Khmer flag. He put the picture of  a white horse on the new flag to pay his gratitude to the white horse for throne and the victory over King Dambang Krohnoung.  

 

He was a powerful traveler who gained the throne from his father. He built the temple for the memory where the old man kept the white horse with him, called Prohm Kil Temple. And his name was been called so until now. It is the small temple near the riverside as it has been told. The end 

Prohm Kil Temple ( Part 2)

( Read Part 1) One day King Dambang Kranhoung found another remarkable event at midnight: he saw a star shining near the moon and making the moonlight dimmer in the sky. 

The king ordered the astrologist to predict the first event again. The astrologist took out his board, numbered on it and predicted that “ the fortune person was born and had more power than Your Majesty. Next seven days, he will ride a white power horse flying from Northeast and become the King in the kingdom.” 

Immediately after hearing the prediction, King Dambang Kranhoung replied, “No. I won’t give up my throne, I fight against him to see who I more powerful. If I lose, I’ll let him occupy my throne.” 

 

When the people in the kingdom heard that a fortune person would appear and arrive on his white house next seven days, they were crowded at Angkor Royal Palace. 

Prom Kel was among the people. He hurriedly went to the monk chief who was his foster father, asking to see the fortune person.” Of course/” the monk agreed and smiled. “I wish you good luck and happiness,” he blessed. 

Everyone  was briskly walking ahead except for Prom kil, 

who was bravely struggling to move on his buttock but could not catch up the people.

Exhausted, Prohm Kil rested under a tree near the riverside in the middle of the quiet wood. At that time, an old man leading a white horse, his shoulder carrying a food package, water container, and packed bag of clothing, walked toward Prohm kil. “Grandson!” said the old man. Can I keep my luggage with you; I have something to do in the wood for a moment,” he requested. Prohm kil agreed with the old man and said, “How can I took after your horse with my withered limbs.” The old man replied, “Grandson, let me tie the horse to your arm.” Prohm Kil consented to the request and allowed the old man to tie the horse to his right arm. Then the white horse owner walked into forest and disappeared. 

After the old man left, the white horse walks up and down around the Prohm Kil. A moment later the horse neighed and pulled at full strength, Prohm Kil’s right arm stretching. “My right arm become unfolded now,” he thought, “so I should tie this string to the other arm.” He untied the string on the right arm and used it on the left arm. The left arm was unfolded and become bendable. After that he used the string on his both legs; his legs was straightened and stretched. ( Read the ending part)

The Story of Prohm Kel Temple ( Part 1)

About Prohm Kel Temple

At Chong Kal commune, Samroang Chong kal District, Siem Preap Province, situated an ancient temple, where two pounds are nearby and whose body is 5.50 meters high and the size is approximately 15 to 16 meters four sided figure. Inside the temple, there is a stone which looks like the throne. The temple is called Prohm Kil, located about 150 meters in the north of a lake. The ancient legend of temple has been told as follows:

The Story of Prohm Kel Temple ( Part 1)

Once upon a time, a man who was looking for rattans in the wood found a black Roka tree. He used the tree to make a strong bar. The bar was so marvelous that he named it Damban Krahnung. With magic bar, the man became a very powerful person.

Realizing that the bar gives him great power, the man became greedy and seized the throne from King Chakraport, who had ruled the Kingdom of Angkor. The man gained the throne from the King and named himself King Kambong Kranhoung, following the name of his bar to remember his success.

 

King Dambong Kranhoung immediately ordered his astrologist to predict the event. The astrologist predicted that that marvelous event was a sigh to show that a majestic person would be born, and rule the Kingdom. 

Hearing this prediction, King Dambang Kranhoung was so worried. He ordered his men to kill all pregnant women and burnt down their corpses. At that time, the king’s concubines, ladies-in- waiting and other women who were all pregnant were killed and burnt down.

