LOST

Revising accepted perspectives in the history and geopolitical

organization of Cambodia since c. 230 C.E., this is the first study
to address the place of women in the longue durée of Cambodian
history.
Women had a ‘high status’ in pre-modern Southeast Asia; this is

GODDESSES
constantly stated, especially in relation to discussions on the status
of women today in the region. Why, then, is it that the position of

Jacobsen LOST GODDESSES

women in Southeast Asia today is far from equitable? Few studies
have examined how or when – let alone why – this change came
about.
In a narrative and visual tour de force, Trudy Jacobsen examines
the relationship between women and power in Cambodian history.
Here, she seeks to describe when and why the status of women The Denial of Female Power
changed and what factors contributed to these changes. Although
Cambodian women have been represented at different times as
in Cambodian History
‘powerless’ in Western analyses, the author argues that they have
continued to exercise authority outside those areas of concern to
Western constructs of power.
Trudy Jacobsen is an ARC Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of
Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University.
In Lost Goddesses, Trudy Jacobsen argues vigorously that high
born and ordinary women played far more important roles in
Cambodia’s past than other historians have been willing to suggest.
Moving confidently across millennia of history, and drawing on an
impressive range of sources, she has written an enthralling, path-
breaking and persuasive book.
– David Chandler, Monash Asia Institute

GENDERING ASIA
a series on gender intersections

www.niaspress.dk
Trudy Jacobsen

Jacobsen_cover.indd 1 14/3/08 14:15:46

LOST GODDESSES
GENDERING ASIA
A Series on Gender Intersections

Gendering Asia addresses the ways in which power and constructions of gender, sex,
sexuality and the body intersect with one another and pervade contemporary Asian
societies. The series invites discussion of how people shape their identities as females
or males and, at the same time, become shaped by the very societies in which they live.
The series is concerned with the region as a whole in order to capture the wide range of
understandings and practices that are found in East, Southeast and South Asian socie-
ties with respect to gendered roles and relations in various social, political, religious,
and economic contexts. Gendering Asia is, then, a multidisciplinary series that explores
theoretical, empirical, and methodological issues in the social sciences.

Series Editors: Wil Burghoorn, Gothenburg University, Sweden; Cecilia Milwertz,

NIAS – Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Denmark; and Helle Rydstrøm, Linköping
University, Sweden.

Contact details and other information (including members of the international advi-
sory board) can be found at: http://www.niaspress.dk.

Working and Mothering in Asia

Images, Ideologies and Identities
Edited by Theresa W. Devasahayam and Brenda S.A. Yeoh

Making Fields of Merit

Buddhist Female Ascetics and Gendered Orders in Thailand
Monica Lindberg Falk

Gender Politics in Asia

Women Manoeuvring within Dominant Gender Orders
Edited by Wil Burghoorn, Kazuki Iwanaga, Cecilia Milwertz and Qi Wang

Lost Goddesses
The Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History
Trudy Jacobsen
 Lost
Goddesses
The Denial of Female Power in
Cambodian History

Trudy Jacobsen

iii
 Gendering Asia, No. 4

First published in 2008

by NIAS Press
NIAS – Nordic Institute of Asian Studies
Leifsgade 33, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
tel (+45) 3532 9501 • fax (+45) 3532 9549
email: [email protected] • website: www.niaspress.dk

© Trudy Jacobsen 2008

All rights reserved.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Jacobsen, Trudy
Lost goddesses : the denial of female power in Cambodian
history. - (Gendering Asia)
1. Women - Cambodia - Social conditions 2. Women - Cambodia
- Political activity - History
I. Title
305.4’2’09596

ISBN-13: 978-87-7694-001-0

Typeset by NIAS Press

Produced by SRM Production Services Sdn Bhd
and printed in Malaysia
 This book is dedicated to
the women of Cambodia
in the hope that greater knowledge of their past
can make for a better future.
 Contents

Preface xi
Glossary xv
1. Introducing the Goddesses 1
Framing women and power in Cambodia • Principles for a methodology
covering 2000 years • Reading the past in the present
2. Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat 17
Mythological role-models • Queens among men • Deconstructing
Jayavarman II • Women, ‘matriliny’, and marriage • Beyond the elite
3. Behind the Apsara 42
A fall from grace? • The kanlong kamraten an • Women of the palace •
Social strictures and daily life
4. Goddesses Lost? 74
Patron princesses, querulous queens • Life at court • Beyond the palace
walls
5. Hostages, Heroines and Hostilities 109
The reign of Queen Ang Mei • The misogyny of Ang Duong • The Cbpab
Srei • Revisionist (female) histories
6. ‘Traditional’ Cambodia 131
Love and marriage • Women in public and private • Female power in the
spiritual realm
7. Cherchez la femme 148
Exoticism and ‘encongayment’ • Emancipation and exploitation • The
(failed) institutionalisation of midwifery • Education and exhibition •
Constructing a ‘traditional’ Cambodian identity
8. ‘Liberation’ 181
Sex in the Sangkum • Private spaces, sacred places • The Khmer Republic
• Fine lines: Mobilisation and morality
 Lost Goddesses

9. Into the fields 218

The gender-neutral state • Obedience and obfuscation • Gendered punish-
ment • The triumph of ‘tradition’
10. Picking Up the Pieces 238
The People’s Republic of Kampuchea, January 1979–April 1989 • The
State of Cambodia, May 1989–September 1993
11. Contemporary Conspiracies 259
Locating women in contemporary Cambodia • Male culture and double
standards • Complicity in the foreign quarter • Advocating women’s rights
(or not)
12. Goddesses Found 284
Bibliography 291
Index 321

viii
 Contents

LIST oF FIGURES
1.1 The spread of Indian and Chinese cultural influences in early Southeast
Asia 3
2.1 Early Cambodia – ‘Funan’ and ‘Zhenla’ 18
2.2 Durga as the Slayer of the Buffalo-Demon 21
2.3 Preclassical ‘Cambodian’ polities, c. 700 24
2.4 Genealogies of Vyadhapura, Aninditapura, and Śambhupura 26
2.5 The marriage alliances of Jayavarman II 29
3.1 Classical Cambodia 43
3.2 Gauriśvara, a dual form of Śiva and Uma riding the bull Nandin 44
3.3 Antecedents of Yaśovarman I, Mahendradevi and Jayadevi 51
3.4 Relationships between kings and kanlong kamraten an 55
3.5 Relationships between the people listed in inscriptions of the
Mahidharapuran kings 58
3.6 Woman in childbirth and attendant midwives 61
4.1 Middle Cambodia 76
4.2 The heartland of Middle Cambodia 77
4.3 Neang Preah Dharani 79
4.4 Me Penh 82
4.5 Women of the palace 91
5.1 Cambodia in the nineteenth century 110
5.2 Genealogy of Ang Chan and Ang Mei 111
6.1 Photograph of Mhek Noun, c.1910 139
7.1 Cambodia and the expansion of French Indochina 149
7.2 Monument at Wat Phnom depicting the return of Battambang, Siem
Reap and Sisophon provinces, represented as submissive women, to the
Cambodian king in 1907 156
8.1 Queen Kossamak 183
8.2 Cartoon depicting a woman who is ‘bigger’ than her husband 194
8.3 Girls and young women in the Jeunesse Socialiste Royale Khmère 203

ix
 Lost Goddesses

9.1 Yuvea jun neung yuvea neary [Revolutionary male and female youth] 221
9.2 Mass wedding organised by ‘Angkar’ 225
9.3 Huot Bophana, taken before her execution 226
9.4 Chan Khem-Saroeun and infant, Tuol Sleng 227
10.1 Villagers, Kompong Speu, 1989 239
10.2 Rural women selling food by the roadside, Kompong Speu, 1989. 240
10.3 Cover of Meun Thalla, Vijjea apram satrei khmei [Manual on raising
Cambodian women] 247
11.1 Number of women in high political office, 1993–2001 261
11.2 Cartoon in Khmer Women’s Voice Center Magazine 277
11.3 Postcard on sale in the central post office in Phnom Penh, December
2005 279
12.1 Statue of Preah Dharani, Phnom Penh 289

x
 Contents

Preface

I met Peou a little before midnight in a Phnom Penh nightclub. She was
hovering nervously near the door and appeared not to know anyone
in the teeming crowd of predominantly male aid workers, diplomats
and tourists, and scores of young Cambodian women. At first I didn’t realise
what was different about her. Then I saw that unlike the standard srei bar
uniform of t-shirt and miniskirt or jeans, she was wearing a white, collared
blouse, buttoned almost to the neck, such as schoolgirls wear, and a sampot,
a skirt made from patterned silk or cotton. Usually sampot are ankle-length,
but Peou’s had been cut to just above the knee and neatly hemmed. When
Peou discovered I spoke Khmer, she began telling me excitedly about herself.
She had come from Kompong Speu province that day at the suggestion of her
mother’s cousin in order to find work in a factory. She had found none, but
had met a very nice older woman in the market who invited her to stay at her
house with other girls from the provinces, some of whom were coming to this
nightclub and had suggested Peou come too in order to meet a foreign man
who would marry her and take her overseas. Wanting to appear unprovincial,
Peou had altered her sampot into what she perceived as a more fashionable
approximation of the Western miniskirt.
Peou has remained in my thoughts over the last five years. I know the tra-
jectory of disappointment, resignation, and despair that her life would have
taken. She had few choices. Women are expected to work hard, support their
families by whatever means possible, and not complain no matter how they
are exploited and abused. When anyone, Cambodian or otherwise, attempts
to introduce changes to the lives of Cambodian women, the obstacle of ‘tradi-
tion’ is always asserted as something incontrovertible and inviolate. To change
tradition is to meddle in Cambodian cultural identity. But what if the true tradi-
tion of Cambodia is not one of male privilege, but dignity, value and agency for

xi
 Lost Goddesses

women? What if Cambodian women were active participants and agents in the
past? Perhaps when Peou’s daughters read this book, they will refuse to accept
anything less in the present.
This book was begun in 2000 as my doctoral project at the University
of Queensland, and subsequently revised with the incorporation of further
archival material and ethnographic data collected after the thesis was submit-
ted in 2003. I have lived and worked in Cambodia since 1988. This has pre-
sented me with unique opportunities but also bicultural vision in the sense
that things that do not seem to me to require explanation are mystifying to
those who did not grow up in Cambodia; similarly, some ‘universal’ Western
assumptions are at times painfully oblique to me. Thankfully, I have always
had guardians to reorient me toward my proper dharma.
The first of these was Ron Poulton, who is responsible for first inculcat-
ing a proto-feminist consciousness in me through the medium of Margaret
Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Martin Stuart-Fox, my PhD supervisor,
instilled the importance of theory and concise erudition (with debatable suc-
cess). Helen Creese told me it was fine to use frameworks rather than theory.
Barbara Watson Andaya, who has redefined the boundaries of gender history
in Southeast Asia, has been consistently supportive of my work and exceed-
ingly generous in her comments. Bob Elson, at a time when my stipend was
running out and there were no jobs on the horizon, told me to persevere in
academia. I thank them all for their encouragement.
I am very grateful to the Monash University Faculty of Arts for allowing
me to use my new employee grant in order to facilitate the production of the
book in the final stages. My mentors at Monash, Penny Graham and Marika
Vicziany, have been wonderful supporters of my work since I joined them
in 2006. Their patience and generosity has kept me going through difficult
times.
Thanks are due to all who kept me (relatively) sane in Cambodia – Emi
Aizawa, Stephen Close, the Germans (Thomas, Anja, Anne et al), Karen
Heyes, Geoff o’Keefe, Paul Matthews, Audrey Riffaud, Lisa Scheel, Antonia
Staats, Paul Stewart, Vanessa Tuck, Ken Wilcox; the many fantastic Cambodian
and Cambodian-American women I know – Loung Ung, Putsata Reang, Y
Dary, Theary Seng, Aing Sokroeung, Ham Samnom, Khun Ravikun, Hou
Sopheara, and Hou Bopha to name a few; the ubiquitous Tom Fawthrop;
and my mother, Carol Jacobsen, without whom I would never have had the

xii
 Preface

opportunity to know and love Cambodia. The support of colleagues Duncan

McCargo, Laura McGrew, Sunait Chutintaranond, Michael Barr, Monica
Lindberg Falk, Penny Edwards, and Annuska Derks has been very much ap-
preciated. Alexandra Kent and Cecilia Milwertz and their families deserve
special thanks for making me feel welcome during my sojourns at NIAS in
2003 and 2004 and continuing to be interested and engaged in all I do.
Gerald Jackson and Leena Höskuldsson at NIAS Press have been amaz-
ing to work with throughout the three years it has taken for my original manu-
script to be transformed into this book. Leena has been extremely patient
with my Australianisms and lack of proper respect for n-dashes! Gerald has
gone above and beyond the call as a publisher, devoting personal time to the
project, drawing the maps and applying judicious editorial droit de dieu when
I was inclined toward author tantrums. His willingness to take a chance on an
untried, green academic bolstered my professional self-esteem at a precarious
moment and if it were not for his unwavering faith in my work I may not
have continued in academia. I certainly could not have completed this book
without him.
Yorick Smaal, tea-maker, intellectual foil, talker-down from high ledges,
has been a tower of strength throughout the process of writing this book. In a
world where nothing is certain, our friendship is my guiding light.
Finally, I am forever indebted to David Chandler, who established the
framework for Cambodian history to which I here humbly offer my contribu-
tion, and who has been exceptionally generous in reading and commenting
on various drafts of this book, providing me with materials from his own col-
lection, and encouraging me in all my endeavours.

xiii
 Contents

Glossary

a prefix indicating that something is bad; also the title given to

non-elite men until the middle of the twentieth century
adthipul a supernatural energy manifested in spirits and practitioners
of magic
ak yeay chastum elderly women of the palace
Angkar ‘organisation’; name assumed by the government of
Democratic Kampuchea (1975–1979)
anuj khshatri ‘young queen’
ap witch
apsara celestial female spirit
arête decree issued by the French colonial government
arhat a person who is very spiritually advanced
bauk term used to describe gang rape
Bhagavati one of the names of Lakshmi
bhariya wife
anuj bhariya lesser or younger wife
jao bhariya stolen wife
nea nea bhariya wife through unusual circumstances
patoe kan bhariya wife whose father has refused his consent
satru bhariya enemy wife
sroengkar bhariya (minor) wife of the king in the Middle Period
tean resey bhariya wife through charity
bhikkhuni ordained nun
bodhisattva a person with sufficient merit to enter Nirvana; a Buddha-
in-waiting
bonne femme good woman, good wife
brai female spirits, ghosts of dead women

xv
 Lost Goddesses

araks brai wild spirits, inclined toward evil

brai krala plerng ghosts of women who died in childbirth
brai kramom ghosts of women who died as virgins
bunn merit
cakravartin ‘Lord of the earth’; supreme king
cbpab law; code of conduct
cpbab chah ‘old cbpab’, written before c. 1790
cbpab thmei ‘new cbpab’, written after c. 1790
chao adthika head monk
chen-t’an defloration ceremony observed by Zhou Daguan in the late
thirteenth century
cholop spy
daun chi Buddhist nun
devadasi (female) slave of the gods; temple slave
devaraja ‘god-king’
devata guardian spirit, found at temple doors and archways
dharma duty; observance of one’s correct place in society and the world
dhuli jerng kamsten śri title meaning ‘Lord who is the dust of the feet [of the
gods]’
encongayment term used to refer to temporary marriages between the
French and local women in their colonies
guha womb; inner sanctum of a temple complex
huyen quan Vietnamese title meaning ‘princess’
hyang title meaning ‘princess’ in early Cambodia
jamdev title meaning ‘Lady’; female equivalent of oknha
joal m’lap ‘entering the shade’; ceremony marking the entrance of girls
into womanhood
kaev hva title of the Middle Period
kamratan an title meaning ‘Holy, revered’
kamraten jagat ‘holy, revered god’
kang chao title given to women of the palace
kanlong kamraten an title given to deceased women of the royal family during
the Angkor period; also a cult devolving upon these women
kanlong theat widow observing propriety
kantai woman, women
khloñ, khloñ title or reference to elite rank

xvi
 Glossary

khmei khieu ‘Blue Khmers’; refers to Cambodians living in diaspora

khsae ‘cords’, ‘threads’; refers to network of patron–client relation-
ships upon which power in Cambodia is based
khum sub-district
khun preah moneang title given to women of the palace; denotes rank over
others
K’mouch ghost
koan child, children
koan kroach foetus that has been smoked over a ritual fire, worn as a
talisman of protection
kram law, edict
kramar length of cloth (usually checked cotton) that can be worn as
a scarf, a sarong, and used for a variety of purposes
kramom virgin
krom group, collective
krom samaki bongko bongkoeun phol ‘solidarity production group’, implemented
during the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (1979–1989)
kru khmei traditional healer; practitioner of magic
krup leakkhana ‘full of [good] qualities or virtues’
ku early Cambodian term meaning ‘woman’; also an honorific
for non-elite women, including slaves
leang komus ‘washing away the stain’ of sin through compensation or
observance of ritual
loak kru polite term to use when speaking to a monk or other elite
person
lon title of elite men in early Cambodia
maharaja ‘great king’
maharishi ‘great poet’, ‘great scholar’
matra-vamsa matrilineal family
m’dey doeum ‘original mother’
me ‘mother’; also polite way to refer to a married woman
me kha title given to wives who had been slaves
me kong head of group
me padevat ‘mother of the revolution’, Khieu Ponnary
me sa ‘White lady’; very powerful female spirit
me vat head of wat
meba ancestral spirits, usually in the female line

xvii
 Lost Goddesses

meba p’dteah ancestral spirits dwelling in the house

métis term of the colonial period used to refer to children of
mixed parentage wherein one parent was European
mise en valeur term used to legitimate the French colonial presence
mission civilisatrice the perceived responsibility of the French in modernising
the countries and peoples it colonised
mit friend, comrade
mit neary ‘female comrade’
mit p’dai ‘comrade husband’
mit prapuan ‘comrade wife’
mohat person indentured to serve the royal family
mratāñ title of lesser princes in early Cambodia
neak people, person
neak che deung ‘people who know knowledge’; group of secular elite patron-
ised by the French
neak khloñ ‘people of the khloñ’
neak ta ancestor spirits
neang young woman; title given to young women
neang chi Buddhist nun
oknha official; title meaning ‘Lord’
oknha suttanta prachea ‘Lord poet of the land’; title given to Ind
omnaich influence
padhyay spiritual preceptor
phnom hill
phum district
pi doeum ‘the time before [the Khmer Rouge period]’; the past
prapuon wife
prapuon jerng ‘end’ or ‘last’ wife; wife of third rank
prapuon kandal ‘middle’ wife; wife of second rank; also called prapuon stoeu
prapuon mecak ‘bought wife’; wife of third rank; also called prapuon touch
prapuon thom ‘big’ or ‘principal’ wife; wife of first rank
Preah ‘holy’; prefix to royal or divine titles
Preah ek khsatri ‘first princess’; elder sister of the king
Preah moneang title of a rank of royal wife
Preah snang lesser wife of the king

xviii
 Glossary

purohita religious official

quan chua Vietnamese title given to Queen Ang Mei (r. 1835–1840,
1844–184?)
rajaputri touch lesser prince, son of a king who had reigned
raks supernatural being; demon
Ramakerti, Reamker Cambodian version of the Ramayana
Résident Supérieur du Cambodge highest colonial office
rieong bpreng folktales
rup, rup araks medium
sakh rank, level
śakti female aspect of Brahmanical gods; female power
samlor trey soup or stew of fish
sampeah kmouch ceremony of ‘saluting the ancestors’ wherein a couple who
have offended the meba ask for forgiveness
sampot traditional skirt made from patterned silk or cotton
sampuor a fruit used by women to wash their hair in the Middle
Period
samre novice monk; novicehood
samsara cycle of birth and rebirth
sangha the hierarchical structure of the Buddhist clergy
sati ‘virtue’; practice of wives killing themselves by immolation
at their husbands’ funeral pyres
sauchey class of female servants in the palace; also a name given to
prostitutes in the colonial period
sdec prades raj title given to a king in the middle period
sena thong leader of armed forces
setthi manus human rights
si honorific given to non-elite men
smir women who turn into tiger-like creatures when smeared
with a certain oil
snang assistants who interpret the words of mediums; lesser wives
of the king
srah artificial lakes, part of temple complexes
srei woman, female
srei aht leakkhana ‘woman with no qualities or virtues’
srei beer waitresses who represent a particular beer company

xix
 Lost Goddesses

srei kouch ‘broken women’; women who have had sex; prostitutes
srei krup leakkhana ‘woman full of qualities or virtues’
srei luok khluen ‘woman who sells herself ’, prostitute
srei neak leng ‘woman who gambles’
srei rijoh rilenh ‘wriggly woman’; prostitute
srok land; area; country
stridhana property and goods belonging to a wife
tai woman; female slave
ten title denoting elite (female) status
thmup male witch, sorcerer
ubhayoraj title given to a king who has abdicated; usually the uncle of
the reigning king
uparaj title given to the heir apparent to the throne
upasaka devout layperson who observes five, eight or ten Buddhist
precepts
vap title of elite men in early Cambodia
varna colour; group; line
vatthabandh length of cloth worn by monks
vihara structure housing sacred image in temple complexes
vrah kamratan an ‘the holiest holy’; title given to royal and divine persons
yaks, yaksini supernatural being; demon
yeay ‘grandmother’; elderly woman
yuan Vietnam, Vietnamese
yuvaraja ‘young king’; heir apparent
yvan term referring possibly to Javanese, possibly to Cham peoples
in early Cambodia

xx
 CHAPTER 1

Introducing the Goddesses

O ne often hears of a people who have endured with

courage and defiance in the face of complicity and
deceit. Typically, the country in which they live has
ascribed to them an inferior position of subjugation and pas-
sivity. They have been denied a history. All too often, the in-
ternational community has colluded in their representation as
inactive participants because of its own prejudices. Yet there has
been no outcry from civil society either to free them from their
predicament or to demonstrate their past glory and present
consequence. Such a people are the subject of this book. In this
case, however, these people are neither a persecuted minority
ethnic group nor members of an outlawed religious sect. They
are the women of Cambodia.
The original ruler of Cambodia, according to legend, was
an unmarried female warrior known as ‘Liu Yie’ to the Chinese
and as ‘Soma’ in Sanskrit. These names are not learned by young
Cambodians along with those of Kings Jayavarman VII and Ang
Duong, however, although some Cambodians today believe that
‘tradition treated women with strong respect in the past’.1 This
conflicts with sociological and anthropological studies that as-
sert that ‘traditionally’ Cambodian women were powerless and
inferior. Cambodian proverbs such as broh jee-a daw dail meas,
srei jee-a daw dail kotong saw (‘men are like gold, women are like
white cloth’), the implication being that gold can be washed
clean of dirt whereas white cloth will always bear a stain, are

1
 Lost Goddesses

ingrained in the collective consciousness of Cambodians today and further

perpetuate the stereotype of Cambodian women as passive and Cambodian
society as unequal. The dichotomy posed by these conflicting views raises
several queries that must be addressed in order to ground the current rela-
tionship of women to power in Cambodia. Who or what is responsible for the
denial of female power in Cambodian history? Have Cambodian women ever
been powerful? If so, when did this begin to change, and by what agency?

Framing women and power in Cambodia

The first principle outlined in the English version of Michel Foucault’s The
order of things was that the book constituted a study of a relatively neglected
field over which other disciplines, themes and subjects had been given prec-
edence.2 The same is true for the field of gender history in Cambodia (and,
in fact, gender history in Southeast Asia). only one author has run the gamut
of the historical period in Cambodia, David Chandler, who in his 1983 work,
A history of Cambodia (and in subsequent revised and updated editions), es-
tablished the framework against which themes in Cambodian history, culture
and politics are now addressed by other authors. Significantly for historians of
Cambodia, in the concluding passages of the second revised edition, he states
that, while the female voice is for the most part absent in accepted versions of
Cambodian history, this is not necessarily a reflection of the importance or
passivity of women.
Cambodia is situated in the Mekong Delta region, one of the few exten-
sive areas of fertile lowland in mainland Southeast Asia. It is thus no surprise
that the area was the cradle of Southeast Asian civilisation as well as the place
that saw a convergence of influences from India and China (see Fig. 1.1). In
1944 George Cœdès noted the ‘high status’ of women in early Cambodian
societies, especially a perceived tradition of matrilineal success, and extrapo-
lated from these examples – based as they were in the very heart of Southeast
Asian cultural genesis – the theory that societies throughout the region could
be grouped together on the basis of these shared cultural features.3
Yet, despite its importance, no study in existence concerns itself solely
with the history of Cambodian women from the earliest historical period to
the present day. Existing histories of Cambodia mention women in relation
to how they were represented in artistic tradition, their religious participa-
tion, and their social function. The purpose of such studies is not to shed

2
 Introducing the Goddesses

ese
hin
C

ese
hin
C

iet

V
Mon

Indi
an
C
on

ha
M

m
Kh
mer
� Kauthara

�
Oc Eo

n
India
0 Kilometres 500
Ma
lays © NIAS Press
(Base map from Mountain High Maps®, © Digital Wisdom)

Fig. 1.1: The spread of Indian and Chinese cultural influences in early Southeast Asia. Adapted from
Jan M. Pluvier, Historical Atlas of South-East Asia and other written sources.

light on the experiences of women but to show how particular institutions

functioned in Cambodia. There are only three extant monographs that focus
upon Cambodian women; the PhD theses of Judy Ledgerwood, ‘Changing
Khmer conceptions of gender: women, stories, and the social order’ (Cornell,
1990), and Annuska Derks, ‘Khmer women on the move: Migration and

3
 Lost Goddesses

urban experiences in Cambodia’ (University of Amsterdam, 2005), and,

most recently, based on her thesis, Mona Lilja’s Power, resistance and women
politicians in Cambodia: Discourses of emancipation (Copenhagen: NIAS
Press, 2008). All three of these works are gender studies; they illustrate the
impact of the decade of civil war, revolution and subsequent displacement
upon gender roles in contemporary Cambodia. Yet only Judy Ledgerwood
looks further into the past than the Khmer Rouge era for historical evidence
for Cambodian perspectives toward women and power, and then only to the
colonial era. While all of these works are essential for understanding current
Cambodian social and political norms, none explain how the ‘high status’ of
women in the earliest historical periods gave way to the perceived inferior-
ity of women in the late nineteenth century. A study that shows the extent
of female power in each historical period and explains how access to female
power has been impeded is long overdue.
Many of the current challenges for women in Cambodia relate back to
(false) constructs of earlier periods; at the same time, most Cambodians have
no way of accessing the records that would give a more accurate picture. As an
example, in recent years certain Cambodian politicians have made remarks
about returning to ‘traditional social values’. The context of these comments
seems to imply a patriarchal society, although Cambodian women are alleged
to have enjoyed a high level of autonomy and independence in the distant
past. Most Cambodians have little idea of gender relations prior to the nine-
teenth and twentieth centuries, believing that male pre-eminence has always
been a facet of Cambodian society. In reality, it seems that there have always
been greater differences between social classes than between men and women
within those classes. ‘Traditional social values’ as a phrase must therefore be
used carefully. When does tradition begin? And what ‘power’ are we talking
about anyway?
‘Power’ is a difficult concept to explain in one’s own culture. Ascribing
a meaning to the way that people of another culture perceive it is inherently
problematic. Most Western political and philosophical thought on power
originates from post-Enlightenment reasoning, using specifically European
historical examples and contexts. How can Western discourses of power have
equal resonance in non-Western societies? Power in Southeast Asia has been,
and continues to be, linked to cosmological and supernatural forces, whereas
Western ideas of power focus on the ability to control economic production

4
 Introducing the Goddesses

or military might.4 At the same time, it is not appropriate to assume that all
non-Western states will react or develop along similar trajectories because
they share the characteristic of being non-Western. As Francis Fukuyama has
argued, Europe comprises countries with similar cultural origins and a more
or less shared experience in the twentieth century, whereas Asian nations
are very different in terms of culture and the experiences of the last century.5
Similarly, demarcating a difference between what Western authors have
taken to be indicative of power and what Cambodians themselves think of as
power today is difficult; providing an overview of how these two factors have
changed over time would require a separate volume.
Studies of women and power elsewhere in Southeast Asia are helpful
in furthering our understanding of the relationship of women and power in
Cambodia, however. In the last two decades, a number of edited collections
have shown the importance of historical contextualisation and class differ-
ences in delineating a powerful female voice in the Southeast Asian past and
present.6 Yet even here, the predilection for transferring Western norms to
non-Western cultures is discernible in the view that women in Southeast Asia
have ‘high status’, and therefore ‘power’, because they often control their fam-
ily’s finances.7 Narrowly defined, Western meanings of power as solely relating
to economic production and political decision-making are not appropriate to
a discussion of women in Southeast Asia. Wazir Jahan Karim argued against
the relevance of ‘unequal power generating gender hierarchies … in non-
Western civilisations in Southeast Asia, which derive a theory of knowledge
from concepts and values of bilateralism’.8 Those that insist upon maintaining
a Eurocentric approach run the risk of ascribing significance where it does
not exist and denying it where is does. When Western gender norms and
power structures are applied in this manner, as Chandra Talpade Mohanty
warns us, ‘sexual difference becomes coterminous with female subordination,
and power is automatically defined in binary terms: people who have it (read:
men), and people who do not (read: women).’9
The association of power with public leadership has led to the classifica-
tion of all societies as patriarchal. once other forms of power are considered,
however, ‘one can show that in many societies male leadership is balanced by
female authority.’10 The association of power with public leadership furthers
the ‘public/private space’ dichotomy wherein public space is perceived as
civilised and male. Private space, on the other hand, is seen as uncivilised and

5
 Lost Goddesses

– by dint of women being involved in the ‘primitive’ activities of pregnancy

and childbirth (areas in which men have had little participation) – female.
Maila Stivens has been unequivocally critical of this view, describing it as
‘manifestly severely limiting to discuss gender in the context of a supposed
private sphere which ‘women’ are presumed to inhabit’.11 At the same time,
many Western scholars tend to dismiss evidence of the importance of women
in areas where political or economic authority is not demonstrated. According
to the Pararaton, Ken Dedes, queen of Java, was described as having a ‘glow-
ing vulva’ or ‘flaming womb’. This indicated that she was an exceptional
woman whose husband would become a cakravartin (a ‘wheel-turning’ king
of limitless sovereignty) regardless of his personal shortcomings.12 Power
from a supernatural source resided in the queen. other examples of authority
associated with women in Southeast Asia include the relationship between
novice monks and their mothers, and the prevalence of cults devolving upon
or officiated by women in mainland Southeast Asia.
In Cambodia, ancestral spirits are known as meba; heads of household as
meba p’dteah; monks in charge of a religious establishment as me vat. During
the Khmer Rouge period, group leaders were known as me kong. Significantly,
me is also the word for ‘mother’ or the polite way to refer to a married woman.
Instances such as these have not been considered markers of ‘power’ because
of Western preconceptions about the pre-eminence of political and economic
power. Yet it appears that although Cambodian women have been represented
at different times as ‘powerless’ in Western analyses, they have continued to
exercise authority outside those areas of concern to Western constructs of
power.
In the introduction to Women of Southeast Asia, Penny Van Esterik used
the phrase ‘substantial influence’ as a metaphor for power.13 It is this sense
of power that I have taken in this book. There are many words for ‘power’ in
the Cambodian language, from the amorphous adthepul to the charismatic
baramei to the moral virtue selathoa. The Khmer word corresponding to
‘influence’ is omnaich, which is derived from the qualities of baramei, bunn
(‘merit’), and mean (‘wealth’).14 It should not be confused with komlang, a
more physical type of power, in the sense of ‘strength’; although komlang can
contribute to the level of omnaich wielded by an individual. Moreover, power,
in the Cambodian context, rests upon a complex network of social relation-
ships, in keeping with Foucault’s general observation that the conditions for

6
 Introducing the Goddesses

political power are determined by other pre-existing power relations.15 In

Cambodia, these relationships are known as khsae, literally ‘cords’, that link
people and families. Khsae can be familial, institutional, or political, but are
usually cemented through marriage or a long-standing patron–client rela-
tionship between a family based in the centre and individuals inheriting the
relationship on the periphery.
once khsae have been established, there are certain expectations between
the contractors. The higher status party will expect their client to pass on a
portion of any benefit they receive and support them in their endeavours. In
return, the patron is expected to extend their protection to clients, be gener-
ous towards them, and privilege them when selecting candidates for positions,
especially those that will put the client in a position to benefit financially.
Clients accept their position within this framework because elite status is
perceived as giving that person natural rights over others due to their higher
levels of bunn, or the power that results from the performance of meritorious
acts. The idea is that the elite would not have been able to achieve this level of
authority, or be born to it, if undeserving. Ipso facto, their decisions and edicts
must be in the best interests of their people. This unquestioning acceptance
that certain people are entitled to lead and others to follow must be taken into
consideration when considering power relations in Cambodia.
Elisabeth Fox-Genovese persuasively argued that being part of a ‘gender
system … as a female means to accept the related but differential participa-
tion of males in the same system’, and that this ‘actively contributes to the
prevailing relations of power’.16 As Cambodian women today negotiate for
empowerment in a society that has conflicting constructions of societal
norms and gender roles, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive his-
tory that recounts the ways that Cambodian women have wielded power in
the past. This is in keeping with neither usual historical practice nor recent
gender discourse that urges the inclusion of both men and women in order
to provide the most accurate representation of the past. Put simply, the his-
torian should not just include women in the historical record, but also relate
how the structure of gender relations determined the ways in which men and
women interacted in the past. Yet until women have been ‘added’, in the sense
that studies focussing specifically on the female voice have been prepared,
compared, and critiqued, we cannot begin to rewrite existing histories more
holistically.17

7
 Lost Goddesses

Principles for a methodology covering 2000 years

one of the great scholars of Southeast Asia, o.W. Wolters, wrote that ‘the
scope of gender studies in historical perspective should not be limited to
registering, encyclopaedia-style, specific details and maybe stereotyped
comments about females and their activities’.18 Recent trends have taken the
gendering of Southeast Asian history further. Barbara Watson Andaya has
commented that
when the national story has already been laid out according to certain ac-
cepted formulae, ‘women’ can only be included as a kind of supplement. This
has been especially evident in Southeast Asia, where nationalist movements
and the struggle against colonialism or western influence have been infused
with masculine pride. Histories already articulated in terms of themes such as
the suppressed people, the emergence of leaders, the awakening of popular
consciousness, the successful revolution have proved highly resistant to the
incorporation of a women’s perspective.19
Ashley Thompson has argued against Cambodian women’s experiences
being pushed piecemeal into existing conceptualisations of the past. Instead,
she offers two possible approaches. The first is to examine sexual difference in
history, ‘paying particular attention to feminine roles and voices.’ The second
approach, described by Thompson as ‘the most radical, the most disquiet-
ing, the most promising’, calls on historians to be engenderers of history, the
task being ‘one of finding the women lost or abandoned in history but also of
writing or cooking up or smelling out history as women, or rather as women-
and-men.’20
The methodological implications of this approach are not as revolution-
ary in Southeast Asian contexts as they may be in others. Karim pointed out
that ‘Western themes of feminism cannot envisage a situation where male
and female relations are managed in a way as flexible and fluid as they are in
Southeast Asia’.21 What is necessary, then, is a re-examination of the sources
in order to fashion new paradigms in which the female voice, or its absence, is
integrated. often, anthropologists and sociologists do not look further back
in time than the Khmer Rouge period for explanations of current gender ineq-
uity in Cambodia, yet the roots of male chauvinism and gender constructs of
women as passive go back to the educational system of the 1950s and 1960s,
to the falsely constructed ‘natural’ place of women in the creation of a nation-
alist identity, back further to French colonial perceptions of women (which
8
 Introducing the Goddesses

in turn relate to orientalism as inculcated in the eighteenth century), and

to early nineteenth-century Cambodian elite texts authored at the Siamese
court. Even those that travel this far do not look beyond this point to the
evidence attesting to powerful women in earlier periods. The reason is not
to be deliberately obfuscatory, but because the sources for earlier periods are
often inaccessible to historians who have been trained in modern history.
It is no longer possible, in the current age of radical amputation of entire
departments, disciplines, and programmes by management in commercial-
ised educational institutions, for scholars to cling stubbornly to the discipline
in which they have been trained and refuse to diversify or embrace inter- and
cross-disciplinary approaches. Perhaps I am representative of my generation
in that I never felt that I had to resist, instead welcoming opportunities to use
both methodologies in which I was trained, namely history and anthropol-
ogy. Indeed, history and anthropology are essentially twin sides of the study
of people – one using written documents, the other drawing upon the words
and actions of people themselves, or analysing, as Clifford Geertz famously
described it, ‘Culture – this acted document’.22 History allows us to delve into
the past, anthropology the present.
Tradition is a subjective entity, but all must begin somewhere. Studies
encompassing vast tracts of time can be either thematic or chronological.
Foucault abandoned ‘the great divisions that are now familiar to us all’; he
looked beyond the recent past – the ascribed wellspring of current trends in
knowledge – to the classical age. I have taken a similar approach in this book.
It seems sensible to approach the analysis of the relationship of Cambodian
women to power chronologically, in order to ascertain when and why it was
that the relationship began to change. This approach is especially appropri-
ate in examining Cambodian history, as source genre often corresponds to
definitive historical periods as set out by David Chandler and recognised by
the majority of other scholars whose focus is Cambodia.
The earliest ‘Cambodian’ kingdoms (3rd–9th centuries ce) and the clas-
sical ‘angkorian’ civilisation (9th–14th centuries) left records in the form
of stone inscriptions in Sanskrit and Old Khmer. the epigraphy has for the
most part been collected, transliterated, translated into French, and anno-
tated by George Cœdès.23 the inscriptions are supplemented by Chinese
dynastic histories and observations in French and english translation. the
court chronicles of other mainland Southeast asian kingdoms and images of

9
 Lost Goddesses

women in the art and architecture of preclassical and classical Cambodia are
also valuable resources.24 taking Stephanie Jamison’s approach to analysis of
ancient Indian texts,25 I have re-examined all of these sources for evidence
of women, in most cases eschewing conventional translations in favour of a
new rendition using my own language training in Sanskrit and Old Khmer.
the results have been illuminating. although these sources have been, for
the most part, ‘mediated through male mentalities’, they allow ‘us an open-
ing, to peer behind the relatively homogenous façade that each text type
presents individually’.26 the same is true of the sources for the middle period
(15th–18th centuries). aside from a handful of inscriptions, sources for this
period consist of chronicles kept at the Cambodian courts, some passages in
the histories of neighbouring kingdoms, legal instruments, and the cbpab, or
didactic codes for correct behaviour. there is also the Cambodian version
of the rāmayāņa, known as Rāmakerti or Reamker. It was also during this
period that europeans first encountered Cambodia, and the observations of
travellers such as Gabriel Quiroga de San antonio and abel rémusat provide
valuable descriptions.
the nineteenth century fares far better in terms of material. Folk tales from
this period have been preserved. this genre is often considered most useful
for researching women.27 From the middle of the 1800s an ever-increasing
slew of French travellers’ and explorers’ tales of their intrepid adventures in
the dense Cambodian jungle and their encounters with Cambodians them-
selves – including women – began to appear. toward the end of the century
and into the next, French official records began to be kept, documenting
the bureaucracy of the administration of Cambodia as a Protectorat. these
are all very useful for understanding not only how Cambodian women were
perceived by the French but also for comprehending female access (or lack
thereof) to education and employment opportunities in the colonial era. the
majority of these are available in the National archives of Cambodia and the
archives Nationale de France in aix-en-provence. Newspapers, magazines,
posters, photographs, and French- and Khmer-language popular fiction from
the time are also available from these archives. Court chronicles for the pe-
riod are available on microfilm. again, I have relied upon my own linguistic
capabilities in analysing this material for the purpose of this book.
the period between 1954 and 1975 has been described by the many
biographies and autobiographies of King Norodom Sihanouk and the travel

10
 Introducing the Goddesses

commentaries of Western travellers such as Christopher pym and Maslyn

Williams,28 which provide descriptions of life during the 1950s and 1960s in
Cambodia. the series of films produced by, starring and directed by Sihanouk
are informative of the roles he wanted women to accept. Government records
and publications, photographs, newspapers, journals, and political propagan-
da have been conserved in the French and Cambodian archives mentioned
above. Most government records of the Sangkum and Khmer republic gov-
ernments were destroyed by the Khmer rouge, however, so it is difficult even
to provide complete lists of members of the National assembly or changes
to ministerial portfolios. popular literature from the period is available in
the library of the École Française d’Extrême-Orient and Bibliothèque Nationale
in France, the British Library and the library of the School of Oriental and
african Studies in London, the libraries of Cornell and Berkeley Universities
in the United States, and the library of the australian National University and
the National Library in australia.
Several autobiographies by women provide valuable sources for the 1970s.
the role of women in the resistance movement is difficult to determine from
available documentation as such movements are by nature clandestine and
membership secret. Some official documentation and publications from the
1970s have survived, however, and have been translated and published in
journals and as edited collections.29 the Documentation Centre of Cambodia
(DC-CaM) is the repository for photographs and ‘confessions’ of men and
women tortured and executed by the Khmer rouge in prison S-21. these con-
fessions ask the victims to set out their names, province of origin, profession
before ‘liberation’ in 1975, and their duties as part of Democratic Kampuchea.
Most of this information has been entered into the Cambodian Genocide
Biographic Database and is accessible online at www.yale.edu/cgp/databases.
html. the period since 1979 is also heavily reliant upon autobiographical and
biographical records, supplemented by a large number of government and in-
ternational aid organisation reports on the condition of women in Cambodia
between 1980 and 2000. Cambodian popular literature during this period per-
mits analysis of the experiences of women in post-revolutionary Cambodia.
publications by non-governmental organizations on women’s rights, domestic
violence, and ‘proper conduct’ are also useful.
ethnography comprised a significant component of sources for the later
periods covered in this book. I am extremely fortunate in having spent my

11
 Lost Goddesses

adolescence and young adulthood in Cambodia between 1988 and 1995; I

was therefore able to speak to people without the intermediary of a trans-
lator when I returned in 2001 and subsequently for archival research and
fieldwork. I began living in Cambodia in the decade of reconstruction fol-
lowing the Khmer rouge period, before the withdrawal of the Vietnamese
presence, the signing of the paris peace accords, and the advent of UNtaC.
I experienced, alongside Cambodians, the changes wrought to the country
as a result of these events. I believe that this has given me a particular insight
into Cambodia’s recent past denied researchers who have approached a par-
ticular period or issue as outsiders. My long association with Cambodia also
gives me a certain legitimacy in the eyes of informants and institutions. a
heightened sense of cultural awareness has allowed me to frame questions
in more acceptable ways than may otherwise have been the case had I not
had such a nuanced understanding of Cambodian society. My analysis of the
Cambodian past and present has therefore been much more ‘thick descrip-
tion’ than perhaps I otherwise would have been able to achieve.

