People that live far from the town or city, Cambodian called Indigenous group. There are many Indigenous groups in Cambodia. One of the Indigenous group is popular and known well in Cambodia. That’s Pnong. Everything that they have like, culture, food, tradition, clothes, art, and everything, most Cambodian know very well. Beside Pnong, there are many groups.
In my project, I have learned five different indigenous people. They are Suoy, Kachock, Tompoun, Jaria, and Krueng.
Suoy indigenous group is located in Kampong Speu. They live in Kuordontey village, Chhaen community, Oral district, Kampong Speu province. They are a small community and quiet. They have government help them. In the past four weeks, I went to Kampong Speu to visit them and get the information from them. This is the second time that I step into Suoy community. They are friendly and greeting well. I spend the rest of the morning with my friends to interview them about some of their culture and other things. We collect the information from them and create the books for the next generation. In the future, Suoy indigenous group will be more popular and will be a famous worldwide group.
We went to Ratanakiri to visit Kachock. The chef of the village said, “ We are the first visitor “. We really surprised what he said. This indigenous group is live far from the town and rare people got to know them. They also have some unique culture and belief. They are very shy because they never meet stranger before. When we start to talk to them and ask some nice question, they started to trust us and want to tell us about their story. If you are interesting, you can visit Kachock because they have a really interesting belief. Did you know that? When you go to Kachok community, don’t take the picture of the kids unless you have permission from the villager.
Tompoun is my favorite indigenous group that I ever met. They are so nice and they are very brave. They greet us and talk to us very well. Even they don’t really know Khmer or speak Khmer, they still try and answer what we want to know from them. They have so many things that they made by themselves. They have their scarf, gourd water bottle, wine, and their traditional clothes. I bought one of their scarfs and it cost $3. It’s really good quality. They have a different kind of scarf. Tompoun community is big and there is an organization to help them also. Their story from the past is so interesting and unique.
Jaria is an indigenous people that known very well in Cambodia. Jaria people don’t know Khmer well, but they can communicate with us. They try their best to let us know about their culture and other things. Jaria people also shy. They didn’t want to answer what we ask them, but they still complete our mission. In my through, future come Jarai will be known as one of the most famous indigenous group in Cambodia.
Krueng is the last indigenous community group that we visit. They really prepare for us before we come. They are all ready for us to ask the question. They all can speak Khmer. They show us their song, food, clothes..etc. They are very friendly. One of my highlight of this indigenous group is I try to catch the wild pig and puppies, but I just can’t. Finally, I catch one puppy. Oww!! It’s so good. I like puppy. In the future, Krueng will also be known by many people like Pnong.