Mrenh kongveal ( km, ម្រេញគង្វាល, ) are beings in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

n folk mythology resembling

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...

of western folklore; they are particularly associated with guarding animals. By anecdotal accounts the roots of Mrenh kongveal appear to be uniquely Khmer. The mrenh kongveal are small in stature with bodies comparable in size to human children, and are fond of mischief. Offerings are often left to them when seeking their help. The etymology of the name given these spirits is not entirely evident in the component meanings. The Khmer word ''mrenh'' by itself is fishermen's slang for "one who catches fish" or, as a derivation from Sanskrit, "cancer". ''Kongveal'' means "herdsman", "guardian" or "keeper". Originally they were perceived to be nomadic beings in the jungle, where they were the guardian herdsmen of wild animals, especially social animals that travel in herds, such as elephants. Hunters, farmers and mahouts (elephant trappers), would make baskets to leave offerings for mrenh kongveal, to bring luck in the hunt, to help them capture young elephants and buffalo, or to ward wild animals away from their crops. Today mrenh kongveal are thought of as akin to supernatural guardians, associated with a person, place, or institution. They protect or offer guidance to their benefactors, usually through telepathy (heard as whispers) or influencing dreams. They can't be seen by adults but belief holds that they can make themselves appear to children between the ages of 6 and 14 who are "pure of heart", and many Cambodians claim to have seen mrenh kongveal as children.

Romanization

There is no single accepted system of transliterating the

Khmer alphabet Khmer script ( km, អក្សរខ្មែរ, )Huffman, Franklin. 1970. ''Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader''. Yale University Press. . is an abugida (alphasyllabary) script used to write the Khmer language, the official la ...

. The spelling used is that most commonly found in Western scholarly work. Variants include ''m'ring kung veal'', ''mereng kung veal'', ''merang keng veal'', ''mreñ ganval'' and ''mrén kongvial''.

Notes

References

*Buddhasāsanapandity (1967), ''Dictionnaire cambodgien'', Tome 1, K.M. (Cinquieme), Dictionnaire cambodgien, Buddhasāsanapandity (Institute: Phnom Penh, Cambodia), Edition 4, Éditions de l’Institut bouddhique *Thompson, Ashley (2005), ''Calling the souls: a Cambodian ritual text'' (illustrated), Reyum, University of Michigan, Digitized 23 Jun 2009, , *Jacq-Hergoualc’h, Michel (1982), ''Le roman source d’inspiration de la peinture khmère à la fin du XIXe et au début du XXe siècle: l’Histoire de Preah Chinavong et son illustration dans la (sālā) de Vat Kieng Svay Krau'', Volume 1, École française d’Extrême-Orient, University of Michigan, Digitized 25 Jan 2008, , *Jūlān, Qāmn (1986) ''Les êtres surnaturels dans la religion populaire khmère'', Volume 1 of Bibliothèque khmère: Série B, Volume 1 of Bibliothèque khmère: Travaux et recherches, Cedorek, , *Piper, Jacqueline M. (1992), ''Bamboo and rattan: traditional uses and beliefs Images of Asia'' (illustrated), Oxford University Press, Indiana University, Digitized 19 Aug 2009, , {{ISBN, 9780195889987 Cambodian legendary creatures