Tricksters and justice in Cambodia (Following folktales around the world 193. - Cambodia)

Today I continue the blog series titled Following folktales around the world! If you would like to know what the series is all about, you can find the introduction post here. You can find all posts here, or you can follow the series on Facebook!

Cambodian folk stories from the Gatiloke
Muriel Paskin Carrison
Tuttle Publishing, 1987.

This was a fairly short book, but a very interesting read. 

The Gatiloke is a collection of Buddhist teaching tales that lived in the oral tradition for hundreds of years, and were written down at the end of the 19th century. Most of them are short, to the point, and reflect Buddhist values and world views. This book was re-told by an American lady for young readers, from the translation of a Cambodian Buddhist monk. Despite the fact that they are retold by a foreigner, the stories stayed close to the original texts (unlike the book from Myanmar).

It is also true for these tales that villains don't usually get punished (storytellers assume karma will take care of that). Victims also don't get justice in this life, because, according to the explanation, if someone falls for trickery, they deserve to be tricked...

Highlights

I loved the first story about Princess Amaradevi (and added it to my Feminist Folktales series). It is about a clever, capable, well educated princess, whom four evil ministers try to tear away from her beloved husband. In turn, she tricks the mercilessly, and proves their treachery in front of the whole royal court.

I also liked the tale of King Bimbisara, which proved that all crime has to be judged on an individual basis, considering the context, and the background of the perpetrators.

The story of Bikkhu Sok was a lovely tale about prejudice and family: a boy's family was killed because his father went to foreign lands, and when he returned home the was accused of using black magic. The boy was hidden and adopted by a kind merchant, and eventually became a famous monk.

Connections

The one familiar tale in the book was a type I know from Near Eastern collections, as well as LaFontaine: the one about the father, the son, and the donkey, a story that proves that no matter how you do things, there will always be someone to criticize you for it...

Where to next?
Thailand!