 

 

How marvelous it was! Since a fortune person certainly incarnated, while the King’s troops were putting on fire all the dead bodies of pregnant women , and poking the metal spit into the burning corpse of a woman, who was a concubine of king Chakraort, a baby boy dropped from her uterus to the fire, burning his limbs, but he was still alive. Then the troops hid the baby in a rattan bush.

 

In the evening, when the chief of a pagoda went out in the wood praying for the dead and meditating, the troops gave the baby boy to him for rearing. The chief of monks treated the baby until the burnt scars where healed, but the baby limbs were not a they had been and became withered.

When the baby boy grows up, he studied literature and other skills in the monk’s residence. Whenever he went somewhere, he moved on his buttock instead of a normal walk. Since then, some people always called him Prohm Kil (moving on the buttock) and some name him Ponhea Kraek, which referred to his background from the rattan ( Kraek) bush. ( Read Part 2)

Phnom Pros, Phnom Srey

About Phnom Pros Phnom Srey (Male and Female Mountains) 

Phnom Pros Phnom Srey is located in Krala Commune, Kampong Siem District, Kompong Cham Province, about 7 kilometers from Kampong Cham Provincial town or about 114 kilometers from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Phnom Pros is a dull peak hill about 30 meters high. On the hill is a pagoda named Wat Sovankiri Rattanak Phnom Pros. It has a spot for vehicles to park at the top. The main temple is five peaks, constructed in the style of Banteay Srei temple in Siem Reap.  Another temple on Phnom Pros has two peaks and was constructed during the Samnkum Reasre Niyum regime or then-prince Norodom Hihanouk. Near the temple is 15-meter-high  stupa, which was constructed by a monk name Keo Suor, who the first head monk of the pagoda. A Kot is at the food of the hill. During 1975 to 1979, during the Khmer Rouge regime, Phnom Pros was used a prison and tortures center.

About 1000 meters north of Phnom Pro, there is another high hill with a sharp-pointed peak called Phnom Srei. There’re also several smaller hills at Phnom Srei. No monks live there, however, there is a Duan Chi (nun) who care for the site and ask visitor for donations to rebuild the temple.

The Story of Phnom Pros Phnom Srey

Once upon a time, there was a queen named Srey Ayuthea, reigning in Khmer territory. During her reign, no man dared to propose a woman to marry, so the queen asked for a good looking man he loved to marry her. By following her track, her female subordinates also ask the men to marry them. 

During that era, it was pitiful for the unattractive women who proposed the men to marry, but the man generally refused to accept their proposals. They only picked up the pretty girls to be their wives. This custom was carried out in the reign of Queen Srey Ayuthyea. In the later reigns of other kings, the women assembled together and said, “It is not appropriate for us to propose the men to marry. We will make a competition with the men. The competition is to dig up the soil and pile it up to make a hill. If the men lose the match, they must ask u to marry them. “After the discussion, they went to challenge the men to compete by pilling up the hills with strict promise and conditions. If any group could pill up the hill higher than the other, the loser must propose the winner group to marry.   

Then the woman selected group leader to collect the many members, as the men, they did the same way by mobilizing a lot of member. After meeting together, the women group lead said to the men group leader, “We all have to pile up a hill for each group from the falling of the dusk until the mooring stars rise up.” 

After the agreement, the two sides began to carry the soil by using their own techniques. Some dug up the soil, some carried it on their head, some carried it with a bar across the shoulders, and some carried with baskets. When the night came in and after the women carried the soil for many hours they came up with an idea. They played a trick to put up a small lantern on a high post at the northeast. When seeing the lantern and supposing it as a morning star, the men asked all of their members to stop working and went to sleep.  As for the women, they continued to carry the soil to pile up their hill until the morning star shone.

Once cocks crowed at dawn, the men got up and saw mooring stars shining and exclaimed, “We are all wrong. The morning star has just shone.” and then the men saw the women’s hill was higher than theirs, they felt great ashamed because they were cheated by women. Since then men request women to marry. 

The End.