Woman in Cambodia Believes Dead Husband Reincarnated in Five-Month-Old Calf

Some people believe living beings continue to exist even after death through reincarnation and rebirth. Meanwhile, a widow in Cambodia believes her husband reincarnated in a five-month-old calf because the animal behaves just like her late husband.

Reincarnation or cyclic existence is a religious or philosophical notion that a living being starts a new life in another physical body or form after each biological death. The concept of reincarnation has been around as early as c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE, predating the Buddha and the Mahavira. It is a central principle of all major Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

Khim Hang, 74, is from Kratie province in Cambodia.

She said she sees her husband, Tol Khut, who died a year ago, in this five-month-old calf.

Cambodia is 95 percent Buddhist and most people believe in the idea of reincarnation.

Now the calf lives inside the house.

It is fed and washed in the family home.

It also sleeps with a fluffy pillow once used by Tol Khut.

Khim told Reuters Television the calf has similar behaviors with her husband:

“I believe that the calf is my husband because whatever he does…is in exactly the same way as my husband did when he was alive.”

“I will keep him and take care of him for my entire life.”

The young cow also garnered attention in social media. According to Khim, at least 100 people visits the calf every day.

One visitor, Thach Vin, said its unusual to see a calf going inside a home, referring to a video she saw on Facebook which the shows the calf walking up the stairs into the family’s one-storey home.

Thach Vin said:

“I thought it was quite unusual to see a cow go up to the house like this. So I came here to see it with my own eye.”