Tum Teav ( ; meaning "Tum and Teav") is a mid-19th century Cambodian romantic tragedy folk tale. It is originally based on a poem and is considered the "Cambodian Romeo and Juliet" and has been a compulsory part of the Cambodian secondary national curriculum since the 1950s. Although its first translation in French had been made by Étienne Aymonier already in 1880, Tum Teav was popularized abroad when writer George Chigas translated the 1915 literary version by the venerable Buddhist monk Preah Botumthera Som, one of the best writers in the Khmer language. Plot The tale relates the encounters of a musically talented, novice Buddhist monk named Tum and a girl named Teav. During his travels from Ba Phnum, Prey Veng, to the district of Tboung Khmum, where he has gone to sell bamboo rice containers for his pagoda, Tum falls in love with Teav, a very beautiful young lady who is drawn to his beautiful singing voice. She reciprocates his feelings and offers Tum some betel and a blanket as evidence of her affections. Upon returning to his home province, Tum is consumed with longing for Teav and soon returns to Tboung Khmum. Soon afterward, he is recruited by King Reamea to sing at the royal palace, and he leaves Teav once again. Teav's mother is unaware of her daughter's love for the young monk, and in the meantime she has agreed to marry her daughter off to the son of Archun, the powerful governor of the province. Her plans are interrupted, however, when emissaries of Reamea—equally impressed by Teav's beauty—insist that she marry the Cambodian king instead. Archun agrees to cancel his son's wedding arrangement, and Teav is brought to the palace. When Tum sees that Teav is to marry the king, he boldly sings a song that professes his love for her. Reamea overcomes his initial anger and agrees to allow the young couple to marry. Enraged, Archun commands his guards to kill Tum, who is beaten to death under a Bodhi tree. Grief-stricken, Teav slits her own throat and collapses on Tum's body. When Reamea hears of the murder, he descends upon Archun's palace, ignores the governor's pleas for mercy, and orders Archun's entire family—including seven generations worth of relatives—be taken to a field and buried to their necks. An iron plow and harrow are then used to decapitate them all. Analysis Pich Tum Krovil became