Reading the past in the present

Such a diversity of sources provides for fascinating material. a caveat is in or-
der, however. It is not possible to delineate the experiences of all Cambodian
women in every period under discussion. the epigraphic material of the
earliest periods does not reveal much of women who were neither elite nor
enslaved, for example. Similarly, sociological and anthropological reports of
NGOs in the 1990s have an urban bias – so we cannot generalise about the
situation of Cambodian women in this period, although we can state with
some certainty that women in the large cities, for example, were becoming
increasingly more likely to abandon wearing the traditional sampot in favour
of Western-style clothing.
Chapter 2 provides a starting-point for the analysis of women and power
in Cambodian history by examining the available evidence for the earliest
period of Cambodian history, namely the third to ninth centuries, and es-
tablishing what (if any) power and significance women wielded at that time.
Chapter 3 undertakes to determine whether this changed during the so-called
‘angkorian’ period between the ninth to fifteenth centuries, and if so, by what
agency. Chapter 4 represents the middle period in Cambodian history, from
the relocation of the capital away from angkor to the sack of phnom penh by

12
 Introducing the Goddesses

the thai in 1772, and investigates whether the advent of theravada Buddhism
as the religion of the elite explains the devolution in the alleged ‘high status’
of women in the distant past.
Chapter 5 explores the period of great social and political upheaval from
1772 to the establishment of Cambodian as a French protectorate in 1864.
this period does show some indications of a loss of significance for women
in the literature produced by the elite at this time, notably the Cbpab Srei,
‘Code of Conduct for Women’. this chapter examines some of the potential
biases of the authors of the different versions of this text and other literature
and changes to the legal code implemented after the middle of the nineteenth
century. although this literature is today considered by many Cambodians to
represent ‘traditional’ Cambodia, the rieong breng, ‘folktales’, and the observa-
tions and records of the French from the late nineteenth and early twenti-
eth centuries belie any notion of female powerlessness. this is discussed in
Chapter 6.
Chapter 7 addresses the part the French colonial government played in
removing women from spheres in which they had exercised agency in the past
and the construction of a false notion of the Cambodian past and its gender
roles. as Cambodian society at lower levels came to emulate the elite, increas-
ing numbers of Cambodians came to believe that gender roles in a Cambodia
free from external influence were predicated along the same lines as those
espoused in elite nineteenth-century literature. this included the cohort re-
sponsible for developing Cambodia’s nationalist agenda and those who have
lead the country since independence in 1953. those educated in the French
tradition (including the educational syllabi of post-colonial governments,
which changed little) interpreted the ideal societies of nineteenth-century
elite literature as the lines along which ‘correct’ Cambodian society should
run with some variation for the peculiarities of individual interpretation or
extrapolation, and of course, the exceptions of the royal family and politi-
cal elite. Chapter 8 demonstrates that underpinning the insistence of correct
observance of these so-called traditional values in order to be ‘Cambodian’
is the need to reconcile them with a society increasingly beset by forces of
modernisation in the period after independence. this is true even in the face
of intense militarisation of Cambodian society during the Khmer republic
(1970–1975), in the milieu of both mainstream and maquis. Chapter 9 shows
that, in keeping with global models, once the Khmer rouge objective was

13
 Lost Goddesses

achieved, women who had been co-opted into the struggle were expected to
resume roles associated with domesticity.
Chapter 10 details the role that women played in the reconstruction of
Cambodia after 1979 and its reintegration into the international community.
Chapter 11 discusses the struggle that Cambodian society in the new millen-
nium faces in reconciling the need for gender egalitarianism with the poten-
tial loss of cultural identity and the pressures of globalisation. Cambodian
cultural identity has undergone many changes in the past fifty years and in
many respects it is understandable that yet another revolution would be un-
popular. Yet it is also unfair that Cambodian women are hampered from at-
taining the same levels of education and employment diversification as their
brothers and husbands and continue to shoulder the greatest burden in terms
of social and familial responsibility because of a conspiracy to make them the
repositories of Cambodian tradition. It is significantly more difficult to run
toward gender equality in a sampot, the traditional long skirt advocated as
correct dress for women, than in the Western-style suit trousers favoured by
Cambodian men who see themselves as ‘modern’.
Chapter 12 draws together the key themes of this book and shows that
Cambodian women have always been powerful, although not necessarily in
ways that dovetail with Western constructs of power. they are the survivors
of a fraudulent enterprise concocted against them. this book will reveal the
circumstances of this deceit and identify the perpetrators of the denial of
female power in Cambodian history.

Notes to Chapter 1
1 Chhay Yiheang, quoted in Gender and behaviour towards love, phnom penh: Women’s
Media Centre, 2000, pp. 6–7.
2 Michael Foucault, The order of things: An archaeology of the human sciences, London; New
York: tavistock, 1970, p. ix.
3 George Cœdès, Histoire ancienne des états hindouisés d’Extrême-Orient, hanoi: Imprimerie
d’extrême-Orient, 1944, pp. 7–10.
4 See for example Jalal alangir, ‘against the current: the survival of authoritarianism in
Burma’, Pacific Affairs 70, 3 (Fall 1997), pp. 333–350; David W. ashley, ‘the failure of
conflict resolution in Cambodia: Causes and lessons’, in Frederick Z. Brown and David
G. timberman (eds), Cambodia and the international community: The quest for peace,
development, and democracy, Singapore: Institute of Southeast asian Studies, 1998, pp.
49–78; Vincent Boudreau, ‘State repression and democracy protests in three Southeast
asian countries’, in David S. Meyer, Nancy Whittier, and Belinda robnett (eds), Social

14
 Introducing the Goddesses

movements: Identity, culture, and the state, Oxford; New York: Oxford University press,
2002, pp. 28–46.
5 Francis Fukuyama, ‘re-envisioning asia’, Foreign Affairs 84, 1 ( Jan–Feb 2005), p. 75.
6 Jane atkinson and Sherry errington (ed.), Power and difference: Gender in island Southeast
Asia (Stanford, California: Stanford University press, 1990); Wazid Jahar Karim (ed.),
Male and female in developing Southeast Asia (Oxford: Berg, 1995); aihwa Ong and
Michael peletz (ed.), Bewitching women, pious men (Berkeley: University of California
press, 1995).
7 Shelley errington, ‘recasting sex, gender and power: a theoretical and regional over-
view’, in Jane Monnig atkinson and Shelley errington (eds), Power and difference: Gender
in island Southeast Asia, Stanford, California: Stanford University press, 1990, pp. 5, 41.
8 Wazir Jahan Karim, ‘Introduction: Gendering anthropology in Southeast asia’, in Karim
(ed.), Male and female in developing Southeast Asia, p. 16.
9 Chandra talpade Mohanty, ‘Under western eyes: Feminist scholarship and colonial
discourses’, Boundary 2, 12, 3 (Spring–autumn 1984), p. 344.
10 peggy reeves Sanday, Female power and male dominance: On the origins of sexual inequal-
ity, Cambridge: Cambridge University press, 1981, p. 113.
11 See Carole pateman, The sexual contract, Stanford, California: Stanford University press,
1988, pp. 11–12; Nancy hartsock, ‘Foucault on power: a theory for women?’, in Linda
J. Nicholson (ed.), Feminism/postmodernism, New York and London: routledge, 1990,
pp. 157–175; Maila Stivens, ‘Why gender matters in Southeast asian politics’, in Maila
Stivens (ed.), Why gender matters in Southeast Asian politics, Clayton, Victoria: Centre for
Southeast asian Studies, Monash University, 1991, p. 15.
12 ann Kumar, ‘Imagining women in Javanese religion: Goddesses, ascetes, queens, con-
sorts, wives’, in Barbara Watson andaya (ed.), Other pasts: Women, gender and history in
early modern Southeast Asia, Manoa, hawai‘i: University of hawai‘i press, 2000, p. 96;
see also Barbara Watson andaya, The flaming womb: Repositioning women in early modern
Southeast Asia, honolulu: University of hawai‘i press, 2006, p. 1.
13 penny Van esterik, ‘Introduction’, in penny Van esterik (ed.), Women of Southeast Asia,
rev. ed. (De Kalb, Northern Illinois: Center for Southeast asian Studies, Northern Illinois
University, 1996), p. 1.
14 Martin Stuart-Fox and I are submitting for publication a paper outlining the taxonomy of
power in Cambodian culture. an earlier draft was presented at the workshop ‘reconfiguring
religion, power, and Moral Order in Cambodia’, held in Varberg, Sweden, 27–29 October
2005, as ‘power in Cambodian texts and contexts: a ptdaim-mukh taxonomy’.
15 Michel Foucault, ‘truth and power’ [1976], in Michel Foucault, Power, vol. 3 in Essential
works of Foucault, 1954–1984, ed. paul rabinow, New York: the New press, 2000, pp.
122–123.
16 elisabeth Fox-Genovese, ‘Gender, class and power: Some theoretical considerations’,
The History Teacher 15, 2 (February 1982), p. 261.

15
 Lost Goddesses

17 See ashley thompson, ‘Introductory remarks between the lines: Writing histories of
middle Cambodia’, in Barbara Watson andaya (ed.), Other pasts: Women, gender and his-
tory in early modern Southeast Asia, Manoa, hawai‘i: University of hawai‘i press, 2000,
pp. 47–68; Joan W. Scott, ‘Gender: a Useful Category of historical analysis’, American
Historical Review vol. 91 (1986), pp. 1053–1075.
18 O.W. Wolters, History, culture, and region in Southeast Asian perspectives, rev. ed. (Ithaca,
New York: Southeast asia program publications, Cornell University, 1999), p. 166.
19 andaya, ‘Introduction’, pp. 1–2.
20 thompson, ‘Writing histories of middle Cambodia’, p. 49.
21 Karim, ‘Introduction’, p. 26.
22 Clifford Geertz, The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays, New York: Basic Books,
1973, p. 10.
23 Inscriptions du Cambodge, 8 vols., comp. and trans. George Cœdès, paris; hanoi:
Imprimerie Nationale and ernest Leroux, 1937–66.
24 Cūļavamsa, being the more recent part of the Mahāvamsa, trans. Mrs C. Mabel rickmans,
London: pali text Society, 1973; The Glass Palace chronicle of the kings of Burma, trans. pe
Maung tin and G.h. Luce, London: Oxford University press, 1923.
25 Stephanie Jamison, Sacrificed wife/Sacrificer’s wife: Women, ritual, and hospitality in an-
cient India (New York; Oxford: Oxford University press, 1996).
26 Jamison, Sacrificed wife/Sacrificer’s wife, p. 11.
27 Jamison, Sacrificed wife/Sacrificer’s wife, p. 8.
28 Christopher pym, Mistapim in Cambodia (London: hodder & Stoughton, [1960]);
Maslyn Williams, The land in between: The Cambodian dilemma (Sydney; London: Collins,
1969).
29 Pol Pot plans the future: Confidential leadership documents from Democratic Kampuchea,
1976–1977, trans. and ed. David p. Chandler, Ben Kiernan and Chanthou Boua (New
haven, Connecticut: Yale University Southeast asia Studies, 1988); John Marston,
‘Khmer rouge songs’, Crossroads 16, 1 (2002), pp. 100–127.

16
 Chapter 2

Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat*

D uring the earliest period for which historical

evidence exists – from the third century c.e. to
the establishment of the capital at Yaśodharapura
(‘angkor’) in the tenth century – Cambodia comprised sev-
eral political entities in mainland Southeast asia, at times only
loosely affiliated. From time to time, one of these kingdoms
would exert hegemony over its neighbours. the Chinese, from
whom modern scholars have obtained most of their informa-
tion for this period of Cambodian history, were aware of only
two polities, however, which they called ‘Funan’ and ‘Zhenla’.
the earlier Funan spanned the lower Mekong delta and the
coastline of the Indochinese peninsula. archaeological evidence
suggests that these sites were occupied simultaneously since the
late centuries bce. at different stages, some principalities on the
Malay peninsula appear to have been subjugated by Funan and
reduced to tributary status. Funan included the polity known as
Vyadhapura in the inscriptions, and probably extended over the
sites of Oc eo, angkor Borei, phnom Da, Ba phnom, and thap-
muoi in modern-day Vietnam. the ‘Funanese’ appear to have
shared many ethnic and cultural features with the Cham and the
inhabitants of the Malay peninsula (see Fig. 2.1).
the inhabitants of ‘Zhenla’, the Khmer, occupied the middle
Mekong valley region, frequently encountering the Mon to the

* Goddess, queen, slave, mother [Sanskrit].

17
 Lost Goddesses

Greatest probable extent of

the influence of ‘Funan’

Ch
� Vat Phu

am
Mon ZHENLA
Mt Mahendra
Amarendrapura � (Phnom Kulen)
pura
di�taHariharalya
nin
�

Malyang Vo-Canh stele

A
Isanapura Sambhupura
�
Tonle Sap �
(Sambor?)
�

ng
ko
Me Kauthara
�

Indrapura
FUNAN
�

� Vyadhapura
Angkor Borei (Ba Phnom)
�
�
Phnom Da

Oc Eo �

© NIAS Press

Fig. 2.1: early Cambodia – ‘Funan’ and ‘Zhenla’. adapted from Jan M. pluvier, Historical Atlas of
South-East Asia.

west and the Cham to the east. an important site for this upper polity was Vat
phu. the Khmer also established themselves in areas to the north and east of
the tonlé Sap. the assumption was, for many years, that ‘Zhenla’ had been
under at least partial Funanese hegemony until the sixth century, when the
Khmers rebelled and conquered their overlords, resulting in a unified state.
More recently, this theory has been replaced by alternate views. One is that by
the time Funan disappeared from the Chinese records its internal economic
and political structures had degenerated beyond repair, circumventing the
need for an all-out military conquest of the territory by Zhenla.1 another ar-
gues that the elite of Funan came to rule over the northern polities known as
Zhenla.2 at any rate, there is no campaign recorded in the contemporaneous
inscriptions.
Were the women of these early Cambodian polities powerful? If by ‘pow-
er’ we mean an individual exercising authority over others, in the Cambodian

18
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

context of omnaich referred to in the introductory chapter, then the answer is

yes; similarly, if we are to entertain ‘female power’ as events or roles wherein
women had significance and agency, in a more Western conceptualisation of
power, then the answer is again in the affirmative. this did not apply to all
women, of course; there has always been a distinct difference between the elite
and the non-elite, and between the non-elite and the enslaved, in Cambodian
society. at the same time, it is important to preclude any anticipation of a
matriarchal society in which men were inferior to women, although an elite
woman certainly would have been regarded as being more ‘powerful’ than a
non-elite man. the evidence to substantiate these assertions is discernible
in the very earliest records of Cambodian history, preserved by the Chinese
and substantiated by inscriptions in Sanskrit and Old Khmer. according to
the Funanese creation mythology, the first ruler of a Cambodian polity was
female; moreover, she was unmarried, and led her male soldiers into battle.

Mythological role-models
a Chinese diplomat was the first to record the creation myth of Funan around
230 ce. this version was recopied into subsequent dynastic histories with
minimal changes.
Formerly, [Funan] had for its sovereign a woman named Liu Ye. there was
a man from the country of [India], hundien, who dreamed that a spirit gave
him two bows, and ordered him to embark upon a merchant ship and take to
the sea. hundien, in the morning, betook himself to the temple of the spirit,
and, at the foot of a tree, found the bow. he embarked upon a merchant ship
and directed it towards Funan. Liu Ye saw the ship and organised her soldiers
to resist it. But hundien raised his bow and shot an arrow which, penetrat-
ing the side of a boat, struck someone. Liu Ye was afraid and surrendered.
hundien then made her his wife. Not happy to see her go naked, he folded a
piece of material across her that passed over her head. then he governed the
kingdom.3
Mythology is not incontrovertible proof of past social or political custom,
but it does potentially demonstrate that in the early centuries ce the inhabit-
ants of Funan believed that a female sovereign had ruled their ancestors. the
Funanese were not alone in this belief; the Vo Canh stela, located in what is
now the central coast of Vietnam, records the foundation of the late third-
or early fourth-century Bhadreśvara temple by a king named Bhavavarman

19
 Lost Goddesses

and traces the genealogy of the king back to two progenitors, Kaundinya and
Soma.
Kaundinya, head Brahman of Bhavapura, planted the spear that he had re-
ceived from the eminent Brahman asvatthaman, son of Drona. there was a
daughter of the king of the Nagas … who established upon the earth the race
that bears the name of Soma; she adopted that state and lived in human form
… . Kaundinya married her in order to fulfil certain obligations.4
Bhavavarman was probably not a Funanese king;5 the (mythological)
events of the inscription cannot be proved to have mirrored society in general.
the legend indicates, however, that the executors of the Vo Canh inscription
not only traced their lineage back to an original ruler who was female, but also
found this perfectly acceptable. had it not been in keeping with prevailing
social attitudes toward women and power, the myth is likely to have been
recast. We can infer, therefore, that in the earliest historical period at least
two mainland Southeast asian societies were at ease with the idea of women
rulers.
there is other, more tangible evidence to support the notion of a wide-
spread acceptance of female authority in preclassical Cambodia. Goddesses in
this period were represented separately from their male counterparts. Often
the iconography expressed a martial aspect to their characters. One such ex-
ample is the popularity of the goddess Durga Mahishasuramardani, ‘slayer of
the buffalo-demon’. although there are only two possible extant preclassical
epigraphic references to Durga Mahishasuramardani, sculptural images of the
goddess abound. all early Cambodian images of Durga Mahishasuramardani
depict the goddess standing triumphantly atop a buffalo head (see Fig. 2.2).
the popularity of this cult in the preclassical period in Cambodia eclipsed its
counterpart in South India, although it is clearly from there that the cult de-
rived. there are examples of buffalo sacrifices, performed by female religious
officials, across mainland Southeast asia.6 It is likely that the popularity of
this goddess stemmed from her similarity to, and subsequent assimilation of,
a pre-existing indigenous female deity. David Chandler and Michael Vickery
have both suggested that the cultural memory of Durga Mahishasuramardani
continues in modern Cambodia. powerful female spirits are believed to have
resided at both Ba phnom, where an image of Durga was once erected, and at
prasat Neang Khmau, ‘tower of the Black Lady’, where an inscription refer-
ring to Durga was found.7
20
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

Other goddess images were represented separately from gods. there were
many independent religious establishments dedicated to Lakshmi during the
preclassical period, and her name was invoked in the inscriptions as a literary
play on royal fortune. Sarasvati, the goddess of speech, was never depicted
with her counterpart Brahma, although there is one example of images of
the two existing in the same sanctuary.8 there are inscriptions recording the
establishment of images of Sarasvati in the seventh and eighth centuries, but
none of the actual sculptures have survived intact to the present day. Similarly,
prajnaparamita, the embodiment of perfect wisdom and counterpart to

Fig. 2.2: Durga as the Slayer of the

Buffalo-Demon (Durga Mahishasura-
mardini). Sketch by Kyle Jakobsen of
a sculpture held in the Mr. and Mrs.
John D. rockefeller 3rd Collection of
asian art.

21
 Lost Goddesses

Lokeśvara, the Cambodian form of the bodhisattva avalokiteśvara, was also

represented separately from the male bodhisattvas in this earliest period of
Cambodian history. In 693 a doctor erected an image of her under the name
Vidhyadharani, and provided goods for the maintenance of the cult.9 the fact
that goddesses were represented as active, often aggressive, and separate from
their male counterparts, indicates that in early Cambodia, female authority in
the supernatural realm was an acceptable concept.

Queens among men

political authority, although not irrefutable proof of the level of power en-
joyed by an individual or group, is nonetheless a fairly good indicator in most
cultures. the Cambodian concept of omnaich is most evident in the political
sphere. Certain queens in the Cambodian past were autonomous wield-
ers of the ultimate political authority in the land. the first of these queens
dates from the early sixth century, in a location that corresponds to the geo-
graphical area comprising Funan. an inscription calls upon Vishnu to protect
Kulaprabhavati, ‘the great queen, principal spouse of King Jayavarman’.10 the
‘Jayavarman’ referred to is one of the few early Cambodian kings for whom
epigraphical and Chinese records coincide. the History of the Liang states
that in 514 Jayavarman, king of Funan, died, and ‘the son of a concubine,
rudravarman, killed his younger brother, son of the legitimate wife, and as-
cended the throne’.11 the name of this younger brother is not given in the text,
but Jayavarman did have another son, Gunavarman, who, during the reign of
his father, had been placed in charge of a community dedicated to the god
Vishnu. as the inscriptions relating to both Kulaprabhavati and Gunavarman
are Vaishnavite, it is tempting to infer that the latter was the son of Jayavarman
and Kulaprabhavati, and that rudravarman killed him in order to ascend the
throne. On the other hand, it is extremely unlikely that Jayavarman would
have had only two sons, given that the usual practice of the elite throughout
Southeast asia until very recent times was to have a number of principal and
lesser wives, all of whom could potentially bear children.
three years elapsed between the death of Jayavarman in 514 and the ar-
rival of the first of rudravarman’s emissaries in China, during which it seems
that the throne was contested. rudravarman himself lamented that there
were other elites who did not favour his accession.12 It is possible that there
was a religious dimension to the succession dispute. While the inscriptions

22
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

of Kulaprabhavati and Gunavarman are Vaishnavite, rudravarman appears

from his name to have been a follower of Śiva. he also took an interest in
Buddhism; having found ‘Buddha, dharma, the sangha, each with all their
virtues, excellent … [he] fulfilled all the acts of an upasaka [lay follower of
precepts]’.13 the History of the Liang also records that rudravarman boasted
of possessing a hair of the Buddha. Kulaprabhavati’s donation to a Vaishnavite
community can be construed as an attempt to secure support from Vaishnavite
elite families by demonstrating her own adherence to Vishnu. It is unfortu-
nate that there are not more extant examples of rudravarman’s inscriptions;
as it is, we must assume that ultimately his supporters, probably Buddhist and
Shaivite, were more powerful than those of Kulaprabhavati. In any event, it
seems more than likely that upon the death of Jayavarman in 514 there was a
three-year struggle for succession between Kulaprabhavati and rudravarman
before the latter succeeded in taking the throne. the Chinese did not record
her as having acceded after Jayavarman probably because the Chinese them-
selves had no tradition of female sovereigns until empress Wu of the tang
dynasty, nearly two centuries after Kulaprabhavati. Furthermore, emissaries
of rudravarman dispatched to the Chinese court in 517 would not have men-
tioned their king’s difficulty in acceding.
Jayadevi (c. 685–c. 720) is the next queen for whom evidence exists
to support an ‘autonomous’ reign. her father Jayavarman I (r. c. 657–c.
685) was a very powerful sovereign in preclassical Cambodia. his capital,
purandarapura, was probably to the southeast of the tonlé Sap. he control-
led the territory once ruled by his great-grandfather Iśanavarman, including
the polities of both Iśanapura and Vyadhapura, within the area delineated
by ‘Funan’. his personal conquests extended his territory along the southern
side of the tonlé Sap to the modern province of Battambang (see Fig. 2.3).
Initially it was believed that Jayadevi was Jayavarman I’s widow, forced to act
as regent while a male heir to the throne was found or reached an age where
he could govern alone. historians now largely accept that Jayadevi succeeded
her father, with a brief period in which the queen reigned in conjunction with
her husband, the king Nrpaditya, also known as Nrpatindravarman, who was
originally from the polity of aninditapura. after the death of Jayavarman I,
Nrpaditya and Jayadevi reigned over an extensive combined kingdom, com-
prised of the territory of Jayavarman I and the polity of aninditapura. this
explains how an inscription located in the southern polity of Vyadhapura

23
 Lost Goddesses

Principal kingdom
of Jayavarman I Vat Phu �

Jyesthapura?

Aninditapura

Sambhupura
Battambang
�

Iśanapura

Indrapura

Vyadhapura

© NIAS Press

Fig. 2.3: preclassical ‘Cambodian’ polities, c. 700. Map adapted from helen Ibbitson Jessup and
thierry Zephir (eds), Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory.

could refer to Nrpaditya as the king. When Nrpaditya died, Jayadevi contin-
ued ruling alone.
this differs from the usual treatment of the period after Jayavarman I, in-
formed by the theories of George Cœdès and Lawrence palmer Briggs, who
believed that the death of Jayavarman I resulted in civil war.14 the implication
was that a female sovereign was unacceptable to the people and they revolted
against her. these scholars have tended to perceive the period immediately
following Jayavarman I’s last inscription in 681 as anarchistic. a number of
factors have contributed to this perception. First, there is a general dearth of
inscriptions that contain a king’s name after 681; those that are mentioned do

24
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

not appear in classical genealogies. Moreover, Chinese records assert that the
country split into ‘Land Zhenla’ and ‘Water Zhenla’ after 707. Finally, there
is the evidence of an inscription dated 716, which was believed to record the
appearance of a king called pushkaraksha at Sambhupura. the last known
inscription of Jayadevi, K. 904, is dated 713. In the old conceptualisation of
early Cambodian political organisation, it would have been inconceivable for
two sovereigns to rule simultaneously. the assumption, therefore, was that
pushkaraksha was a contending king who ultimately won out in a struggle for
power with Jayadevi because, as a female ruler, she was unable to draw upon
sufficient legitimising factors.
None of these arguments is borne out by the epigraphic evidence. Whilst
it is true that few inscriptions of the eighth century name a sovereign, a sub-
stantial number of dated inscriptions from the late seventh and early eighth
centuries do, eleven between 681 (the last known date of Jayavarman I) and
713, the date of Jayadevi’s K. 904 inscription. the contents of these eleven
inscriptions are interesting when one considers the traditional representa-
tion of anarchy and discontinuity that Cambodia was supposedly subject to
during this time. each inscription records either the consecration of a new
image in honour of a deity or the donation of slaves or goods to ones already
established. It is difficult, therefore, to perceive the years after Jayavarman I
as a period of civil war and factional struggles, unless it was one that nonethe-
less allowed time and resources for patrons to donate to sanctuaries in what
would have been elaborate ceremonies.
the division of preclassical Cambodia into ‘Land Zhenla’ and ‘Water
Zhenla’ after 707, observed by the Chinese in eighth-century histories, was,
until very recently, accepted by historians as proof that Cambodia during this
period was subject to internal struggles for power. this does not appear to
have been the case. as early as 1943 pierre Dupont concluded that there were
many realms within the areas designated Land Zhenla and Water Zhenla, a
belief shared by Claude Jacques and Michael Vickery among others.15 again,
the epigraphic record belies the notion of a major division in preclassical
Cambodian political geography. the divisions were already inherent in the
geopolitical arrangements of early Cambodian polities.
the appearance of pushkaraksha at Sambhupura in 716 provided histo-
rians, on the basis of an incorrectly translated inscription, with evidence for a
chaotic eighth century. a king or a god named pushkaraksha does appear in

25
 Lost Goddesses

two other eighth-century inscriptions. Both are from the thap-muoi area in
Vietnam, which would once have been part of ‘Funan’. the earlier of the two
records either the establishment of a sanctuary or an image, bearing the name
pushkaraksha, by ‘kamratan an Sambh[u]varman’.16 the later inscription re-
fers to donations made to the god pushpavatasvami, to be shared ‘in common
with the vrah kamratan an pushkaraksha’.17 Genealogies of the classical period
unequivocally refer to pushkaraksha as a king – and furthermore as the son of
another king, Nrpatindravarman, identified above as Nrpaditya, the husband
of Jayadevi and ruler of aninditapura. the conclusion, therefore, must be that
there was a king named pushkaraksha in the eighth century, but far from be-
ing a potential rival of Jayadevi, he was her son, who ruled from Sambhupura
while his mother remained at aninditapura with his sister Narendradevi (for
this and subsequent genealogical discussion see Fig. 2.4).

V��������� A����������� S��������

Jayadevi Nrpaditya
(Nrpatindravarman)

Y Narendradevi I Pushkaraksha Indrani

(Indraloka)

Narendradevi Sambhuvarman
(Rudravarman)

Rajendravarman Nrpendradevi

1? Mahipativarman

Dharanindradevi 2 Jayavarman II Jayendra[valla]bha

Prthivindradevi Prthivindravarman

Indravarman I Jayavarman III Jyestha

Fig. 2.4: Genealogies of Vyadhapura, aninditapura, and Śambhupura.

26
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

Jayadevi was not the only queen to rule an eighth-century Cambodian

polity; the royal women of Sambhupura seem to have done so for generations.
Briggs referred to a mysterious woman ‘presumed to have been a daughter
of the suppositious Sambhuvarman’ as the ‘first ruler of Sambhupura’.18 he
derived this statement from an inscription dated 803 from Sambor in the
modern Cambodian province of Kratie. In the inscription, a queen named
Jyestha, ‘the elder daughter of kanhen kamratan an Sri Jayendra[valla]bha,
granddaughter of kanhen kamratan an Sri Nrpendradevi, great-granddaughter
of vrah kamratan an Sri Indraloka’ made a donation of slaves.19 the title kan-
hen kamratan an was used exclusively to denote royal status for women. the
inference, therefore, is that these women were princesses or queens. What
indicates that Jyeshtha was a queen as opposed to a princess is the title rajni
that also appears in the inscription.20 this does not preclude the husband of
Jyeshtha – or, indeed, any of the women named in the inscription – from be-
ing an important member of the political elite, as Michael Vickery cautions.21
the important factor is that the women of Sambhupura were designated the
important quality in terms of demonstrating genealogical affiliations and
legitimacy.
pushkaraksha, son of Jayadevi, was also known as Indraloka, a post-
humous name meaning ‘the king who has gone to the realm of Indra’. the
inscriptions say that he acquired the throne of Sambhupura through his mar-
riage to the heiress of that polity. a later king, Indravarman I (r. 877–889),
erected a statue of ‘the queen of Indraloka, Indrani’, at the Bakong monu-
ment in 881. We can deduce that pushkaraksha and Indrani were ruling
Sambhupura in the middle of the eighth century. they had at least two
children, a son named Sambhuvarman, and a daughter, Nrpendradevi (also
known in later inscriptions as Nrpatindradevi). Sambhuvarman was sent to
the polity of Vyadhapura in order to marry a descendant of Jayavarman I
through the female line.22 the best candidate for this Vyadhapuran princess
is Narendradevi, Sambhuvarman’s cousin. In a later inscription, a princess
prthivindradevi from Vyadhapura is described as having been ‘born into a
family where sovereigns succeeded each other, daughter of rudravarman and
daughter of the daughter of Nrpatindravarman’.23
there are explanations that account for this seeming contradiction
in the two names given to Narendradevi’s consort. Sambhu and rudra are
names of similar aspects of Śiva; also, in the hundred years that passed be-

27
 Lost Goddesses

tween events and their epigraphic commitment, details may have become
blurred. Following this logic, the princess Dharanindradevi, described as the
sister of prthivindradevi in the genealogy of Indravarman I, may also have
been the child of Narendradevi and Sambhuvarman. they also had a son,
rajendravarman, who married the heiress of Sambhupura, Nrpatindradevi;
she was both his aunt and his cousin.24

Deconstructing Jayavarman II
at some point after the middle of the eighth century, according to some
sources, a calamity befell the Cambodian court. the maharaja of ‘Zabag’, an-
gered by the boasting and pomposity of the young Cambodian king, invaded
Cambodia and had him beheaded, placing a Cambodian court official on the
throne.25 the likeliest candidate for this king is Mahipativarman, the son of
rajendravarman and Nrpatindradevi. In the late 770s, another young prince
named Jayavarman returned from the court of ‘Java’, which may have referred
to the island itself or a kingdom in neighbouring Champa, establishing him-
self as king in Indrapura by 781.26 this king, known as Jayavarman II, mar-
ried Jayaendra[valla]bha, who had inherited the sovereignty of Sambhupura
from her mother, Nrpatindradevi.27 Jayavarman II is usually credited with
single-handedly ‘liberating’ Cambodia from ‘Java’ and uniting a fragmented
Cambodia. It is true that between 780 and 824 Jayavarman II established
his position as sovereign in the polities of Indrapura, Vyadhapura, Malyang,
hariharalya, amarendrapura, and on Mount Mahendra (phnom Kulen). he
also married at least six other women. Much is made of Jayavarman II’s cour-
age in taking on the rest of the country in order to unite the land under one
king. In fact, he seems to have accomplished this remarkable feat relatively
bloodlessly, through marriages with women who symbolised the land in
these places. the inscriptions relating to Jayavarman II do not name any of
the seven women as his principal queen. Indeed, their titles are remarkably
similar despite their different cultural and geographical origins.
Who were these women and why did Jayavarman II find it necessary
to marry so many of them? Jayendra[valla]bha was the queen of Sambhu-
pura. another of Jayavarman II’s queens was Dharanindradevi, sister of
rajendravarman. Given the propensity for the elite to send their sons to
neighbouring polities for marriage, it may be that Mahipativarman was her
first husband; or perhaps he had been sent to another nearby polity such as

28
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

� = Amarendrapura
B���-�������
Vat Phu

P������
Haripura
Phnom
Ku
J��������� � len A���
Bhavapura
D����� �
Aninditapura P����
Malyang Hariharalya
J�������[�����]���
Sambhupura

N�����������

Indrapura

D��������������
Vyadhapura

© NIAS Press

Fig. 2.5: the marriage alliances of Jayavarman II. Map adapted from helen Ibbitson Jessup and thierry
Zephir (eds), Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory.

Indrapura. their other sister, prthivindradevi, was married to Jayavarman II’s

right-hand man, prthivinarendra or prthivindravarman, who assisted him
in pacifying the region of Malyang. Interestingly, yet another of Jayavarman
II’s queens, Nrpendradevi or svamini hyang amita, was the younger sister of
two brothers who also aided Jayavarman II in the conquest of Malyang.28
this family appears to have been clients of prthivendravarman, as it was he
who commanded the brothers and later asked Jayavarman II to grant titles
and land in return for services rendered. Similarly, the father of yet another
queen, Deviki or Sarasvati of aninditapura, was made a fan-bearer at the
royal court; a further decree charged his descendants with the responsibility

29
 Lost Goddesses

of serving the purohita of the kamraten jagat of Kaden. the three brothers
of Kambujalakshmi (also known as prana), from the northwest, were made
chief of castes, councillor of the royal bedchamber, and private treasurer to
Jayavarman II after he married her. Other wives are known from inscriptions:
ten ayak of Bhavapura, east of the tonlé Sap; hyang pavitra of haripura, to
the north; and Bhas-svamini, daughter of a follower of Vishnu from what is
now Laos. Hyang pavitra may have married Jayavarman II after the death of
her first husband, Vindvardha.29 these marriages connected Jayavarman II to
ruling families in all parts of Cambodia (see Fig. 2.5). all of the women con-
cerned bore elite titles, sten, ten and hyan. the male relatives of these women,
without exception, became court officials.
Jyestha, daughter of Jayendra[valla]bha, described herself as queen of
Sambhupura in 803; there seems no reason not to believe that she was Jaya-
varman II’s daughter, who inherited the sovereignty of the polity from her
mother and ruled while Jayavarman II was busy with conquest and marriage
elsewhere. Yet the next ruler of Cambodia is conventionally believed to have
been Jayavarman III, son of Jayavarman II by Dharanindradevi.30 No inscrip-
tion records the details of how Jayavarman III, who ruled between 834 and
877, came to power. all we know is that he was described as ‘a wise king’
by the Brahman family who officiated at legitimation ceremonies for all
Cambodian kings between Jayavarman II and Suryavarman I (r. 1002–1050).
Yet an inscription dated 860, commissioned during the reign of Jayavarman
III, mentions ‘the land of vrah kamraten an Indrani’.31 as noted above, Indrani
was the queen of Sambhupura during the first quarter of the eighth century.
an establishment venerating this queen was still in existence one and a half
centuries after her death. Indravarman I (r. 877–889) erected another statue
of Indrani before 881.32 evidence suggests that Jyestha, Jayavarman III’s half-
sister, also formed the basis of a funerary cult; in 895 an emissary of the court,
sent to clarify a matter concerning some slaves, determined that they were
part of the property belonging to ‘the vrah kamraten an, the lady Jyestha’.33
the queens of Sambhupura thus continued to be venerated by the male sov-
ereigns of Cambodia.
prevailing patriarchal attitudes in nineteenth- and twentieth-century
scholarship may have biased a reading of the sources toward primogeniture,
when actually this was not the key legitimating aspect of political culture.
Indravarman I claimed his right to the throne through neither his position

30
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

as nephew of Jayavarman II nor as cousin of Jayavarman III, but through

his relationship to his mother and her sister – and even more significantly,
not in the latter’s capacity as the wife of Jayavarman II. Indravarman I
erected six temples, dedicated to three pairs of ancestors, at the preah Ko
monument. these were prthivindradevi and prthivindravarman, his parents;
rajendradevi and rudravarman, his mother’s parents; and Dharanindradevi
and Jayavarman II, his mother’s sister and her husband. prthivindradevi’s
relationship to Vyadhapura provided Indravarman I with necessary legitima-
tion in that locale. an inscription describes prthivindradevi as ‘born into a
family where sovereigns succeeded each other … . [She] became the wife
of prthivindravarman, born in a kshatriya family, and had for a son the king,
venerated by other kings, named king Indravarman’.34
Indravarman I gained control of other polities through marriage in the
same manner as Jayavarman II, marrying ten hyang Narendra, great-niece of
ayak of Bhavapura who had married Jayavarman II.35 this queen became
known as Indradevi after her marriage, literally ‘the queen of Indra’. She was
the daughter of rajendradevi and Mahipateśvara.36 Indravarman I had an-
other wife, Indralakshmi, ‘the fortune of Indra’.37 the inscription mentioning
the latter was found in modern Kompong Cham province, to the south of the
site of Bhavapura, southwest of Sambhupura, and northwest of Vyadhapura.
It could represent a marriage between Indravarman I and the heiress of
one of the small polities that emerged or re-emerged as a result of the as-
sassination of Mahipativarman in the 770s. In any event, there is evidence
that Indravarman I was married to two women of relatively equal status: the
Umagangapateśvara at the Bakong monument. this sculpture depicted the
king and two of his queens represented as Śiva with the goddesses Uma, and
Ganga. In order to demonstrate his sovereignty over the land in both areas,
Indravarman I erected an image that illustrated his relationship to the women
through whom he accessed the authority to rule in these places.

Women, ‘matriliny’, and marriage

a handful of inscriptions wherein elite women describe themselves as queens
does not indicate that gender was immaterial when it came to the ultimate
political authority in early Cambodia. these women were the exception, not
the rule. Yet the fact that elite women, like men, could appeal to different fac-
tions amongst the elite for support in their quest for legitimation – and seem

31
 Lost Goddesses

to have received it – indicates that female authority in the political realm was
not anathema in the earliest Cambodian societies. Michael Vickery has sug-
gested that the genealogies related in Cambodian inscriptions represent a
‘conical clan’ model, in which primacy is conferred upon each (usually male)
member of a generation before passing to the person of highest status in the
next.38 Later successions, such as those of the middle period, corroborate this
assertion. Some royal wives would have been regarded as more senior in rank
due to their own ties to past kings and queens, relationships to powerful politi-
cal or religious families, or the personal preference of the king. One of these
would usually be referred to as the principal queen but – although a Chinese
text states that ‘only the sons of the queen, legitimate wife of the king, are
permitted to inherit the throne’39 – this did not prevent the children of lesser
queens attempting to accede, as in the case of rudravarman in the early sixth
century. the necessity for determining ‘highest status’ amongst potentially
dozens of half-siblings made cognatic or bilateral kinship important amongst
the elite (although not always at other levels of society, as will be discussed
presently).40 thus in their inscriptions, Jayadevi and Kulaprabhavati drew at-
tention to their relationships to the kings that had preceded them. Jayadevi
asserted her relationship to Jayavarman I; Kulaprabhavati emphasised the
fact that she was the principle wife of Jayavarman.41 Jyeshtha, although claim-
ing descent from three queens, also established her relationship to her great-
grandfather Indraloka (pushkaraksha).
at the same time, there is no denying that elements of matriliny are con-
stantly encountered in the records of the early Cambodian polities. these
should not, however, be confused with the presence or remnants of a ma-
triarchal society; as Judy Ledgerwood has convincingly argued, matriarchy
‘must be divorced from the idea of “matrilineality”, with which it has so often
been jumbled in literature on Khmer culture’.42 Kinship reckoning accord-
ing to the female line was present at all levels of early Cambodian society.
Matrilineal descent was also the means by which relationships amongst some
Brahman families with hereditary religious positions were established.43 this
was necessary for the simple reason that although many of the privileges and
responsibilities were hereditary, the functionaries themselves were often
required to remain celibate. Sisters of the original operatives were therefore
required to provide male heirs in order to maintain the family’s hereditary
position at court. there are no examples of brothers fulfilling such a role. the

32
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

inscriptions always record female slaves with their children, for example ku
kandin 1 koan,44 ‘ku Kandin (one child)’. the names of the children’s fathers
were not recorded. Male slaves were almost always listed separately, but some
record seems to have been kept of their relation to particular female slaves.
a woman named prabhasoma was released ‘with her [unnamed] sons and
grandsons’ at a ceremony celebrating the establishment of a linga. presumably
she had fulfilled her duties satisfactorily and earned her freedom. there are
no equivalent examples of male slaves being released with their families.
Matrilocality seems to have been the norm amongst the elite, with princes
travelling between the many polities in order to marry the inheriting princess
of any given locale, then remaining to rule with her there. If we are to accept
mythology as indicative of prevailing social norms, then we have some evi-
dence for this in early Funan; the History of the Liang records that hundien and
Liu Ye had a son who was sent to another kingdom and governed there.45 as
we have seen from the examples cited above, the custom amongst the ruling
elite of early Cambodia was to send their sons to other polities for marriages
with princesses therein. although these princesses would become the prin-
cipal queen, other elite families in the region would send their daughters and
sisters to the palace in order to indicate their clan’s fealty; these women would
become queens of lesser rank. It was not unusual for sisters to be married to
the same man simultaneously. elite women were regarded as representatives of
the land in which they were born. Marriage with the princess of highest status
therein at once signified a contract of mutual support and assistance between
elite families, in other words, initiating or strengthening a khsae affiliation, and
established the right of the man involved to rule the ‘land’, as its representa-
tive (in the form of the princess) had given him, in theory at least, permission
through sexual union. this is one reason that the women of elite families were
often subject to stricter control than other levels of society. Opportunistic men
could assert a claim to power through marriage. One family took particular
care in issuing an interdict upon potential marriages between its female mem-
bers and persons of ‘low caste’, stating that should this occur then the women
concerned would lose their inheritance rights.46
Marriage alliances were far more than the socially sanctioned union of two
individuals. they were political tools of great significance. thus large num-
bers of women were maintained by elite men in their households. Families
who wished to indicate their loyalty sent representatives in the form of their

33
 Lost Goddesses

daughters to the households of powerful elite men. the more representatives

of ‘land’ collected in a man’s household, the more ‘territory’ he ruled, and
thus the more support he could command should anyone contest his posi-
tion. Obviously, the king, as the most powerful man in the kingdom, would
have maintained the largest household, full of women who represented cov-
enants between their families and the king. the fact that these women were
required to fulfil sexual roles has lead to their misrepresentation as sex slaves.
Words such as ‘harem’ and ‘concubine’, often used in association with women
of the palace in Southeast asia, and which may or may not be appropriate in
the Middle eastern and east asian contexts in which they were first invoked,
conjure up associations with sexual licentiousness and slavery that demean
the women involved and devalue their roles as diplomats, administrators, and
practitioners of fine arts.47 the women who were sent to the palace could
become principal wives, lesser wives, or servants and guards; regardless of
their function, they represented an agreement between their families and the
king, and were accorded perquisites denied to their brothers, such as being
entitled to ride elephants. Family members would be accorded special rights
and privileges as long as their daughter or sister continued to demonstrate her
own sexual and political fealty. Kulaprabhavati, for example, described herself
as ‘making her family prosper through her majesty’.48
Families wishing to secure the services or loyalties of the gatekeepers to
supernatural powers, namely the Brahmans, used marriage alliances in this
regard as well. the epigraphic record attests to a large number of Brahmans
residing at the courts of Cambodian sovereigns throughout the preclassical
period. Some of these Brahmans came from distant lands in South asia and
the Malay peninsula, others from Cambodian polities, but all were well-
versed in religious texts that could summon the protection or assistance of
the gods. the sovereigns of preclassical Cambodia held Brahmans in high
esteem, due to their knowledge of the texts that could consecrate land, ac-
cess the power of the cosmological realm, and provide legitimation for their
reigns. anxious to secure their services, men would marry their daughters to
them, thus providing a familial basis for support. the Chinese described a
fifth-century polity of the Malay peninsula, subject to ‘Funanese’ hegemony,
as having over a thousand resident Brahmans from India married to local
women.49 Sobhajaya, daughter of Jayavarman I and sister of Jayadevi, married
the Brahman Sakrasvamin, held in high esteem by that queen.50 the Brahman

34
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

Durgasvamin was ‘honoured by King Isanavarman by the gift of his daughter’.

the same inscription goes on to say that the Brahman, ‘showered with riches
on the occasion of his marriage,’ erected a linga in the name of the king.51 the
arrangement was beneficial to all concerned – the Brahman earned wealth
and status, the sovereign could access supernatural, legitimating forces. Only
the princess may have had reservations. Yet the women who entered into
these arrangements had been raised to see their function as more than pawns;
they were representatives of their families, who could be called upon to argue
their families’ interests, state their families’ positions on policy, and act as
intermediaries.

