|
Phnong |
| People Group: |
Phnong |
 |
 |
| Location: |
Mondulkiri,
Cambodia |
| Population: |
21,000 |
| Religion: |
Ethnic (88%), Buddhism (3.9%),
Christianity |
| % Christian: |
8.10
% |
| % Evangelical: |
5.20 % |
| Ministry
Resources: |
New Testament |
|
|
Total People Group
Population: |
57,000 |
Other countries People
Group Linked to: |
None |
____________________________________________________________ |
|
Additional Information:
Who are the Phnong?
Located in the remote mountainous northeast region of Cambodia,
bordering Vietnam, Mondulkiri is the country's largest province and is
home to the second largest ethnic minority population, the Bunong (or
Phnong). Renowned as elephant tamers, they comprise about 30,000 of the
province's estimated 43,000 residents. The Bunong language is the main
language spoken in their homes and villages.
 What
are their lives like?
The Bunong culture and way of life is intimately associated with the
forest area in which they live. Access to land and the forests is
essential to their survival. The Bunong practice labor-intensive swidden
('slash and burn') agriculture, following a 15-20 year cycle, using one
site for up to five years before moving to a new location.
What do they believe?
The Bunong practice animism; the stability of their lives depends on the
satisfactory appeasement of various types of spirits. Animal sacrifice
plays a vital role in the appeasement process. Weddings, funerals,
periods of illness and seasonal celebrations are some of the more
significant events requiring sacrifices. In the mid 50s, having heard of
minorities in Vietnam turning to Jesus, the Bunong in Cambodia asked the
only operating mission agency to send missionaries. This request could
not be fulfilled then, nor a second one in the mid-60s. Ten years later,
the province was part of the "Ho Chi Minh trail" and the target of US
bombing. Many Bunong fled to Vietnam, where they finally heard the
Gospel. In 1986, about 150 Bunong believers came back to Cambodia.
Today, they are 1000 strong. The first Western missionaries came in
2000.
What are their needs?
Food and land protection: The Bunong experience a period of 3-5 months
where the food grown in their fields runs out, so they must forage in
the forest, hunt, fish or gather resin to sell. Major tracts of land
have been logged, sold or otherwise removed from the traditional
ownership of the Bunong community, leading to a decrease in access to
life-sustaining resources.
Literacy and education: The majority of Bunong do not have sufficient
math skills to fairly buy or sell produce at the market, and few can
properly count money or use a scale. They are frequently cheated by
local traders. Their ability to interact with the broader society is
limited, preventing adoption of innovations and ideas from the outside.
Also, as outside influences encroach with alarming speed and impact, the
Bunong are ill-equipped to confront the onslaught of changes. Lack of
Khmer language skills also render them at even greater risk for
exploitation. Health care and education: Many serious diseases have a
much higher rate of prevalence in Mondulkiri than in other provinces.
Also, the Bunong do not possess basic information which could allow them
to treat or prevent simple diseases. Salvation and Scriptures: Only
Christ can deliver the Bunong out of their poverty - physically and
spiritually. They need God's Spirit to fully transform their lives. The
church struggles due to lack of Scriptures in the Bunong language, and
also desperately needs strong teaching.
Back to People
Group Listing
|
