The Kreung (also spelled Krung) are an indigenous Mon-Khmer people who primarily inhabit the mountainous highlands of northeastern Cambodia, specifically in the Ratanakiri province. They are part of the collective group known as the Khmer Loeu (Highland Khmers) and maintain traditions that differ significantly from the lowland Khmer majority.
The "Love Huts"
This is their most famous and widely studied tradition:
Adolescent Independence: When girls reach puberty (around 13 to 15 years old), their parents build them a small, separate bamboo hut away from the family home.
Finding a Partner: In this space, girls have the freedom to receive suitors and spend the night with them to get to know them better and decide whom they wish to marry.
Female Empowerment: This tradition is based on the parents' total trust in their daughters. The girl has absolute control over the relationship and who enters the hut; consent is sacred, and sexual violence is virtually non-existent in their traditional society.
Current Status: This practice is rapidly disappearing due to modernization, the influence of mainstream Khmer culture, and the arrival of technology like television and the internet.
Economy: They traditionally practice subsistence farming (especially upland rice) using the slash-and-burn technique in the jungle. They also rely on hunting, fishing, and gathering forest products.
Housing: They live in houses built on stilts made of wood and bamboo with thatched roofs.
Gastronomy: One of their most iconic dishes is chanang, an intense black soup made with forest ingredients that has become a symbol of their identity.
Animism: They are predominantly animists. They believe spirits inhabit all elements of nature (mountains, rivers, forests) and perform animal sacrifices (such as pigs or buffaloes) and rice wine offerings to maintain harmony with them.
Language: They speak Krung, a language belonging to the Mon-Khmer branch. Until recently, it was exclusively oral, but educational programs have begun teaching Krung literacy using an adapted Khmer alphabet.
Photo Gallery: © Jordi Zaragozà Anglès / Cambodia - 2006