Beyond the elite

O.W. Wolters debated the propriety of using ‘autonomy’ to describe preclas-
sical and classical Southeast asian women, as sources tend to describe the
experiences of the elite rather than societies as a whole. Furthermore, the
extent to which the sources represent idealised versions rather than common
practice cannot be determined.52 Little is known of the people who existed in
the world between the elite and the enslaved. Women in the families of free
farmers, artisans, merchants, administrative officials, and scholars most prob-
ably participated in the activities associated with these professions, although
the historical sources do not furnish details of their exact roles. We do know
that for amusement they could attend cock- or pig-fights; their houses were
built on stilts and had roofs made out of palm leaves; and communal living
was the norm, with up to ten families sharing a pond for water and bathing
purposes. Men and women both owned property, including slaves. Women
appear to have been able to choose when to bestow property and when not
to. the acharya Vidyavinaya ‘jointly with his wife, gave to the Śivalinga all
that he possessed that he had received from Śivadatta’. In another inscription,
however, the wife seems to have baulked at handing over all her possessions:
a Brahman ‘gave to Siddhesvara all the goods he had legally acquired, except
the stridhana of his wife’.53 the stridhana (literally ‘wife goods’) seems to have
been the absolute property of the wife, usually bequeathed to her daughters.
Most abhorrent to the fastidious Chinese, ‘boys and girls follow their inclina-
tions without reprisal’.54 this is perhaps not unexpected in a matrilineal (or
bilateral) society, where any children would be absorbed into the maternal
family as contributing members.

35
 Lost Goddesses

the duties and conditions of women designated ‘slaves’ by epigraphists

were varied. although the term ‘slave’ in the Western sense is probably inap-
propriate, there is no doubt that these people were not free, as they could
be exchanged for land. those attached to temples could be ‘freed’, thereby
indicating that they were not before. Some people seem to have become
slaves through the failure to pay debts; others were taken by force from hill
tribes and as prisoners of war. the Chinese recorded that the fifth-century
Funanese took ‘by force the inhabitants of nearby towns that do not pay them
tribute, and make them into their slaves’.55 this resulted in peoples who were
not Funanese or Khmer serving in Cambodian households and temples.
K.76 includes in its list of temple workers the following phrases: knyum rman
ta si ‘Mon slaves that are male’ and knyum rman ta kantai ‘Mon slaves that are
female’.56 there appears to have been very little difference between female
slaves, the ku, and their male counterparts, the va. Usually inscriptions listed
them separately, as ‘slaves that are male’ followed by a list of va, and ‘slaves
that are female’ with a list of ku and their koan, ‘children’.57 Occasionally the
term kantai gui koan (name or number of children) was used in a list of male
slaves to indicate that his wives and children accompanied a male slave. the
ratio of male to female slaves was approximately 1:2, indicating that polygamy
may have operated in this social stratum as well as in that of the elite.58 Both
men and women toiled in the rice paddies, picked fruit in the orchards, and
harvested crops in the fields. as a group they appear to have had ties to par-
ticular people rather than places, as donors gave, removed and redistributed
them to religious personages and communities at will. those with particular
talents might find themselves employed in cooking, weaving, spinning, sing-
ing, dancing, or playing musical instruments.59 Female singers, dancers and
musicians received elegant names such as Vasantamallika, ‘Jasmine blossom’,
and rohini, a goddess. Some women were called names like ‘Born-for-love’,
‘She-who-laughs-for-penis’ and ‘She-who-eats-penis’, although it is unclear
whether these were due to the characters of the persons so named or a ref-
erence to the acts they performed. If the latter, there is evidence to suggest
that sexual duties were not universally popular; one inscription records a ku
known as ‘penis-hater’. Male slaves also received names of this type, such as
‘Catch-him-if-you-want-him’ and ‘Mischievous-penis’.60
a special subset of female ‘slaves’ has been difficult to define: the kantai
kloñ,61 ‘assigned’ to duties within religious establishments throughout the sixth,

36
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

seventh and eighth centuries. they have no equivalent male cohort. Kantai
translates as ‘female’ or ‘women’. Kloñ implies elite status. the most likely
translation of kantai kloñ is ‘women belonging to the kloñ’,62 although Cœdès
once translated the term as ‘female slaves of the kloñ mratāñ’.63 Furthermore,
these women were ‘donated’ to deities by an elite male functionary.64 two in-
scriptions list kantai who have elite status indicator suffixes.65 In at least two in-
scriptions it seems clear that the kantai kloñ acted as substitutes for the mratāñ
within the religious community.66 It has been suggested that the kantai kloñ
may have been women related to or otherwise associated with the principal
donor, who occupied ritual positions within the temples. One of these may
have been the pouring of libations upon sacred fires.67 the practice of women
entering religious communities through the offices of a male relative may re-
flect a social convention whereby superfluous womenfolk with poor marriage
prospects or no means of their own were absorbed into the temples. In this
way the burden of their maintenance would be removed from their relatives.
Or perhaps these women were required, through meditation and the perform-
ance of rituals, to create merit, which was then directed to their benefactor.
these are merely suggestions, however, as there is nothing in the inscriptions
to support or contradict such assertions. apart from this one institution, there
seems to have been little difference in gender roles, rights and responsibilities
beyond the elite. In fact, it appears that in the earliest periods of Cambodian
history, women at all levels of society were seen as necessary and vital compo-
nents, with important skills and abilities, and ideological significance.

Notes to Chapter 2
1 Michael Vickery, ‘What and where was Chenla?’, in F. Bizot (ed.), Recherches nouvelles sur
le Cambodge, paris: École Française d’extrême-Orient, 1994, p. 199; O. W. Wolters, Early
Indonesian commerce, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University press, 1965, pp. 152–153.
2 See Michael Vickery, ‘Funan reviewed: Deconstructing the ancients’, Bulletin de l’École
Française d’Extrême-Orient [hereafter BEFEO] 90–91 (2003–2004), pp. 101–143.
3 paul pelliot, ‘Le Fou-nan’, BEFEO 3 (1903), p. 256. the History of the Southern Qi
records her name as Liu Ye, ‘Willow Leaf ’, although the dynastic histories vary slightly,
for example Ye Ye, ‘Coconut Leaf ’. Interestingly, willows do not grow in Cambodia.
4 Louis Finot, ‘Les inscriptions de Mi-son’, BEFEO vol. 4 (1904), pp. 897–977, III, lines
16–18.
5 Ian Mabbett and David Chandler make the point that this inscription was found in
an area that is recognised as a key site of Champa (The Khmers, Oxford; Cambridge,

37
 Lost Goddesses

Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1995, p. 71). this does not necessarily mean that it was a
Cham inscription, however. an explanation could lie in that there are at least two kings
named Bhavavarman in the preclassical epigraphy of Cambodia; it appears, therefore,
to have been a popular name for kings. Furthermore, the extents of the territories of re-
spective sovereigns have never been successfully delineated. It is not impossible that the
author of the Vo Canh stela was a Bhavavarman who was the king of another preclassical
Cambodian polity such as Sambhupura, perhaps unknown from any other source.
6 Vickery cites tai peoples in Chiang Mai, thailand, and the Nung in southern China and
northern Vietnam (Society, economics, and politics in pre-Angkorian Cambodia: The 7th–
8th centuries, tokyo: the Center for east asian Cultural Studies for UNeSCO, 1998, p.
253, note 148).
7 David p. Chandler, ‘royally sponsored human sacrifices in nineteenth century Cambodia:
the cult of nak ta Me Sa (Mahisasuramardini) at Ba phnom’, Journal of the Siam Society
67 (1979), pp. 54–62 (also in Facing the Cambodian past: Selected essays 1971–1994, St
Leonards, New South Wales: allen & Unwin, 1996, pp. 119–136); Vickery, Society, eco-
nomics, and politics, p. 157.
8 there is no extant evidence in Cambodia for the existence of a Brahma cult, although
the god was honoured in conjunction with Śiva and Vishnu, and even, very rarely, alone.
9 K. 132, verse 1, Inscriptions du Cambodge, 8 vols, paris and hanoi: Imprimerie de l’ l’École
Française d’Extrême-Orient and Imprimerie Nationale [hereafter IC], vol. 2, p. 85.
10 K. 875, verse 1, in George Cœdès, ‘a new inscription from Fu-nan’, Journal of the Greater
India Society, vol. 4 (1937), pp. 112–121.
11 pelliot, ‘Le Fou-nan’, p. 270.
12 K. 40, verses 1, 4, in George Cœdès, ‘Études cambodgiennes 25: Deux inscriptions san-
skrites du Fou-nan’, BEFEO vol. 31 (1931), pp. 1–12.
13 K. 40, verse 6.
14 Cœdès, ‘Stèle du bàrày occidental (K. 904)’, IC 4, p. 55; Lawrence palmer Briggs, The
ancient Khmer empire, philadelphia, pennsylvania: the american philosophical Society,
1951, p. 57.
15 pierre Dupont, ‘La dislocation du tchen-la et la formation du Cambodge angkorien
(VIIe-IXe siècle)’, BEFEO 43 (1943–46), p. 54; Claude Jacques, ‘’Funan’, ‘Zhenla’: the
reality concealed by these Chinese views of Indochina’, in r.B. Smith and W. Watson
(eds), Early Southeast Asia: Essays in archaeology, history, and historical geography, New
York and Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University press, 1979, p. 376; Mabbett and Chandler,
Khmers, pp. 79–80; Vickery, ‘What and where was Chenla?’, p. 210.
16 K. 7, lines 2–5, George Cœdès, ‘etudes cambodgiennes 31: a propos du tchen-la d’eau:
trois inscriptions de Cochinchine’, BEFEO 36 (1936), p. 272.
17 K. 6, lines 1, 7–9, Cœdès, ‘a propos du tchen–la d’eau’, p. 274.
18 Briggs, Ancient Khmer empire, p. 58. It is interesting to speculate upon how x(a) could
have been the first ruler of Śambhupura if that polity was founded by Śambhuvarman,

38
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

as Briggs asserts – surely the person who established the polity could reasonably be ex-
pected to rule it?
19 K. 124, verse 1, lines 3–7, IC 3, pp. 170–174.
20 K. 124, line 23.
21 Vickery, ‘What and where was Chenla?’, p. 208.
22 Digraphic Inscriptions, verse 3. the Digraphic Inscriptions comprise twelve identical
inscriptions (K. 42, K. 45, K. 47, K. 57, K. 95, K. 101, K. 110, K. 223, K. 309, K. 323, K.
346, K. 362) commissioned by Yaśovarman I (r. 889–912) erected in 889. the inscrip-
tion referred to in this instance is K. 323, in Inscriptions sanscrites du Cambodge, ed. and
comp. auguste Barth, vols. 1 & 2 in Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliotheque
nationale et autres bibliotheques, publies par l’Institut national de France faisant suite aux
notices et extraits lus au comite etabli dans l’Academie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, paris:
Imprimerie Nationale, 1885, pp. 391–411.
23 K. 713, verse a4, IC 1, pp. 18–29.
24 For a more detailed treatment of this section, see trudy Jacobsen, ‘autonomous queen-
ship in Cambodia, 1st–9th centuries aD’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, n.s. 3, vol.
13, 3 (November 2003), pp. 357–375.
25 Briggs, Ancient Khmer Empire, p. 69. No Cambodian sources record this event so it is
perhaps best to regard the decapitation as a metaphor for a particular Cambodian polity’s
loss of political autonomy.
26 George Cœdès, ‘piédroits de Lobõk Sròt (K. 134 et 135)’, IC 2, p. 92; Claude Jacques,
‘La carrière de Jayavarman II, BEFEO 59 (1972), pp. 194–220.
27 Vickery, ‘What and where was Chenla?’, p. 208.
28 K. 95, verse 12, r.C. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Kambuja, Calcutta: the asiatic Society,
1953, p. 77; K. 713, verse a4; K. 989, lines B8–B11, B14, K. 989, face B, lines 8, 10–11,
IC 7, p.175; K. 449, verses 12, 13–14, 27–28, in George Cœdès, ‘Études cambodgiennes
11: La stele de palhal’, BEFEO 13, 6 (1913), pp. 43–52.
29 K. 382, verses 5 and 9, IC 6, pp. 270–271; K. 956, lines 9, 15–17, IC 7, pp. 128–135; K.
449, verse 12; K. 277, verse B3, verses a2–a6, IC 4, p. 155.
30 O.W. Wolters, ‘Jayavarman II’s military power: the territorial foundation of the angkor
empire’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 36, 1 (1973), p. 25.
31 K. 774, lines 1–7, IC 4, pp. 64–65.
32 K. 806, verse 32, IC 1, pp. 73–137.
33 K. 774, lines 8–12.
34 K. 713, verse a4.
35 K. 956, lines 7–14.
36 Briggs was convinced, due to the similarity of the names, that Mahipateśvara was the
Mahipativarman beheaded by the king of ‘Zabag’ in the 770s. this is not likely, however.
Indradevi would have had to be born, or at least conceived, before 775. the earliest date

39
 Lost Goddesses

that Indravarman I could have been born was around 825. this would make Indradevi
fifty years older than Indravarman I and around seventy years old when Yaśovarman
I was born. Clearly, Indradevi could not have been the daughter of the king beheaded
in the 770s. an alternative explanation could be that Indradevi was the name by which
Narendra was known after her marriage to Indravarman I. Indradevi translates as ‘queen of
Indra’. there is no reason that pavitra and the kamraten an vrah mula, ten hyang Narendra’s
parents, could not have been rajendradevi and Mahipateśvara. In fact, there is very good
reason for identifying the kamraten an vrah mula with Mahipateśvara. Kamraten an vrah
mula can be interpreted as ‘the kamraten an of the royal [or holy] family’. the implication
is that he was the chief of a royal or sacerdotal family. Mahipateśvara can mean ‘great lord
Śiva’, possibly a reference to the name of a political leader, or the name of the principal
officiant of Śaiva cult. See Briggs, Ancient Khmer empire, p. 98.
37 K. 91, lines a17–B1, IC 2, pp. 126–136. although Cœdès believed that the use of this
term implied that Indralakshmi was the principal queen, there is no evidence that this
was the case. For his comments see ‘Stèle de Kok trapan Srok (K.91)’, p. 131.
38 Michael Vickery, ‘the reign of Suryavarman I and royal factionalism at angkor’, Journal
of Southeast Asian Studies 16, 2 (1985), p. 243.
39 Ma Duanlin [12th/13th century], Ethnographie des peuples étrangers à la Chine, ouvrage
composé à XI siècle du notre ère, vol. 2, Geneva: Mueller, 1883, p. 479.
40 an additional factor in legitimation was the need to establish the claimant’s superior
ability to draw upon supernatural forces.
41 K. 259, lines 32–34, IC 7, pp. 50–57.
42 Judy L. Ledgerwood, ‘Khmer kinship: the matriliny/matriarchy myth’, Journal of
Anthropological Research 51, 3 (1995), pp. 247–262 at p. 255.
43 See for example K. 49, line 3, IC 2, pp. 183–185; K. 762, verses 6–10, IC 1, pp. 13–14;
thomas a. Kirsch, ‘Kinship, genealogical claims, and societal integration in ancient
Khmer society: an interpretation’, in C.D. Cowan and O.W. Wolters (eds), Southeast Asian
history and historiography: Essays presented to D.G.E. Hall, Ithaca, New York; London:
Cornell University press, 1976, pp. 190–202 at p. 199. the kinship term kanmoy kamton
may also designate a nephew through the female line. See George Cœdès, ‘Stèle de Vàt
thleń (K. 1)’, IC 1, p. 30, note 6.
44 K. 430, line 10, IC 6, p. 44.
45 pelliot, ‘Le Fou-nan’, p. 265.
46 K. 444, ll. B2–B4, B7–B9.
47 See Barbara Watson andaya, The flaming womb: Repositioning women in early modern
Southeast Asia, honolulu: University of hawai‘i press, 2006, pp. 172–178; tamara Loos,
‘Sex in the Inner City: the fidelity between sex and politics in Siam’, Journal of Asian
Studies 64, 4 (November 2005), p. 884.
48 K. 875, verse 2.
49 pelliot, ‘Le Fou-nan’, 279.

40
 Devi, Rajñi, Dasi, Mat

50 K. 904, verses 3–4.

51 K. 436, verses 2, 3–4, IC 4, p. 27.
52 O.W. Wolters, History, culture, and region in Southeast Asian perspectives, rev. ed., Ithaca,
New York: Southeast asia program publications, Cornell University; Singapore: Institute
of Southeast asian Studies, 1999, p. 167.
53 K. 54, section 1, verse 3, lines 5–6, 7, IC 3, p. 159; K. 77, verse 4, IC 5, p. 47.
54 pelliot, ‘Le Fou-nan’, pp. 261, 270.
55 Ibid., p. 261.
56 K. 76, lines 2, 5, IC 5, p. 8.
57 For example, K. 109n, lines 12, 17, IC 5, p. 43.
58 K. 726 (IC 5, p. 83) records the donation of one male and two females with a package of
rice fields, cultivatable land and oxen. the sense is that this was a family unit of a husband
and two wives.
59 K. 134, lines 14–17; K. 138, line 13, IC 5, p. 19; K. 557e, lines 1–2, IC 6, p. 22; Jacob,
‘pre-angkor Cambodia’, p. 409.
60 K. 557e, line 3, IC 6, p. 23; K. 66, line 12, IC 2, p. 53.; K. 74, lines 5, 6, IC 6, p. 18; Vickery,
Society, Economics, and Politics, p. 250; Jacob, ‘pre-angkor Cambodia’, p. 412.
61 In K. 137 they are referred to as kloñ kantai (IC 2, p. 116). Some scholars refer to them
as kantai khloñ.
62 Cœdès, K. 562, IC 2, p.107, translation lines 1–2.
63 George Cœdès, ‘Inscription d’angkor Bórěi (K. 557 et 600), IC 6, p. 23.
64 K. 600, line 9, IC 6, p. 22; K. 137, line 5; K. 66, face B, lines 1–3; K. 54/55, line I.11;
Vickery, Society, Economics, and Politics, p. 217.
65 K. 137, lines 6–9; K. 816, lines 1–2, IC 6, p. 64.
66 K. 66, face B, line 6; K. 137, lines 6–8.
67 Louis Malleret, La Culture du Funan vol 3 in L ’archéologie du delta du Mékong, paris:
École Française d’extrême–Orient, 1959–1963, p. 294; Vickery, Society, Economics, and
Politics, p. 217.

41
 Chapter three

Behind the Apsara

I n the ninth century, the Cambodian court was relocated to

a site on the northern side of the tonlé Sap, in what is now
Siem reap province. Originally called Yaśodharapura af-
ter the king who caused it to be built, Yaśovarman I (r. 889–912),
over time the city became known as Maha-Nagara, ‘Great City’,
gradually distorting to ‘angkor’. at first glance it would appear
that in this classical age between the ninth and fifteenth centu-
ries we find the origin of the decline in power for Cambodian
women. the inscriptions reveal no autonomously ruling
queens. the Khmer origin myth dating from this time depicts
the female protagonist as passive and dependent upon her male
relatives. the inscriptions and epigraphy represent goddesses as
inferior to their male counterparts. Yet women of the classical
period continued to enjoy similar social rights and roles to those
they had had in the preceding period, including property own-
ership, important positions at court, education, participation in
economic and religious life, and a relaxed attitude towards fe-
male sexuality at the non-elite level. Most significantly, women
continued to be perceived as human manifestations of the land.
In fact, once the importance of women in classical Cambodian
political legitimation is recognised, the problems of succession
that have confused scholars are removed.1

A fall from grace?

Goddesses began to lose their autonomous representation in the
ninth century and became increasingly depicted with their male

42
 Behind the Apsara

Furthest extent of Khmer

empire c. 1100

Area of Cambodian influence

D
Vietnamese conquest of

A
northern Champa

I
Periodic Cambodian rule

V
IE
of southern Champa

T
PAG

AI
TH
AN

M
C Indrapura

ek
H �

on
g

A
Bhimapura

M
ura
rap � Śreshtapura

PA
�
ha
id
Mah

Vijaya �
� Yaśodharapura � Bhavapura
Vat Ek � (Angkor Thom)

Tonle Sap � Sambhupura

Kauthara�
� Indrapura
Panduranga
�
�
Vyadhapura

© NIAS Press

Fig. 3.1: Classical Cambodia. adapted from Jan M. pluvier, Historical Atlas of South-East Asia.

counterparts. Images of goddesses were erected not for the glory of the god-
dess, but to honour the god upon whom her existence depended. the śakti, or
female aspect, of the god was acknowledged, and inscriptions often invoked
both male and female divinities’ goodwill and protection. Yet the goddess’s

43
 Lost Goddesses

position as a wife, subject to the will of her husband, was emphasised. there
was never an autonomous śakti cult in classical Cambodia; the status of a god-
dess was represented as inferior to that of the god. For example, Uma was
never represented as Durga Mahishasuramardani after the eighth century.
Instead, she was increasingly perceived as either acting in concert with Śiva
or as dependent upon him. Lakshmi and Sarasvati also became increasingly
identified as dependent upon their male counterparts during the classical pe-
riod. a dual form of Śiva and Uma, expressed as Bhavau or Iśvarau and known
from Indian Purana texts, was particularly popular in Cambodia during the
tenth century; at this time pairs of gods and goddesses were common (see
Fig. 3.2).2 this complementary representation of the male and female aspects
of the divine soon devolved into depictions of the male as superior, however.
Furthermore, the term kpoñ, an honorific preceding the goddesses perceived

Fig. 3.2: Gauriśvara, a dual form of Śiva and Uma riding the bull Nandin. Banteay Srei temple, 10th
century. (photograph by the author.)

44
 Behind the Apsara

as having local origins such as Durga Mahishasuramardani and Sarasvati, dis-

appeared from the epigraphic record after the ninth century.3 this is further
evidence of a move away from earlier cultural traditions.
the representation of goddesses as correlative or dependent upon male
gods was accompanied by a growing emphasis on the value of physical beauty
in the inscriptions.4 physical perfection was a woman ‘of slender and pale body,
of white breasts, shining like the Ganga’.5 Nowhere was this ideal represented
as obviously as in the development of the apsara, a category of female divinity
able to change shape at will and move between the celestial and mundane
worlds, in Cambodian art and architecture. prior to the ninth century, apsara
were unknown in the Cambodian artistic tradition. Indravarman I inaugu-
rated their incorporation into temple decoration, accompanied by devata,
female door-guardians. Apsara were depicted in the bas-reliefs of temples as
celestial dancers, renowned for grace, beauty and lust. they congregated near
sites associated with death, in order to capture the souls of the dead men.
rambha, in some ways the original apsara, having been engendered by the
churning of the milky ocean, was described as lurking at the battlefield in
wait for the dead.6 the only other apsara named in Cambodian epigraphy
is tilottama, mentioned in an inscription extolling the virtues of the queen
Vijayendralakshmi.7 according to mythology, tilottama was created for the
express purpose of arousing desire in the asura (‘demon’) brothers Sunda and
Upasunda and causing rivalry between them. the capacity to arouse desire,
and thus exert control over men, can be interpreted as an aspect of female
power. a Banteay Srei pediment depicts the asuras fighting over the right to
possess tilottama.
Fidelity, chastity, and the observance of duty were the desired qualities
in women, according to the inscriptions. Wives were supposed to be de-
voted to their husbands and their gods, industrious, and of good conduct.8
One inscription implied that Lakshmi, Sarasvati and Uma were changed
by their consorts in order to become more pleasing to the men. the god-
desses acted as role models for their mundane counterparts. Despite these
admonitions for fidelity and right conduct, the inscriptions relate that it was
often difficult for women to restrain themselves upon observing the splen-
did specimens of manhood that were the classical Cambodian kings. ‘It was
hard for pretty women to conduct themselves in a virtuous manner when he
gave them a glance’ says an inscription of Suryavarman I. a mixture of sex

45
 Lost Goddesses

and violence pervades many of the inscriptions. Jayavarman V was ‘inflamed

by [Lakshmi]’ yet ‘virtuous’; he ‘tried to prevent others from ravishing the
women of his supporters’ yet could not resist their charms himself. elsewhere
a king ‘wore on his body the marks of amorous games that his courtesans tore’.
Suryavarman I seemed to have approached territorial conquest with the same
enthusiasm as he approached his consorts. ‘toward the enemy army he was
as towards a beautiful young woman, without blemish, who was given … for
his amusement’; ‘in battle, the violent blows that the enemy dealt him with
all their might affected him as if they were the bites and scratches of women’;
and ‘in combat for the conquest of Lakshmi, the sharp sword with which the
enemy struck him with excited his sensibilities, as if it was a woman’s tooth’.
the wives of the kings’ enemies were the recipients of particular violence in
the inscriptions. an especially esoteric inscription describes Jayavarman VII
‘in the pleasure of battle, in voluptuous contact with the erect tusks of those
women who are the elephants of the enemies’.9
tenth-century and subsequent representations of women in the celestial
realm mirror the shift toward female dependence in mythology. as we have
seen, early Cambodian goddesses were perceived as autonomous wielders of
power, independent from male deities. In preclassical versions of Cambodian
origin mythology, the female protagonist participated in political activities
at her own inclination and without the intercession of a male figure. In the
classical period, the women of the legend were represented as passive ap-
purtenances of their male counterparts. the Khmer creation myth, although
similar to that of Funan and the Vo Canh inscription, differs significantly.
the female protagonist, Mera, was described as ‘most renowned of beauti-
ful deities’, but not as an active participant in events. the maharishi Kambu
Svayambhuva arrived from ‘aryadesa’ and encountered the Naga-king who
‘owned’ the land. Kambu was invited by the Naga-king to remain in the land
due to their common veneration of the god Śiva. Later, Kambu married Mera,
who had been given ‘as a daughter’ to the Naga-king by Śiva. after the mar-
riage, Kambu ruled over the land, which came to be called after him (Kambu-
ja, ‘born of Kambu’, evolving to Kamboja).10 at the end of the thirteenth cen-
tury, the Chinese observer Zhou Daguan reported that the king of Cambodia
was required to copulate each night with a serpent-spirit that appeared in the
guise of a beautiful woman. If he failed to maintain the tradition, catastrophe
would befall the kingdom.11

46
 Behind the Apsara

the theme of a foreign male marrying the female heiress or guardian of

the land in order to rule is familiar from the earlier mythology. however, un-
like Liu Ye or Soma, Mera never ruled the land herself. Furthermore, Mera is
repeatedly ‘given’ from one male actor to another. Śiva bestowed Mera upon
his loyal adherent, the Naga-king, in order to establish an alliance with Kambu
as a fellow Śaivite. Mera, therefore, was never autonomous. her importance
existed only in her relationship to the men of the story and the bond she
created between them. Yet, like Liu Ye and Soma, the power of sovereignty
resided in Mera, for Kambu was only able to rule the land after his marriage.
rajendravarman II (r. 944–968), Jayavarman V (r. 968–1001), and Jaya-
varman VII (r. 1181–c. 1220) all traced their lineage to both Soma/Kaundinya
and Mera/Kambu. this reinforces the assertion that the Funanese and the
Khmer to the north were acknowledged as ancestors of later Cambodians.
this raises questions, however, regarding the legitimacy of the Kambu/Mera
legend as an established creation myth in preclassical Cambodia. If it existed,
why were there no epigraphic references to Kambu and Mera from preclassi-
cal Khmer kings such as Viravarman, Mahendravarman, Bhavavarman II and
Iśanavarman I? Why was Mera depicted as passive and dependent when Liu
Ye and Soma were represented as active and autonomous? Is this a metaphor
for an imposition of patriarchal values on a more egalitarian society?
the absence of preclassical references to Kambu and Mera does not mean
that this legend was not part of the earlier cultural heritage of the Khmer. there
is no evidence, however, that it was the means by which preclassical Khmer
rulers established their legitimacy. the legend must therefore be considered
in its classical context. the first time that the Kambu/Mera legend was in-
corporated into a genealogy was during the reign of rajendravarman II. Five
kings reigned between the death of Yaśovarman I in 912 and the accession of
rajendravarman II, all of whom were the latter’s cousins or uncles. Moreover,
other relatives could claim sovereignty through the same lines. rajendravarman
II required additional support for his accession. a claim to sovereignty on the
basis of a relationship to the original possessor of sovereignty would have been
a significant legitimating factor. Jayavarman V incorporated this legend into his
own genealogy, as he was the son of rajendravarman II and could reasonably
be expected to reiterate his father’s legitimacy as his own.
two and a half centuries later, Jayavarman VII claimed descent from Kambu
and Mera in the genealogy legitimising his accession.12 Like rajendravarman

47
 Lost Goddesses

II, Jayavarman VII faced obstacles to his accession. his brother, Yasovarman
II (r. c. 1160–c. 1168), had been assassinated by a court official who assumed
the throne under the name tribhuvanadityavarman (r. c. 1168–1178). Jaya-
varman VII did not accede until 1181, although tribhuvanadityavarman had
been killed during the Cham invasion of 1178. this could be interpreted as
further evidence that Jayavarman VII had to establish his claim to the throne
by extraordinary means. again, claiming descent from the initial possessor of
sovereignty would have bolstered the aspiring ruler’s claim to the throne.
When the Kambu–Mera union was invoked in genealogies of the clas-
sical period, Kambu was portrayed as active and Mera as passive. the name
of the male protagonist, Kambu Svayambhuva, translates as ‘Kambu, the
self-creating’ or ‘self-existent’, clearly a metaphor for autonomy. he was also
described as powerful. Mera, in contrast, was described more as an ornament
than a person. Beautiful and celestial, she was ‘elevated to the highest heaven
as the queen’ of Kambu.13 Liu Ye and Soma were not described in terms of
physical beauty. In fact, nothing is recorded about their appearance at all –
although one version of the legend preserved in the Chinese annals states
that Liu Ye was ‘young and strong, and resembled a boy.’14 however, this is
more likely a reflection of prevailing Chinese constructs of masculinity and
femininity than those of preclassical Cambodia. In the classical period, no
reference was made to Soma as an independent sovereign before her mar-
riage to Kaundinya. Clearly, something happened after the ninth century that
affected Cambodian perceptions of women as expressed in the origin myth.
Indian Brahmans had settled in Southeast asian courts, bolstering the
claims of local sovereigns to the throne by conferring religious legitimacy. Indian
Brahmanical society did not accept autonomy for women. In fact, in the words
of the classical Indian pandit Manu, women should be transferred from their
fathers to their husbands to their sons. Similarly, Mera was transferred from the
‘protection’ of the god Śiva to the Naga-king to Kambu. at no stage did she
exhibit independent thought or choice. She was, therefore, the model of obedi-
ent womanhood as espoused by Brahmanical literature. the origin myth of the
Khmer elite in the tenth century reflected the patriarchal tenets of Brahmanical
religion that served to legitimise (male) rulers of the classical period.
In the previous chapter we saw that Jayavarman II successfully established
himself as the king of at least six early Cambodian polities through marriage
alliances with inheriting princesses or queens, making their male relatives

48
 Behind the Apsara

important members of his court and bestowing land and titles upon their
families. he further bolstered his position through the protection of super-
natural forces. thus Jayavarman II ordered his trusted official and brother-
in-law prthivinarendra to perform a ceremony that ensured the autonomy of
Kambuja from Java. the Sdok Kak thom inscription of 1052 relates that
parmeśvara invited [the Brahman named hiranyadama] to officiate at a ritual
by which it was made impossible for Kambuja-deśa to submit to Java, as by
this he made possible the existence of a sole master of the earth, who was a
cakravartin.15
hiranyadama passed the secret legitimation ritual to another Brahman,
Śivakaivalya, and ‘declared that the line of Śivakaivalya should officiate at the
devaraja [ritual], saying that is was forbidden for others to do so’.16 Control
over the legitimating ritual was effectively transferred to the power of
Śivakaivalya and his descendants. they maintained this control for over two
hundred years. When this particular family was superceded, however, another
Brahman was placed in charge of the legitimating ritual. Cambodian kings
therefore had good reason to remain on good terms with their Brahmans,
which is why so many marriage alliances were transacted between royal and
sacerdotal families.17 these legitimating and familial relationships would have
made it difficult for kings to reject Brahmanical values or their commitment
in the epigraphy and iconography of their reigns.
this, then, is the explanation for the apparent decline in female autonomy
and agency after the ninth century. Inscriptions of the classical period con-
tend that kings succeeded to the thrones of Vyadhapura and Śambhupura,
whereas the preclassical epigraphy indicates that some queens ruled. this
was overlooked when the classical kings came to commit their genealogies
to stone. as was the case with the passivity of Mera in the creation mythol-
ogy espoused during the classical period, it is likely that the later genealogies
reflect the influence of a more patriarchal social perspective. Yet it is incorrect
to assume that the absence of women from positions of power and autonomy
in the inscriptions and sculpture of the period meant a corresponding loss of
significance for elite women.

The kanlong kamraten an

Yaśovarman I (889–912) demonstrated his right to rule bilaterally, as repre-
sented in the Lolei monument, built in 893. two of the six towers were never
49
 Lost Goddesses

completed, but the other four are dedicated to Indradevi and Indravarman
I, his parents, and rajendradevi and Mahipateśvara, his mother’s parents.
Like his predecessors, Yaśovarman I maintained the tradition of honouring
his relatives from his mother’s side. Jayayudha, an official at the court of
Yaśovarman I, erected an image of kanlong kamraten an Jayamaheśvari in the
‘field of victory’, probably a battlefield. the same inscription refers to vic-
tory over ‘Champa and others’. the stela itself was found at the monument
of prasat tasar Sadam in what is now Siem reap province. a later inscription
may refer to this queen under the name kamraten an śri jayakshetra – literally,
‘holy queen of the field of victory’.18
Jayamaheśvari cannot have been Yaśovarman I’s mother, as her image at
Lolei, under the name Indradevi, was given ‘a dwelling, flowers and jewels’ by
Jayayudha at the same time.19 Similarly, Jayamaheśvari was not Yaśovarman
I’s grandmother rajendradevi. the only other contenders for an elite female
relative of Yaśovarman I would be his wives and his sisters. No inscriptions
record the names of Yaśovarman I’s wives. the names of two of his sisters
are known, however. Jayamaheśvari was probably Yaśovarman I’s elder
sister Mahendradevi (see Fig. 3.3). her husband, Mahendravarman, was
descended from the rulers of aninditapura.20 their son, rajendravarman II,
claimed sovereignty through his mother and father, not through his relation-
ship to Yaśovarman I. historians, with a few exceptions, never emphasise this
point; and yet once this is accepted the succession methodology of classical
Cambodia becomes clear.
Many royal women of the classical period were posthumously entitled
kanlong kamraten an. Usually they were not referred to by name but by place,
underscoring the relationship between women and the land. One particularly
popular funerary cult, known from many inscriptions, refers to the focus of
veneration as ‘kanlong kamraten an anve tonlé’. this ‘queen of the lake’ was
particularly associated with the reigns of rajendravarman II and his son,
Jayavarman V. In 952, during the reign of rajendravarman II, a mratan of-
fered land to ‘the god of Lingapura and the kanlong kamraten an anve tonlé’.
the land had originally been given to the two previously and had fallen into
disuse. the impression of the inscription, therefore, is that the funerary cult
had already been in existence for some time. More donations followed dur-
ing the reign of Jayavarman V. In 972 the deceased queen, designated ‘the
elder’, gave gifts to ‘the other statues’ of her sanctuary. Jayavarman V gave the

50
 Behind the Apsara

X Y X Y

Laksana Pit Haradharma X Y

(Senapati) Ayak Jayavarman II

Srirajaka
Pavitra Mahipateśvara
Vasudeva Lon Satyapala (Rajendradevi)
Indrani Prthivindravarman Vasudevi

Naray Ayat
[B]rahmanapasa Ksundradevi mahanasa
X Ripumanatha (Satyayudha) of Sanduk
(Satyayudha)
Naray Narendra Indravarman I Gauri Nau
(Indradevi)

Mahendradevi Yaśovarman I Jayadevi

(see Fig. 3.4)
Fig. 3.3: antecedents of Yaśovarman I, Mahendradevi and Jayadevi.

kanlong a gold leaf in 974. In 978 Yogeśvara offered the kanlong kamraten an
anve tonlé a palanquin of gold. the following year, ‘a Bhagavati Mahishasura
was erected there in the image of the kanlong kamraten an anve tonlé’. this is
one of the two known references to Durga Mahishasuramardani that occur in
the classical period. It cannot be a coincidence that this powerful queen was
immortalised in the tradition of early Cambodian autonomous goddesses.
During the reign of Jayaviravarman an admonition was added to a stela in the
area re-emphasizing the claims of the kanlong kamraten an anve tonlé to a for-
est donated in 952. Later still, an inscription of harshavarman III (1066–1080)
recorded that land was restored to the kanlong kamraten an in 1071.21
Jayavarman IV, husband of Jayadevi and father of harshavarman II, is not
mentioned in any of rajendravarman II’s inscriptions, although the maternal
relatives of rajendravarman II received apotheosis. rajendravarman II erected
an image of ‘the daughter of the mountain … in the likeness of Jayadevi, mother
of King harshadeva [harshvarman II], and younger sister of his mother’.22 he
also established a statue in honour of his younger cousin, harshavarman II,
51
 Lost Goddesses

who died after reigning for one year.23 there is, therefore, an excellent reason
for attributing the identity of Jayamaheśvari to Mahendradevi. Clearly, the
women of that area were regarded as representatives and emanations of the
land. We may go one step further and identify Jayamaheśvari as the kanlong
kamraten an anve tonlé. Who was rajendravarman II likely to accord such
respect, if not his own mother, through whom he laid claim to sovereignty?
Furthermore, the sepulchre of the kanlong kamraten an anve tonlé was also
known as the rajaguha, ‘royal cave’. It cannot refer to the cult of Narendradevi,
who died in 968, as an inscription dated between 958 and 967 speaks of a
slave and his parents as having been born ‘in the vicinity of the rajaguha’.24
Goods were offered to this kanlong kamraten an by high-ranking court officials
in 966 and 967.25 there is probably a pun in the use of rajaguha; guha can
also mean ‘womb’. the meaning of rajaguha could therefore be construed as
‘royal womb’.
the tradition of immortalising royal women from this family continued
for the next two generations. In 979 Jayavarman V directed three dignitaries
and an elite religious instructor to donate their land along the river to other
elite persons so that they could establish villages and erect images of deities
and members of their family. the persons whose images were erected were
rajapativarman, a general and brother-in-law of Jayavarman V; an unnamed
ten kamraten an, mother of Narapativiravarman and Jayayudhavarman, the
commissioners of the images; and a ten tvan, who was the mother of the
ten kamraten an, rajapativarman, and Jayavarman V’s wife. K. 356 men-
tions these people, but adds that Narapativiravarman was the elder brother
of Udayadityavarman I (1001–1002). It seems clear that Jayayudhavarman
was Udayadityavarman I. Following the end of Udayadityavarman I’s reign,
a king named Jayaviravarman appeared. he issued an inscription in the year
of his accession asserting the rights of the kanlong kamraten an anve tonlé
to a piece of land under dispute.26 Jayaviravarman was none other than
Udayadityavarman I’s elder brother, Narapativiravarman.
the kanlong kamrate an anve tonlé was joined by Narendradevi, chief
queen of rajendravarman II, almost immediately after the death of her hus-
band in 968. the princess Indralakshmi, their daughter, ‘erected with love’ an
image of her mother during this year. a ceremony commemorating the death
of Narendradevi was carried out by Divakara, husband of Indralakshmi, in 972.
Indralakshmi herself died in this year and was incorporated into the funerary

