Scaring off the virus with dolls
Superstitious farmers in rural Cambodia are defending themselves from the spread of COVID-19 with the help of Ting Mong, or scarecrows – yep, you read that right.
Image credit: MRGonline
With the belief that pillow-stuffed dolls will protect them from harm, villagers delicately dressed them in colourful clothes and headwear like hats and even helmets and placed them in front of their houses to protect everyone inside.
To “enhance” the protection, some people even put weapons, such as a toy gun or sword, in their scarecrow’s hand.
A local woman from Kampong Cham province named Sok Chany, 42, said, “I’ve set up the ting mong to prevent the coronavirus from threatening my family.”
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Protector against all diseases
Image credit: MRGonline
The current pandemic is not the first time these Cambodian villagers had to rely on their scarecrows. They’ve been used with more common diseases and ailments like dengue and diarrhoea that spread around the village in the past.
Sok Chany also explained that setting up ting mongs to guard humans from dangerous diseases is an ancient belief they’ve been practising for a long time.
According to Bangkok Post, Cambodia has reported only 283 COVID-19 cases so far, though many are reportedly questioning the accuracy of these numbers.
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Featured images adapted from: MRGonline
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