- Pear (people)
ethnic group
group=Pear
poptime= 1,300
region1 = flagcountry|Cambodia
region2 = flagcountry|Thailand
rels=Animist ,Theravada Buddhism
langs= Pearic
related=The Pear people (Por, Samré, Samray, Chong) are an indigenous group living a sparse existence after years of conflict inCambodia andThailand . [cite web |url=http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:bmOayKIwCBEJ:www.aippfoundation.org/documents/Cambodia%2520Report%2520on%2520IPs%2520and%2520PAs%2520%255BFINAL%255D.pdf+Pear+por&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us |author=Jeremy Ironside |coauthor=Ken Sereyrotha |title=International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples Conservation Committee |accessdate=2007-10-11 |format=html |work=Open-ended Adhoc Working Group on Protected Areas United Nations Convention Biodiversity]Ethnography
Pears call themselves: Samré in Pursat Province; Samray in Battambang; Chong and Chong-Samré in the
Trat Province of eastern Thailand; and Chong la and Chong heap, inChanthaburi Province , Thailand.In the Pear communities in
Preah Vihear Province , Pear population was estimated to be 299 households (1,674 persons) in 2002.According to Pear Samray of Kranhung, the Kulen hills region Samray survived because of emigration in the days of the
Angkor kingdom. After the 1967 revolt of Samlaut, Pear of Stung Kranhung area moved to Ta Sanh.cite web |url=http://www.ngoforum.org.kh/Land/Docs/Indigenous/Overview.htm#_ftn1 |title=Overview of the distribution of Pear (Por) people in Cambodia |accessdate=2007-10-11 |work=ngoforum.org]While some Sa'och live in Cambodia's coastal area [cite web |url=http://www.mot.gov.kh/geography.asp |title=Cambodia Home of World Heritage |accessdate=2007-10-12 |work=mot.gov.kh] , the Sa’och of the
Kampong Som area fled from the Khmer kingdom and went toTrat Province , Thailand. The Sa’och are a mystery as they are racially different (negroid) from other Pear groups but speak the same dialect. Because of their negroid features, Sa'och were sometimes called ‘people with tails’ in theKhmer language . Martin speculates the Sa’och inhabited the higher areas and the Samré the lower slopes and flatter areas before the arrive ofKhmer fromChampassak in about the 6th century.Like the Sa'och, the Chong are Pear who live in Thailand's neighboring
Trat Province and alsoChanthaburi Province .The Pear cultivate upland rice by the
swidden method.They follow traditional religions.
Language
The people speak the endangered group of
Pearic languages .Gérard Diffloth (1992) states that the language and customs of the Pear are radically different from other social groups in Cambodia.Notes
Further reading
* Brunet, J. "The Mouth Organ Among the Samre of the Cardamom Mountains". Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Society for Asian Studies, 1969.
* Ironside, J., 2005. "Overview of the History and Distribution of Pear (Por) Groups in Cambodia". Ministry of Land Management/GTZ/FFI, Phnom Penh.
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