52
 Behind the Apsara

cult. Narendradevi was recorded as offering slaves in this year to the vrah kam-
raten an of Dvijendrapura and to her daughter, ‘the image of princess kamraten
an Indralakshmi’. at the time of her death Divakara erected ‘an image … of his
dear Indralakshmi’ and the kanlong kamraten an anve tonlé gave gifts to the
other statues of the temple – clearly, Narendradevi and Indralakshmi.27
the funerary cult of one kanlong kamraten an thrived into the eleventh
century. In 1037, functionary named rajapativarman commissioned an
inscription asking the incumbent king, Suryavarman I, to take into consid-
eration the merits of the head of a family of scribes from what is now the
province of preah Vihear.
he conserved with zeal the list of goods received … he had a family who
guarded the writing concerning the family of Kambu and the diverse depart-
ments of royal service, the writing concerning the high acts of sovereigns,
since King Śrutavarman, until those of his majesty … related to King
Indravarman … and the queen Viraralakshmi of Vrac Vrah Sruk, of the roy-
alty [i.e. the family] of King harshavarman who has gone to rudraloka, and
King Iśanavarman who has gone to paramarudraloka … . the collection of
these holy writings commemorate on leaves the goods that are deposited at
[two kamraten jagat] and at the kanlong.28
this inscription is illuminating for several reasons. the author of the inscrip-
tion was called rajapativarman – the second we have come across associ-
ated with apotheosis of elite women in this area. he claimed that he was the
grandson of ‘rajapativarman the elder of avidhapura’.29 the funerary cult of
at least one of the kanlong kamraten an, therefore, was alive and well in 1037,
despite civil war and dynastic alteration. the family of scribes had recorded
the deeds of all the sovereigns in the area since the first king, Śrutavarman.
the inscription also named the incumbent king, Suryavarman I, descended
from Indravarman I, and his queen Viralakshmi, descended from the kings
harshavarman I and Iśanavarman II. Finally, the inscription allows a glimpse
of Cambodia after the wars that attended the accession of Suryavarman
I. Once peace arrived, the functionaries of previous kings assured the new
ruler of their worth and fealty, as is illustrated in the famous oath of allegiance
sworn by around 4,000 Cambodian officials in 1011.30
Suryavarman I claimed his right to rule in Yaśodharapura through his
mother, who was related to prthivindradevi, mother of Indravarman I; he was
also related to prana, a lesser wife of rajendravarman II. he was first recorded

53
 Lost Goddesses

ruling in eastern Cambodia in late 1001 or early 1002. From the dates of his
inscriptions it appears that he made progress toward the capital over the next
eight years, reaching Yaśodharapura in 1006, although Jayaviravarman did not
vanish from the epigraphic record for another four years. Significantly, the
family of Suryavarman I’s chief wife was associated with the funerary cult of
a deceased queen. K. 380 calls her ‘Viralakshmi of Vrac Vrah Sruk’31 – a place
name corresponding to ‘district of the holy place’. another inscription says
that Viralakshmi (who was also called Narpatindralakshmi) and her brother
Narapatindravarman were the kamratem an, or elite, of a polity named Vrai
Kanlong, ‘forest of the kanlong’.32
according to the epigraphic evidence, Suryavarman I ‘offered a tiara, ear-
rings, clothes of gold, and all sorts of finery, and he also offered a covered
palanquin of gold’ to Viralakshmi in order to win her hand in marriage.33
her brothers were also made the recipients of wealth and honour through
the marriage alliance.34 the title of Narapatindravarman was retained
within the family; in 1071 another Narapatindravarman, a descendant of
the first, restored a foundation established by his ancestor. Bhuvanaditya,
younger brother of Narapatindravarman and Viralakshmi, was made prince
of Vanapura. Narapatindralakshmi was accorded particular status after the
marriage. her name is one of the elite persons addressed by Suryavarman I
concerning land rights at thpvan rman.35 Clearly, the family of Vrai Kanlong
had something that Suryavarman I wanted. they were compensated with
extraordinary honours, titles and riches in exchange, for Suryavarman I was
able to lay claim to the land through this marriage. as Michael Vickery and
Claude Jacques contended over twenty years ago, Suryavarman I was not a
usurper, as is usually thought.36
Jayaviravarman – ‘the victorious Viravarman’ – was the nephew of the
first rajapativarman. he either died or was exiled around 1011 as a result
of Suryavarman I’s conquest of Cambodia.37 It cannot be coincidence that
the woman who was the key to sovereignty for Suryavarman I was named
Viralakshmi, ‘the fortune of Vira’, nor that her merits and the rights of a kan-
long associated with her were the concern of another rajapativarman, grand-
son of the first. It is highly likely that Viralakshmi, recorded in the inscriptions
as a relative of harshavarman I, was the daughter of Jayaviravarman, and
therefore the cousin of the second rajapativarman. Moreover, the rajaguha
venerated by rajendravarman II and Jayavarman V was located in the district

54
 Behind the Apsara

Prthivindravarman Prthivindradevi

Indravarman Indradevi

Mahendradevi Mahendravarman X Yaśovarman I Jayavarman IV Jayadevi

Harshavarman I Iśanavarman II
Narendradevi Rajendravarman II Prana Tvan Y Harshavarman II

Jayavarman V X X Rajapativarman Y tan kanraten an

Indralakshmi Divakara

X Y X Narapativarman X Jayayudhavarman
( Jayaviravarman) (Udayadityavarman I)

Rajapativarman Narapatindravarman
Viralakshmi Suryavarman I

Rajendrapandita Younger Younger Bhuvanaditya

sister A sister B
Fig. 3.4: relationships between kings and kanlong kamraten an.

of Jrai Garyyak. the Narapatindravarman of 1071, Viralakshmi’s nephew or

great-nephew, was also called ‘the vap of the vrah [‘holy’ or ‘venerated’] Jrai’.38
there was clearly a familial connection between the persons associated with
the kanlong of the tenth century (see Fig. 3.4). there is no better candidate for
the link between Viralakshmi and harshavarman I than through the ten tvan
whose image was erected by Jayaviravarman and Udayadityavarman. In the
most likely scenario, she was a sister of harshavarman I and Iśanavarman II.
Most historians have avoided the ancestry of Udayadityavarman II, stat-
ing simply that he was the successor of Suryavarman I. In all likelihood, he
was the younger brother of Viralakshmi, Bhuvanaditya, who had been made
prince of Vanapura, ‘city of the forest’, when Suryavarman I married his sister.
K. 208 recorded that a king who was probably Udayadityavarman II erected a
Bhagavati in the image of his mother in the town of rajendrapura. although
the name of the woman was obscured, she was entitled ten, the usual term used
to describe a daughter of an elite family in polities with matrilineal traditions.

55
 Lost Goddesses

Udayadityavarman II was able to draw upon the support of two of the most
powerful families known from the epigraphy. Suryavarman I had removed
the incumbent purohita of the devaraja, Śadaśiva (a descendant in matrilin-
eal lines from Śivakaivalya, the original purohita that assisted Jayavarman II
in the inauguration of the devaraja), and married him to a younger sister of
queen Viralakshmi, giving him the title Jayendrapandita. Udayadityavarman
II bestowed a sizeable tract of land and its tenants to Jayendrapandita and
his family in perpetuity. he also inherited the services of rajendravarman,
an elite official under Suryavarman I, raising him to senapati, ‘commander-in-
chief ’.39 It is unlikely that the family of Vrai Kanlong would have entertained
the advances of an outsider, and still less likely that they would have allowed
him to wield sovereignty over their land without sufficient legitimation.
harshavarman III (1066–1080) was the brother of Udayadityavarman II.
an inscription of Jayavarman VII furnishes some details as to the antecedents
of harshavarman III’s queen, Kambujarajalakshmi, ‘the fortune of the king
of those born of Kambu’. Kambujarajalakshmi was a princess of Śreshtapura,
northeast of Yaśodharapura, in modern-day Laos. the sacerdotal families
from this area were patrilineal. Suryavarman I replaced the matrilineal family
of purohitas descended from Śivakaivalya with a patrilineal family connected
to hyang pavitra, Jayavarman II’s queen in haripura.40 Udayadityavarman II
bestowed gifts of land and titles on persons disenfranchised by the appoint-
ments they had made. perhaps harshavarman III did not continue to placate
his relatives to their satisfaction, as Cambodia was beset by civil unrest for
most of his reign.
the kings who reigned after harshavarman III had no pre-existing ties
to Yaśodharapura. the first of these kings was Jayavarman VI. he came from
Mahidharapura, a polity to the northwest of Yaśodharapura and north of
the Dangrek mountains. the polity had existed at least from the early tenth
century and was fairly extensive; an inscription records a court official of
Mahidharapura offering servants from Bhimapura (phimai) in 921. In the
late eleventh century, the incumbent sovereigns were hiranyalakshmi and
hiranyavarman. they had at least four children, the eldest of whom was
Dharanindravarman I, followed by Jayavarman VI, and a third son known
only by his title, yuvaraja ‘crown prince’. their daughter, whose name has not
come to light in any inscription, was the grandmother of Suryavarman II.41 In
1109, a large group of elite persons donated goods to ‘the god of Lingapura

56
 Behind the Apsara

and the kanlong kamraten an’.42 If a relationship had existed linking the house
of Mahidharapura with the women of Yaśodharapura it would have been as-
serted in the epigraphy as a basis for sovereignty. We may deduce that neither
hiranyalakshmi nor hiranyavarman had ancestral links to Yaśodharapura. It
is therefore highly unlikely that hiranyalakshmi would have been interred in
the heartland of Yaśodharapura, let alone become a focus for veneration.
the other woman of significance to the Mahidharapuran kings was
Vijayendralakshmi. Described as ‘the receptacle of riches, beauty, eloquence
and affection’,43 she married all three of the Mahidharapuran princes. her first
husband was the yuvaraja of Mahidharapura.
Between her and the celestial Lakshmi, there was no difference, and nei-
ther of them could prove their superiority over the other. It was from this
thought that the yuvaraja, about to set forth for the heavens, gave her to his
brother, King Jayavarman [VI]. as a result of familial affection, when King
Jayavarman followed his ancestors and the yuvaraja to the heavens, he gave
her to Dharanindra[varman I].44
although remarriage was common in classical Cambodia, no other woman
in the epigraphic record married two kings in succession, let alone three.
there must have been something extraordinary about Vijayendralakshmi.
the inscription says that she had an elder brother who obtained the name
Nrpendradhipativarman for his services as head of the army. he was described
as ‘brother-in-law of his friend the yuvaraja, then favourite of Jayavarmadeva’.
Vijayendralakshmi herself appears to have been compensated for agreeing to
these successive marriages: ‘She obtained, through the favour of the king named
Jayavarmadeva, and in accord with the promise of the yuvaraja, amalakasthala,
which was her birth-place’.45
the most likely interpretation of events is that Jayavarman VI of
Mahidharapura was assisted by Nrpendradhipativarman in a campaign against
harshavarman III or his successor. It could be that Nrpendradhipativarman
and Vijayendralakshmi were the children of Udayadityavarman II or one of the
two younger sisters of Viralakshmi. In order to cement the alliance and claim
sovereignty over Yaśodharapura, the yuvaraja married Vijayendralakshmi.
When the yuvaraja died – unexpectedly, as he was the younger brother of
Jayavarman VI – sovereignty over the land was maintained by marrying
Vijayendralakshmi to Jayavarman VI. Upon the death of the latter, the eldest
Mahidharapuran prince, Dharanindravarman, sustained the alliance by be-
57
 Lost Goddesses

X Hiranyavarman Hiranyalakshmi X Y

1 2
Ψ ‘Yuvaraja’ Ψ Jayavarman VI

3
X Y X Y Ψ Dharindravarman I

Krtindraditya Narendralakshmi
X Nrpendradhipativarman
Suryavarman II Vijayendralakshmi (Ψ)

Fig. 3.5: relationships between the people listed in inscriptions of the Mahidharapuran kings.

coming Vijayendralakshmi’s third husband (see Fig. 3.5). her eulogy reveals
her importance to the Mahidharapuran kings: ‘Because she was considered
the fruit of Fortune and Victory [lakshmi and vijaya], she bore the name
Vijayendralakshmi’.46
there is insufficient extant evidence to discern whether the practice of the
kanlong kamraten an continued after Dharanindravarman I, but Jayavarman
VII (r. 1181–c. 1220) traced his descent bilaterally in the inscriptions and in
the architectural arrangement of the ‘Buddhist triad’, representing his father
as the bodhisattva Lokeśvara, his mother (Chudamani, daughter of a King
harshavarman) as the tara prajnaparamita, and himself as the Buddha. his
principal wives, however, were connected to pre-Mahidharapuran sovereigns.
Jayavarman VII married two sisters, Jayarajadevi and Indradevi, well-educat-
ed Buddhists, daughters of ‘kshatriyas, amongst the elite of the royal family’.
Indradevi claimed that their father was ‘Ja … ’, descended from ‘rudravarman’
and a woman entitled ‘queen’, and that their mother was descended from
rajendradevi.47 It is tempting to see a paternal connection with Vyadhapura
and Śambhupura and a maternal link to Bhavapura, but there is insufficient
evidence either to support or contradict such an assertion. the most we can
establish from the reign of Jayavarman VII is that cognatic legitimation was
still in force amongst the Cambodian elite at the end of the twelfth century,
and important figures therein were both male and female.
What are we to make of the kanlong kamraten an? Do they represent,
as Éveline porée-Maspero hypothesised, a ‘lunar race’ descended from the

58
 Behind the Apsara

Kaundinya–Soma line of Funan that all would-be kings of Cambodia were

required to marry into in order to reign?48 Michael Vickery dismissed the
notion of the ‘succession féminine’ as an inventive idea that porée-Maspero
attempted unsuccessfully to force on facts. he also made the point that the
identities of the women concerned in the succession genealogy were largely
unknown. had they been crucial to the legitimatory process, surely they
would have had a greater presence in the epigraphic record.49 Now that some
of the women have been identified, it could be suggested that they did con-
stitute a significant ideological force for the ruling elite families between the
ninth and twelfth centuries. the fact that the establishments devoted to the
kanlong kamraten an occurred in ‘natural’ phenomena – lakes, caves, forests
– instead of in the man-made structures housing the devaraja does not neces-
sarily imply that they were less important.
the existence of the kanlong kamraten an indicates that elite women, al-
though their importance may have diminished in the official political record,
continued to be seen as representatives of the land, and were honoured as
such. the classical inscriptions abound with anthropomorphisations of the
land as the bride of a particular king, for example ‘the land … took that unique
husband, treasure of all the virtues’. the same inscription says that the earth
chose her own husband. a similar inscription says of Yaśovarman I that ‘the
land, having obtained that king for a husband, was full of virtue, pleasure, and
profit, and fecund.’ the city of Yaśodharapura – angkor thom itself – was de-
scribed as ‘adorned with powder and jewels, burning with desire, daughter of
a good family’ and married to Jayavarman VII ‘in the course of a feast at which
nothing was lacking’.50 In the thirteenth century, Zhou Daguan remarked that
the king was bound to fulfil a covenant between the female ‘guardian-spirit’
of the land and the male rulers of Cambodia:
Out of the palace rises a golden tower, to the top of which the ruler ascends
nightly to sleep. It is a common belief that in the tower dwells a genie, formed
like a serpent with nine heads, which is lord of the entire kingdom. every
night this genie appears in the shape of a woman, with whom the sovereign
couples … . Should the genie fail to appear for a single night, it is a sign that
the king’s death is at hand. If, on the other hand, the king should fail to keep
his tryst, disaster is sure to follow.51
It is significant that the serpent – the true ruler of the kingdom – appeared
as a woman, and that it was necessary for the king to unite with her in order

59
 Lost Goddesses

to maintain harmony in the kingdom. there was a parallel of this concept in

thirteenth-century Java; queen Ken Dedes conferred the status of cakravar-
tin, ‘lord of the earth’, upon her husband, King Ken angkrok, through the
consummation of their marriage.52 the symbolism of sexual union giving a
man the right to rule the land meant that the sexual activities of elite women
were more rigidly controlled than their less elevated counterparts. In 1296,
the incumbent ruler was the son-in-law of his predecessor, who,
devoted as he was to his daughter, gave her the chance to steal the golden sword
of office and give it to her husband, thus depriving her brother of the succes-
sion. this brother strove to stir the soldiery to revolt, but the king, hearing of
this, cut off his brother-in-law’s toes and threw him into a dark dungeon.53
elite women were thus gateways to power and had to be carefully guarded lest
an opportunist seek to elevate himself, as was the case when a lesser son of a
provincial family ‘took a woman from the royal family’ and lived with her in
an ashram.54

Women of the palace

Marriage alliances continued to be important in maintaining political fealty
in the classical period. according to a thirteenth-century observer, ‘when a
beautiful girl is born into a family, no time is lost in sending her to the pal-
ace’.55 In one case, a queen’s mother was given to the service of her son-in-law
the king.56 Officials also offered their sisters and daughters.57 this resulted
in hundreds and even thousands of women living in the palace.58 Numbers
of women entitled ‘queen’ varied. at the end of the thirteenth century, it was
the custom for the principal queen to live in the central palace, lesser queens
residing at each of the four cardinal points.59 there were also lesser wives
of varying ranks and a great number of other women, described by Zhou
Daguan as ‘palace servants’, numbering two thousand at the end of the thir-
teenth century. they had a distinctive hairstyle, shaved high in front and with
three red marks on their foreheads. these women were married, with homes
outside the palace, to which they went at the end of every day, ‘moving in an
unbroken stream through the streets in front of and behind the palace’.
they performed a diverse range of activities, some proceeded, ‘gaily
dressed, with flowers in their hair and tapers in their hands … other girls
carrying gold and silver vessels from the palace and a whole galaxy of orna-
ments, of very special design’.60 Some women were midwives (see Fig. 3.6).
60
 Behind the Apsara

Fig. 3.6: Woman in childbirth and attendant midwives, Bayon, 13th century.

Madhyadeśi, ‘because of her beauty and her intelligence’, arranged flowers in

the palace. She was apparently very diligent: ‘Because of her fear of the ocean
of transmigrations, she was not guilty of any transgressions in the observance
of her duty’. Maliniratanalakkha, ‘a pious upasika … gifted in good works and
other virtues’, was keeper of the royal jewels under King Śrindravarman. prana,
consort of rajendravarman II, served the next king, her stepson Jayavarman
V, in an administrative capacity. Other women appear to have occupied a mar-
tial role in the palace. Zhou Daguan related that in a royal procession the male
army went first, then flags, banners and musicians, followed by girls who were
‘the bodyguard of the palace, holding shields and lances’. the king travelled
either by elephant or in a golden palanquin carried by women of the palace.
two women were responsible for lifting the curtain that separated the king
from his court each day when he seated himself on the royal lion’s skin in
preparation for addressing matters of state.61
Women favoured by the king appear to have been influential. a ten hyang,
the daughter of the prthivinavarman who had assisted Jayavarman II in the paci-
fication of Malyang, became a wife of the chief cook of the province of Sanduk.
Indravarman I gave her the title and name of ten kamraten an Kshitindradevi.

61
 Lost Goddesses

Some years later, Kshitindradevi asked the king to order her brothers Satyayudha
and ripunathana to erect an image named Gapatikshitindra. another woman
bearing the same title was given ‘the command of the servants gathered in the
land of Suvarnapura’ by Jayavarman III. Maliniratanalakkha, keeper of the royal
jewels, implemented public works of King Śrindravarman, namely rebuilding
a vihara and excavating a ditch and a pond. In 1309 she erected a statue of the
Buddha and donated slaves and goods on behalf of the king. Women of the
palace were accorded privileges; only they were permitted to stain the soles of
their feet and the palms of their hands red with henna. this was forbidden to
men. all women that served in the palace, regardless of their role, were allowed
to wear material patterned with a particular arrangement of flowers, but admin-
istrative officials were the only men allowed to wear this pattern.62
elite women seem to have received religious and literary education, as some
inscriptions refer to gifts given to the guru of a queen or princess. two queens
acted as religious instructors themselves. Indradevi, elder sister of Jayarajadevi,
wife of Jayavarman VII, ‘initiated [Jayarajadevi] into the peace and tranquillity
of the teachings of the Buddha, away from the fire of torment’. her conversion
gave Jayarajadevi the inspiration to become a teacher herself. She ‘took for her
own daughters members of a group of girls who had been abandoned by their
mothers … [and] entered them in the religious life with clothes and gifts, ac-
cording to the prescribed rites’. the queen then trained the girls to perform
scenes from the Jataka as a means of instruction for others.63 Indradevi mar-
ried Jayavarman VII after the death of her sister and was appointed head of
Nagendratunge, tilakottare and Narendraśrama, three ‘colleges’ that taught
Buddhist doctrine and other sciences. Narendraśrama seems to have been
an educational community for women, including those from elite families.
Women destined for the service of the king were among those who received
religious instruction. Madhyadeśi gave land, silver and gold to her teacher; at
his instigation she performed a brahmayajna sacrifice. Women were instructed
in astrology and how to calculate days of auspiciousness. Zhou Daguan related
that the women of Cambodia were the merchants, adding that ‘for this reason a
Chinese, arriving in the country, loses no time in getting himself a mate, for he
will find her commercial instincts a great asset’.64

Social strictures and daily life

It appears that women in classical Cambodia were not as powerless in real
life as the Brahmanical mores of the epigraphy would suggest. Women con-

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 Behind the Apsara

tinued to make donations of land, goods and slaves to gods and religious
communities during the classical period, as they had during the preceding
centuries. Women therefore remained entitled to ownership of land, its pro-
duce and its tenants.65 those who served in the royal palace, despite their
often humble origins, were entitled to own and dispose of property. Konti,
wife of Kavindrarimathana, palace servant of rajendravarman II, and niece of
Virendravikhyata, inherited the latter’s ‘divine power, his land, his fields and
his gardens’.66 Ordinary women also owned property. Most property-owing
non-elite women were entitled me, which designated a woman who was or
who had been married.
Matrilineal reckoning also continued to be practised. harshavarman I
‘had a younger brother, born of the same mother’. Viralakshmi, chief queen of
Suryavarman I, was named as ‘the ancestor in the matra-vamsa [‘maternal fam-
ily’] of harshavarmadeva’. Most elite families, particularly those with heredi-
tary religious functions, were matrilineal. Udayadityavarman II gave the land
of Stuk rman, ‘district of the Mon’, its produce and slaves, to Jayendrapandita,
as the original owners of the land, a group of women entitled ten and one lon,
‘had no children nor grandchildren and their line was extinguished’. the king
also decreed that the maternal line of Jayendrapandita would possess the land
and its produce in the future. a similar inscription from another place stated
that ‘the varna of vrah kamraten an rajendrapandita … in maternal lines are
designated to guard the foundation of prasat Khtom’. 67
amongst slaves, kinship continued to be reckoned solely according to
matrilineal descent. In the reign of Yaśovarman I, a woman named me Nem
bought a tai (‘female slave’) named Kantem. the inscription records that ‘the
ownership of the tai was given until her death, likewise that of her children
and grandchildren’.68 any children of a female slave would automatically be-
come slaves themselves. the fathers of slave children could have been either
other slaves or the owners of the female slaves, or even others to whom the
slave-owner offered the sexual services of their slaves. this is contrary to
Zhou Daguan’s observation that
it would be unheard of for the master of a house to have sexual relations with
[slaves] … if by chance a Chinese, arriving in the country after long absti-
nence, should assuage his appetite with one of the women slaves, and the
fact becomes known to her owner, the latter would refuse to be seated in the
presence of a man who had defiled himself with a savage.

63
 Lost Goddesses

another interpretation is that the owner of the slave was annoyed that
his permission was not sought in the first instance. If a female slave became
pregnant, the mother would have no claims to the fortune of the father of the
child, regardless of the latter’s status; the child would remain with its mother,
thus increasing the number of slaves ‘owned’ by the household.69 almost eve-
ryone, except the very poor, had ‘at least a dozen’ slaves at the end of the thir-
teenth century. they appear to have been within the means of most people.
a tai and her three children were ‘bought for the price of a paddy, a slave and
a boat’. Some slaves were of foreign extraction. K. 105 records a tai bought in
exchange for silver from a yvan in 987 ce.70 Yuan is the modern Cambodian
ethnic appellation for ‘Vietnamese’, although the term could apply equally to
the Cham in the classical period. Zhou Daguan related that slaves could be
members of hill tribes or otherwise ‘of a wholly separate race’.71
as in the preceding period, male and female slaves undertook similar
roles in the service of the temples, cooking, manufacturing palm leaf books,
brewing perfumes, dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments. a
functionary of Suryavarman II donated ‘for the clear fortnight, nine slaves:
six women and three men; for the obscure fortnight, four women and six
men’ to perform tasks in the temple. higher-ranking temple personnel were
also referred to as ‘slaves’ of the god they served. One inscription refers to ‘tai
harikela and si takkara, the servants of the holy linga and of the sacred fire’.
Men and women of this higher class were responsible for officiating at temple
ceremonies. the highest temple officiants were men, although one inscrip-
tion states that in the event of a lack of male heirs, women of the line would
be allowed to officiate. In the time of Jayavarman II, a royal decree charged
the descendants of ‘sten rau’, of the ‘varna of aninditapura’, to assist the puro-
hita of kamraten jagat Kaden in performing temple duties. It continued: ‘For
want of male descendants, the royal order prescribes that the avyah women,
virgins or not, enter into religion in the capacity of bhagavati, and that they
be charged with the puja of the kamraten jagat of Kaden’.72 It was therefore
important that a particular family, be its members male or female, continue
to officiate at the temple of this god.
the reference to bhagavati probably refers to a religious order, not unlike
the kantai kloñ of the preclassical period, who were called neak khloñ in classi-
cal Cambodia. again, there was no equivalent male cohort. In the preceding
chapter it was established that kantai khloñ could be most likely translated as

64
 Behind the Apsara

‘women of the khloñ’. these women were, at least in two cases, elite, and acted
as substitutes for an elite male within the temple community. During the clas-
sical period, one woman was given to a temple in order that she perform sac-
rifices in place of the ten tvan of Vnur Jas. the exact role of the neak khloñ is
difficult to decipher from the epigraphy, but they were clearly important and
entrusted with significant duties. the women of a family from modern-day
Kompong thom province were prohibited from performing the functions
of neak khloñ for persons of low caste. If they did, they would forfeit their
inheritance rights. an inscription of a middle-ranking official says that after
marrying a woman he was ordered, by her grandfather, to ‘place her among
the servants of the temple, because the neak khloñ there acted with good
conduct’. these women were not nuns in the sense of bhikkhuni, or ordained
nuns. Zhou Daguan reported that neither Buddhist nor Brahmanical nuns
existed in the capital.73 It is possible that the neak khloñ were a variation of the
Indian devadasi, although clearly in the Cambodian context women could be
married whilst fulfilling their temple obligations. regardless of their specific
function, it is clear that women were not precluded from acting as religious
officiants.
Cambodian society below the level of the royal house accepted similar,
even complementary, roles for men and women. Both sons and daughters
shaved their heads as a sign of mourning for a deceased parent. Zhou Daguan
noted that men and women bathed together without apparent impropriety:
‘If all the bathers [of mixed gender] are of the same age, they ignore ceremony;
the women hide their sex with the left hand as they enter the water’. Men and
women both wore bracelets of gold on their arms and scented themselves
with perfumes made from sandalwood and musk. to the immense disgust of
the Chinese, ‘some of the women make water standing up – an utterly ridicu-
lous procedure’.74
punishments for men and women appear to have been relatively the same.
Zhou Daguan commented that punishment was usually carried out through a
system of fines, although for the worst crimes the perpetrator was buried alive
outside the West Gate of Yaśodharapura. Less serious crimes were punished
by amputation of hands, feet, or nose; yet to Zhou Daguan’s surprise, no last-
ing punishment was prescribed for adultery. ‘If the husband of an adulterous
woman is informed of what is going on, he has the lover’s feet squeezed be-
tween two splints of wood till the pain grows unendurable and he surrenders

65
 Lost Goddesses

all his property as the price for his liberation.’ Squeezing the head or feet in
a vice appears to have been a popular form of punishment. Me ayak, in con-
junction with four men, sold land that was not lawfully their own. Upon the
discovery of the fraud, the men and ayak had their heads and feet placed in a
vice and squeezed as punishment. two of the men died. punishment for one
member of a family often resulted in punishment for all. a slave called Varuna
ran away from the cult of the ragaguha. When caught, the religious and civil
administrators of the area cut off his nose and ears and offered him and his
mother and father into the service of the kanlong kamraten an. this may have
been why the parents of me ayak above, upon hearing of their daughter’s of-
fence and subsequent punishment, ‘frightened, ran off to hide’ rather than
suffer the same fate.75
Women were able to exercise a significant degree of choice in their lives.
they appear to have been able to remarry with comparative ease – in some
cases, before the death of their first husband. a woman named thun was en-
titled dhuli jerng kamsten śri, the highest title that could be awarded, when she
was first married. Some years later, during the reign of rajendravarman II,
she was given in marriage to a second man, a mratan khloñ. We do not know
whether her first husband had died, or whether this second marriage better
suited the political purposes of her family. a widow, Sok, took it upon herself
to arrange her second marriage. She asked the man concerned ‘to become the
master of her house’; her grandfather gave him a horse and other goods, four
umbrellas for the man’s father, and Sok went to pay her respects to him. When
all was settled, Sok’s name was changed to me Mani and she was married to
the man of her choice. Zhou Daguan recorded that in the thirteenth cen-
tury, when a daughter was born, it was customary for the parents to exclaim
‘May the future bring thee a hundred, a thousand husbands!’76 this could,
of course, refer to future existences, but even in this context it is interesting
that good wishes did not exhort that the girl be reborn as the partner of her
husband.
Of course, remarriage was probably encouraged because of the role it
played in facilitating alliances between families. this may also have been
why sati, the practice of consigning a widow to her husband’s funeral pyre,
was not practised in classical Cambodia. there is only one extant reference
to an occurrence of sati, in an inscription of the late tenth or early eleventh
century which names a tan kamraatn an Sativarti. Cœdès was convinced that

66
 Behind the Apsara

the woman was a princess, due to her title, and that she immolated herself at
the cremation of her husband. however, the name could equally mean ‘the
virtuous one’ without necessarily referring to immolation. there are abstract
references to sati in the inscriptions. One described lack of faith as ‘the same
as a stupid woman, who on the point of entering in the fire to die there, asks
herself whether all this torment will get her anywhere’. another related that
when ‘the wife of Kama [the god of love] saw the unparalleled beauty of the
body of the king [Suryavarman I] … she did not want to subject herself to the
fire’ of her husband’s funeral pyre.77 perhaps sati was never popular due to the
benefits that remarriage of the widow could bring her family; gifts of textiles
and other goods were given to the families concerned as part of the marriage
celebrations.
Sexual autonomy seems to have been exercised by women to a high de-
gree, at least amongst women who were not born into the royal family. Zhou
Daguan was told that Cambodian women were not likely to remain faithful in
the absence of their husbands:
everyone with whom I talked said that the Cambodian women are highly
sexed. One or two days after giving birth to a child they are ready for inter-
course: if a husband is not responsive he will be discarded. When a husband
is called away on matters of business, they endure his absence for a while; but
if he is gone as much as ten days, the wife is apt to say, ‘I am no ghost; how can
I be expected to sleep alone?’ though their sexual impulses are very strong, it
is said some of them remain faithful.78
this is at odds with the inscriptions, which stress the importance of fidelity
of women after marriage. Virginity is also the subject of conflicting views.
One inscription speaks of a king’s infatuation with a woman ‘of perfect body,
of irreproachable face’ waning when he realised that she was ‘already deflow-
ered’. Jayavarman VII was pleasurably aroused by ‘a virginal and enchanting
wife, awkward in revealing her charms’. according to Zhou Daguan, however,
brides and grooms often had pre-nuptial intercourse without social reprisal.79
there was one rule for the elite and another for the rest of society.
a ritual defloration practice called chen-t’an by the Chinese was popular
at the end of the thirteenth century. Conducted by both Buddhist monks and
Brahmans, according to the religious orientation of the girl concerned, once a
year authorities selected a day auspicious for the ceremony and notified fami-
lies that had girls between seven and eleven years old. Such families would

67
 Lost Goddesses

then engage the services of a priest of their choice – elite families usually
securing more senior officials. these were permitted to perform one deflora-
tion per year. they were presented with gifts including rice, wine, cotton, silk,
areca nuts, and silver plate. the amount given corresponded to the means
of the family. Wealthy persons seeking to acquire merit would sponsor very
poor girls.
two pavilions hung with brilliantly coloured silks have been set up; in one
of these is seated the priest, the maiden in the other. Words are exchanged
between the two, but they can scarcely be heard, so deafening is the music, for
on such occasions it is lawful to shatter the peace of the night. I have been told
that at a given moment the priest enters the maiden’s pavilion and deflowers
her with his hand, dropping the first fruits into a vessel of wine. It is said that
the father and mother, the relations and neighbours, stain their foreheads
with this wine, or even taste it. Some also say that the priest has intercourse
with the girl; others deny this … . at daybreak the priest is escorted back
home with palanquins, parasols, and music, after which it is customary to buy
the girl back from the priest with presents of silk and other fabrics; otherwise
she becomes his property forever and cannot marry.
there are echoes here of the prescribed ritual of purification following
the consummation of marriage in classical India, wherein the Brahman was
presented with the bloodstained bed cloth. he alone could absorb the dan-
gerous impurities of the blood; if he did not, the groom faced destruction.
Yet in the Cambodian context it appears that the ritual of defloration marked
a coming of age. Zhou Daguan concluded his description of the defloration
ritual by saying that, whereas before the ceremony the girl and her parents
had always shared a bedroom, afterward ‘the room was closed to the young
woman, who went wherever she pleased, with no constraint’. this is hardly
in keeping with the Brahmanical maxim that ‘women must be particularly
guarded against evil inclinations’.80 there were clearly differences between
what was acceptable for women of the royal family, as representatives of the
land who through access to their bodies permitted the land to be ‘ruled’, and
the habits of those in other divisions of society.
©
It may appear that women in classical Cambodia lost some of the power and
significance they had previously enjoyed, but the patriarchal timbre of the

68
 Behind the Apsara

epigraphic and sculptural record after the ninth century did not impact greatly
upon the status of women relative to either men or their counterparts in the
preceding period. elite women continued to be perceived as the intermediar-
ies by which access to the land was granted. the women of the palace had a
variety of important roles and functions for which they were well compensat-
ed in social standing and material assets. In fact we may interpret the women
of the palace and the neak khloñ as institutions that provided women with an
avenue for enhanced status and privilege denied to men. Women continued
to own and dispose of land and goods, including slaves. Matrilineal reckon-
ing persisted in society, overlaid with bilateral variations when necessary to
establish political legitimation. Men and women were active members of
Cambodian society, participating in religious and economic life; slaves were
not treated with any discernible degree of difference according to gender, and
punishments for men and women were similar. a contrast existed between
the ideal society, as depicted by the conservative Brahmanical elite in inscrip-
tions and sculpture, and the reality of everyday life in the classical period.

Notes to Chapter 3
1 Most histories of Cambodia that touch upon the classical period indicate that the kings
after the tenth century were usurpers or otherwise unrelated. See for example George
Cœdès, The Indianized states of Southeast Asia, trans. Susan Brown Cowing, honolulu:
east–West Center press, 1968, pp. 114–122, 134–139, and D.G.e. hall, A history of South-
East Asia, 4th ed., London: Macmillan, 1981, pp. 120–127. the latest edition of David
Chandler’s A history of Cambodia, however, incorporates new insights into the possible
antecedents of these kings drawn from recent epigraphic analysis (4th ed., Colorado:
Westview press, 2007, pp. 42–61).
2 K. 214, verses a6–a7, IC 2, pp. 202–206; K. 772, verse 2, IC 7, pp. 104–105; K. 111,
verses 44–45, IC 6, pp. 195–211; K. 230, verses a2–a4, IC 6, pp. 241–242; K. 225, verses
2–4, 14, IC 3, pp. 66–69.
3 Michael Vickery, Society, economics, and politics in pre-Angkorian Cambodia: The 7th–
8th centuries, tokyo: the Center for east asian Cultural Studies for UNeSCO, 1998, p.
140.
4 K. 263, verse C14, IC 4, pp. 118–139; K. 286, verse s10, IC 4, pp. 88–101; K. 263, verse
a4.
5 K. 675, verse s7, IC 1, pp. 61–68.
6 K. 834, verse B72, IC 5, pp. 244–269.
7 K. 191, verse B29, IC 6, pp. 300–311.
8 K. 485, verse 48, IC 2, pp. 161–181; K. 205, verse 5, IC 3, pp. 3–11.

69
 Lost Goddesses

9 K. 218, verse 10, IC 3, pp. 45–53; K. 263, verse C3; K. 111, verse 16; K. 692, verse C39,
IC 1, pp. 227–249; K. 661, verses a19, a22, a24, IC 1, pp. 197–219; K. 287, verse 24, IC
4, pp. 235–253; K. 834, verses 61–63; K. 485, verse 6, IC 2, pp. 161–181.
10 K. 286, verses 11 and 12.
11 Zhou Daguan, The customs of Cambodia, trans. J. Gilman d’arcy paul, 2nd ed., Bangkok:
Siam Society, 1992, p. 5.
12 K. 273, verses 6–7, in George Cœdès, ‘La stèle de ta prohm’, BEFEO vol. 6 (1906), pp.
44–81.
13 K. 286, verses 11 and 12.
14 History of the Liang, in paul pelliot, ‘Le Fou-nan’, BEFEO vol. 3 (1903), p. 256.
15 K. 235, verse 71, in George Cœdès and pierre Dupont, ‘l’Inscription de Sdok Kak thom’,
BEFEO vol. 43 (1942–1943), pp. 57–134.
16 K. 235, verses 70–77.
17 K. 162, verses n10–n11, IC 6, pp. 101–106; K. 989, ll. B18–B19; K. 989, ll. B33–B34, IC
7, pp. 164–189; K. 842, verses a13–a14, IC 1, pp. 147–157; K. 263, verse C24; K. 258,
verse C4.
18 K. 832, verse 6; K. 276, ll. 17–19, IC 4, pp. 153–154.
19 K. 832, verse 9.
20 K. 806, verses 6–8, 12–13, IC 1, pp. 73–137.
21 K. 143, ll. a2–a6, IC 6, pp. 218–223; K. 143, ll. B15–B17; K. 669, ll. D25–D26, IC 1,
pp. 159–186; K. 444, ll. B20–B23; K. 276, ll. 4–6; K. 257, ll. s29–s31, IC 4, pp. 140–150;
George Cœdès, ‘Inscriptions de Banteay prav: Inscription du pièdroit nord du la tour
centrale (221)’, IC 3, p. 57.
22 K. 806, verse 280.
23 K. 806, verse 281.
24 K. 231, ll. 7–13, IC 3, pp. 72–75.
25 K. 231, ll. 7–13, 38–43, 44–53.
26 K. 257, ll. s7–s11; George Cœdès, ‘Inscription de prasat Car ((K. 257)’, IC 4, p. 140; K.
143, ll. B15–B17.
27 K. 263, verse C24; K, 669, ll. B1–B9, ICI, pp. 167–168; K. 263, ll. B16–B17; K. 669, ll.
D37–D3; K. 263, verse C30; K. 669, ll. D25–D26.
28 K. 380, ll. w11–w21.
29 K. 380, l. e3.
30 George Cœdès, ‘Études Cambodgiennes 9: Le serment des fonctionnaires de
Suryavarman I’, BEFEO vol. 13, no. 6 (1913), pp. 11–17; Michael Vickery, ‘the reign of
Suryavarman I and royal factionalism at angkor’ Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 16, 2
(1985), pp. 226–245.
31 K. 380, l. w18.

70
 Behind the Apsara

32 K. 782, l. n1–n6.
33 K. 989, ll. B31–B33.
34 K. 782, ll. n1–n6; K. 989, verse a26.
35 Cœdès, ‘Inscription du piédroit nord du la tour centrale (K. 221)’, p. 57; K. 660, ll. 4–6,
IC 1, pp. 195–19; K. 989, ll. B5–B8.
36 Vickery, ‘reign of Suryavarman I’, p. 244.
37 One argument is that Jayaviravarman went to Bali, where his brother Udayadityavarman,
or Udayana as he was known in the Balinese context, was ruling.
38 K. 380, ll. w11–w21; Lawrence palmer Briggs, The ancient Khmer empire, philadelphia,
pennsylvania: the american philosophical Society, 1951, p. 148; K. 222, ll. 6–7, 9, IC 3,
pp. 61–64; K. 221, l. 20, IC 3, pp. 57–61.
39 K. 208, verse 13, ll. 58–59, IC 6, pp. 287–292; K. 235, verse 74; K. 219, ll. 6–13, IC 7, pp.
45–47; K. 208, ll. 48–50.
40 K.273, verses 8–11.
41 K. 271, ll. s1–s2; George Cœdès, ‘Études Cambodgiennes 24: Nouvelles données
chronologiques et généalogiques sur la dynestie de Mahidharapura’, BEFEO vol. 29
(1929), p. 169; K. 384, ll. 3–11, in Cœdès, ‘Nouvelles données chronologiques et géné-
alogiques sur la dynestie de Mahidharapura’, p. 172.
42 K. 249, ll. 9–10, IC 3, pp. 97–99.
43 K. 191B, verse 28.
44 K. 191B. verses 31–32.
45 K. 191, verses B39, B46, B33.
46 K. 191, verse B28.
47 K. 485, verses 100; 33–34.
48 Éveline porée-Maspero, ‘Nouvelle etude sur la nāgī Somā’, Journal Asiatique 238 (1950),
pp. 237–267.
49 Michael Vickery, ‘Funan reviewed: Deconstructing the ancients’, BEFEO 90–91
(2003–2004), p. 118.
50 K. 287, verses 20–21; K. 491, verse 11, IC 2, pp. 183–185; K. 287, verse 76.
51 Zhou Daguan, The customs of Cambodia, p. 5.
52 ann Kumar, ‘Imagining women in Javanese religion: Goddesses, ascetes, queens, con-
sorts, wives’, in Barbara Watson andaya (ed.), Other pasts: Women, gender and history in
early modern Southeast Asia, honolulu: University of hawai‘i press, 2000, p. 96.
53 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, p. 72.
54 K. 449, verses 44 and 45, in George Cœdès, ‘Études Cambodgiennes 11: La stèle de
palhal’, BEFEO vol. 13, no. 6 (1913), pp. 43–52.
55 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, p. 13.

