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Khmer
Tales, Volume 6, Buddhist Institute, Ministry of Cults and
Religion.
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In the province
of Kampot, there is a mountain known as Phnom Senharn.
It is located on the west of the Angkor Chey Pagoda in
Angkor Chey commune, Angkor Chey district--a former part
of the Banteay Meas district.
The mountain is about 10 kilometers long, 5 kilometers
wide and some 2 kilometers from the foot of the mountain
to its top. There are all kinds of plants and trees growing
thickly at the top of the mountain.
Beneath it, just west of another pagoda named Ang Ponleu,
is a valley called Chruos Sla (Ereca crevasse) where the
water is cool and transparent blue. It is home to a wide
range of species of fish.
Legend has it that once upon a time, local inhabitants
in many areas not far from this mountain (it had no name
yet at that time) were starved. Many of them came to settle
down and made their living by growing secondary food crops
such as bananas, corn, taro, potatoes, sugar canes and
other plants, including coconuts and areca along the foot
of the mountain.
Among those, was an old man named Sen (in Khmer means
ten of thousand), who was the bravest person in the area.
When the crops had grown big enough for harvest, a Damrei
Sdar (a bull elephant with short tusks instead of long
ones) encroached upon the plantation and ate wantonly
and destroyed whatsoever he confronted.
Having seen that, the old man Sen thought that if he did
not resort to any means to get rid of the destrictive
elephant, his and his neighbors' agricultural products
would inevitably be destroyed.
While other villagers felt scared to chase the elephant
out of their territory, the old man Sen, without hesitation,
took his Lumpeng (a javelin with sharp spearhead) and
Kamebt prear (common knife) to hunt down and had the wild
elephant killed. In recognition of the old man’s
bravery, the rest of the community named him "Senklaharn",
which mean "Ten Thousand Courage".
Later after Ta Senklaharn had died, the locals called
the mountain where he resided, Phnom Ta Senklaharn. Over
the years, people gradually refer to the place verbally
as Phnom Senharn out of convenience and the name remain
so until this day. |
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