Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
16-1 Cambodia Muse 4/13/04 2:55 PM Page 60 CHUTH KHAY One During 1945 and 1946, a cholera epidemic struck my village on the island of Koh Somrong, which is part of the province of Kompong Cham. There was panic, general upheaval. At night, the villagers lit fires near their huts to ward off the dead who were coming back to take lives. These dead feared fire. That’s what we as Khmers believed. As soon as the sun set, no one dared to make a noise. We were all barricaded in our homes, care- ful to turn off all lights and extinguish any indication of our presence. In the beginning, a gong was struck with each new death, and people trembled like frightened little animals, especially when this happened at night. Dogs barked and moaned without stopping. So many people died that we stopped striking the gong. Everyone kept silent. Everything was still. Some wrapped their dead in mats or towels and carried them into the forest to be buried. When a family was in mourning, people no longer came to visit, fearful of the corpse and contagion. At night, you could hear strange whisperings all along the route. “Let’s
Manoa – University of Hawai'I Press
Published: Apr 30, 2004
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.