71
 Lost Goddesses

56 K. 956, ll. 42–44, IC 7, pp. 128–135.

57 K. 92, verse 10; K. 989, verse a26.
58 K. 158, verse a13. K. 989, ll. B33–B34. K. 989, ll. B14–B16. K. 692, verse B29.
59 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, p. 13.
60 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, pp. 13, 33.
61 K. 216, verse 4; K. 754, verses 5–7; K. 136, verse a20, IC 6, pp. 284–286; K. 158, l. a4;
Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, pp, 72–73.
62 K. 956, ll. 46–49; K. 956, ll. 52–56; K. 774, ll. 1–7; K. 754, verses 5–7; Zhou Daguan,
Customs of Cambodia, p. 7.
63 K. 258, verse C7; K. 485, verse 59; K. 485, verses 79–80; K. 485, verse 73.
64 K. 485, verses 98–99; K. 216, verses 6–7; K. 216, verse 5; Zhou Daguan, Customs of
Cambodia, pp. 30, 43.
65 K. 54/55, verse I.3, ll. 5–6, 7, IC 3, pp. 157–163; K. 77, verse 4, IC 4, pp. 47–48; K. 89, ll.
13; K. 128, l. 7, IC 2, pp. 87–88; K. 240, ll. 6–9, IC 3, pp. 76–77; K. 774, ll. 1–7; K. 270, ll.
s1–s2, IC 4, pp. 68–73; K. 669, ll. C31–C32; K. 214, verses a6–a7; K. 370, ll. 7–8, IC7,
pp. 58–59.
66 K. 157, verses a9–a10, B11–B13, B19, IC 6, pp. 123–127; K. 754, verses 5–7, in George
Cœdès, ‘etudes Cambodgiennes 32: La plus ancienne inscription en pali du Cambodge’,
BEFEO vol. 36 (1936), p. 16; K. 216, verses 8–9.
67 K. 675, verse s17; K. 660, ll. 4–6; K. 165, ll. n4–n7, n17–n20; K. 219, ll. 6–13; K. 450, l.
11; K. 887, verses 6–7, IC 5, pp. 153–155; K. 956, ll. 7–32; K. 989, ll. B13–B14; K. 230,
C & D.
68 K. 158, ll. C8–C16.
69 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, p. 20; K. 221, ll. 2–9; K. 222, ll. 7, 8–9; K. 89, ll.
28–29, IC 3, pp. 164–169; K. 222, ll. 2–3.
70 K. 105, ll. 28–29.
71 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, p. 20.
72 K. 139, ll. B11–B13, IC 3, pp. 176–179; see also K. 192, ll. 6–17, IC 6, pp. 128–130; K.
238, ll. B4–B6 (left), IC 6, pp. 119–122; K. 105, l. 25; K. 832, verse 10; K. 221, ll. 15–17;
K. 713, verses a28, a35–a36; K. 61, verse a4, IC 7, pp. 20–22; K. 254, ll. B25–B28;
K. 143, ll. C1–C3; K. 89, ll. 18–19; K. 989, ll. B8, B10–B11; Zhou Daguan, Customs of
Cambodia, pp. 20, 21.
73 the term nak, in Malay, translates as ‘child’. K. 137, ll. 6–9, IC 2, pp. 115–118; K. 66, l.
B6; K. 89, ll. 24–25; K. 444, ll. B2–B4, B7–B9; K. 245, ll. 10–15; Zhou Daguan, Customs
of Cambodia, p. 11.
74 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, pp. 13–14, 39, 69.
75 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, pp. 33, 67; K. 158, verse a27, B31–B32; K. 231, ll.
1–6; K. 231, ll. 7–13; K. 158, verse a27, B31–B32.

72
 Behind the Apsara

76 K. 989, ll. B24–B26; K. 245, ll. 10–15; Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, pp. 18–19.
77 K. 468, l. n11; George Cœdès, ‘Inscriptions des prasat Khlon’, IC 3, p. 227; K. 111, verse
88; K. 218, verse 13.
78 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, p. 15.
79 K. 56, verse B18; K. 485, verse 6; Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, p. 19.
80 Zhou Daguan, Customs of Cambodia, pp. 15, 19; Werner F. Menski, ‘Marital expectations
as dramatized in hindu marriage rituals’, in Julia Leslie (ed.), Roles and rituals for Hindu
women, London: pinter, 1991, p. 57; Laws of Manu, 9, verse 5.

73
 Chapter FOUr

Goddesses Lost?

T he royal court moved away from Yaśodharapura in

the middle of the fifteenth century and was relocated
repeatedly in the ensuing centuries until the sack of
phnom penh by the thai in 1772. the intervening period has re-
ceived relatively little attention from historians, largely due to the
paucity of sources.1 No magnificent temples were constructed;
inscriptions gave way to palm-leaf records, few of which survived
into the colonial period. the perception of these centuries as a
period of political and cultural decline is expressed in the term
usually employed to describe it, ‘post-angkorian’. the implication
is that the centuries after the capital had been moved elsewhere
had no character of their own, that they can be defined only in re-
lation to the classical ‘angkorian’ period. More broadly, Southeast
asia between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries is designated
‘early modern’, yet this is not appropriate in the Cambodian con-
text.2 Whilst new religions and technologies were brought to
Cambodia by the first europeans in the sixteenth century, these
did not usher in an era of modernisation, as occurred elsewhere
in Southeast asia. a better alternative for the period, as advocated
by ashley thompson, is ‘middle Cambodia’, first used over thirty
years ago by Saveros pou to describe the language of Cambodia
during this time, and later re-employed by Khing hoc Dy to
describe a historical period.3 although theravada Buddhism be-
came the dominant religion and europeans became tangentially
involved in Cambodian politics at this time, very little changed for

74
 Goddesses Lost?

women in Cambodia; in fact, a female presence is more clearly discerned than

in the preceding period.
Theravada Buddhism
the shift from Brahmanical religions to theravada Buddhism had been oc-
curring gradually in Cambodia for some time before the middle period. It
was during the middle period, however, that Cambodian ways of life began
to reflect predominantly Buddhist beliefs and traditions. the ‘conversion’
of Cambodia to theravada Buddhism at first only added a thin veneer of
Buddhist beliefs to Cambodian culture. the role of the king as intermedi-
ary between mundane and celestial worlds was unchanged. Brahmans con-
tinued to occupy important positions at the courts of theravada Buddhist
and Muslim kings in Southeast asia. In Cambodia, existing architecture
and sculpture were converted into spaces for Buddhist iconography. thus
in the fifteenth century, a reclining Buddha was carved into the rear of the
Baphuon temple at angkor, a monument originally constructed to house
the golden linga that represented the sovereignty of Udayadityavarman II
(r. 1050–1066). the earliest extant Cambodian literature from the middle
period reflects similar Buddhist characteristics. this comprises the royal
chronicles, the Cambodian version of the Ramayana, called the Ramakerti or
Reamker, and the cbpab, normative poems that described the correct way for
society and its members to act. It does not necessarily follow, however, that
the cbpab recorded for the first time in the middle period reflect a Middle
Cambodian innovation.4 In all likelihood, codes of conduct existed in earlier
periods, when they would have embodied Brahmanical notions. as shown in
previous chapters, admonitions for correct behaviour are discernible in the
subtext of many early inscriptions, yet Cambodian society does not appear to
have followed them verbatim. Nevertheless, cbpab constituted the key texts
for Cambodian pagoda schools and in state education curricula well into the
twentieth century, although they enshrined the values of a minority – their
elite (male) authors.
the cbpab provided models for a harmonious society, predicated upon
the correct observance of action for all its members.5 everyone had their par-
ticular dharma, or duty:
the sangha must devote themselves to the holy vinaya,
Women should be devoted to a high standard of conduct,
people must always strive never to commit evil.6
75
 Lost Goddesses

Many cbpab were concerned with ensuring domestic accord. Cbpab Preah
Rajasambpir describes a good man as ‘having a happy wife and home, children
who obey their father, slaves who bring themselves to their master to hear
his orders’. the text goes on to advise householders that ‘three things sully a
home: the deeds and behaviour of a wife who loses her temper beyond rea-
Thai and Vietnamese expansion DAI
Conquest of northern Champa (15th C) VIET
Conquest of southern Champa (17th C)

Conquest of SE Cambodia (18th C)

Middle Cambodia
L

D
A

A
N

I
Sukhothai �

V
X

IE
A
N
M

T
G
on

M
I A
s

C
Mekong

H
AM
Ayutthaya �
ons
M

PA
Yaśodharapura
� (Angkor)
Battambang
�
Tonle Sap Samron Sen
�
Longvaek
�
Udong �� � Srei Santhor
Phnom Penh

� Saigon

© NIAS Press

Fig. 4.1: Middle Cambodia. adapted from Jan M. pluvier, Historical Atlas of South-East Asia and
other written sources.

76
 Goddesses Lost?

son; precocious children who do not follow advice; a slave who hides so that
he cannot be ordered to work’. this maxim is reflected in a contemporaneous
inscription. In 1702, an oknha, or high-ranking official, listed the existences
that he would like to avoid in his future incarnations. One of his demands was
that he ‘avoid a bad wife and a home without peace that would make me very
ap
éS

? Kompong Svay
Tonl

Kompong Cham
�
lé Thom (Meko
Kompong Trâlach Ton ng)
�
Longvaek �

Udong �
�

Preah Vihear Suor

�
� Koh Khlok
Lovea Em
Phnom Penh � �

Me Prei Veng
ko
�
Kien Svay
ng �
�
Kompong Speu

Ba
ti
Phnom Saang
�

Phnom Chisor Ba Phnom

� �
(Vyadhapura)
To
nlé
Bassac

Prei Krâbas �

Tr
ea
ng

� = sacred mountains Angkor Borei � © NIAS Press

Fig. 4.2: the heartland of Middle Cambodia.

77
 Lost Goddesses

unhappy’. according to Cbpab Trineti, a wife ‘organises the household with

a firm and loving hand. Goods acquired by hard work may be placed in her
hands; she minds them with economy and without any loss’. this appears to
be a Cambodian version of the duties of a wife as described by the historical
Buddha; the Rajabhisek of Jai Jettha II also warned women that to act in ways
that made them kheadak bhariya, jao bhariya, and satru bhariya (menacing,
thieving or enemy wives) would cause them to go to hell.7
Cambodian Buddhist texts, like those throughout South and Southeast
asia, are ambiguous in their representations of women, at times seeming to
consider them forces for good, at others designating them corruptors of soci-
ety. ‘Good’ women, according to the cbpab, were virtuous wives and nurtur-
ing mothers. this was also reflected in the court chronicles. King paramaraja
III (r. 1599–1600) attempted to seduce the wife of another by offering her
wealth and status, and when these inducements failed, used physical force.
She resisted, thinking ‘it is not proper to allow [a woman] to unite herself to a
second man after a first, or she will not be a woman who is virtuous, grateful
and faithful to her husband’. ‘Bad’ women, on the other hand, were wanton,
sexually preoccupied, and immoral, incapable of attaining enlightenment
themselves and seeking to distract others – namely diligent men – from their
own spiritual journey. ‘Women who have lost their virtue’ were unable to fol-
low the path of Buddhism. perhaps, as alan Sponberg has argued in the South
asian context, these seeming contradictions carried ‘a multiplicity of voices,
each expressing a different set of concerns current among the members of the
early community’.8
One of these voices in middle Cambodia articulated a significant role
for female figures in theravada Buddhism. Cambodian Jataka, stories of
Buddha’s lives, depart from Indian models in depicting women for the most
part as intelligent, active, and dignified, and detailing the consequences for
men who do not treat women as their equals. adhémard Leclère described
a very old text he had discovered in a Cambodian pagoda at the end of the
nineteenth century that spoke of a female bodhisattva, sister of the Buddha
tibangkar, who earned her status for her meritorious acts toward her brother.
In his footnotes, he said that this was a tenet peculiar to the Cambodian con-
text; he had never come across such a prediction in any other country or liter-
ary tradition. Buddha images themselves could become infused with ‘female-
ness’; a wooden statue of the Buddha, dating to the seventeenth century, was

78
Goddesses Lost?

said during the colonial period to have

become the dwelling-place of a female
neak ta or ancestor spirit called Neang
Khmau, ‘black lady’. Cambodia is one of
the few places where the earth goddess,
preah Neang Dharani, has enjoyed en-
during popularity (see Fig. 4.3); excised
from iconography elsewhere, she has
maintained a presence from at least the
late twelfth century in Cambodia, when
the king Jayavarman VII caused her im-
age to be included with other members
of the Buddhist pantheon in four of the
temples erected during his reign.9
this egalitarian approach to gen-
der translated into the mundane realm
as well. Buddhist women in middle
Cambodia seem to have been perceived
as spiritually equal to their male coun-
terparts. One of the cbpab says that ‘in
being born human, dharma is the only
concern to men and women’. another
suggests that gender is immaterial:
‘Whether you are born male or female
in this world, the wise say to obey your
masters, to ensure that unclean sub-
stances do not touch you and contami-
nate you, and that you must endure the
consequences of your actions.’ Further
evidence of spiritual equality is the fact
that spouses performed meritorious
deeds in tandem, the merit accruing to
both or to other persons. Kalnyakesar, a

Fig. 4.3: Neang preah Dharani (photograph by the

author).

79
 Lost Goddesses

jamdev or high-ranking lady of the court, accomplished meritorious deeds in

order that the merit might transfer to her deceased husband. the inscription
reveals that she expressed a wish that she be reunited with her husband in
each reincarnation until she obtained the level of arhat and was able to enter
enlightenment. this may indicate that theravada Buddhism in Cambodia
reflected very early Buddhist practice in India, when women were not pre-
cluded from attaining the highest spiritual level of arhat, although in later
times rebirth as a woman indicated punishment for bad deeds in the previous
life.10
Mothers and fathers were both accorded great respect in the cbpab. One
cbpab speaks of the difficulties in being ‘affectionate and protective mothers
and fathers’. another advises children to ‘listen to the words and recommen-
dations of your parents’. Mothers, however, were accorded special considera-
tion in connection with novice monks. Cbpab Kram advises novice monks to
act in accordance with the rules of the sangha so that merit could be acquired
by their padhyay (spiritual preceptor) ‘with your mothers as well as your fa-
thers’. Novices were also admonished against arguing or contradicting their
padhyay as ‘he is equal to your mother’. the special relationship between
mothers and novices was reflected in the practice of entering ‘adopted’ sons
into the monastic life. Six people, three men and three women, donated one
golden and three silver statues of the Buddha and a banner to a temple. then,
‘filled with sympathy and compassion’, they committed a young slave boy to
the monastery. One of the three donors adopted him ‘as if he were a son of her
own’. Not only did merit accrue from the act of releasing a slave from bond-
age; the act of placing the boy in a monastery resulted in significant merit
for the adoptive mother. eleven years later, the same woman travelled across
the tonlé Sap with her family in order to visit relatives living at angkor. In
addition to making donations of statues and banners, they placed two more
children in the monastery in order to receive instructions as novices. IMa
39 records that an oknha gave his son Kan to Buddhism and then paid for his
immediate release. the congregation was asked to record the merit of those
that entered into religion.11 Merit, then, was something that both men and
women could acquire through various activities.
Women could also be ‘entered into religion’. although the bhikkhuni
order, in which women were ordained as counterparts to monks, is conven-
tionally believed to have died out in Sri Lanka around the twelfth century,

80
 Goddesses Lost?

and a century later Zhou Daguan commented that there were no nuns of any
sort in Cambodia, there appears to have been a contemporaneous tradition
of female asceticism in that endured in Southeast asia. the thai chronicles
speak of ‘Nak Chi’, in ayutthaya, who was originally of Cambodian extraction.
Neak chi today means ‘holy person’ in Khmer. there is a reference in middle
Cambodian inscriptions to elite women ‘entering into’ religion. Some time
after 1747, an oknha and his wife, aunt, sister-in-law, and two nieces travelled
to angkor, where they made donations to the monks. then the women – but
not the oknha – were ‘entered as neang chi’. Saveros pou and David Chandler
both translated this term as ‘nuns’. there is no other reference to neang chi or
daun chi, the term given to lay nuns in modern Cambodia, in any other mid-
dle Cambodian text. the merit that the women received for having spent this
time as neang chi was transferred to the spiritual benefit of others.12 there is
a resonance between this practice and that of the kantai kloñ of the preceding
periods. perhaps this was the purpose of the kantai kloñ as well – to make
merit for someone else, who would then attempt to progress in samsara, the
cycle of birth and rebirth, to a greater degree than they would otherwise have
been entitled to. It appears, therefore, that a social institution for Cambodian
women continued without cessation for over a thousand years.
there were also male and female upasika, laypersons who observed
precepts and did good deeds. at times husbands and wives would perform
pious acts together. One such couple, Naga and pan, paid for the construc-
tion of a temple compound complete with a college for monks. the complex
was called Wat Me Pan after pan herself, who was described as ‘a slave’ of
Buddhism. another spousal endowment came from abhayaraj and his wife
Dhamm in 1566. they manufactured images of the Buddha in gold, silver
and stone, restored a chedi, planted a grove of sacred trees, and commissioned
copies of Buddhist texts. It was also common for women to perform good
deeds alone. Manumission of slaves was a popular method of acquiring merit.
the dying wish of a woman of high rank was that a certain slave be freed.
two other women, ‘their hearts full of dharma’, freed another slave in 1698.
phnom penh itself was alleged to have been established as a consequence of
an act of Buddhist piety by a woman named penh, who lived on the banks of
the confluence of the tonlé Sap and Bassac rivers. One day, after the flood-
waters had receded, she found four statues of the Buddha and one of Vishnu
in a koki tree. She brought them to her house and established a shrine for

81
 Lost Goddesses

them there, exhorting the neighbouring people to construct a small phnom

(hill) near her house and a sanctuary on top of it. She placed the four Buddha
statues in the sanctuary, the statue of Vishnu at the foot of the hill, to the east,
and invited monks to come and establish a monastery at the foot of the hill
on the opposite side.13 a statue of Me penh is today honoured at Wat phnom
(see Fig. 4.4).
Neang hiem, ‘inspired to accomplish good deeds’, invited monks to
perform a ceremony at angkor Wat in order to drive away misfortune and
obstacles and ensure the prosperity of the beneficiaries. twenty years later,
hiem completed another act of piety, this time freeing a slave. another wom-
an, Neang paen, had performed good deeds ‘from the age of sixteen to her
present age [44]’. these acts included the construction of seventeen statues
and one painting of the Buddha in diverse materials; the making of nine ban-
ners, three platforms, and an umbrella; the construction of over a thousand
stupas; the ordination of nine youths; the fabrication of five religious texts;
the offering of five monks’ robes and forty monks’ vatthabandh, lengths of

Fig. 4.4: Me penh (photograph by the author).

82
 Goddesses Lost?

cloth worn over the robe; and providing candles and combustible materials
for the use in temples and monasteries.14
elite women were particularly zealous in the accomplishment of merito-
rious acts, undoubtedly due to their greater resources. an inscription dated
1577 was executed at the command of the queen mother:
I here profess my good works … I, the queen mother Mahakalynavatti Sri
Sijhata, princess of noble birth, devout maha-upasika [lay Buddhist]. I pros-
trate myself at the noble lotuses that are the feet of the revered triple Joy who
is our lord, our supreme refuge … . My heart full of dharma, I have regularly
accomplished many pious acts, up until the present, that is to say the year of
the Ox 1499 śaka.15
these pious deeds included using her influence to convince her son the king
to restore angkor Wat. having meditated on the impermanence of existence
and the physical form, she cut off her ‘luxuriant hair’ and burned it, scattering
the ashes over the statues of the Buddha. In 1684, a consort of King Jai Jettha
III (r. 1677–1702) erected gold, silver and leaden statues of the Buddha, had
a banner and a dais made, and caused five manuscripts to be copied, all of
which she gave to a monastery. She also gave furniture, clothing, food, and
utensils for the monks’ use. the merit of these acts she directed to her hus-
band. One maxim of Cbpab Preah Rajasambhir, therefore, reflected reality:
‘In order to form an estimate of a queen, one must look at her pious acts’.16
the widespread acceptance of theravada Buddhism during the middle
period did not result in a wholesale privileging of male interests to the detri-
ment of women. pre-existing traditions prevailed. Women continued to make
donations to religious establishments, alone and in conjunction with their
husbands and families, according to their means. Male and female slaves con-
tinued to serve in religious establishments. Women continued to be ‘entered
in religion’, perhaps in a continuation of the kantai kloñ tradition of the pre-
classical and classical periods. the only discernible difference was that the
establishments were Buddhist, not Brahmanical. Similarly, despite the textual
construction of women as dangerous forces, this is no different from earlier,
Brahmanical codes of conduct that stressed virginity and fidelity. the cbpab,
written by elite men, often monks, reflect the way that the authors believed
a correct society should operate. It is difficult to judge to what extent their
influence was effective, but the available evidence contradicts any notion of
inferiority or submission on the part of Cambodian women.
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 Lost Goddesses

Patron princesses, querulous queens

elite men and women at court acted as patrons for poorer relatives and ru-
ral clients. Women were thus integral members of the khsae networks upon
which power depended. rural elite and their dependents would offer respect,
services and gifts to their patrons at court in return for assistance, protection,
and accommodation. Keo Keng Nya, the Cambodian wife of the Lao king
Fa Ngum, was the ‘benefactress and protector’ of the companions-in-arms
of the king, many of whom were Cambodian. patrons spoke for their clients
when they brought suit. In the middle of the seventeenth century, Chong
Damrey, a mohat or indentured servant of the preah ek khsatri (first princess,
elder sister of the king), was selling cucumbers in phnom penh when he was
set upon by a gang of youths. he told them that he was a mohat; a woman
nearby, frightened, told them to beat him to death so that there would be no
reprisal. he eventually escaped and told the princess, who complained to her
brother the king. an inquiry was put in motion and the perpetrators brought
to justice. the woman who had urged them to kill the mohat had her mouth
mutilated for daring to speak against a servant of the royal family.17 at other
times, a patron might be of financial use to their client. In 1738, the ill-fortune
of a young prince was reversed by a wealthy female patron:
In the year of the Snake … a tragedy occurred; [the nephew] found himself
completely impoverished. his aunt, jamdev ratnakanya, and her niece, Neang
Sa, made a sambal hul and a jacket which they dispatched to the prince at the
fortress of Longvaek. [as soon as he had received these] the latter travelled
hastily to rejoin his family as Samron Sen … . there he re-encountered his
aunt and relations to the seventh degree of kinship. he then married Neang
Bau, a young woman of means and with masses of clients and slaves, after
which he returned to the capital … . [the king] generously promoted the
prince to the rank of oknha Surendradhipati and Neang Bau to the rank of
jamdev Sriratnakesar.
Neang Bau, who had ‘masses of clients’ of her own, was probably Neang
Sa, daughter of the prince’s aunt mentioned earlier in the passage, as the title
bestowed upon her by Dhammaraja incorporated elements of the titles borne
by the prince’s aunt and mother.18
Clients, in their turn, supported their patrons in their endeavours, even
when this meant turning against the king. Queen ang Li Kshatri, forced to
marry padumaraja II (r. 1672–1673), had him assassinated by Cham and

84
 Goddesses Lost?

Malay clients whom she had inherited through her mother, herself of Cham
or Malay extraction. pretending to be sick, she asked the king for permission
for a group of her retainers to be admitted to the palace, so that they might
prepare medicines and attend to her in the night. padumaraja II agreed. Once
the king had retired, ang Li Kshatri ordered the contingent of Cham and
Malay people to find and kill the king as he slept.19 an anuj khshatri, ‘young
queen’, established a court at Samron Sen in the eighteenth century, attended
by members of the royal family, the children and nephews and nieces of the
king. When King Jai Jettha IV died in 1729, his son Dhammaraja was at the
thai court, where he had been since 1710. ang Im, married to Dhammaraja’s
sister, ruled with Jai Jettha between 1710 and 1722. he then abdicated in
favour of his son, Sattha, married to his wife’s half-sister, another daughter of
Jai Jettha, named Sijhata. ang Im took the throne again in 1729 but abdicated
the following year. Sattha ruled from Longvaek until some time after his fa-
ther’s death in 1736, when Sijhata and her relatives sought to oust him. thai
and Cambodian sources indicate that Sijhata was in Samron Sen around the
time of events recorded in IMa 39. there seems little doubt, therefore, that
the anuj khshatri was Sijhata.20
the same inscription speaks of a maha-kshatri, ‘great queen’, who was
‘born the daughter of the king kaev hva’. an oknha was instructed to march
against the maha-kshatri in 1747. he was successful, ‘routing her completely.
… he captured the lady and a mass of goods, and escorted her to the king
in order to prostrate herself and offer her slaves and her belongings.’ the
chronicles are silent on this episode. the inscription relates that in 1737 a
kaev hva who was a rajaputri touch (‘lesser prince’) was at Longvaek. he was
well-disposed towards supporters of Dhammaraja. Chandler proposed that
this kaev hva was Cun, a nephew of Dhammaraja, and the maha-kshatri was
his daughter. he suggests that Cun’s relatives were offended when his title,
kaev hva, and his widow were distributed to two of Dhammaraja’s own sons
when Cun died in 1743, and that his daughter led them in a rebellion against
Dhammaraja.21 pou and Chandler both translate maha-kshatri as ‘princess’ in
their studies of the inscription, although, if we are to understand anuj khsatri
as ‘young queen’, the meaning of maha-khsatri is ‘great queen’. the implica-
tion is that the maha-kshatri was more powerful than Sijhata had been.
ang Im (r. 1710–1722 and 1729–1730) had been given the title kaev hva
by his wife’s father, King Jai Jettha, in 1699. although he assumed the title of

85
 Lost Goddesses

ubhayoraj, ‘former king’, when he abdicated in 1730, he was usually referred

to as kaev hva. a daughter of ang Im old enough to lead a rebellion in 1747
must have born by 1727, before ang Im became the ubhayoraj. She would
have been, therefore, ‘born the daughter of the king kaev hva’, as it says in the
inscription.22 Such a daughter would have a basis for legitimation through her
mother, a daughter of King Jai Jettha, and her father, who had clearly been a
popular ruler, as he reigned twice and his death resulted in immediate rebel-
lion. the maha-kshatri posed a considerable threat to Dhammaraja’s attempts
to establish his own legitimacy; thus, he ordered his oknha to eliminate her.
the Cambodian chronicles, composed in the court of the victor, would not
be expected to mention the fact that Dhammaraja had encountered political
opposition from his half-sister. It does indicate, however, that as had been the
case in earlier periods, royal women who represented the interests of certain
factions were recognised as legitimate rulers.
the most powerful woman at court was undoubtedly the mother of the
king, who could determine succession. this was not a peculiarly Cambodian
phenomenon; Queen Maha thevi ruled the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang from
behind the throne for nearly a decade following the death of her husband,
‘making and murdering a succession of puppet kings’. Queen Devikshatri,
chief queen of paramaraja I (r. 1556–c. 1570), orchestrated the accession
of two of her grandsons. the thai sack of Longvaek in January 1594 had
thrown middle Cambodia into confusion. King Sattha (r. c. 1570–1594), son
of King paramaraja I (r. 1556–c. 1570) and queen Devikshatri, had moved
to Srei Santhor in 1593, leaving Longvaek in the hands of his half-brother,
Suriyobarna. the thai king took Suriyobarna and his court to Siam. ram
Jerng prei, a lesser member of the royal family, took the opportunity to attack
Sattha at Srei Santhor in 1594, seizing the throne. Sattha fled to Laos with
his two eldest sons, Jettha and ton, and died there in 1596. the following
year, with the help of Spanish and portuguese soldiers, ram Jerng prei was
killed and ton took the throne, reigning under the name paramaraja II. the
latter died in 1599, upon which the youngest son of paramaraja I, an, acceded
under the name paramaraja III. he reigned until the end of 1600. Devikshatri
then proposed that her sixteen-year-old grandson, Nom, a third son of King
Sattha, ascend the throne. the ministers and court officials concurred and he
took the throne under the title kaev hva. three years later she turned upon
her grandson. after consulting with the oknha, she sent a message to the

86
 Goddesses Lost?

thai king, asking that her husband’s second son, Suriyobarna, be returned to
Cambodia, as he would make a better king. the thai king complied and sup-
ported Suriyobarna in winning over the populace. Devikshatri ‘called all the
ministers together and consulted with them … [then] stripped her grandson
prince Nom of sovereignty, gathered the royal family and the court, and of-
fered the throne to Suriyobarna’, who reigned under the name paramaraja IV
(r. 1603–1618).23
powerful and effective queen mothers seem to have had their rights
enshrined in law during their lifetimes. the 1596 Cbpab kram chakrei (‘Law
regarding elephants’), composed when Devikshatri was at the height of her
power, states that the only people who were permitted to own elephants, in
addition to the king himself, were ‘the queen mother; the ubhayaraj, the un-
cle of the king; the brother, son, or daughter of the king; the queen or a titled
wife; a prince or princess of a preah moneang; or an aunt or uncle of the king’.
Jai Jettha III, who ruled five or six times between 1677 and 1702, abdicated
in 1687 in favour of his mother Queen tey. She remained there for a mat-
ter of months before returning the throne to her son. In 1693, immediately
after her short reign, two laws were composed, Kram srok (‘Law of the land’)
and Kram seh (‘Law of horses’). these list the most important people in the
country as the king, the king’s father, the queen mother and the uparaj, and
state their entitlements to certain privileges and revenues.24 Queen mothers
were usually the daughters of previous kings. a staggering number of liaisons,
marriages and re-marriages between kings and the daughters of other kings –
usually their sisters, nieces or aunts – were recorded in the chronicles.
One story, referring to events that are legendary rather than historical,
related that prince padum, son of King Cakrabattiraj, was told that in order
to perpetuate the royal line, he must leave the monastery and conceive a son
with princess Sobhavatti, who was either a half-sister of padum himself or a
sister (and possibly a lesser wife) of his father. Once the child was born, he re-
turned to his religious pursuits.25 Jai Jettha II (r. 1618–1627) wished to unite
his son, Dhammaraja, and daughter, ang Vatti, half-siblings, but the marriage
was postponed until Dhammaraja completed his monkhood. Upon Jai Jettha
II’s death, his younger brother, the ubhayoraj paramaraja Udaiy, married ang
Vatti, renaming her Mae Your Vatti. a century later, prince Cun’s widow was
remarried to a son of the incumbent king, Dhammaraja. there are many
other examples of such unions between royal siblings in Cambodia, although

87
 Lost Goddesses

elsewhere in Southeast asia first cousinship was the closest degree permitted.
Such marriages were desirable because marriage with a royal princess gave the
groom a legitimate claim to the throne, and usurpers, on occasion, took this
avenue. thus ram Jerng prei (r. 1594–1597) ‘was seized with ambition and
wished to dispute the throne to take the consorts and wives’ of King Sattha.
Suriyobarna, later King paramaraja IV (r. 1603–1618), ‘secretly had sexual
relations’ with Sujata, his younger sister, making her his principal queen.
another of these situations had arisen in the sixteenth century, when a Malay
official in charge of the coast during the reign of paramaraja II (1597–1599)
‘seriously offended the king by surreptitiously taking with him one of the
king’s sisters and living with her against the king’s will’. the king ignored this
transgression as he was relying on the official to keep the coast safe for the
Spanish emissaries whom he had dispatched to Manila for military aid. the
official was described ‘a very malicious man’ who was waiting for an opportu-
nity to kill the king ‘and to stir up the kingdom to revolt’.26
princesses had to be carefully watched lest they provide an avenue for an
upstart to gain the throne. this was why, as the Rajaphisek of Jai Jettha II related
in 1618, the queen was the first of the seven treasures that marked a cakravartin.
the chronicles recounted a story in which a fifteen-year-old princess allowed
a fisherman to come to power. Suvarnamali, sister of King Suvarna padum, a
legendary king, fell in love with the sixteen-year-old son of the chief of a fishing
village and took measures to ensure that her brother the king could not interfere
with her choice, imperiously informing the boy and his family of her wishes,
constructing a fortified palace and placing soldiers at the ready to protect her
and her bridegroom. She also bestowed a title, sdec prades raj, on her husband,
paying no heed to the protestations and advice of her counsellors. happily, ‘the
king eventually forgave his sister her transgression’ and after his death the court
decreed that her husband should ascend the throne.27
royal women were accorded particular posthumous honour in the mid-
dle period, perhaps in a continuation of the kanlon kamraten an of earlier
times. Upon the death of the queen of the legendary King Cakrabarti, her son
erected a pavilion in which her body lay in state for five days. after the crema-
tion, the king took his mother’s ashes to the temple of Lolei, where they were
interred. another version of the chronicles relates that this king, ‘thinking of
the merits of the royal lady his mother,’ ordered statues erected on phnom
roung in the likeness of his mother and the Buddha contemplating nirvana,

88
 Goddesses Lost?

‘enlightenment’. the name of the statue of the queen mother was Srei Krup
Lakkhana, ‘Lady full of virtues’. When Sobhavatti died, her two sons held
funeral ceremonies for her ‘in the popular tradition’. the same text adds that
‘in that place, under the reigns of the subsequent kings, people gave offerings
to the revered royal queen’. Many other examples of such treatment of royal
women are referred to in the chronicles. Others, however, were not so lucky;
according to hann So, King ang Non III (r. 1775–1779) had one of his oknha
killed. the oknha’s mother incited her remaining four sons in the provinces to
rebel against the king in retaliation. the oknha Baen allegedly captured her,
tethered her ‘like a cow’, and forced her to crawl on all fours and eat grass until
she died.28
there are numerous accounts of royal princesses travelling to and from
Southeast asian kingdoms in order to cement political alliances between
courts.29 a Cambodian princess became the principal queen of Fa Ngum,
founder of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang. King Sattha (r. c. 1570–1594)
fled to Laos with his two eldest sons following a disastrous rout by the thai.
according to Gabriel Quiroga de San antonio, the Lao king ‘greeted him
warmly, showed him deep friendship and, as a gesture of close alliance and in
order to ratify mutual good will, the Cambodian king’s eldest son married the
Lao king’s eldest daughter. the kings, princes, and, generally speaking, the
whole kingdom were very satisfied’.30 a Nguyen princess, ang Chuv, was mar-
ried to the Cambodian prince Jai Jettha in order to form an alliance. towards
the end of his reign, Suriyobarna (paramaraja IV) (r. 1603–1618) summoned
his oknha and expressed his fear that the thai would again invade Cambodia
unless an alliance was made with hué.
‘It is proper that we contract an alliance with the kingdom of the Vietnamese
and that we ask for the hand of ang Chuv, the daughter of the Vietnamese
king, to be the royal wife of Jai Jettha. thus, our friendly relationship will
be strengthened. If the Siamese raise troops to come and attack us, we will
take troops from the Vietnamese kingdom to help us make war.’ accordingly,
envoys and gifts were dispatched to the Vietnamese court. the Vietnamese
king consulted with his advisors, saying ‘If our royal daughter was to become
the wife of the son of the Khmer king, and if she had a son and if he ascended
the throne, he would submit to our will, as he is part of our line.’31
Members of the Cambodian royal family would be ‘invited’ to the thai
court, ostensibly for education or protection, following events in Cambodia

89
 Lost Goddesses

that necessitated an incumbent ruler seeking assistance from Siam. the real-
ity was that the co-operation of Cambodian kings would be assured as long
as their wives, sisters, and children were at the mercy of the thai king. after
the sack of Longvaek in 1594, the thai king asked the Cambodian prince,
Suriyobarna, ‘to assemble his wives, princes, princesses, advisors and min-
isters, in order that they accompany him to the thai capital in a gesture of
goodwill.’ although reluctant, Suriyobarna agreed, his ministers advising him
that there was nothing else to be done if peace with Siam was to be preserved.
accordingly, most of the court, including the two crown princes, Jai Jettha
and Udaiya, and a princess, eng Chanda Bopha, went to ayutthaya. the thai
king had suitable accommodation erected to house the Cambodian court,32
which consisted not only of the Cambodian royal family, but their retainers
and courtiers. For this reason it was inevitable that some cross-cultural as-
similation occurred amongst the thai and Cambodian elite.
Marriages between Cambodian princesses and the first europeans to
become embroiled in Cambodian politics can also be seen as political alli-
ances of this nature. the first european to visit Cambodia was a portuguese
missionary, Gaspar de Cruz, in the 1550s. a Spanish priest, antonio de
Magdalena, visited angkor around 1585 or 1586. he recounted his experi-
ences to Diogo do Couto, the official historian and archivist in Goa at the
end of the sixteenth century, who wrote them into a history of asia around
1611. the Spanish and portuguese accounts indicate that King Sattha (r. c.
1570–1594) was particularly well-disposed towards the europeans, espe-
cially Diego Veloso and Blas ruiz. the chronicles relate that he called them
his ‘adoptive sons’. this amicability undoubtedly stemmed from Sattha’s fear
of the thai, who had launched a moderately successful attack on Longvaek in
1583. the portuguese and Spanish had gunpowder technology and the latter
reserves of soldiers stationed in the philippines. Sattha’s eagerness to please
the european contingent is evident from his expression of a wish to convert
to Catholicism. he entreated the Spanish and portuguese to go to Manila ‘to
request for and to bring friars for that purpose as well as soldiers if necessary’.
the king pressed copious gifts upon the portuguese and Spanish, marrying
Diego Belloso to one of his cousins and giving him and his heirs jurisdiction
of the province of Ba phnom. ruiz received the province of treang.33 Gifts
of wealth and land, elevated titles, and alliance through marriage were what a
Cambodian oknha would receive as a reward for his services.

90
 Goddesses Lost?

Life at court
the necessity of establishing and maintaining alliances through marriage, as
we have seen in the previous chapter, resulted in large numbers of women
residing in the ‘women’s apartments’ of kings, princes and officials , usually
of differing ethnicities, backgrounds and appearances (see Fig. 4.5). King
Jai Jettha II (r. 1618–1627) had Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian queens.
Women at court were given titles and ranks according to their birth and the
status of their family. a document describing the coronation of Suriyobarna
in 1603 spoke of women titled preah snang, the preah moneang, the sroengkar
bhariya, the ak yeay chastum, and the jamdev khoneang, ‘clothed in magnifi-
cent sampot, in ivory, wearing the crown of their rank’.34 the accession of a
new king must have been an anxious time for the court; it was within the
scope of the new king, the day after his own coronation with the principal
queen, to withdraw, confirm or redistribute ranks and entitlements amongst
the nobility and the women of the palace, including the wives of officials.
Cbpab khon sala, devised in 1723, stated that ‘those who have received titles
and marks of honour from the king and who have never given any service’ and
wherein inheritance of titles and land was devolved upon a jamdev, ‘the deci-

Fig. 4.5: Women of the palace. Mural, royal palace, phnom penh.

91
 Lost Goddesses

sion is left to the king’. the court ladies greeted him upon his return from the
coronation by prostrating themselves at the king’s feet and saying ‘We pray
of you, receive us; we are always at your feet, and we come to offer you our
bodies and our lives, we place ourselves under your authority until the end
of our lives’. the women who had comprised the king’s household before his
coronation were elevated to new titles as a matter of course. the four preah
snang thom, the highest level of royal wife after the queen, received the title
preah moneang; the second rank of preah snam became preah neang; the third
rank, neak moneang; and the fourth, neak neang. the queen, known as preah
socheat kshatriya eng (‘first princess’) before the coronation, would be known
as samdech preah pheakka vati srei socheata (‘royal revered flower, the virtuous
lady’) afterward, although this varied from king to king.35
the king Viroraj married a princess, Neak Neang Des, and bestowed upon
her the new name and title preah Mandadevi sobha lakkhana maha-kshatri.
paramaraja III, seeking to seduce the wife of a provincial official, elevated her
to the rank of preah moneang in an attempt to persuade her to co-operate. ang
Chuv received the title ‘royal lady Bhagavatti vara-kshatri’. It was also possible
to have two principal queens simultaneously. padumaraja II (r. 1672–1673)
made his own wife, Dhita, ‘left-hand’ queen; the widow of the previous king,
ang Li Kshatri, he took as his ‘right-hand’ queen. the female relatives of kings
also benefited. ramadhipati gave his mother a title and permission to use a
gong to summon the elderly to the door of her palace; he also gave her an
elephant named Kraysasey for the park, a three-tiered throne, four umbrella
bearers, and sixteen men for her entourage. ang Li Kshatri was elevated to a
higher rank of nine sakh by her nephew in 1659, and authorised to have two
bearers, four men to carry her umbrella, and eight men for each her right- and
left-hand entourage. the families of women raised to new ranks in this man-
ner would benefit as they would be in a better position to offer patronage
– in other words, they would become imbued with more potential to effect
change through their close relationship with the king.36
the ‘favourite’ of the king was not necessarily the consort of highest
birth. the favourite would remain in that position as long as no younger and
prettier claimant came along. anna Leonowens, writing of the thai court in
the 1770s, said that the consort that loved King Mongkut the most, thiang,
‘contrived to be always in favour with the King, simply because she was the
only woman among all that vast throng who really loved him, though at no

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 Goddesses Lost?

period of her life had she ever enjoyed the unenviable distinction of being the
favourite’. the favourites were always described as beautiful. according to the
chronicles, such was the power of the favourite that other women concocted
potions and charms that would enable them to outshine their competition.
they also seem to have resorted to poisoning their rivals, as a special tribunal
was charged to examine matters involving women of the palace who were
suspected of being ap (witches) or poisoners.37
Some royal women were charged with conducting judicial inquiries, such
as ang Li, who was authorised to investigate a case in which a woman, me
Loeu, and her husband, a Ngoun, were decapitated by another man on the
pretext that they were practitioners of black magic, after which he confiscated
their belongings. On another occasion she sent oknha to judge a matter in the
provinces on her behalf. Such was ang Li’s renown for legal matters that in
1693 her nephew the king asked her to recount all she knew of past judicial
custom so that they might compose a new law code for the future; she ‘de-
clared that she was very happy that her nephew wished to know the ancient
laws’ and suggested he then call together all the astrologers, teachers and wise
persons at the court to restore the law.
Other women of the palace played diplomatic roles. hong Lysa observed
that in the thai court ‘palace women were positioned at the interstices of the
domestic domain and the sphere of court affairs’. this was also true of the
Cambodian court in the middle period. a neak moneang, ‘lesser queen’, sent
girls who were ‘instructed, intelligent and trustworthy’ in order to persuade her
brother Kan to cease his rebellious ways and return to her husband’s court. In
1600, paramaraja III attempted to seduce Neang Dev, wife of a provincial offi-
cial. When she rejected his advances, the king had her imprisoned and chained,
ordering the women of the palace to speak with her and convince her to com-
ply with his wishes. Dhammaraja I (r. 1627–1632) ‘charged elderly ladies who
knew how to speak to take [a letter] to princess Mae Your Vatti, without the
knowledge’ of her husband. Women of the palace also acted as chaperones and
attendants. at the time of her marriage, ang Chuv was attended into the palace
by ‘one hundred elderly ladies, one hundred young girls, daughters of court of-
ficials, and also a certain number of royal consorts and women of the palace.’
Older women were also sent on pilgrimages with queens.38
at times, however, their role was more ceremonial. at the coronation
of Suriyobarna in 1603 ‘male dancers, female dancers and orchestras played

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 Lost Goddesses

throughout the first seven days’. the srei snang, followed by srei kanha (young,
unmarried girls), ‘were all clothed in brocaded cloth of red and sequins of
ivory, covered in rings, golden bracelets and gold chains’ and proceeded in
two columns before the king on his way to the coronation. In the bedchamber,
women were to enter bearing items signifying prosperity, including plates of
betel, cigarettes, gold trays, sampots, goblets, jewellery and perfumes; the four
wives of preah snang rank then each busied herself with her particular task.
One would present him with a cat of three or more colours; the others would
bring a statue, an elephant tusk or rhinocerous horn, and the fourth would
wash his feet. Upon the death of a king, the women of the palace were ordered
to cry continuously and to play the death-drums.39
Despite the privileges that came with becoming one of the king’s consorts,
women in the Cambodian court were required to observe a strict prohibition
on their interaction with men. Sexual infidelity was more than a betrayal of a
woman’s personal obligations as spouse of the king; it was political treason,
as these women were also ambassadors of their family’s fealty and interests.
It was illegal for anyone except the king to have sexual relations in or near the
palace and heavy penalties were in place for those who transgressed. a man
named Krak was caught fornicating with the wife of an employee of the royal
treasury; he had to pay a fine of 3 anching and 17 damlong. the same rules
were in place for officials of the king. around 1660 oknha Yos chased a bird
into the apartments of neak neang Bos, who had him arrested. the judge de-
termined that he was at fault and should be executed; the king intervened and
spared his life as he was unarmed. a scale of punishments were in place for
women of the palace who dared to entertain lovers, or even to communicate
by ‘fluttering eyelashes’ with men in the world outside. this does not seem to
have deterred them, however. a special tribunal could be convened to try not
only erring women who quarrelled and spoke ill of the queen or other wives
of the king, but the ak yeay chastum (old women of the palace) and others
who acted ‘as go-betweens and panderers for women of the palace’.40
elite women were active participants in political and social life of mid-
dle Cambodia, deciding matters of succession, acting as diplomats and
confidantes, and orchestrating policy. they continued to own property and
donate to religious establishments, despite the overtly patriarchal timbre of
the royal chronicles and didactic literature. although, as occurred elsewhere
in Southeast asia, the court records imply that the involvement of women

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 Goddesses Lost?

in the political realm had ill effects for the kingdom,41 careful reading of the
sources reveals a continuing equality between women and men of the same
social bracket in middle Cambodia.

