The Nguoi Rung or Tek Tek is an alleged humanoid cryptid native to Southeast Asian forests. Pic credit: via Forgotten History/YouTube
An episode of Forgotten History examined reports of a fearsome cannibalistic humanoid cryptid, the Nguoi Rung or Tek Tek, native to Southeast Asian jungles.
US and Viet Cong troops allegedly encountered the creature while fighting in the jungle during the Vietnam War. Eyewitness descriptions suggested it was similar to the American Bigfoot, the Mogollon Monster, and the Tibetan Yeti.
The episode also investigated the credibility of the accounts by troops on both sides of the conflict.
Nguoi Rung is a jungle-dwelling humanoid cryptid
During the Vietnam War in the 1960s, troops engaged in jungle warfare reported encounters with forest-dwelling humanoid creatures known in Vietnamese folklore as the Nguoi Rung or in Cambodian as Tek Tek.
Both US and Viet Cong troops reportedly believed strange creatures native to the jungles that knew how to blend with their natural environment watched the bloody struggle for supremacy from the sidelines.
The American troops had no idea what the creatures were. They were also a subject of mystery to Vietnamese troops aware of local folklore about them.
Villagers living in isolated communities deep in the jungles feared the cryptids and shared stories about them.
Tek Tek is the Bigfoot of Southeast Asian forests
Folklorists have known for decades that the southeast Asian forests had resident cryptids similar to the American Bigfoot (or Sasquatch), Australian Yowie, and the Tibetan Yeti (the Abominable Snowman).
The creature is native to the jungles of the Kon Tum Province in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
Locals have shared stories about the cryptid for generations and have various names for it. The Vietnamese call it Nguoi Rung or Forest People. Cambodians call the creature Tek Tek.
But it was not until the region became the theater of a high-intensity conflict in the 1960s that outsiders first shared accounts that appeared to corroborate the local legends.
Fearsome cryptid feeds on human flesh
Cambodian legend claims Tek Tek is a fearsome humanoid creature that eats humans. Tek Tek has a frightful and bizarre appearance. Descriptions of the creature across Southeast Asia agree.
The legends describe the cryptids as human-like, bipedal creatures with thick grayish-red fur. They have a disturbing habit of engaging in frightful vocalization in the dead of the night.
The roaring vocalization of the creature rings through the forest at night. It is most intense when they are hungry. They have cannibalistic habits and often attack their mates when hungry and eat their flesh. Some legends claim that a hungry Tek Tek might feed on its own flesh.
They would lie in wait in the forest and attack people traveling alone or in small groups.
They often lure unwary people to their deaths by imitating human vocalization. According to local folklore, hungry Tek Teks stand at a convenient spot and make human-like calls to attract human prey. They wait until an unsuspecting human comes close before attacking and killing them.
This strategy is similar to the behavior attributed to other humanoid cryptids such as the Chinese Yeren, Australian Yowie, the Indonesian Orang Pendek, the Slavic Vyrkolaka, and the Indian Rakshasa.
Nguoi Rung sightings
Some speculate that the Nguoi Rung might be an unknown primate species, such as the African mountain gorilla, the Sumatran Batang Toru, and the Orang Utan native to Borneo. Experts once dismissed local stories about these primate species as “folklore.”
The suspicion that the Tek Tek might be an unknown primate species stemmed from the testimony of American and European eyewitnesses, including US Army Sergeant Gary Linderer.
Linderer, who served in Vietnam in the 1960s, reported a strange primate-like creature in the jungles while serving with the 101st Airborne Division. The creature was about 5 feet tall and had muscular shoulders, a heavy torso, and deep-set eyes.
Other witnesses included Army Sergeant Thomas Jenkins, whose platoon reportedly came under attack by rock-hurling primate-like creatures in the jungle.
Viet Cong troops also shared independent accounts of encounters with the Nguoi Rung or “Forest People.”