Beyond the palace walls

the evidence indicates a relatively egalitarian existence between men and
women beyond the palace walls. everyone, irrespective of gender, who lived
outside the palace or the provincial forts, was at the mercy of those within.
at any time, men might be called up for corvee labour or military service;
women might be required to accompany armies as supply personnel. pretty
girls were destined for presentation to the households of powerful local elites
as signs of fealty; these could then send the women on to the king as a sign of
their own loyalty, or keep them in their own service. When a new king came
to power, oknha actively scouted for favourable additions to his retinue. two
oknha reported to the legendary king paksiy Cham Kru that the daughter of
the Cham king Sendra II was ‘very pale and very beautiful. the princesses
of the royal palace have nothing like her equal.’ they went on to relate that
the princess had two ladies-in-waiting who had already been approached by
the oknha’s envoys and were kindly disposed towards them. It was virtually
impossible for ordinary Cambodians to refuse the demands of the elite. King
Nom (r. 1600–1603), who ascended the throne at the age of sixteen, sent his
oknha and servants to nearby villages in order to bring back the daughters
and wives of the inhabitants for his pleasure. If the women resisted him, he
ordered them imprisoned; if one of them did not please him, he would ‘order
a page to unite himself to her in front of her husband’s very eyes’. his grand-
mother, Queen Devikshatri, removed him from power for his behaviour. In
1600, paramaraja III forgot ‘his royal consorts and the ladies of the palace; he
forgot his reputation and all criticism’ in his pursuit of Dev, allegedly trying
‘to seduce Dev in different ways’. the chronicles describe the four kings who
ruled Cambodia before paramaraja IV (r. 1603–1618) as ‘menacing young
girls and women’.42
Women seem to have been constantly at risk of seduction and interfer-
ence, given the detailed punishments for transgressions against them laid out
in the legal codes of the middle period. One wonders, indeed, if men had
anything else on their minds; Cbpab tous bhariya (‘Law on matters concern-
ing wives’), derived from a very old pali text, mentions, amongst other ill

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 Lost Goddesses

deeds, the man ‘who goes to another’s house, and, seeing the wife of that man,
mimes urinating in speaking to his wife so as to tempt her’ and he who ‘seeing
a woman go into the forest to empty her bowels’ attempts to take advantage of
the remote location. Men who violated ‘the daughters of others in an isolated
place’ were to pay a fine of 1 anching and 5 damlong ‘so that other men will
be less audacious and less tempted to follow this example’. When the women
involved were kramom, girls who had reached puberty but were still virgins,
the penalties were higher. at particular risk were the girls indentured in the
houses of wealthy men. Women were regularly placed in the households of
the local elite as collateral against loans taken out by their parents and other
relatives. their work would pay the interest on the loan until the sum was
repaid in full. the laws were explicit as to the prohibition concerning masters
taking advantage of women in their employ. If an unmarried girl was violated
against her will, the law allowed her to leave the house without her relatives
having to repay the loan. If the woman was married, she could leave and her
husband bring suit against her master for compensation.43
Sexual activity that took place outside a ‘legitimate’ union was regarded as
an outrage against the girl’s meba, a term that can refer to parents and relatives
more generally, but in this context means ‘ancestors’, specifically of the mater-
nal line. Usually the displeasure of the meba was manifested in a sudden and
serious illness befalling a male relative of the girl concerned. he would only
recover once the meba had been appeased. this could occur through marriage
of the offending parties (even when intercourse occurred through force). If the
man refused to marry the girl, he would be invited to sampeah kmouch, ‘salute
the spirits’, in a ceremony in which both the man and girl made offerings to
the meba and asked for forgiveness, or by leang komus, ‘washing away the stain’,
wherein the man would pay a fine of varying amounts depending on whether a
child resulted from the union, the status of the girl, and so on. Cbpab khon sala
relates a case in which a girl stole the sampot of her lover and offered it to the
ancestors by way of appeasement, after which her master, cured of his illness,
compensated the man double the value of the sampot. Cbpab tumnam boran
warned of dire consequences for those who transgressed against the meba.
Chan, a free man, refused to appease the meba of pou, his lover; her brother
Kong fell ill. Ney, Kong’s wife, begged Chan to make an offering to the meba but
he continued to ignore her pleas. Kong died and Ney complained to the king,
who ordered Chan to assist with the funeral and to pay 30 damlong, two-thirds

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 Goddesses Lost?

of which went to the widow, the remainder to pou; he was then placed in the
king’s slave retinue as punishment for his bad conduct.44
Marriage gave women status and legal protections. those that persisted in
flaunting social convention and living with a man without her meba’s permis-
sion were completely in his power. there were three categories of legitimate
wife, differentiated by the type of ceremony and the status of the woman. the
prapuon thom, ‘principal wife’, was the wife of first rank. She would be married
in a large wedding ceremony, attended by both sets of parents, and elaborate
and numerous gifts given to the bride’s family. after her marriage, she would
be referred to as Neang, a polite title designating her marital status. Prapuon
thom seem to have been virgins upon their marriage. this characteristic put
them at risk in their first pregnancy if their husbands happened to be evil
men. In the second, third or fourth month of gestation, the father of the child
might trick his wife into saying the words ‘this is your child, do with it what
you will’; he would then take her to a remote part of the forest and remove the
fetus, killing the mother in the process. he would then dehydrate the fetus,
known as koan kroach, ‘smoked child’, over a ritual fire and wear it around
his neck in a small bag, from where it would advise him of potential danger.
the frequency of koan kroach occurrences is not recorded, but the penalties
for the men who made use of their wives in this way were severe. perhaps
the egalitarian nature of the law in middle Cambodia encouraged women to
speak out against their husbands. Cbpab tumnam pi boran tells of a woman
who discovered that her husband had stolen Buddha statues from a nearby
wat and informed on him. the king rewarded her with clothes and a family of
slaves. Women could also stand in for their husbands in court, as ‘the law says
“a husband and wife are the one person” and that “what is won or lost by one
is won or lost by the other”.’45
Free women who were not eligible to be prapuon thom were known as
prapuon stoeu, prapuon kandal, or anuj bhariya, ‘middle’ or ‘lesser’ wife.
although the law codes are not explicit, prapuon kandal were probably wom-
en who had been married before or who had been married under irregular
circumstances such as abduction or a premarital sexual liaison. the meba
could solemnise a union after the fact, in which case the wife was known as
a nea nea bhariya, ‘wife by alternative means’ or tean resey bhariya, ‘wife out
of charity’. Should a father refuse his consent but the couple obtain it from
the woman’s mother, she was known as a patoe kan bhariya, ‘wife in spite of

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 Lost Goddesses

objections’. the only difference between prapuon thom and prapuon kandal
lay in the degree of ceremony involved; prapuon kandal could be obtained
simply by a gift of goods to her relatives, with no official ceremony.46
the final category of spouse was the prapuon jerng or prapuon touch, ‘end’
or ‘least’ wife. Prapuon jerng were women who had been taken as the spoils
of war, members of ethnic minorities, relatives of rebellious oknha whose
punishment was the enslavement of their family, convicted criminals, or
those who had been born to a slave. Women within this category would serve
the household as cooks, cleaners, preparing food, manufacturing cloth, sew-
ing, tending to small-scale agricultural and animal husbandry, and assist in
marketing good produced. Female slaves would also be offered to household
guests in gestures of hospitality and goodwill. as numbers of european mer-
chant ships and their crews increased in Southeast asia in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, female slaves became commoditised, sent out from
the household to engage in sex-for-cash transactions, the proceeds of which
were returned to their master or mistress. No doubt many were ill-treated by
their masters. Cbpab tumnam pi boran tells the story of a slave, Sok, who made
her master Som a samlor trey, or fish stew. Upon discovering a frog in his food,
he became angry and beat her until she bled. Sok ran away but was retrieved
by an oknha who returned her to her master.47
the law may have frowned upon masters taking advantage of their female
slaves, stating that women who were violated were free to leave, but it was
not always possible for them to do so. In the early seventeenth century, a girl
named Ou was placed in the household of a provincial official as surety for
the sum of 100 anching her parents borrowed. When they went to repay the
oknha and reclaim their daughter, he refused to see them, instead sending an
intermediary to tell them that Ou was busy weaving. they returned the next
day but this time the oknha said that he could not allow Ou to leave as one of
his slaves had died and he was very sad. the third time, he said that he was
troubled because his children were sick and Ou was needed to tend to them.
Finally, after the king and queen had intervened, the oknha was forced to pay
an enormous fine to the court and Ou was released to her parents without
having to repay the 100 anching. Cbpab tous bhariya, whilst stipulating that
women who were abused were permitted to leave, adds that ‘if, despite the
outrages of her master, the woman stays in his house’, the master could then
decide whether or not to marry her. this was also the case if the brother,

98
 Goddesses Lost?

son or nephew of her master was involved. the laws are contradictory on
whether or not it was necessary to appease the meba. Cbpab tumnam pi boran
stated that it was; thirty years later Cbpab khon sala was equally clear that
men were not required to fulfil this obligation unless illness arose, because ‘if
the girl has been pawned or sold, she is called me-hang [servant] and cannot
be dishonoured’. If he decided to marry her, however, any sum owed by the
woman’s relatives was expunged; similarly, they would not expect him to give
gifts or goods as would be the normal procedure. Married women who had
been slaves were titled Me-kha or Me.48
Should a man enter into a relationship with a woman who was the slave
of another man he was usually obliged to purchase her from her master.
Such women were also known as prapuon mecak, ‘bought wife’. an oknha
confiscated slaves from a Chinese merchant named Lak and had a sexual
relationship with one of them, pou, promising her that he would marry her.
he also gave her gifts of a sash and a sampot. When Lak reclaimed his slaves,
he noticed that pou was wearing unfamiliar clothing and asked her where she
had obtained them. pou confessed that the oknha had given them to her and
had promised to marry her. Lak complained to the king and the oknha was
obliged to buy pou for 3 anching and 17 damlong. the sum varied according
the remaining debt owed by the woman or her family, or the value placed
upon her life. When a free man, Ney, refused to marry Me preas despite her
pregnancy, the judge ordered him to support her until her delivery. If she died
as a result of the pregnancy or during childbirth he was obliged to pay her
master a sum that would allow Me preas to be replaced; if she survived, he was
to pay 10 baht to expiate the shame for the ancestors, and 5 damlong to her
parents, because they were of the same status as he. Once married, despite her
origin, the prapuon jerng was no longer considered a slave.49
Many europeans took prapuon jerng as temporary wives. the Cambodian
chronicles and foreign observers’ accounts refer to a large multicultural
population in and around the court during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, consisting of portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, english, Japanese, and
Chinese merchants and officials. the literature of almost every Southeast
asian polity is peppered with references to alliances between local women
and foreign men during this period.
Once they agree about the money (which does not amount to much for so
great a convenience), she comes to the house, and serves him by day as his

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 Lost Goddesses

maidservant and by night as his bedded wife. he is then not able to consort
with other women or he will be in grave trouble with his wife, but the mar-
riage lasts as long as he keeps his residence there, in good peace and unity.50
Barbara Watson andaya suggested that this practice was more prevalent
amongst non-royal families, as the purpose of alliances between royal families
was to establish long-lasting ties. Obviously, mercenaries and traders would not
be permanent fixtures in the region. Women arranged their own temporary
marriages in some places. Cambodian women, as was the case in most parts
of early modern Southeast asia, were responsible for day-to-day economic
transactions. a popular Cambodian maxim from the middle period was ‘do not
argue with women, do not make deals with government officials, and do not
enter into a lawsuit against Chinese.’ the mercantile skills of local women were
an asset to a foreign trader, but there were other benefits of acquiring a tempo-
rary wife, ranging from clean clothes to translation. temporary marriages were
conducted in the same manner as a permanent union. partners were expected
to behave with respect and fidelity towards each other. Local rules applied to
these marriages, with the relatives of the women concerned prepared to act on
their behalf should they be mistreated at the hands of their husband.51
the presence of more than one wife inevitably led to jealousy and com-
petition in the household. If the law codes are to be believed, women took
out their frustrations by quarrelling, murdering, and poisoning each other.
Women who committed adultery with the husband of another were required
to ‘take three bottles of rice wine, a sampot, areca and betel, a brass vase and
go to beg pardon of the wife of her lover and promise her that she will never
have relations with him again’. If she denied the allegation and it was later
proved to be true, she would be whipped in public and promenaded through
the streets for three days with a basket on her head, proclaiming ‘Yes, truly, I
am guilty’. this ridicule was meant to deter other women from following her
example. the law was, however, lenient toward wives who were deceived. If
a married man had relations with another woman and the wife caught them
and killed them in a fury, she was not guilty, according to Cbpab kaul batoup,
because ‘wives do not like it when their husband has another lover’. another
law stated that should ‘a husband with many wives, prapuon thom, stoeu, me-
kha, have relations with another woman, and his wives are very angry, and
one finds them and kills the lover with her own hand, one may punish the
husband and confiscate his goods’. Kram puok, written in 1697, stated that

100
 Goddesses Lost?

women who catch their husbands with another woman were entitled ‘to spoil
the face of the lover, whether with a small knife, or with a piece of broken
pottery’.52
Divorce was a relatively simple process for both men and women in
middle Cambodia, although in most cases both parties had to agree. there
were ten reasons to initiate divorce: the prolonged absence of a husband; the
abandonment of the wife by the husband; an incompatibility of character,
acknowledged by both parties; the introduction of a second wife into the
marital home without the consent of the first wife; the disappearance or re-
peated absconding of the wife; adultery of the part of the wife; justified aban-
donment; the refusal of the husband to please his wife; the sale of the wife
by her husband without her consent; and the sale of the husband by himself,
without the consent of his wife.53 Kram sauphea thipdey, ‘Law for magistrates’,
said that
if a husband does not love the prapuon thom he has taken, whatever her rank,
if he does not show her any consideration or he abandons the bed of his wife
for eight months and takes himself off to romance other women, the aban-
doned wife, if she wishes to divorce, must address a judge. Once that is done,
she may leave her husband’s house and marry another man. If the prapuon
stoeu or touch does not want to stay with him, she must inform the sauphea;
that done, she may leave.54
the extent to which a wife’s unhappiness was accepted as justification
for divorce is debatable; Cbpab Rajaneti warns of the possible disruption to
social harmony that would ensue should a jealous wife make plain her dislike
of her husband’s favourite slave-girl. abandonment was taken very seriously
in the law courts as women could go berserk in the case of a prolonged hiatus
from sexual fulfilment. an absence of between eight and twelve months
constituted an appropriate length of time for a wife to await her husband;
after this, she could consider herself a widow. She was prohibited from
marriage for another three years, the usual period that elapsed between death
and interment. Should a husband reappear after this, he would have to pay
for a new wedding ceremony. Men could also abandon their wives if they
took refuge in the house of another for more than a day, or if their wives were
charged with a crime and the husband refused to stand by her. In the latter
circumstance, women could seek assistance from another man, and, if they
were acquitted, could marry him without delay. Men who abandoned their

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 Lost Goddesses

wives, or women they impregnated, relinquished all rights to their children

as they had not ‘tended the mother, nor brought firewood [for the ceremony
of ‘smoking’ the mother after childbirth], nor hot and cold water which the
woman needs, nor necessary medications’.55
temporary wives taken by foreigners could thus consider themselves
abandoned or widowed after the prescribed length of time had elapsed, and
remarry. the length of a temporary marriage could last for months or years;
when the husband returned to his own country or left for duties elsewhere in
the region, he gave her ‘what ever is promised, and so they leave each other in
friendship’. the status of women who had been temporary wives actually may
have increased, as upon the dissolution of the union she would have been
in possession of a lump sum of capital, business connections, and probably
linguistic skills. Multiple sexual partners did not decrease the social worth
of women in most parts of Southeast asia in the pre-modern period, at least
amongst the non-royal families. Widows were, however, to refrain from tak-
ing another husband or a lover until their husband’s bones had been safely
interred. If she were to wait another seven months from this point, she would
be known as a kanlong theat, ‘good widow’. Women were also enjoined to
prostrate themselves, ‘cry, and behave sadly’.56
©
Little seems to have changed for women in Cambodian society in the middle
period. theravada Buddhism wrought changes to the outer form of religion
in Cambodia; the content remained remarkably similar to that of preceding,
Brahmanical periods. the social mores espoused in the cbpab differed little
from earlier codes, either in the representation of women as alternatively
nurturing and corrupting, or to the extent that these values were embraced
by Cambodian society as a whole. elite women continued to have influence
and resonance, as is evidenced by the establishment of satellite courts, the
involvement of women in matters of succession, and their presence within
khsae networks. the continuing significance of women of royal blood as liv-
ing embodiments of sovereignty is reflected in the numerous remarriages,
incestuous liaisons, and status-elevating unions detailed in the chronicles.
Women outside the palace seem to have received the same treatment as their
male counterparts. a european presence does not seem to have resulted in
a devaluation of women in Cambodian society; on the contrary, europeans

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 Goddesses Lost?

were assimilated into pre-existing Cambodian political and social frameworks.

although an increase in the numbers of foreign men undoubtedly led to a
commoditisation of sex in Cambodia, as occurred throughout Southeast asia,
and the people required to provide this commodity were women, europeans
were not responsible for the sexualisation of enslaved women; they had been
accommodating their masters and household guests in the same manner for
centuries. We must conclude, therefore, that the middle period was not the
epoch in which power was denied to Cambodian women.

Notes to Chapter 4
1 the Cambodian sources for the period between the fifteenth and late eighteenth centuries
are somewhat problematic. there are a handful of inscriptions which relate a significant
degree of detail concerning specific events. the earliest cbpab, didactic codes outlining
correct behaviour, were written at this time, and furnish some idea of how Cambodian
society operated. extant literature is rare, although a written version of the Cambodian
Ramayana, the Reamker, dates from the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Some law
codes from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have survived. the bangsavatar,
court chronicles, although purporting to record events from the beginning of Cambodian
history, must be used with care, as they were regularly updated upon the succession of
a new king, and could therefore be expected to undergo some revision in favour of the
new incumbent. the earliest portion of a court chronicle available dates from 1796. It is
probably best to regard the events described in the chronicles to the sixteenth century
as fictional, as Michael Vickery cautions (‘Cambodia after angkor: the chronicular
evidence for the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries’, phD thesis, Yale University, 1977, vol.
1, p. i). the rioeng breng or folktales, although doubtless indicative of earlier custom, have
not been used as sources in this chapter as they cannot conclusively be said to provide a
description of Cambodian society prior to the nineteenth century.
2 ashley thompson, ‘Introductory remarks between the lines: Writing histories of mid-
dle Cambodia’, in Barbara Watson andaya (ed.), Other pasts: Women, gender and history
in early modern Southeast Asia, honolulu, hawai‘i: Center for Southeast asian Studies,
University of hawai‘i at Mânoa, 2000, pp. 280–281, note 3.
3 Saveros Lewitz, ‘textes en kmer moyen: Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 2 et 3’, BEFEO
57(1970), pp. 99–126; Khing hoc Dy, Contribution á l’histoire de littérature khmère, vol.
1: L’époque classique (XVe–XIXe siècle), paris: l’harmattan, 1990, p. 24; thompson,
‘Introductory remarks’, pp. 47–68.
4 there are two categories of cbpab: Cbpab chah, ‘old cbpab’, written before the end of the
eighteenth century, and cbpab th’mei, ‘new cbpab’. the latter are usually compilations of
earlier versions, although Cbpab Srei, ‘Code of conduct for women’, will be discussed in
greater detail in subsequent chapters.

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 Lost Goddesses

5 David p. Chandler, ‘Normative poems (chbap) and pre-colonial Cambodian society’

[1982], in Facing the Cambodian past: Selected essays 1971–1994, St Leonards, New
South Wales: allen & Unwin, pp. 45–60.
6 Cbpab Trineti, verse 41, in Saveros pou and philip N. Jenner, ‘Les cpap’ ou <codes de
conduite> Khmers VI: Cbpab Trineti, BEFEO vol. 70 (1981), p. 151.
7 Cbpab Preah Rajasambpir, verses 30 and 40, in Saveros pou and philip N. Jenner, ‘Les
cpap’ ou , <codes de conduite> Khmers IV: Cpap rajaneti ou cpap’ brah rajasambhir’,
BEFEO vol. 65 (1978), pp. 374–375; IMa 38, verse 98, in Saveros pou, ‘Inscriptions
modernes d’angkor 34 et 38’, BEFEO vol. 62 (1975), p. 302; Cbpab Trineti, verse 30,
in pou and Jenner, ‘Les cpap’ ou <codes de conduite> Khmers VI’,p. 149; adhémard
Leclère, Les codes cambodgiens, paris: ernest Leroux, 1898, t. 1, pp. 59–60.
8 Barbara Watson andaya, The flaming womb: Repositioning women in early modern
Southeast Asia, honolulu: University of hawai‘i press, 2006, p. 78; Chroniques royales du
Cambodge, paris: École Française d’extrême-Orient, 1981–1988, vol. 3: De 1594 à 1677,
trans. and ed. Mak phoeun [hereafter Chroniques 3), pp. 79, 175; Cbpab Koan Cao, verses
41, 51, in Saveros pou and philip N. Jenner, ‘Les cpap ou <codes de conduite> khmers
III: cpap ‘ kun cau’, BEFEO vol. 64 (1977), pp.177, 179; Cbpab Preah Rajasambpir, verses
4, 6, 24, in pou and Jenner, ‘Les cpap’ ou <codes de conduite> khmers IV’, pp. 369–370,
373; alan Sponberg, ‘attitudes toward women and the feminine in early Buddhism’, in
J.I. Cabeson (ed.), Buddhism, Sexuality and Gender, albany, NY: State University of New
York press, n.d., pp. 3–4.
9 Muriel paksin Carrison (comp.), Cambodian folk stories from the Gatiloke, trans. Kong
Chhean, rutland, Vermont; tokyo, Japan: Charles e. tuttle, 1987, p. 16; adhémard
Leclère, Le Buddhisme au Cambodge, paris: ernest Leroux, 1889, pp. 223–224, note 6; ang
Chouléan, ‘Le sacré au féminin’, Seksa Khmer 10–13 (1987–1990), pp. 7–9; Madeleine
Giteau, ‘Note sur les frontons du sanctuaire central du Vatt Nokor’, Arts Asiatiques 16
(1967), pp. 136–137. See also elizabeth Guthrie, ‘Outside the sima’, Udaya: Journal of
Khmer Studies 2 (2001), pp. 7–18.
10 IMa 11, line 5, in Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 10–16c’, p.224; IMa 17,
lines 5–6, in Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 17–25’, p. 164; IMa 19, lines 4,
16, in Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 17–25’, pp. 173–174; IMa 21, lines
14–15, in Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 17–25, p. 179; IMa 29, line 2, in
Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 26–33’, p. 215; IMa 34, lines 1–5, in Lewitz,
‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 34 et 38’, p. 284; IMa 37, lines 5–6, in Lewitz,
‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 35, 36, 37 et 39’, p. 309; Sponberg, ‘attitudes towards
women and the feminine in early Buddhism’, p. 8; andaya, Flaming womb, p. 76.
11 IMa 23, lines 8–12, in Saveros pou, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24 et 25’, BEFEO 60 (1973), p. 184; Barbara Watson andaya, ‘Localising the
universal: Women, motherhood and the appeal of early theravada Buddhism’, Journal of
Southeast Asian Studies, 33, 1 (February 2002), pp. 1–30; IMa 12, lines 4–11, in Saveros
pou, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16a, 16b et 16c’, BEFEO 59

104
 Goddesses Lost?

(1972), p. 226; IMa 39, lines 64–70, in Saveros pou, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor
35, 36, 37 et 39’, BEFEO vol. 61 (1974), p. 321.
12 andaya, Flaming womb, pp. 76–77; helen Creese, Women of the kakawin world: Marriage
and sexuality in the Indic courts of Java and Bali, armonk, New York; London: M.e.
Sharpe, 2004, pp. 188–192; David p. Chandler, ‘an eighteenth century inscription from
angkor Wat’, Journal of the Siam Society vol. 59, no. 2 ( July 1971) p. 23; pou, ‘Inscriptions
modernes d’angkor, 35–39’, p. 324.
13 Chroniques royales du Cambodge, vol. 1: Des origines legendaires jusqu’à Paramaraja
Ier, trans. and ed. Mak phoeun [hereafter Chroniques 1], p. 283; Chroniques royales du
Cambodge, vol. 2: De Bona Yat à la prise de Lanvaek (1417–1595), trans. and ed. Khin Sok,
paris: École Française d’extrême-Orient, 1988 [hereafter Chroniques 2], pp. 102–105;
IMa 4, a, lines 6–15, in Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 4, 5, 6 et 7’, p. 108.
14 IMa16a, lines 11–12, in Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 10–16c’, p. 236;
IMa 35, lines 11–14, in pou, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 35, 36, 37 et 39’, p. 302;
Cœdès, ‘La fondation de phnom pen’, p. 8; IMa 26, lines 4–11, in Saveros Lewitz,
‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33’, BEFEO vol. 60 (1973), p.
206; Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 26–33’, p. 207, n. 17; IMa 28, lines 1–4, in
Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 26–33’, p. 212; IMa 32, lines 20–27, in Lewitz,
‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 26–33’, p. 227.
15 IMa 2, lines 1–10, French translation, in Lewitz, ‘textes en kmer moyen: Inscriptions
modernes d’angkor 2 et 3’, pp. 103–104.
16 IMa 2, lines 3–9, 16–21, in Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 2 et 3’, pp. 102–103;
IMa 30, lines 2, 11–16, in Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 26–33’, pp. 216–217;
Cbpab Preah Rajasambhir, verse 37, in pou and Jenner, ‘Les cpap’ ou <codes de con-
duite> Khmers IV’, p. 375; Justin J. Corfield, The royal family of Cambodia, Melbourne:
the Khmer Language & Culture Centre, 1993, p.16.
17 probably princess eng Chanda Bopha; Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1,
p. 128.
18 Chroniques 1, pp. 51–54; Chroniques 2, p. 103; IMa 39, lines 14–21 (French translation),
in pou, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 35, 36, 37 et 39’, p. 322; Chandler, ‘an eight-
eenth century inscription from angkor Wat’, p. 19.
19 an earlier king took steps to ensure that he would not have to convert to Islam before mar-
rying a Cham princess. according to a lesser chronicle, ‘he did not want to ask for the hand
of the princess in the usual manner as he would have to enter the religion of the Chams. a
neak ta accordingly spirited the princess two sin to the west of her father’s palace at mid-
night, whereupon the king, acting on the advice of the five pages, entreated her to come
with him. She accepted.’ the Cham king was killed in the ensuing battle and the Cham
princess became the principal queen. Chroniques 3, pp. 188–190, 192, 201, 207–208.
20 I have not seen the original inscription, but it seems clear that this is a corruption of
kshatri. pou translates this phrase as ‘the princess who was the younger sister of the king’
(‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 35, 36, 37 & 39’, p. 322). Chandler translates it as

105
 Lost Goddesses

‘young queen’ (‘an eighteenth century inscription from angkor Wat’, pp. 18, 22). Both
are correct, as Sijhata was the half-sister of Dhammaraja. See also IMa 39, lines 17–20, in
pou, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 35, 36, 37 et 39’, p. 319.
21 IMa 39, lines 11–13, Lewitz, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 35, 36, 37 et 39’, p. 319;
Chandler, ‘an eighteenth-century inscription from angkor Wat’, pp. 17–21.
22 IMa 39, lines 38–39, in pou, ‘Inscriptions modernes d’angkor 35, 36, 37 et 39’, p. 320,
and comments pp. 323, 324; Chandler, ‘an eighteenth century inscription from angkor
Wat’, pp. 18, 20–23.
23 Chroniques 1, pp. 51–54; Martin Stuart-Fox, ‘Who was Maha thevi’, Journal of the Siam
Society, vol. 81, no. 1 (1993), p. 103; Chroniques 2, p. 213; Bernard p. Groslier, Angkor
et le Cambodge au XVIe siècle, d’après les sources portugaieses et espagnoles, paris: presses
Universitaires de France, 1958, p. 19; Chroniques 3, pp. 76, 82–84, 88–89.
24 Cbpab kram chakrey, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 428; Ian harris, Cambodian Buddhism:
History and practice, honolulu: University of hawai‘i press, 2005, p. 43; hann So, The
Khmer kings, San Jose, California, n.p., 1988, p. 24; Kram srok, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1,
p. 120; Kram ses, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 444.
25 Chroniques 1, pp. 117–118; 241. another version of this story states that while padum
was meditating an ‘invisible god’ told him that he was predestined to conceive a son with
the princess Sobhavatti (Chroniques 1, p. 241, f.n. 5). the discrepancies between the two
texts are significant. In the official version a Buddhist context has been transposed onto
an earlier event; forest animals talk about the Buddha as opposed to a mysterious ‘god’
referring to predetermined events, which precludes karma.
26 Chroniques 2, pp. 186, 214–215; Chroniques 3, pp. 149, 152–153, 155, 168, 186; Creese,
Women of the kakawin world, pp. 120–132; Chroniques 2, pp. 186, 214–215; Chroniques 3,
pp. 149, 152–153, 155, 168, 186; Chroniques 1, p. 121; Gabriel Quiroga de San antonio,
A brief and truthful relation of events in the kingdom of Cambodia, based on the 1914 trans-
lation of antoine Cabaton, Bangkok: White Lotus, 1998, pp. 31, 38.
27 the other six treasures were ‘his horse, his elephant, his vehicle, his wise counsellor, his
trusted confidante, and the preah khan [sacred sword]’. Rajaphisek of Jai Jettha [1618],
in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 58; Chroniques 1, pp. 51–54; Stuart-Fox, ‘Who was Maha
thevi’, p. 103.
28 Cbpab Koan Cao, verse 66, in pou and Jenner, ‘Les cpap’ ou <codes de conduite> Khmers
III’, p. 182; Cbpab Preah Rajasampir, verse 3, in pou and Jenner, ‘Les cpap’ ou <codes
de conduite> Khmers IV’, p. 369; Cbpab Kram, verse 10, 16, in Saveros pou and philip
N. Jenner, ‘Les cpap’ ou <codes de conduite> Khmers V: Cpap’ Kram’, BEFEO vol. 66
(1979), pp. 136, 137; Nigrodhamiga-jataka, in The jataka, or stories of the Buddha’s former
births, vol. I, trans. robert Chalmers, Cambridge: Cambridge University press, 1957, p.
40; Chroniques 1, pp. 106, 242, 272 (57/8,c); Chroniques 2, p. 215; Chroniques 3, pp. 118,
177; hann So, Khmer kings, p. 28.
29 Creese, Women of the kakawin world, p. 46. See also Leonard Y. andaya, ‘Cultural state
formation in eastern Indonesia’, in anthony reid (ed.), Southeast Asia in the early modern

106
 Goddesses Lost?

era: Trade, power, and belief, Ithaca, New York; London: Cornell University press, 1993,
pp. 37–39.
30 Stuart-Fox, ‘Who was Maha thevi?’, p. 103; Quiroga de San antonio, A brief and truthful
relation, p. 29; Groslier, Angkor et le Cambodge au XVIe siècle, p. 19.
31 Chroniques 3, pp. 120–121.
32 Ibid.; Chroniques 2, p. 213.
33 Groslier, Angkor et le Cambodge au XVIe siècle, pp. 64–67, 155; Chroniques 2, p. 213;
Chroniques 3, pp. 72–73; Quiroga de San antonio, A brief and truthful relation, pp. 11, 31.
34 these can best be translated as royal wives of first rank, wives of lesser rank, elderly
women who had been wives or lesser princesses of previous kings, and ladies-in-waiting.
Preah Reachea Kroet Prapdaphisek du Preas Sauriyobarn, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, pp.
45–46.
35 Cbpab Khon Sala, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 3; Preah Reachea Kroet Prapdaphisek du
Preah Sauriyobarn, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 51.
36 Chroniques 1, p. 47; Chroniques 2, p. 112; Chroniques 3, pp. 78, 126, 131–132; Chroniques
1, p. 63; Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, pp. 125–126.
37 Chroniques 2, p. 136; Chroniques 3, p. 207; anna Leonowens, The romance of the harem
[1872], ed. Susan Morgan, Charlottesville: University of Virginia press, 1991, p. 155;
Cbpab Khon Sala, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 32; Kram preas dhamma anhunhnha, in
Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 10.
38 Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, pp. 123, 133, 140, 175; hong Lysa, ‘Of
consorts and harlots in thai popular history’, Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 57, no. 2 (May
1998), p. 341.
39 Preas Reachea Kroet Prapdaphisek du Preas Sauriyobarn, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, pp. 43,
45, 51; Chroniques 2, pp. 99, 158; Chroniques 3, p. 127.
40 Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 127, 137; Kram preas dhamma an-
hunhnha, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 22.
41 andaya, Flaming womb, p. 169.
42 Chroniques 1, p. 273 (58/3); Chroniques 2, pp. 82, 238; Chroniques 3, pp. 78, 88–89, 113;
Cbpab tous piriyea, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 537.
43 Cbpab tous piriyea, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 515, 523, 529, 536.
44 Kram sauphea thipdey, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 504; Cbpab tous piriyea, in Codes
cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 541; Cbpab Khon Sala, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 37–38; Cbpab
kaul bantop, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 492–493; Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes
cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 156.
45 Kram sauphea thipdey, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 504; Cbpab khon sala, in Codes
cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 233; Kram preas dhamma anhunhnha, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp.
12–13; Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 148; Kram Tralakar, in Codes
cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 88–89.

107
 Lost Goddesses

46 adhémard Leclère translated this as ‘concubine’. In pali ña ña means ‘different’ or ‘vari-

ous’. Kram sauphea thipdey, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 502–503; Cbpab tous piriyea, in
Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 505.
47 Cbpab tous piriyea, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 505; Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes
cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 151. See also Barbara Watson andaya, ‘From temporary wife to pros-
titute’.
48 Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 149–150; Cbpab tous piriyea, in
Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 529; Cbpab Khon Sala, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 233 and
t. 2, pp. 37–38. there was a group of male slaves known as kha-luong, ‘servants of the
palace’; the sense of me-kha also connotes servitude.
49 Khing hoc Dy, Contribution, p. 66; Cbpab tumam pi boran, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, pp.
153, 155; Cbpab kaul bantop, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 479.
50 van Neck, De vierde schipvaart der Nederlanders naar Oost-Indie, p. 225.
51 andaya, ‘From temporary wife to prostitute’, pp. 11–12, 14; William Dampier, A new
voyage around the world [1697] (New York: Dover, 1968), p. 269; Jacob van Neck, De
vierde schipvaart der Nederlanders naar Oost-Indie onder Jacob Wilkens en Jacob van Neck
(1599–1604), ed. h.a. van Foreest and a. de Booy, vol. 1, the hague, Linschoten-
Vereeniging, 1980, p. 225 (I am grateful to Gertrude van hest for her translations of this
and other passages of this book); alexander hamilton, A new account of the East Indies
[1727], London: argonaut press, 1930, p. 96; King hoc Dy, Contribution, p. 74.
52 Kram preas dhamma anhunhnha, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 4, 22; Cbpab tous piriyea,
in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 491, 531, 540; Kram Puok, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp.
571, 596.
53 the exceptions were the consorts of the king, as the number of women that a sover-
eign was able to maintain was indicative of his wealth and status. See Khing hoc Dy,
Contribution, pp. 66–67.
54 Kram sauphea thipdey, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 504.
55 Cbpab Rajaneti, verse 8, in pou and Jenner, ‘Les cpap ou <<codes de conduite>> Khmers
IV’, p. 370; Kram Tralakar, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 88–90; Cbpab tous piriyea, in Codes
cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 505, 510, 521; Cbpab Khon Sala, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 36.
56 Dampier, New voyage around the world [1697], p. 269; reid, Lands below the winds, p.
154; van Neck, De vierde schipvaart der Nederlanders naar Oost-Indie, p. 225; andaya,
‘From temporary wife to prostitute’, pp. 14, 19; Cbpab tous piriyea, in Codes cambodgiens,
t. 2, p. 515.

108
 Chapter FIVe

Hostages, Heroines and

Hostilities

A fter the somewhat vague sources of the fifteenth to

eighteenth centuries, the nineteenth century is well
documented, often furnishing three perspectives
on the same event. the beginning of the century saw thai and
Vietnamese involvement in Cambodian political affairs lead to
the almost total loss of Cambodian sovereignty (see Fig. 5.1)
and the eradication of Cambodian social norms; by its close, the
French were firmly in control. the years between the restoration
of Cambodian ‘independence’ in 1848 and the establishment
of the French protectorate in 1863, when ang Duong reigned,
are perceived by many Cambodians as a ‘golden age’,1 paralleled
only by the classical ‘angkorian’ period and the Cambodia of
the 1950s and early 1960s. the nineteenth century poses a
dichotomy from the perspective of women and power. On one
hand, an unmarried queen ruled Cambodia for over a decade;
on the other, the Cbpab Srei, ‘Code of conduct for women’, was
composed and a tradition of misogynist literature begun.
thai forces burnt phnom penh to the ground in 1772 and
virtually wiped out the Cambodian royal family. the thai king
‘captured and cleared out families in the territories of Barai and
phothisat [pursat], and took captive Cambodian nobles … for a
combined total, including other families, of ten thousand persons,
all sent back to thonburi … [and] ordered that the Cambodian

109
 Lost Goddesses

Hué
�
A M
S I V
I

ET
Ayutthaya
�

NAM
Thonburi
�� Bangkok

Mekong
�
Ratchaburi Battambang
� Tonle Sap
Pursat � Kompong Svay
Longvaek �
�
Udong �
�
Phnom Penh Vinh Te
canal
KA Prei Nokor
MPOT � (Saigon)
�
Kompong Som
Hatien� �
Cambodian territory to Long Ho
Siam in 1790s
Cambodian territory to
Siam in early 19th century
Further Thai expansion in
early 19th century Poulo Condore
Cambodian territory to
joint Thai/Vietnamese rule
Cambodian territory to
Vietnam pre 19th century
Kampot restored to © NIAS Press
Cambodia in 1848

Fig. 5.1: Cambodia in the nineteenth century. adapted from Jan M. pluvier, Historical Atlas of South-
East Asia and other written sources.

families taken captive be settled at ratchaburi.’2 there are earlier examples of

the thai relocating Cambodians in this fashion, and Cambodian monarchs in
their turn regularly moved thousands of people from thai territory.3 after the
razing of phnom penh, a Cambodian prince, ang eng (1772–1796 or 1797),
was placed on the throne at Udong at the age of seven, under the patronage of
the thai king.4 the ensuing period was marked by internal dissentions between
oknha who supported either a Vietnamese prince, Nguyen anh (later to rule
as Gia Long), or the tayson rebels of Central Vietnam.5 Despite ang eng’s
precipitate death at age 24, he had nonetheless managed to sire six children:
ang Chan (1792–1834), ang phim (1793–1798), ang Snguon (1794–1822),
a princess, Meatuccha, whose dates of birth and death are unknown, ang Im

110
 Hostages, Heroines and Hostilities

(1794–1844), and ang Duong (1796–1859).67 Like his father, Chan was
crowned king of Cambodia at the thai court, in 1806; but the new king was
not well disposed toward the Chakri dynasty.8 Instead, he sought the goodwill
of the Nguyen court at hué. When Snguon, supported by thai forces, rebelled
against him, ang Chan fled to prei Nokor (Saigon), where the governor of
southern Vietnam provided shelter and maintenance for Chan and his entou-
rage until 1813, when the thai withdrew to Battambang. the Cambodian royal
family was thus polarised in subservience: Snguon, Im and Duong owing fealty
to the thai, and Chan indebted to the Vietnamese.

Neak A�� E�� (Ξ) Neak Neak Ξ

Neang 1772–1796/97 Moneang Moneang
X Baen Ut r. 1779–1796/97 Rat Ros
Governor of
Battembang X Y
A�� D����
1796–1859
r. 1848–1859
Neak A�� C��� (Ψ) Neak Neak Ψ Neak
Moneang 1792–1834 Mon. Moneang Moneang
Tep r. 1797–1834 Yos Krochap Pen

N������
Baen Ang Peou Ang Im r. 1860–1904
1807–1840
Keo Ma S�������
r. 1904–1927

A�� M��
1815–1875? Khun Thida Sisowath S�������
r. 1835–1840 Essaravong M�������
and 1844–1846/48? Robar Krip
r. 1927–1941

Poukombo Ang Bhim Ang Snguom

1818–182? Sisowath N������
Kossamak S��������
r. 1955–1960
Bhumarin Thnamlong
Chamraenvongs Sisowath N������
Yubhiphan S�������
r. 1941–1955
and 1993–2004

Fig. 5.2: Genealogy of ang Chan and ang Mei.

Note: titles of women of the royal family indicated their status in relation to each other. a neak neang
is, in this case, superior to a woman entitled neak moneang. those entitled khun were lesser wives, often
of thai descent.

111
 Lost Goddesses

The reign of Queen Ang Mei

King ang Chan died in 1834, leaving four daughters; Baen, Mei, peou, and
Snguon (see Fig. 5.2).9 although ang Chan’s surviving brothers, ang Im
and ang Duong, immediately laid claim to the throne, the Vietnamese and
possibly the Cambodian oknha wished to install one of ang Chan’s eldest
daughters as sovereign. three reasons are usually given as to why the eldest
daughter, Baen, was passed over: she was sympathetic towards thai inter-
ests; she refused to marry the son of the Vietnamese emperor; or the oknha
would not allow her to enter into such an alliance.10 the records are similarly
inconsistent towards the next princess in line for succession, ang Mei. a thai
document relates that the Vietnamese forced the oknha to accept Mei as
their queen, whereas the Vietnamese sources assert that the oknha proposed
Mei as an alternative to Baen. Walter F. Vella cited a thai manuscript that
stated that the Vietnamese had tried to persuade Mei to marry the son of the
Nguyen emperor in order to facilitate the incorporation of Cambodia into the
Vietnamese state, but gave way ‘in view of strong objections from Cambodian
nobles.’11 Khin Sok also alleges that an alliance between a Cambodian prin-
cess and a Vietnamese prince was the means by which the Vietnamese sought
to gain control of Cambodia. In any event, hué bestowed the title quan chua,
‘princess’, upon Mei in May 1835, and her three sisters were given the title
huyen quan, ‘chief of sub-prefecture’.12 the Vietnamese kept a close guard on
the ang princesses. Mei had two companies of soldiers, 100 men in total, as-
signed to her for her protection. the other three Cambodian princesses were
each assigned thirty soldiers. Ostensibly for their safety, the guards were, in
reality, to ensure that they did not escape.
the ‘Vietnamisation’ of Cambodian society, already underway during the
reign of ang Chan, continued during the reign of ang Mei. all women were
ordered to grow their hair long in the Vietnamese style and to wear trousers
instead of skirts.13 Cambodian dance assimilated elements of Vietnamese
and Chinese traditions. the markets sold only Vietnamese food. Cambodian
officials had to don Vietnamese ceremonial dress when summoned to
Vietnamese officials. a form of Vietnamese had to be spoken to Vietnamese
officials. Cambodian administrative and military officials were replaced
by Vietnamese ones. at least 5,000 Vietnamese relocated into Cambodia
each year. places received new Vietnamese names. Vietnamese notions
of Confucian piety were applied to Cambodian society; an edict from the

112
 Hostages, Heroines and Hostilities

Vietnamese emperor Ming Mang exhorted Mei and her sisters to be loyal
to their father’s memory, a Confucian virtue. princess Baen’s mother, Queen
tep, was deemed ‘disreputable’ and ‘immoral’ by the Vietnamese as she was
living in Battambang with a thai official, having deserted her husband’s family
– contravening another standard of Confucian piety. Masses of Cambodians
were forced into corvée labour for Vietnamese construction projects. there
was some resistance to the changes wrought by the Vietnamese during this
period, however. Kompong Svay revolted in 1836, led by the oknha Nong.
the following year two brothers in Kompong Som followed suit, eventually
seeking refuge in the thai court. a Cambodian local official in an ethnically
Khmer district of southern Vietnam who refused to implement regulations
enforcing Vietnamisation policies was executed.14
princess Baen met a similar fate for her resistance to the Vietnamese.
In 1840, the Vietnamese discovered that the princess had been in contact
with her mother, tep, and uncle, ang Im, who were living in Battambang
province, and was planning to escape to them. Charged with collaborating
with the enemy, Baen was imprisoned in Vietnamese military barracks in
phnom penh pending her trial. the Vietnamese emperor, Minh Mang, de-
moted the other ang princesses to low-ranking titles in the civil service. In
august or September 1840, Mei, peou and Snguon, and other members of
the court, including two of ang Chan’s queens, were enticed onto a barge,
their retainers plied with alcohol and rendered incapacitated, and taken off to
Vietnam. around the same time, princess Mom, daughter of ang Duong (r.
1848–1860), another half-brother of Chan, and his principal wife Ong, were
captured by the Vietnamese and imprisoned on the island of poulo Condore.
thai and Cambodian sources state that the Vietnamese drowned Baen in the
Mekong river after her sisters had been taken to Saigon, although Khin Sok,
citing the Veang thiounn version of the chronicles, states that Baen was taken
to Long ho and tortured to death by the Vietnamese general, after which her
body was placed in a sack and thrown in the river.15
Many Cambodian oknha and their followers had already revolted against
Vietnamese policies; the unrest worsened with the arrest of Baen and the
prolonged absence of Mei. Vietnamese officials in phnom penh called for Mei
to be returned to Cambodia as queen in order to quiet the rebellion, but the
Vietnamese emperor refused. the Vietnamese official in charge of Cambodia,
truong Ming Giang, reiterated this request in March 1841. Minh Mang, alarmed

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 Lost Goddesses

and bemused at the continued civil unrest, allowed Mei, peou, Snguon, and
queen ros, one of ang eng’s wives and the mother of ang Duong, to return
at the end of april 1841. Upon her return to phnom penh, Mei issued direc-
tives embossed with the official royal seal of Cambodia, appointed new officials
and issued letters to provincial officials and leaders asking for their support of
her reign. at the same time, Duong was issuing similar calls for support from
Udong. Mei was reinstated as queen and her sister peou appointed the heir ap-
parent in 1844. towards the end of that year, the Vietnamese distributed letters
stating that Mei and her sisters were the sovereigns of Cambodia and that any
dissenters would be executed. Most of the Cambodian court remained under
Vietnamese control until October 1846, when the Vietnamese released ros, a
daughter of ang Duong, and 34 other members of the Cambodian court and
allowed them to join ang Duong in Udong. Discussions were underway be-
tween the thai and Vietnamese for the resolution of the Cambodian problem,
resulting in a compromise whereby both ang Duong and ang Mei would rule
as co-sovereigns. Simultaneous coronations were held in Bangkok and phnom
penh in 1848, although Cambodian sources record only Duong’s accession.
the chronicles do not mention Mei after 1848, although she was still living in
Udong in the 1870s.16
Mei’s story is told dispassionately in the Cambodian chronicles, where she
is portrayed as a puppet of Vietnamese emperors and officials; some later writ-
ers do not even mention her at all, glossing over the period of her rule as one
in which emperor Gia Long made Cambodia into a colony. this is because her
reign has been perceived as synonymous with the Vietnamese ‘occupation’ of
Cambodia, a period that left deep scars upon the Cambodian psyche. Khin Sok
calls the period encompassed by her reign ‘la périod calamiteuse’.17 the first
half of the nineteenth century remains a deeply reviled period in the collective
Cambodian consciousness to this day; it is hardly surprising that the sovereign
during that time, seen as collaborating with the enemy, would be perceived in
a negative context by later generations. a typical example of the association
between Mei and Vietnamese dominance can be seen on an Internet forum
for Cambodians in diaspora in a blog dated 22 august 2002. a photograph
of prince Norodom Sihanouk being embraced by Vo Nguyen Giap at hanoi
airport in 1969 had superimposed upon it the following dialogue:
Sihanouk: Guess who will succeed me in 2003?
Giap: Your cousin, descendant of ang Mei!18

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 Hostages, Heroines and Hostilities

the connection between Mei and Vietnamese annexation of Cambodia

partly facilitated the identification of female political power with national
humiliation. as Chandler has shown in his analysis of a chronicle composed
in 1856, Cambodians seem to have regarded the time prior to the coronation
of ang Duong in 1848 as one of ‘homelessness, barbarism, and the loss of
status’, a great contrast to the subsequent period, one of ‘harmony, propriety
and elegance’. ang Duong himself took care to emphasise the association
between Mei and the Vietnamese, blaming ‘Samdech pheakanyea [ang Mei]
who ruled during the annamite period’ for the loss of indentured slaves, who,
he implied, having behaved themselves during the reigns of ang eng and
ang Chan, took the opportunity of lax (female) rule to escape to the forest.
Most histories of the period imply that the oknha and Cambodians in general
acquiesced to Mei as their sovereign reluctantly, holding out – ‘forlornly’ –
for Duong or for both Im and Duong to return as sovereigns. Walter F. Vella
implies that the Vietnamese used a pre-existing negative association between
women and political power in order to weaken Cambodian internal politics.
there was even a rumour that she was engaged in an affair with truong Ming
Giang, the Vietnamese governor in phnom penh. Jean Moura consulted
oknha and women of the palace who had had positions at the court during the
reign of ang Mei and independent observers who told him that the rumour
was not true.19 Yet historians continue to construct Mei as a passive victim,
hardly legitimate in the eyes of her own people.20
Bun Sun theam represents Mei as failing to garner popular support in
Cambodia because the general population preferred Duong, as he was male.
this is also the line pursued by Nguyen-o thu-uong. Khin Sok alleges that
the Cambodian populace ‘turned naturally towards ang Duong’ in order to
lead the uprising that would resuscitate the fortunes of the kingdom, which
were ‘practically in the abyss’ during the Mei incumbency.21 her reign is seen
as completely negative, during which Cambodian territory, culture, and inde-
pendence were almost lost. a 52-year-old chao adthika in Kampot province
described her as
greedy for power. She let the yuon eat Cambodia, and for what? So she could
be a neak thom and live a comfortable life. She didn’t care about the people,
what they suffered. We had to speak their language and eat their food and
they destroyed our wats because they want our culture to die.22

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 Lost Goddesses

Whilst it cannot be denied that the Vietnamese were in control of

Cambodia during Mei’s reign, she inherited a country that had already been
mortgaged to hué by her father, King ang Chan. almost immediately after
his coronation, Chan sent word to Gia Long of his coronation and received in
return a letter that gave him ‘permission’ to rule. he was also advised to follow
‘civilized models of government’, meaning those of the Vietnamese. a period
of dual fealty, paying tribute to both Vietnam and the thai, ensued until 1830,
but Chan grew increasingly anti-thai, refusing to travel to Bangkok to attend
the funeral of rama I. he also refused thai demands for troops to assist in the
campaign against Burma. Fearful of reprisal, he asked the Vietnamese for as-
sistance and in answer they sent a small naval force to Udong in 1810, where
it remained until 1812.
the reign of ang Chan, not ang Mei, was the beginning of Vietnamese
interference in the social, political and economic life of Cambodians; they
had already been in control of the Cambodian territory around prei Nokor
for over fifty years. Unlike the thai, who were content to allow Cambodia to
retain its traditions (which in any case differed only slightly from their own),
the Vietnamese sought to impose their own customs. ang Chan was ordered
by the Vietnamese to relocate his capital from Udong to phnom penh, where
Vietnamese storehouses and barracks were constructed. By 1816, Gia Dich
thong Chi, a Vietnamese advisor in Cambodia, reported that Cambodia had
adopted Vietnamese clothing styles, which aggravated the oknha. thai records
relate that the Vietnamese forced Cambodians to dismantle their theravada
Buddhist wats and viharas.23 In 1816, ang Chan was ordered to recruit 5,000
workers to excavate a canal linking Chaudoc and hatien, some seventy kilo-
metres apart. the 500 supervisors were solely Vietnamese, who beat some of
the workers to death for infractions. One Cambodian man was decapitated
and his head placed on a stake in order to intimidate other Cambodian work-
ers. Conditions such as these only exacerbated the resentment that many
Cambodians felt towards the Vietnamese for usurping Cambodian territory,
and may have contributed to the rebellion against them, led by a monk, Kai,
in 1820.24
Mei was crowned sovereign of a kingdom in which the Vietnamese were
already in charge. It is difficult to ascertain what course of action other than
acquiescence was available to her. Mei seems to have sought a peaceful so-
lution to the factionalism in her country, telling envoys sent by Duong that

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she wished for a return to peace and amicability, and hoping that ‘we would
be able to live together with our uncle’. this may, of course, have been a
diplomatic response; the Vietnamese annals described her as ‘an intelligent
young lady’ at the time of her accession. Nothing – sudden flights to Vietnam,
the murder of her elder sister, and continual changes in her status – seems
to have induced hysterical or untoward behaviour. perhaps Mei would have
fared better in Cambodian collective memory if, like her sister Baen, she had
actively resisted the Vietnamese. She does not seem to have been despised by
the oknha in Cambodia; during her exile in Udong Jean Moura spoke with
women who had been members of Mei’s court during her reign and who re-
mained devoted to her.25 Furthermore, as we have seen above, in 1844 it was
Mei, rather than ang Duong, who was crowned sovereign of Cambodia, after
a campaign in which both attempted to garner support from the Cambodian
oknha. If Mei had been genuinely unpopular due to her gender, the oknha
would not have countenanced her accession.

The misogyny of Ang Duong

It is highly likely that ang Duong harboured some personal resentment
towards ang Mei for not stepping aside as Cambodia’s sovereign so that he
could ascend the throne. he never attempted to liberate his nieces; in fact, he
had to be prompted by the Vietnamese to send a contingent to escort them
and the other members of the court to Udong. Once there, ang Mei was
probably ostracised, and possibly imprisoned or tortured. In 1874 she was
found by Jean Moura, ‘old … and mad … long since removed from power and
the world’, living ‘almost alone in the furthest corner of the old capital’. She
died soon after his visit.26 Yet an underlying thread of misogyny is discernible
throughout the life and works of ang Duong, before and after his accession.
a series of new laws were promulgated when ang Duong came to power,
as, according to the king, ‘the ancient laws, for a long time, have not been
revised, neither by kings, nor officials, nor the wise’ and had not kept pace
with regional developments like ‘those from Siam, Laos, China, annam,
europe and Malaya’. In this he was following the normal course of action
for kings upon their accession and reassuring his people that the disorder of
previous decades was past. One of the first new laws altered the way in which
Cambodian princesses could marry, which probably reflected a fear that an
oknha would marry Mei or one of her surviving sisters and attempt to claim

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the throne. another decree was issued in 1857 regulating the succession of
princes and princesses in relation to their mothers. these changes ensured
that titles could by issued and revoked by the king alone; they were no longer
inherited according to the status of the queen or princess. again, it is likely
that ang Duong feared a challenge to his position, from a child of one of his
nieces or brothers’ children. royal women were effectively removed from
their previous positions of significance in relation to sovereignty. the only
woman to continue to hold any permanent authority, at least until the colo-
nial period, was the queen mother.27
Outside the palace, some laws of ang Duong privileged male interests.
Sons born to slave women but fathered by free men inherited their father’s sta-
tus. Divorce was made more difficult for women to initiate. all that men were
required to do was present their wives with a document bearing their mark.
Women were required to keep this document so that they could prove their
status if they wished to remarry. Much more forbearance was necessary for
unhappy wives. even complaining about their husbands was frowned upon; a
woman who ‘speaks against, injures, or denounces her husband to the law’ was
an offence in law.28 Only after repeated attempts to dissuade her spouse from his
evil ways was a woman permitted to seek recourse from the courts:
When, amongst the ordinary people, a married man is a thief, a smoker of
opium, a habitual gambler, if his wife, numerous times, reproaches him, tries
to correct his behaviour, and he does not heed her, but continues to gamble
and smoke, and if his wife is afraid that his debts will fall upon her, the judges
must receive her request for divorce and consider that the husband is a bad
and obstinate subject.29
a woman who took matters into her own hands and dared to beat or oth-
erwise wound her husband was ‘fined and put in chains and shackles, then
condemned to strangulation and the confiscation of all her goods, which
will be divided between the husband of said woman and the royal treasury’.
punishments were generally very harsh during the reign of ang Duong; al-
though Jai Jettha II had revised Kram Jao in 1621 because he considered some
of the punishments therein too barbaric, ang Duong reversed some of these
amendments. the punishments for women in the revised Cbpab tous bhariya
were similarly ruthless, including the use of shackles and impalement.30
ang Duong did not confine his views on female behaviour to legal texts.
he was also an author of didactic literature. One of his earliest of works is
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Neang Kaki, written in 1813, derived from two jataka stories, Kakati Jataka
and Sussondi Jataka, both of which deal with the theme of a king experiencing
difficulty in controlling his wife. Women, in these stories, are described as
inherently promiscuous, and their energies must be channelled into pious ac-
tivities lest their sexuality rage out of control, bringing dishonour to the king,
and therefore the kingdom. In ang Duong’s Neang Kaki, a raks (‘demon’)
with whom the king plays chess is consumed with lust for Queen Kaki and
devises a scheme by which he may possess her. the raks assumes the form of
the king and summons Kaki to his bedchamber (or, in some versions, visits
her in her own), where she is obligated to fulfil the desires of her ‘husband’.
When the real king discovers what has occurred, Kaki is thrown out of the
court in disgrace for her infidelity. the moral of the story is that women are to
blame for their transgressions, even when they have been deceived into com-
mitting them. this theme is also discerned in ang Duong’s laws; Kram bier,
‘treatise on gaming’, held that women who frequented public houses could
not be dishonoured in word or deed as they were srei neak leng (‘women who
gamble’) and thus were not respectable.31

The Cbpab Srei

Correct behaviour for women is set out in the Cbpab Srei, ‘Code of Conduct
for Women’, the best-known of the cbpab thmei. authorship of the Cbpab Srei
is somewhat contested. Khing hoc Dy states that the Cbpab Srei was com-
posed by ang Duong in 1837. Judy Ledgerwood describes a ‘more recent ver-
sion’ of the Cbpab Srei as having been authored by a Minh Mai, and another
version altogether as the work of the poet Ind in the late 1800s. Judith Jacob,
renowned scholar of Cambodian literature, does not include Ind as having
written a Cbpab Srei, but lists three extant manuscripts of the Cbpab Srei, one
of which is attributed to a pandit named Mai, a poet of the late eighteenth to
mid-nineteenth centuries, and another to ang Duong. Léang-hap an attrib-
uted a Cbpab Srei to the court poet Nong, but the manuscript itself is not well
described. Nong was a court poet during the reigns of kings ang eng and ang
Chan and tutor to all of ang eng’s surviving sons after their father’s death. he
also accompanied ang Duong and ang Im to Bangkok for their education.
ang Duong made Nong his personal advisor and secretary, employed him as
tutor to his own children, and gave him land. It is perhaps inevitable that ang
Duong’s literary style would imitate his tutor, and this may have contributed
to a confusion of their work.32

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the Cbpab Srei, like all cbpab, provided guidelines for acceptable behav-
iour. In the ‘Minh Mai’ text (the best known of the Cbpab Srei manuscripts)
the narrative takes the form of Queen Vimala instructing her daughter
Indrandati in necessary information that will be of use throughout her life
before she leaves her parents’ kingdom. the key thrust of the text is that it
is the responsibility of wives to ensure the good reputation of the family by
maintaining a harmonious image of the home, regardless of what occurred
behind closed doors. this was best achieved, according to the Cbpab Srei, by
total obedience to one’s husband:
If you do not believe your husband or ignore him, conflict will arise;
happiness will be destroyed, your reputation will suffer, discord will continue
without ceasing.
this means you are not ladylike, but a low person, with the heart of a ‘golden
flower’ [immoral woman or prostitute].33
Women are also advised in the text not to tell their mothers if their hus-
bands mistreat them, nor to gossip in general. More prosaic are warnings not
to touch one’s husband’s head in order to look for lice without ‘respectfully
bowing and informing him’, not turning one’s back on one’s husband in bed
or misfortune will befall the household, and to busy oneself with useful
activities beneficial to the household, such as weaving. Wives should speak
with a gentle voice and walk softly so as not to draw attention to themselves.
If a husband becomes angry, regardless of whose fault it is (the Cbpab Srei
even makes allowances for drunkards who spend all of the family money on
gambling), she should ‘retire for the night and think about the situation, then
speak softly to him and forgive him’. If a man takes a mistress, a wife should
not be upset or angry, as ‘if she allows him to wander where he wants, he
will return to her’. harsh words, that might affront the dignity of a man, are
never to be used, or it will appear that the wife is more potent or powerful.
a woman must never think herself as superior to her husband in any respect,
but consider him, ‘the lord of the chamber, as your leader; never forget it’.34
Like the sentiments encapsulated in the Brahmanical inscriptions of the
preclassical and classical periods in Cambodia, all versions of the Cbpab Srei
embody the ideal society as perceived by a particular author. as we have seen,
controlling and disempowering women seems to have been a popular theme
for ang Duong in his literary efforts and in his administrative reforms. It may
not have been coincidental that Cbpab Srei was written almost immediately
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after ang Mei was crowned by the Vietnamese; one can almost see a frustrated
and angry ang Duong sitting down to furiously write a treatise on the correct
behaviour for women in the face of his own niece’s perceived obstinacy. Yet
there was another source of inspiration for ang Duong and other members
of the Cambodian elite at the thai court during the late eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries: the more conservative strain of Buddhism that became
known as the Dhammayut sect. In 1788, rama I (r. 1782–1809), believing
that Buddhism had been corrupted by the involvement of the sangha in politi-
cal machinations in the middle of the eighteenth century in Siam, sponsored
the ninth Buddhist council. the subsequent ‘purifying’ of Buddhist texts
could not have failed to influence the young Cambodian princes, ang Im and
ang Duong, sequestered at the Cambodian court during this time, especially
as Cambodian monks were amongst those involved in the work. rama I also
issued seven decrees aimed at raising the level of morality in the sangha in
order to ‘restore its prestige and authority’. three more decrees were issued in
1779, 1794, and 1801. the last expelled 128 monks for ‘ignoble behaviour’,
one characteristic of which was associating with women.
this more austere Buddhism was transmitted to Cambodia, at first slowly,
as members of the Cambodian community returned to Udong and ang Duong
pursued his agenda of wat restoration and other pursuits aimed at increasing
his stores of merit. In 1854, his reign established, ang Duong asked the thai
court to send him a complete version of the new, ‘pure’ Tipitaka and a number
of monks who were well versed in the new form of Buddhism. ang Duong
was sufficiently devoted to this more conservative sect that he imported it
to Cambodia, and it was he (not Norodom) who established it, contrary to
adhémard Leclère’s account. It is not surprising, therefore, that ang Duong
inculcated elite Cambodian society with models of correct behaviour that re-
flected the conservatism of the thai court in which he had grown up, and to
which he owed his position as king of Cambodia. there is little doubt that ang
Duong drew inspiration from thai texts; Neang Kaki was modelled on the work
of a thai court poet.35
the inspiration of Minh Mai is less readily explained due to the lack of
information on his life, but if he was indeed a court poet of the late eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries he would have been subject to the same conserva-
tive influences as ang Duong. Most elite men would have spent some years
as monks. the author of the third and most recent Cbpab Srei, Ind, was or-

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 Lost Goddesses

dained at the age of twenty, having studied as a novice under Preah kru achar
Sok at Wat Kaev in Battambang. he then went to Bangkok, returning seven
years later and taking up a position in Wat Kandal, where he remained for a
decade. In 1896 Ind voluntarily defrocked and married. according to tauch
Chhong,
the people of Battambang knew him well. he was called achar In [sic].
everyone in Battambang praised his works and speeches. While Cambodia
had no printed books, the people of Battambang borrowed his work from one
another, copying them out by hand to keep and distributing them one to the
other for reading. Some people memorized many pages of his poems.36
When Battambang was returned to Cambodian control in 1907, Ind was
invited to remain under the new administration, with the title oknha sut-
tanta prachea, ‘lord poet of the land’, which he held until his death in 1924.
amongst his many works were Gatilok ru cbpab tumnam khluon [Guidelines
for one’s behaviour], Supasit cbpab srei [Maxims of the Cbpap Srei], and
Neang Chhantea, a translation of a thai manuscript in which a wicked woman
attempts to deceive her bodhisattva husband. Ind’s Cbpab Srei is thematically
similar to the other two versions. the challenge of adhering to the code was
admitted but readers entreated to apply themselves with diligence and per-
severe. Women were enjoined to ‘sit modestly, when speaking do not shake
with laughter; a woman who is timid has high prestige. please pay attention to
the circumstances appropriate to one’s rank’.37
the extent to which these texts, and others like them, permeated
Cambodian society is debatable. probably, few people could read and write
at the non-elite level; even provincial oknha may have been illiterate, main-
taining a few educated staff for administrative purposes within their own
retinues. It is highly likely that the literature written by ang Duong and Minh
Mai circulated within the court alone. No doubt ang Duong’s work was re-
ceived favourably as it was written not only by the king, but a king who had
saved Cambodia from absorption into Siam and the cultural hegemony of the
Vietnamese. those who had not supported Duong in his bid for the throne
would have taken care not to displease him once he came to power through
overt criticism of either his religion or his literary pursuits. Similarly, Ind was
lauded for being not only a gifted writer, but a Cambodian writer who ‘dem-
onstrated that while thailand could interfere with the domain of administra-
tion, it could not interfere with the Khmer mind in Battambang’.38 reading
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the work of these authors was far more than mere literary appreciation for the
Cambodian elite; it signified political allegiance and collective identity.

Revisionist ( female) histories

the negative perspective toward women and power in the didactic literature
of the nineteenth century is echoed in contemporary court chronicles’ expla-
nations for earlier events. Kings, it seems, were not responsible for any of their
actions. Instead, women were implicated as causal agents for events that led
to upheaval and disharmony in the kingdom, including civil war, Vietnamese
territorial encroachment, and the renunciation of Buddhism.
In 1627 paramaraja Udaiy married his niece Mae Yuor Vatti, although she
had been promised to her half-brother Dhammaraja. the siblings, meeting
by accident, fell in love. Mae Yuor Vatti deceived her husband and fled to her
lover. a war ensued and Mae Yuor Vatti was captured by paramaraja Udaiy’s
portuguese mercenaries, returned to her husband’s court, and sentenced to
death by his okhna. even though the authors imply that paramaraja Udaiy
acted incorrectly in marrying Mae Yuor Vatti because she was betrothed to
Dhammaraja, and although the half-siblings are depicted as being genuinely
(and appropriately) in love, Dhammaraja is represented as being led astray by
his passion whereas Mae Yuor Vatti is calculating and deliberate. She asked
her husband if she could take a pleasure trip to the lakes and stay there for
one or two nights. having received permission, she went at once to her half-
brother’s palace at Udong. her eventual death is portrayed as a fitting pun-
ishment for transgressing her duty to her husband and causing the war that
resulted in Dhammaraja’s death. Before dying, Dhammaraja realised the error
of his ways. he is recorded as saying to the portuguese mercenaries: ‘Because
of a woman, I am in a detestable state … . Because of passion, I am now facing
death. Better to go to my death, in order to once more know dharma!’39
ang Chuv, the Nguyen princess who married King Jai Jettha II around
1620, is held responsible for the loss of prei Nokor (Saigon) and its surrounds
and the subsequent permeation of Vietnamese influence in the Cambodian
court. In 1623, the Nguyen emperor at hué asked that the lands of prei Nokor
and Kompong Krabei be handed over to Vietnamese authority. Jai Jettha II
consulted with his oknha and members of the royal family. they determined
that ‘if we do not accept … amicability will cease and the royal lady the queen
will be annoyed. In this matter, it is proper to give them what they ask’. the

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Cambodians were described as reluctant to refuse for fear of upsetting ang

Chuv, who had ‘extraordinary powers, on the one hand a result of being the
royal Vietnamese princess and on the other being the royal queen’. the im-
plication was that ang Chuv, not the king and his advisors, was responsible
for the Vietnamese presence. even though ang Chuv was instrumental in
overthrowing a deeply unpopular king, ramadhipati I (see below) in 1659,
by summoning Vietnamese troops to aid her stepsons, her part in this was
written dismissively. Far from being portrayed as a heroine, some chronicles
describe her as base in nature, consumed by an insatiable sexual appetite.
this story alleges that ang Chuv discovered an aphrodisiac commissioned
by her husband the king when she was clearing out his rooms after his death.
Unsure what it was for, she tested the potion, which caused her to have ‘men
to come one by one, continuously. But if a page did not please her, she would
drive him away or have him killed to prevent him from talking’. She eventually
took a permanent lover, Dham.40 thus the memory of ang Chuv preserved
in the Cambodian court histories is of an immoral woman who delivered her
adopted country into the hands of the Vietnamese.
perhaps the most significant event in which a woman is described as
having led a Cambodian king astray is the conversion of ramadhipati I (r.
1642–1659) to Islam. the chronicles relate that while taking a pleasure-trip
along the river in the 1640s, the king saw a young Cham girl going down to
the river and fell in love with her. he called the people of the village, who
were Cham and Malay, to ask them who she was. her name was Neang hvah.
the king summoned the girl’s mother and asked if Neang hvah could stay
on his launch and serve him. the king ‘was very pleased’ with her and asked
her mother if he could take her to the palace. agreeing, the mother called
together the people of the village. the elders of the village performed a se-
ries of enchantments that would make the king progressively more in love
with hvah. the king made her his ‘queen of the left’ and appointed Cham
and Malay officials to govern all Cham and Malay peoples in the kingdom. a
Malay religious official, ‘using magical formulae’, convinced the king to con-
vert to Islam. he ordered the court, including the royal family, to do likewise.
Carool Kersten suggests that ramadhipati’s conversion to Islam was actually
a political strategy in order to form an alliance with the Cham and Malay
peoples in the country. this was because he was in a somewhat precarious
position with the Cambodian oknha, having murdered members of his own

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family to lay claim to the throne, and as a form of spiritual bulwarking, as he

had been led to believe that Islam would expiate these sins whereas Buddhism
and Catholicism would not. Nevertheless, the court chronicles specifically
detail that it was, firstly, the beauty of Neang hvas, then her complicity in ap-
plying the magic potions, that caused ramadhipati to take this drastic, most
un-Cambodian step.41
©
the Cambodian chronicles written after ang Duong came to the throne
depict ang Mei as a lesson, bitterly learned, in the consequences of women
exercising direct power in the political arena. By contrast, the reign of ang
Duong (1848–1859) is a ‘golden age’ in Cambodian history. this is espe-
cially true of Cambodian dance and literary styles, which he is seen as re-
storing to their pre-‘Vietnamisation’ glory. he is credited with the ‘liberation’
of Cambodia from thai and Vietnamese encroachment and the restoration
of Cambodian culture for a brief period of independence before foreigners
once again subjugated Cambodia.42 historians ascertain their information
from written records; the problem, however, is that the Cambodian sources
for this period were written in the courts of ang Duong and his descendants,
in whose interests it was to represent ang Mei as an ineffectual ruler. this
was easy to do by playing upon the hatred Cambodians felt (and still feel) for
the Vietnamese, dating back to their annexation of prei Nokor in the early
seventeenth century – for which another woman, ang Chuv, was blamed.
the precedents for women and political power, within living memory, led to
increasing Vietnamese dominance; the influence of others led Cambodian
kings to turn against each other and the holy path of Buddhism. the asso-
ciation between women being in charge and Cambodian subjugation was
virtually assured through the ‘scapegoating’ of women in the chronicles. this
was buttressed by the literature written by the conservative elite in the late
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the legal reforms of ang Duong
which placed women in a position of inferiority in relation to men. as was the
case with correct models for behaviour set out in earlier periods, the didactic
literature of the nineteenth century did not make much of an impact upon
ordinary Cambodians; indeed, if we are to accept late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries as indicative of ‘traditional’ Cambodia, it was customary
for women to have significance and agency.

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 Lost Goddesses

Notes to Chapter 5
1 David Chandler, ‘Going through the motions: ritual aspects of the reign of King
Duang of Cambodia (1848–1860)’[1979], in Facing the Cambodian past: Selected essays
1971–1994, St Leonards, New South Wales: allen & Unwin, 1996, p. 115.
2 The dynastic chronicles of the Bangkok era – the first reign, trans. and ed. thadeus and
Chadin Flood, vol. 1: Text, tokyo: the Centre for east asian Cultural Studies, 1978, pp.
21–22.
3 Chroniques royales du Cambodge, vol. 2: De Bona Yat à la prise de Lanvaek (1417–1595),
trans. and ed. Khin Sok, paris: École Française d’extrême-Orient, 1988 [hereafter
Chroniques 2], pp. 213, 216; Bun Srun theam, ‘Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth cen-
tury: a quest for survival, 1840–1863’, phD thesis, australian National University, 1981,
p. 77; Dynastic chronicles of the Bangkok era, vol. 1, p. 21.
4 Justin J. Corfield, The royal family of Cambodia, Melbourne: the Khmer Language &
Culture Centre, 1993, p.15. Corfield says that ang eng was the ‘sole surviving member’
of the Cambodian family but in fact three of his sisters survived and accompanied him to
the thai court.
5 Dynastic chronicles of the Bangkok era, vol. 1, pp. 25–26, 35.
6 Corfield, Royal family of Cambodia, pp. 16–22. the thai chronicle gives slightly differ-
ent dates for the births of these children and does not record princess Meatuccha at all
(Dynastic chronicles of the Bangkok era, vol. 1, p. 219).
7 David Chandler intimates that ang Chan, aged five, was sanctioned as the next ruler
of Cambodia, and talaha pok appointed to act as his regent until the prince reached his
majority, but the thai chronicle states that pok was in fact instructed to act as regent for
all five princes, as ‘the king intended to select the most intelligent and suitable one among
them to reign in Cambodia.’ the Vietnamese, however, seem to have seen ang Chan as
the next king of Cambodia, as their mission of 1805 was directed at him and his advisors.
See David p. Chandler, ‘Cambodia before the French: politics in a tributary kingdom,
1774–1848’, phD thesis, University of Michigan, 1973, p. 81; Dynastic chronicles of the
Bangkok era, p. 220.
8 Dynastic chronicles of the Bangkok era, p. 287.this disgruntlement is not evident in the
thai chronicle, but the fact that ang Chan demanded that his paternal aunts, Y and phao,
who had accompanied ang eng to the thai court in 1782 and who had subsequently
married the heir to the thai throne before his death, be returned to Cambodia, can be
interpreted as an act of defiance, and his anger at the refusal of this request may be why
Chan did not go in person to Bangkok when rama I died in 1809 (Bun Srun theam,
‘Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth century’, p. 32).
9 peou is usually a name given to the youngest child in Cambodian families, but all of the
references to the princesses place Snguon last, implying that she was the youngest.
10 Bun Srun theam, ‘Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth century’, pp. 58–59; Michael Vickery,
‘Cambodia after angkor: the chronicular evidence for the fourteenth to sixteenth cen-
turies’, phD thesis, Yale University, 1977, p.126. Khin Sok says that Baen ‘judged the sug-

126
 Hostages, Heroines and Hostilities

gestion insupportable’. See Khin Sok, Le Cambodge entre le Siam et le Vietnam (de 1775 à
1860), paris: École Française d’extrême-Orient, 1991, p. 87).
11 Chandler, ‘Cambodia before the French’, p. 127; Walter F. Vella, Siam under Rama III,
1824–1851, Locust Valley, New York: J.J. augustin, 1957, p. 100, fn 17.
12 Khin Sok, Le Cambodge entre le Siam et le Vietnam, p. 88; Bun Srun theam, ‘Cambodia
in the mid-nineteenth century’, p. 59. It will not escape the notice of astute readers that
this title is very similar to hyang, ‘princess’, a title of the preclassical and classical periods
in Cambodia.
13 Vickery, ‘Cambodia after angkor’, pp. 137–138. In the late 1840s, envoys of ang Doung
encountered a group of Cambodian courtiers living in exile in Vietnam. the men of the
party were dressed and had their hair styled in the Vietnamese fashion, but the women
of the party had retained Cambodian traditional dress and hairstyles (Bun Srun theam,
‘Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth century’, p. 114).
14 tep was the daughter of oknha Baen, who had been given the governorship of Battambang
province by the thai. Bun Srun theam, ‘Cambodia in the mid–nineteenth century’,
pp. 58–59, 62, 67; Khin Sok, Cambodge entre le Siam et le Viêtnam, pp. 89–91;Vickery,
‘Cambodia after angkor’, pp. 128–129, 133, 137–138.
15 Bun Srun theam, ‘Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth century’, pp. 71–72; Chandler,
‘Cambodia before the French’, p. 151; Corfield, Royal family of Cambodia, p. 23; Khin
Sok, Cambodge entre le Siam et le Vietnam, p. 94. the latter makes the point that drowning
was a form of capital punishment reserved for members of the Cambodian royal family
(f.n. 288).
16 David Chandler, ‘Songs at the edge of the forest: perceptions of order in three Cambodian
texts’, in Facing the Cambodian past, p. 92; Khin Sok, Cambodge entre le Siam et le Vietnam,
p. 95.
17 Mémoire du Cambodge sur ses terres au Sau-Vietnam (Cochinchine), phnom penh:
Imprimerie du palais royale, [1954], p. 2; Julio Jeldres, The royal house of Cambodia,
phnom penh: Monument Books, 2003, p. 10; Khin Sok, Le Cambodge entre le Siam et le
Vietnam, p. 87.
18 www.3.sympatico.ca/nearori/potins9.html.
19 Chandler, ‘Songs at the edge of the forest’, pp. 93–94; Kram Preas Reachea Khant, in
adhémard Leclère, Codes cambodgiens, paris: ernest Leroux, 1898, t. 2, p. 613; Chandler,
‘Cambodia before the French’, p. 126; Vella, Siam under Rama III, pp. 99–100; Jean
Moura, Le royaume de Cambodge, 2 vols, paris: Leroux, 1883, vol. 1, pp. 233–234.
20 See for example John tully, France on the Mekong: A history of the Protectorate in Cambodia,
1863–1953, Lanham, Maryland; New York; Oxford: 2002, p. 13.
21 Bun Srun theam, ‘Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth century’, p. 188; Nguyen-vo thu-
huong, Khmer-Viet relations and the third Indochina conflict, Jefferson, North Carolina;
London: McFarland & Company, 1992, p. 9; Khin Sok, Cambodge entre le Siam et le
Vietnam, p. 95.

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 Lost Goddesses

22 Fieldnotes, 2005.
23 Bun Srun theam, ‘Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth century’, p. 40; Chandler, ‘politics
in a tributary kingdom’, p. 93.
24 as discussed in the preceding chapter, in 1623 the Vietnamese had asked formal permis-
sion from Jai Jettha II to set up a customs post in prei Nokor (Saigon) in order to collect
customs duty and other taxes. they were sure of his acquiescence, as a Vietnamese prin-
cess, ang Chuv, had been married to the king three years earlier. the Vietnamese then
began sending settlers into the area later known as Cochinchina. See David Chandler, ‘an
anti-Vietnamese rebellion in early nineteenth century Cambodia’[1975], in Facing the
Cambodian past, p. 64.
25 Bun Srun theam, ‘Cambodia in the mid-nineteenth century’, p. 112; Vickery, ‘Cambodia
after angkor’, p. 127; Moura, Le royaume du Cambodge, p. 232.
26 Moura, Le royaume du Cambodge, pp. 233–234.
27 Kram bamnol [1853], in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, pp. 458–459; David Chandler,
‘Going through the motions: ritual aspects of the reign of King Duang of Cambodia
(1848–1860), in Facing the Cambodian past: Selected essays 1971–1994, St Leonards,
New South Wales: allen & Unwin, 1996, pp. 100–118; Jeldres, Royal house of Cambodia,
p. 15.
28 Kram dasa kamokar [1853], in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 386; Kram Sanghkrey [1853],
in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 309.
29 Kram Preas Reachea Khant [1850], in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 616.
30 Kram Sanghkrey [1853], in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 309; Kram Chor [ Jao] [1860], in
Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 296; Kram tous piriyea [1853], in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p.
235.
31 ang Duong, Rieong Kaki [1813], phnom penh: Buddhist Institute, 1997; Kram Bier
[1853], in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 476.
32 a Cbpab Srei ostensibly authored by ang Duong was published by the Buddhist Institute
in 1962. It lists the types of wives and their characteristics in a similar fashion to the Minh
Mai text and to Kram tous bhariya. Khing hoc Dy, Contribution à l’histoire de la littérature
khmère, paris: l’harmattan, 1990, p. 90; Judy L. Ledgerwood, Changing Khmer concep-
tions of gender: Women, stories, and the social order, phD thesis, Cornell University,
1990, pp. 82, 86; Judith M. Jacob, The traditional literature of Cambodia: A preliminary
guide, Oxford: Oxford University press, 1996, p. 70.
33 Cbpab Srei, verses 83–85. this and all subsequent quotations are from Cbpab srei- broh,
phnom penh: phsep pseay juon koan khmei, 2001. a transliterated version with French
translation can be found in Saveros pou (comp. and ed.), Guirlande de cpāp, paris:
Cedorek, 1988.
34 Cbpab Srei, verses 7, 24, 53–54, 65–80, 100, 107, 108, 115.
35 Yoneo Ishii, Sangha, state, and society: Thai Buddhism and history, trans. peter hawkes,
honolulu: the University of hawai‘i press, 1986, p. 64; Somboon Suksamran, Political

128
 Hostages, Heroines and Hostilities

Buddhism in Southeast Asia: The role of the sangha in the modernization of Thailand,
New York: St Martin’s press, 1976, p. 26; J. Kathirithamby-Wells, ‘the age of transi-
tion: the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries’, in Nicholas tarling (ed.),
The Cambridge history of Southeast Asia, vol. 2: From c. 1500 to c. 1800, Cambridge:
Cambridge University press, 1999, p. 248; Meas Yang, Le Bouddhisme au Cambodge,
Brussels: thanh Long, 1978, p. 38; Klaus Wenk, The restoration of Thailand under Rama
I, 1782–1809, trans. Greeley Stahl, tucson, arizona: University of arizona press, 1968,
pp. 39–41; Chandler, ‘Going through the motions’, pp. 104–105; adhémard Leclère,
Le bouddhisme au Cambodge, paris: Leroux, 1903, p. 403; Klaus Wenk, Thai literature:
An introduction, trans. erich W. reinhold, Bangkok: White Lotus, 1995, p. 30; Judith
Jacob, ‘Some observations on Khmer verbal usages’, in David a. Smyth (ed.), Cambodian
linguistics, literature and history: Collected articles, London: School of Oriental and african
Languages, University of London, 1993, p. 154.
36 tauch Chhong, Battambang during the time of the lord governor, 2nd ed., trans. hin Sithan,
Carol Mortland and Judy Ledgerwood, phnom penh: Cedorek, 1994, p. 99.
37 tauch Chhong, Battambang during the time of the lord governor, pp. 98–100; ‘Supasit cb-
pab srei’, Kambujasuriya 6, 4–6, pp. 46–80, p. 48; Gatilok ke oknha Suttanta Prachea Ind, in
Kambujasuriya 7 (1927), pp. 75–93; Gatilok ru chbpab tunmean khluon, in Kambujasuriya
9 (1928), pp. 25–41 and 10 (1928), pp. 21–58. a neighbour of Ind named Chheum, a
fortune-teller by profession, claimed to have written Neang Chhantea, but Ind’s son said
that his father had written it.
38 tauch Chhong, Battambang during the time of the lord governor, p. 99.
39 Chroniques 2, pp. 99, 104, 111, 158,186, 214–215; Chroniques royales du Cambodge,
paris: École Française d’extrême-Orient, 1988, vol. 3: De 1594 à 1677, trans. and ed.
Mak phoeun [hereafter Chroniques 3], pp. 79, 122, 127, 168, 171, 175–177, 423–424;
Khing hoc Dy, Contribution, p. 68.
40 Chroniques 3, pp. 79, 122, 127, 168, 171, 176–177, 423–424.
41 perhaps this is understandable, as the king is said to have ordered all male members of the
court to undergo circumcision. See trudy Jacobsen, ‘the temple of the thousand fore-
skins’, Phnom Penh Post, 16–29 December 2005, p. 7. Cbpab tumnam pi boran [Customs of
the past], composed at the end of the seventeenth century from the memoires of princess
ang Li, does not mention any marriage between ramadhipati and a Cham or Malay girl.
It does, however, relate that ‘the Muslim king’ accused his principal wife, ang Srey, of
infidelity when she offered fruits to the oknha chakvey, demanding ‘how can I practice
the Malay religion when you are off speaking with other men?’ and then challenging the
oknha to a duel with swords ‘according to Malay custom’. ang Srey became enraged and
demanded whether all the ministers thought she had been unfaithful as they were taking
the king’s side in the matter (Cbpab tumam pi boran [Customs of the past] [1693], in
Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 127). Dutch merchants’ records may shed more light on this
incident, stating that in april 1642 King ramadhipati I accused his queen of adultery
with his own elder brother. the prince’s house was set on fire and he was executed; the
queen was stripped of her rank, possessions, and servants, tortured or mutilated, and

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 Lost Goddesses

either was executed or committed suicide by taking poison some weeks later. See Carool
Kersten, ‘Cambodia’s Muslim king: Khmer and Dutch sources on the conversion of
reameathipadei I, 1642–1658’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 37, 1 (February 2006),
pp. 16–17. Kambujasuriya published a version of this tale in 1933 in which the king was
referred to as ‘Mao’. See Kambujasuriya 6, 7–9 (1933), pp. 155–163.
42 ‘Coffee-table’ books and travel guides are particularly prone to this perspective. See for
example Jeldres, Royal house of Cambodia, p. 20.

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 Chapter SIX

‘Traditional’ Cambodia

T he customs and beliefs prevalent in Cambodia in

the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are
today believed to reflect ‘traditional’ Cambodian
society.1 these traditions were based upon past practice; their
retransmission and repetition in successive generations was
believed to ensure orderliness and stability.2 If the late nine-
teenth century represents ‘traditional’ Cambodia then surely
it is necessary to look beyond the literature of the conservative
elite for sources. the rieong breng, folktales written down for the
first time at the end of the nineteenth century, are replete with
tales of powerful women. the observations of French explorers
and administrators contain details of daily life in which egali-
tarianism and respect for women are clearly discernable. the
records of the early colonial government attest to the agency of
Cambodian women in seeking justice for themselves and their
families. the significance of ‘female power’ is also evident from
legends and stories of women in the supernatural realm.
Whatever their husbands and fathers may have been reading
(or writing) at the time, the available evidence shows no lessen-
ing in agency and resources for elite women in the nineteenth
century. even in the midst of civil war, the Cambodian queens
and ladies of the court found time and money to establish wats
and commission pieces of art and literature. Queen Ut, first
wife of King ang eng, founded Wat Dhann te after his death.
Lady prak, whose husband and son had died, commissioned a

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 Lost Goddesses

detailed chronicle in their memory and contributed funds for a new wat in
1856. the lady governors of Battambang, Uch and tim, built Wat pothiveal
and Wat Komphaeng respectively. Lady Mom, known as Neak M’cas Khlib,
eldest daughter of Governor Nhonh, seems to have been her father’s most
trusted official. It was her responsibility to take the annual tribute to the thai
court in addition to fulfilling her father’s other duties. according to tauch
Chhong, the thai king was so pleased with Mom that he had intended to ap-
point her husband the next governor of Battambang, but Mom’s half-brother
Chhum had him murdered to prevent this from taking place. Mom was so
angry at this that she refused to go with the rest of the family to prachinburi
when Battambang was returned to Cambodia in 1907.3
During the reign of King Norodom (r. 1860–1904), the queen mother
continued to maintain her own court at Udong after the king had relocated to
phnom penh. her court seems to have been a sizeable entity with its own ju-
dicial and financial processes. all oknha in Cambodia were divided into four
classes, sakh ek, sakh tou, sakh trey, and sakh chetr, belonging respectively to the
reigning king, the uncle of the king, the heir apparent, and the queen mother.
She was also entitled to own elephants. Court ladies were afforded privileges
denied their less elite counterparts. In Battambang, the ladies of the palace
had a private floating dock in the river opposite Wat Sangkhe where they
came to bathe in the evening and their own ricefields at the rear of the fort.
there was also a rice-polishing factory within the fort that they were entitled
to use. Ladies of the court who were ‘married out’ to oknha were protected by
law from ill-treatment by their husbands. they were, however, forbidden to
marry below their own status. according to the revised Kram Sanghrey of ang
Duong, ‘free women cannot marry slaves; if they do they must be chained and
promenaded in public for three days so that other women do not follow their
example’. the preservation of class difference was important so as to maintain
khsae networks and thus retain an available body of people upon whom to
call for labour-intensive and military endeavours. everyone was obligated to
‘choose a noble as a patron and serve him as required’.4

Love and marriage

this did not mean – at least in theory – that the elite were permitted to mis-
treat their more humble neighbours. a law devised for palace officials when
ang Duong came to power stated that anyone

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 ‘Traditional’ Cambodia

among the nobility who, having an evil heart, takes or arrests the wives or
daughters of another, or the slaves or another, and abuses them, without their
leave, will be considered an oppressor of the people and condemned.5
It was also an offence ‘to click the tongue when looking at the wife or daughters
of another who may be passing’. adhémard Leclère was surprised to discover
that his entourage of young Cambodian men ‘never boasted of their good
luck’ in their year of travelling the countryside together in the early 1880s,
despite the presence of brothels in the larger towns. Indeed, in Battambang a
brothel was conveniently located near a laneway along which farmers drove
their buffalo. Nevertheless, sexual activity outside a recognised relationship
such as engagement or marriage was frowned upon. those violating very
young girls who had not yet reached puberty or were yet to have undergone
the ceremony of joal m’lap (about which more will be said shortly) were seen
as depraved. Girls were also warned against going to the river in the dark, as,
‘according to mortal and divine legislators, in the twilight the thief is king’. If
illicit relations did take place, the man responsible had certain obligations.
as in the preceding period, it was necessary to appease the meba lest sickness
befall a near relation of the girl concerned. King Norodom issued a decree
setting out the exact procedure. It was better, however, for a marriage to take
place even when the woman involved had been coerced or raped. In Rieong
tambek buon neak, ‘the tale of the four bald men’, the protagonists are asked
to judge a matter wherein a girl caught with a man; she protests that he was a
thief who had broken into the house, but the judges determined that she had
to marry him anyway. If a man refused to marry a girl he had impregnated and
she died in pregnancy or childbirth her seducer was obliged to pay the worth
of her life to her parents plus a fine.6
Marriages seem to have been subject to local variation. Matchmakers
were common in Battambang and elsewhere but some young women exer-
cised more control over their choice than others. In Dum Deav, one of the
best known of the rieong breng, a young man and woman fall in love but are
kept apart through the interference of others. eventually the male protago-
nist, Dum, is killed. Deav, when she learns what has happened, goes to the
spot where her lover died and commits suicide rather than marry the man
that her mother has chosen for her. In Kampot, two young women wished
to marry a man they had saved from drowning. they consulted a judge as to
who had more right to him: the girl who had seen that he was in trouble, or

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 Lost Goddesses

the girl who had pulled him to safety. the judge awarded the young man to
a third girl, who had taken off her kramar and given it to the young man to
hide his nakedness, as this act had ‘established a relationship’ befitting that
between a man and his fiancée.7
the relatives of the prospective groom would visit the girl’s family three
times, bringing gifts; after the third visit the girl’s parents or guardians would
have to give their assent or refusal. the groom would then be required to
live and work with the bride’s family for at least one rice-growing season,
sometimes up to twenty months; ‘in so doing, the parents of the future bride
were asked to evaluate the personality and quality of the man’. Grooms had to
show respect and obedience to his future in-laws to the extent that they were
often ‘treated like slaves by the bride’s family’. although it was common for
the young couple to sleep separately, there seems to have been no prohibition
upon sexual relations occurring, as children born to affianced persons were
not considered illegitimate. It may have been in the interests of a young man
to impregnate his fiancée as quickly as possible, as unscrupulous fathers-in-
law could use the slightest hint of insolence or disrespect to ‘fire’ him despite
months of labour. One of these situations could arise when a man appeared
before his father-in-law incorrectly attired, when ‘his cloth, unknotted behind,
fell like a skirt’.8
the three ‘ranks’ of wife – prapuon thom, prapuon kandal and prapuon jerng
– continued to exist, although most ordinary Cambodians could afford only
one marriage ceremony and maintain only one wife. the rieong breng often tell
of a male protagonist who leaves one wife behind when travelling to another
place on business and takes another there or one who marries another, richer
wife in order to increase his status. thus a Lev, although he had obtained one
wife by tricking her grandmother, did not hesitate to marry the daughter of a
rich man when the opportunity offered. Chao Kambit pandoh, ‘Mr Whittling
Knife’, married the daughter of a rich man, the daughter of a king, and then
returned to his own home and married the daughter of the king there as well.
auguste pavie recalled that a Chinese trader had come to Kampot with the
intention of marrying a rich widow.
‘I have all the qualities that are necessary to suit her’, he told me. ‘I speak
French quite well, I am a trader, very numerate, I would be able to preserve
and increase her fortune, but all the Chinese here try to damage me in her
eyes, because they want to see her property in the hands of somebody of the

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country… . Well, by applying this powder under my nose I force the woman I
want to marry to think about me constantly. I have paid sixty piastres for this
concoction and it will be given back if it does not work.’ When asked whether
the prospective bride knew about the powder, he replied ‘But of course and
she knows it works. I informed her about it during my first visit.’… the use of
this powder must be an excellent suggestive means because the marriage took
place some time thereafter!9
those who took multiple wives were forbidden to marry two sisters, the
elder sister of one’s father’s wife, an aunt and niece, a mother and daughter, or
a grandmother and grand-daughter. Men with attractive mothers-in-law were
advised to ‘consider her as a star in the sky’, that is, to leave her alone. the
practice of koan kroach, which, as related in Chapter 4, involved the forcible
removal of the fetus from a wife in her first pregnancy, endured. thus Leclère
wrote in 1883 that ‘in the good country of Cambodia, the in-laws, in the first
pregnancy, are wary and prevent the young couple from isolating themselves
far away’.10 During the reign of King Norodom, the head of a provincial mili-
tary force obtained a koan kroach from his wife.
his father-in-law, having tried in vain to apprehend him, begged for justice
from the king, who gave orders that fifty men should be brought to the ex-
asperated old man and placed at his disposition. the sena thong, counseled
by his koan krak, thwarted all traps and took refuge near the border, with the
Cambodians of Chaudoc, where, they say, he inspired a real fear, so when he
appeared in a village, young girls came to the house where he stopped and
washed his feet in a sign of extreme respect.11
Less malevolent husbands, on the other hand, were required to tend to
their wives’ needs around the time of delivery, particularly in the procure-
ment of wood for the ritual fire lit under the bed in order to purify the new
mother and baby and in chasing away evil spirits that might take advantage
of her altered state between the mundane and celestial worlds at that time to
take possession of her body or kill her baby.12
the marriages described in the rieong breng often depict wives as power-
ful and capable women who outwit men (usually their husbands) time and
again. Judith Jacob has commented that the husband ‘is often less clever than
the wife’ in the rioeng breng. In Rioeng Maya Srei, a wife cuckolds her spouse,
outwits four thieves, and brings a large sum of money home to her original
husband, who forgives her and they go on to share a long and happy life. Men

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 Lost Goddesses

are also shown to be more scared and less capable of dealing with crisis situa-
tions. the male protagonist in Rioeng Kang Han becomes famous throughout
the land for his bravery in killing tigers; in actual fact he hid in a tree while his
wives dealt with the beast. In auguste pavie’s village, a local man’s wife and his
mother organised an elaborate charade, involving the village chiefs, monks,
and the district executioner, in order to save him from a perceived threat of
supernatural origin. the resourcefulness and efficiency of women translated
into proverbs such as ‘the hearts of women are decisive and resolute’, ‘seeds
enrich the earth; women enrich men’, and ‘heed not the advice of women,
lose your rice seedlings’.13
although women were advised to be mindful of the opinion of others –
another proverb warned ‘woe betide the woman who serves betel with a knife
the handle of which is broken; woe betide her reputation’ – if their husbands
were unable or refused to satisfy them they were permitted to take a lover.
Despite ang Duong’s tightening of the laws on divorce for women, observ-
ers commented that it was common and based upon mutual agreement. In
fact, couples who quarrelled were believed to have bad karma from previous
lifetimes so it was in their best interests to divorce: ‘their fate is not to be with
each other, so it is better that they are separated’. Rioeng breng samlanh pir neak
jong bongring dteuk samud’, ‘two friends who tried to empty the sea’, compared
a successful couple who worked together in harmony and were successful and
a couple who constantly fought who were left naked and ashamed. Divorced
women were free to remarry, after which their original husbands could not
reclaim them. In 1853 a Chinese merchant, Khvar, attempted to reclaim his
wife, who had remarried, stating that he had never repudiated her and so her
new ‘husband’ owed him compensation for stealing his wife. the matter was
brought before the king, who determined, as Khvar could produce no wit-
nesses, that he was in contempt. Widows also remarried; a proverb demanded
‘Is raw rice not rice? Is a widow any less a woman?’ It was, however, preferable
that a widow have only one child. ‘a widow with one child is like a young girl;
a widow with three children is like an old woman’.14

Women in public and private

Women were not afraid to assert their legal rights. as discussed above, two
young women brought their quarrel over a young man to the district judge.
around the same time, a 15-year-old girl whose father had been murdered

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travelled to the provincial court in Battambang in order to seek justice. the

judge felt that leniency was required (the killers had thought that the victim
was a sorcerer who had killed their own father) and ordered the payment of a
hefty fine to the girl in compensation. She did not accept the money and went
to the governor of Battambang in order to demand that the murderers be
sentenced to death. ‘her forehead against the ground, calm, without hearing
anything, she repeated her demand with fiery insistence. the Governor had
the men executed under her very eyes’.15 Matters concerning inheritance were
particularly likely to result in lawsuits and in this women were also self-confi-
dent of their rights; estates were divided not along gender lines but according
to which wife the children had been born to. the children of prapuon thom
received the lion’s share, followed by those of the prapuon kandal and prapuon
jerng, should they exist. Neang Sang, daughter of a military official, lodged a
complaint in 1902 on behalf of herself and four brothers. their father had
married a woman named tuch two years before his death. Neang Sang stated
that ‘after the cremation ceremony, we gave neac [sic] tuch a list of goods
and asked her to make over to the children, in accordance with the law, those
goods that she wished us to have’ but she refused. the subsequent tribunal
determined that a portion of the inheritance should be given to the king and
the remainder divided equally between the widow and the five children. the
king determined that the widow should also receive the land and buildings,
even though the two youngest sons had no other place to live.16
punishments for women were virtually the same as those for men. If
one spouse injured the other, the penalty was the same regardless of gender.
Similarly, if ‘a man beats a slave to death and his wife does not try to stop him,
she must be punished as her husband, and vice versa’. Some laws entertained
a slightly less severe sliding scale of punishments for women, such as Kram
Jao, ‘Law concerning thieves’, revised in 1897: ‘If the accused is of female sex,
the number of blows will be reduced by five, and the fine also reduced by five
damlong’.17 Still other laws were designed for the protection of women. Men
who ‘injure beyond repair a woman’s reputation by advertising the fact that
he has fornicated with her or that she used to be his slave’ were bound to pay
a quarter of the price of her life; if, upon investigation, his words were found
to be true, he nonetheless had to pay a reduced fine in compensation.18 the
1897 revised Kram tralakar stipulated that a woman, be she

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 Lost Goddesses

the wife of an official or of a man of the people, having a matter with someone,
asks to appear before a tribunal, they must, in keeping with custom, write to
the husband of the woman so that he may accompany her and give advice.19
the ceremonies marking life stages occurred at the same time for girls and
boys. elite children could expect to undergo the tonsure ceremony around the
age of thirteen. Girls would usually have their ears pierced at this time; if they
did not, they would have to ‘submit to this operation in a most barbaric man-
ner’ at the onset of puberty, at the time of their period of joal m’lap, ‘entering
the shade’. this corresponded roughly with the time that their brothers would
enter the sangha for an extended period, after which they would emerge as men
able to undertake adult responsibilities such as marriage and fatherhood. the
joal m’lap had a similar effect for girls. From their first menstrual period they
were known as kramom, ‘virgins’, and remained so until the birth of their first
child. the first day that the signs of puberty manifested themselves, the girl’s
parents tied khsae (cotton threads) around her wrists and prepared a feast for
the meba, solemnly informing them of the event and asking that they protect
their descendant during her joal m’lap. a special banana tree was planted to the
north-west of the house and only the girl and monks who called on almsrounds
were allowed to consume its fruit. the parents of the girl gave her a number of
guidelines to follow while in joal m’lap. She was not to be seen by any unfamiliar
man; she was not to look at men, even furtively; she was to eat only between
sunrise and midday; she was forbidden to eat meat and fish, consuming only
rice, salt, coconuts, peas, sesame, and fruit; she could only bathe in the com-
pany of her sisters or parents, never after dark; and she was restricted to work in
the house, forbidden even to visit the wat. Wealthy families could afford to have
their daughters observe the joal m’lap for months or even years; girls from very
poor families, whose livelihoods depended upon the contribution of all able-
bodied members, could retreat for only a few days. Often daughters in their
early teens or younger were required to look after their younger siblings.20
people usually waited for a favourable time for the ceremony of jenh m’lap,
‘leaving the shade’, particularly the months before and after the hot season.
Monks came and chanted in the family home while the girl prostrated herself
before them. Family and friends were invited to a feast during which the girl
would have her teeth filed. If she did not have this procedure following her
joal m’lap, she would be required to do this the night before her wedding, as it
was an outward sign of that she had passed through the ceremony marking pu-

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berty. Young men would also have their teeth filed before entering the sangha.
Once the joal m’lap had been completed, the girl was considered ready for
marriage and suitors could begin soliciting her hand. another transformation
awaited her after her marriage: her hair would be cut en brosse to signify her
married state (see Fig. 6.1). Unmarried girls did not cut their hair. regardless
of their marital status, women who had successfully completed their joal m’lap
had to purify themselves each month, seven days following their menstrual
period, by washing themselves at the well or river and ‘massaging their heads
with soda or the soapy fruit sampuor, or with a small lemon’.21

Female power in the spiritual realm

Blood of any sort was considered potentially dangerous as it could attract ma-
levolent supernatural forces. this was particularly true of post-partum blood;

Fig. 6.1: photograph of Mhek Noun, c.1910. National archives of Cambodia.

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 Lost Goddesses

if a woman miscarried or delivered within the palace, a sampuor polikar

ceremony involving special sacrifices for neak ta of the cardinal directions,
the marking of a sima boundary, and chickens, was required before the area
could be considered purified. Midwives were especially respected because
they exposed themselves to the potential dangers of the delivery area as a
matter of course. It was necessary to ‘fire’ the bed of women who had just
delivered. a special fire was built under the raised bed and she and her infant
were ‘smoked’, thus protecting them from evil spirits in the form of brai krala
plerng, ‘ghost of the fire-chamber’, a woman who had died in childbirth herself
and if measures were not taken would attempt to kill the new mother and take
her baby. Women who died in the third trimester of pregnancy or in labour
without having given birth were said to have been killed by brai and could
become brai themselves if, three days following the burial, ‘a man, sufficiently
audacious and resolved’ carried out a certain ceremony. after establishing a
sima around the corpse, he was to place an image of an eight-headed brai in
the centre of the room and recite magical incantations. the woman would
rise from the dead as a brai after the third repetition and attempt to frighten
him to death by making horrible faces, lolling an enormous tongue, rolling
her eyes, and taking on the forms of a serpent, tiger and elephant. If the man
showed any fear he would be consumed, but if he showed resolve eventu-
ally the brai would relinquish the body of her unborn child to him so that he
might make it into a koan kroach.22
there was a still more formidable brai: the brai kramom. these were the
ghosts of young women who were virgins at the time of their death. at first the
brai kramom was indistinguishable from the living, appearing very beautiful,
with long, flowing hair. her victim was usually a young man who had been
responsible for her death or the death of another young woman through in-
fidelity or unkindness. Sometimes, like the brai krala plerng, the brai kramom
targeted her living virginal counterparts. Once the victim had been lured to a
remote place, the brai kramom changed into a terrifying hag with protruding
eyes, long, lolling tongue, and wild locks of hair. the untapped sexual energy
of young women was a powerful force. around 1905 a group of virgins par-
ticipated in a ceremony in which the sexual act was simulated in connection
with neak ta, ancestor spirits, in order to bring rain. according to popular
legend, the monastery of Vihear thom in Kratie province was built on the
bodies of one hundred virgins who were crushed to death in the foundations

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to accompany the spirit of princess Krapum Chhouk, who was killed by a

crocodile nearby. the resulting brai kramom protected the monastery.23
Sacred places were often inhabited by female spirits. Some, like the
kramom, had been killed in ritual sacrifice. pregnant women were also sacri-
ficed in the foundations of important edifices, such as a dike in the Sanghke
river, Battambang province. In this instance, as in Kratie, a powerful neak
ta had to be appeased by the sacrifice before building work could proceed.
the legend of the dike says that when oknha Baen fled to thailand at the end
of the eighteenth century, his principal wife, Neang teav, was homesick for
Cambodia and begged to be allowed to return home. Baen refused.
[teav] fled by boat down the Sanghke river back to her country. When
Chaufea Baen learned of her flight, he ordered his servants to chase her and
kill her immediately on her capture. the servants caught up with Neang teav,
killed her, and buried her at present-day Cape Daunteav. Neang teav’s ghost
became an evil spirit who accepted any offering from passengers travelling up
and down the waterway.24
Sima stones were placed in the water to contain the neak ta but such was
her power that pregnant women were warned against passing in front of the
dike lest they miscarry. there seems to have been an association between
female neak ta and water; according to ang Chouléan, in wats with a srah, or
artificial lake, the neak ta dwelling next to the access stairs was ‘almost always
female’. again, pregnant women were forbidden to walk in front of this neak ta
for fear of premature labour. a certain canoe at Wat Kantoeng in Battambang
was to be avoided for the same reason.25
Statues dating from much earlier periods were popular dwelling-places
for female neak ta, according to the folk legends of the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries. In Kien Svay, Kandal, the chao adthika (head
monk) of Wat prek aing had a dream that a koki tree floated ashore near his
wat. the spirit of a young girl was living in the tree and called out to him, ‘I
have come from a land upriver, now I have come here to your wat. please,
kind loak kru, rescue me.’ the next day the chao adthika sent novices to search
the riverbank and they found a statue. Yet they could not move it. the chao
adthika had another dream in which the spirit of the young woman said that
she did not wish to be touched by men: ‘I am very shy, I will only permit
women to touch me’. the chao adthika organised this and they were surprised
to find that the statue moved easily. people came from all around to make
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 Lost Goddesses

merit in front of the statue and their wishes were fulfilled. they called her
Yeay Bos, ‘Grandmother of the reeds’, as she was found amongst the reeds
of the riverbank. Later, worried that Yeay Bos might be lonely so far away
from her own country, a ‘marriage’ was engineered between Yeay Bos and
another neak ta (ancestor spirit), ta Srei, ‘Grandfather Woman’, the spirit of
a monk, after which they both inhabited Yeay Bos’s statue. Not all ancestor
spirits lived in statues, however; neak ta Yeay Nguon, at Wat Kbal Damrei in
Kompong thom, sometimes dwelt in mounds of earth.26
a particularly powerful kind of neak ta, a me sa (literally, ‘white lady’),
was residing in an image of Durga Mahishasuramardani at Ba phnom in the
1880s. the statue itself had probably been there for centuries. hundreds of
me sa were listed in two documents of the late nineteenth century, one detail-
ing a ceremony carried out in 1859, at the request of ang Duong, to increase
the merit and good fortune of the kingdom, and the other the text of a pledge
of good faith, dating from later in the same century. the purpose of invoking
their names in texts was to demonstrate an association between the king and
their supernatural powers – namely, that he, and he alone, was in a position to
access them.27
the female inhabitants of the supernatural world were often perceived as
being violent and bloodthirsty. the me sa of Ba phnom was ritually offered
human sacrifices; the last appears to have taken place in 1877. Sacrifices were
associated with an annual ritual called ‘raising the ancestors’. people present
at the sacrificial ceremony would ask the me sa ‘to help them to be healthy
and fortunate, to help the governing officials and all their assistants, and also
the ordinary people’. David Chandler suggested that causing a sacrifice to be
performed at the site may have imbued the organiser with legitimisation. the
1877 sacrifices were carried out after King Norodom’s army had routed prince
Sivotha at Ba phnom; Norodom then immediately sent a new official to rule
the area. the commissioning of sacrifices to the me sa of Ba phnom may
have been an attempt on Norodom’s part to establish an association with the
supernatural power of the region as well.28 Neak ta Jamdev Mau, in Kampot
province, was believed by the local people to have the highest adthipul, a su-
pernatural energy, of all neak ta in the area.
From 1866 until 1944 this neak ta was very wild, very noisy; if people walked
along the road toward Kampot in front of her place they would be prevented.
She could not be pleased with offerings of this or that.29

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In Battambang, the governor’s sword was named Srei Khmau, ‘Black Woman’,
and once unsheathed had to kill twice before being put away. Legends such as
Rieong Neang Ramsey Sok and Neang Kangrei tell of yaksini (demons) leading
their armies into battle and fighting to the death.30
the significance and agency of these legendary women was mirrored in
their more mundane counterparts who regularly crossed the boundary be-
tween the seen and unseen worlds: the ap, witches, and rup araks, mediums.
Ap could either inherit their powers or be schooled in the black arts from a
master thmup, sorcerer. the ap were recognised ‘by their bloodshot and hag-
gard eyes’ by day; after dark, they removed their heads from their shoulders
and went about ‘spreading foul illnesses in the entrails of sleepers’. they were
considered extremely dangerous; laws setting out punishments for people
accused of being ap or thmup, causing bad dreams, casting spells, reciting in-
cantations, causing abortions, and making potions of invisibility (all of which
an ap or thmup could be called upon to do) were retained into the twentieth
century. the governor of Battambang, after hearing a case brought by a girl
whose father was thought to be a thmup, ‘thinking that the young girl might
have inherited the occult powers attributed to her father’, had her removed
from his province ‘and prohibited her ever to cross its borders again’.31 On the
other hand, auguste pavie witnessed a woman conjure supernatural forces
for her fiancé when he was about to fight a Cham sailor:
While he bowed to listen, she recited a formula or a prayer and placed a green
leaf in his mouth, picked at night, they told me, from the Sangké tree, which
had to bring him luck. then, recommending him to remain cold-blooded no
doubt, she returned to her companions, laughing despite herself with the ap-
proving comments they cast at her from the distance.32
there was a fine line between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ supernatural powers where
women were concerned. Kru, healers, could be either men or women, and
were considered positive forces. a monk had a dream in which the Queen
Mother commanded him to drink from a pond inside the grounds of her pal-
ace at Udong in order to cure illness; once he publicised this, people began
flocking to the site in droves. By contrast, smir, creatures created when women
anointed themselves with khuoc oil over which magical incantations had been
spoken, were wicked, senseless beings who ‘run into the forest followed by
tigers and, after seven days, their skin will be covered by fur, and they will
become like tigers themselves’.33
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 Lost Goddesses

Rup araks, ‘mediums’, had a similarly ambiguous status. although men

could be rup, it seems to have been more common for women to have been
the vessels through which neak ta chose to communicate. this was particu-
larly true when possessions were instigated by the neak ta through illness.
an old woman named Yeay Khmau, ‘Black Grandmother’, living near Wat
Sangkey in takeo province, became ill with a swelling sickness and went into
trances. the chao adthika of the wat, a renowned healer, was consulted. the
neak ta who had possessed her body wished to stay as the people of the area
were of good character. after her death, the neak ta remained in a statue and
brought peace and prosperity to the srok. Neak ta could also be summoned
through ritual but it was likely that they would be araks brai, ‘wild spirits’,
which seem to have been more inclined toward evil deeds. they were known
by their forms – tambang taek, ‘flaming club’, rambat meas, ‘golden wand’, or
srei khmau, ‘black lady’. In such rituals the rup was assisted by a snang, a female
assistant, who spoke to the rup while possessed.34
©
Notwithstanding the undeniable privileges of elite women over their less
elevated counterparts, there were more differences between women of differ-
ent classes than between men and women within those classes in Cambodia
before the modernisation efforts of the colonial administration began to
impact on Cambodian society. Girls and young women were protected in
law; the importance of women as partners in the home and in business was
recognised; and they were, theoretically at least, entitled to take new hus-
bands should divorce or death leave them unexpectedly solitary. although
men were allowed greater access to the formal religious institution of the
sangha, women seem to have enjoyed just as prominent, if not superior, a
position in the supernatural realm, inhabited by a myriad of female spirits,
and accessed by a host of women in their capacities as ap, rup, and snang.
the equality of men and women can be seen in complementary ceremonies
marking life stages; when boys were serving as novices, girls were in their
joal m’lap period. Women, in fact, had more contact with the spiritual world
than men as their biology dictated a constant affiliation with blood and the
access that it afforded for potentially malevolent spirits. the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries provide a snapshot of Cambodia as, in all likeli-
hood, it had been for hundreds of years; but the true picture, gleaned from

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legends, law codes, and local practices rather than the literature of the elite, is
of a society in which women were respected rather than constrained.

Notes to Chapter 6
1 See for example Saveros pou, ‘avertissement’, in Étienne aymonier, Notes sur les coutu-
mes et croyances supersititeuses des cambodgiens, commenté et présenté par Saveros Pou, paris:
Centre de Documentation et de recherche sur la Civilisation Khmere [Cedorek], 1984,
p. 3.
2 David Chandler, ‘Songs at the edge of the forest: perceptions of order in three Cambodian
texts [1978]’, in David p. Chandler, Facing the Cambodian past: Selected essays 1971–1994,
St Leonards, New South Wales: allen & Unwin, 1996, pp. 78–79.
3 Justin J. Corfield, The royal family of Cambodia, Melbourne: the Khmer Language &
Culture Centre, 1993, p.16; Chandler, ‘Songs at the edge of the forest’, pp.76–99; tauch
Chhong, Battambang during the time of the lord governor, 2nd ed., trans. hin Sithan, Carol
Mortland and Judy Ledgerwood, phnom penh: Cedorek, 1994, pp. 10–11, 112, 131.
4 Kram Sanghkrey, in adhémard Leclère, Les codes cambodgiens, paris: ernest Leroux, 1898,
t. 1, p. 303; Leclère, Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 5; Kram montiro bal, in Codes cambodgiens,
t. 1, p. 192; Kram tortuol bandoeng, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 135, f.n.; tauch Chhong,
Battambang during the time of the lord governor, pp. 32–33, 38, 61, 121.
5 Kram Achnha luong, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 266.
6 ang Chouléan, Les êtres surnaturels dans la religion populaire khmère, paris: Cedorek, 1986,
pp. 235, 238; Kram Sanghkrey, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 326; Rieong tambek buon
neak, in Prachum rieong breng khmei 4, phnom penh: Buddhist Institute, 1962; aymonier,
Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, pp. 44, 47, 72–76; tauch Chhong, Battambang during
the time of the lord governor, p. 39; Kram tous piriyea, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, pp. 280,
287.
7 a. Cabaton, ‘La vie domestique au Cambodge’, Revue Indo-Chinoise 2 (1910), p. 106;
Dum Deav, phnom penh: Buddhist Institute, 1971; auguste pavie, The Pavie Mission
Indochina Papers 1879–1895, vol. 1: Pavie Mission Exploration Work: Laos, Cambodia,
Siam, Yunnan, and Vietnam [1901], trans. Walter e. J. tips, Bangkok: White Lotus, pp.
47–48.
8 Cabaton, ‘La vie domestique au Cambodge’, pp. 105–107; aymonier, Notes sur les
coutumes et croyances, pp. 80, 81–82; tauch Chhong, Battambang during the time of the
lord governor, pp. 76, 80; Rieong A Lev, in Franklin e. huffman, Intermediate Cambodian
reader, New haven: Yale University press, 1972, pp. 141–163; Chao Kambit Pandoh, in
Prachum rieong breng khmei 2, phnom penh: Buddhist Institute, 1960.
9 pavie, Pavie Mission, vol. 1, pp. 56–57.
10 Kram Sanghkrey, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 290; aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et
croyances, pp. 68, 83.
11 aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, pp. 68–69.

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 Lost Goddesses

12 aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, p. 43.

13 Judith Jacob, The traditional literature of Cambodia: A preliminary guide, Oxford: Oxford
University press, 1996, p. 15; Rieong maya srei, in Kambujasuriya 7–9 (1938), pp.
327–337; Rieong Kang Han, in Kambujasuriya 8, 4–6 (1938), pp. 45–53; pavie, Pavie
Mission, vol. 1, pp. 64–65; a. pannetier, ‘Sentences et proverbes cambodgiens’, BEFEO
15 (1915), pp. 69–70.
14 aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, p. 39; Cabaton, ‘La vie domestique au
Cambodge’, p. 110; translation of Cbpab Cosphiriyea, National archives of Cambodia,
Fonds du Resident Superieure au Cambodge [hereafter rSC] 14876; Rieong breng pir neak
jong bongring dteuk samudr’ [two friends who tried to empty the sea], Kambujasuriya
12, 6 (1958), pp. 541–550; pannetier, ‘Sentences et proverbes cambodgiens’, pp. 60, 70;
Kram Preas Reachea khant, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 620.
15 pavie, Pavie Mission, vol. 1, p. 118.
16 Complaint of Neang Sang, dated 17 July 1902; Rapport de Tribunal Supérieur, letter No.
25/1, 26 July 1902. Both in rSC 10047.
17 Kram Viveat, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 455–456; Kram tortuol bandoeng, in Codes
cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 153–154; Kram Chor, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 301.
18 Kram Viveat, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p. 460. the value of a woman’s life was calculated
at 25 damlong, men were worth 30 damlong (Kram Chor, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, p.
310). this should not be taken as an indication that men were more intrinsically valued
in contemporaneous Cambodian society but a calculation based upon the physical work
that a healthy adult was likely to perform. Women would lose some work years due to
pregnancy and primary care of young children.
19 Kram Tralakar, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 2, pp. 88–89.
20 pavie, Pavie Mission, vol. 1, p. 77; tauch Chhong, Battambang during the time of the lord
governor, p. 36; aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, pp. 72–76, 78; ‘how the
koan lok bird got its feathers’, in David Chandler (trans.), The friends who tried to empty
the sea: Eleven Cambodian folk stories, Clayton, Victoria: Monash University Centre of
Southeast asian Studies, 1977.
21 aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, pp. 44, 72–76; Cabaton, ‘La vie domestique
au Cambodge’, p. 112; Henri Mouhot’s Diary: Travels in the central parts of Siam, Cambodia
and Laos during the years 1858–61 [1864], Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University press, n.d.,
p. 35.
22 Kram montiro bal, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, pp. 191–192; ang Chouléan, Les êtres sur-
naturels dans la religion populaire khmère, p. 105; ang Chouléan, ‘Grossesse et accouche-
ment au Cambodge: aspects rituels’, aSeMI : asie du Sud-est et du Monde Insulindien,
13, 1–4, p. 100; aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, p. 69.
23 ang Chouléan, Les êtres surnaturels dans la religion populaire khmère, pp. 132; 213, note
503.
24 tauch Chhong, Battambang during the time of the lord governor, pp. 27–28.

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25 ang Chouléan, Les êtres surnaturels dans la religion populaire khmère, p. 219; tauch
Chhong, Battambang during the time of the lord governor, p. 82.
26 Neak ta Ta Srei neung Yeay Bos, in Prajum rieong bring khmei: Krom jomnuon tomniem
tomleap khmei, vol. 8, phnom penh: Buddhist Institute, 2001, pp. 107–113; Neak ta Yeay
Nguon, in Prajum rieong bring khmei, vol. 8, pp. 155–175.
27 For more detailed information on this goddess see David Chandler, ‘royally sponsored
human sacrifices in nineteenth century Cambodia: the cult of nak ta me sa (mahisasura-
mardani) at Ba phnom’ [1974], in Chandler, Facing the Cambodian past, pp. 119–135;
David Chandler, ‘Maps for the ancestors: Sacralized topography and echoes of angkor in
two Cambodian texts’, in Chandler, Facing the Cambodian past, p. 42.
28 ‘Nak ta me sa (Ba phnom), Chandler’s translation of Khmer original in Prajum rieong
bpren (phnom penh: Institute Bouddhique, 1971), vol. 8, 81–88, in ‘royally sponsored
human sacrifices in nineteenth century Cambodia’, p. 134; Chandler, ‘Maps for the an-
cestors’, pp. 39–40.
29 Neak ta Jamdev Mau, in Prajum rieong breng khmei, vol. 8, pp. 123–133.
30 tauch Chhong, Battambang during the time of the lord governor, p. 50; Jacob, Traditional
literature of Cambodia, pp. 139,142; Kambujasuriya vols 7–9 (1937), pp. 327–337.
31 aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, p. 62; Kram Lakkhana uttar, in Codes cam-
bodgiens, t. 2, pp. 113–114; pavie, Pavie Mission, vol. 1, p. 118.
32 pavie, Pavie Mission, vol. 1, p. 61.
33 aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes et croyances, pp. 57, 65; Jean Moura, Le royaume de
Cambodge, paris: ernest Leroux, 1883, vol. 2, p. 153.
34 Neak ta Yeay Khmau, in Prajum rieong bring khmei, vol. 8, pp. 51–56; aymonier, Notes sur
les coutumes et croyances, pp. 58–59, 77. Snang was also the word for a category of royal
wives. the snang in both roles acted as facilitators between persons who were simultane-
ously of the human and supernatural worlds – kings and mediums – and the mundane
world itself.

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 Chapter SeVeN

Cherchez la femme

T he colonial period, officially established on 11 august

1863, has shaped modern Cambodian identity.1 the
tension between development and subjugation had
particular ramifications for women in Cambodia. the French
saw Cambodian women as simultaneously naïve and corrupting,
powerless yet capable of (negative) influence. Few reforms of the
colonial period were specifically directed toward the improve-
ment of Cambodian women’s lives and those that were contrib-
uted to their disempowerment by removing them from areas in
which they had previously been significant. Under the French,
women were forced to take their husband’s surnames in interac-
tions with the state. a rule of succession was introduced stipulat-
ing that only male descendants of ang Duong should inherit the
throne.2 French scholars dismissed evidence that some women in
the Cambodian past could have been more important than men.3
at the same time, the French did little to eliminate practices that
were discriminatory to women from a european point of few,
such as polygamy and limited access to educational opportunities.
these, rather than the significance and importance of women in
Cambodia of the late nineteenth century discussed in Chapter 6,
were enshrined as ‘traditional’ Cambodian practices.

Exoticism and ‘encongayment’

the earliest French accounts reveal conflicting images of Cam-
bodian women. One impression was of a demure bonne femme.

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 Cherchez la femme

those who know the Cambodian woman, have observed her within her fam-
ily, at the temple, at the great religious and family celebrations, always devout,
always attentive, obliging without ever losing an ounce of her dignity, busy,
watching everything, placing offerings in front of the Buddha, giving alms to
the monks, preparing the flowers for offering, or placing them for all ances-
tors, for all the village invited to the marriage of a daughter, at the hair-cutting
ceremony of the children.4
Others described Cambodian women as ‘pious Buddhists’ and ‘devout’. an
elderly Cambodian woman in a French novel ‘lived the life of a nun, distribut-
ing alms to all’. Some saw them as childish, though well-intentioned: ‘She is
more of a child than a woman and has a passion for jewels above all else. She is
capable of most profound sentiments and delicate attentions. her heart brims

Hué
�
A M Lower
S I Laos
Briti
sh Bu

� Bangkok
Mekong

Battambang
Annam
�
rma

Cambodge
Phnom Penh � �Koki
a
h�in
�
Ba Phnom
C
n Saigon
French expansion
in Indochina ochi
1859–63
C
1867

1883–85

1893

1902–04

1907 © NIAS Press

Fig. 7.1: Cambodia and the expansion of French Indochina. adapted from Jan M. pluvier, Historical
Atlas of South-East Asia and other written sources.

149
 Lost Goddesses

with tenderness, often of a charming sensibility.’ Such descriptions prolifer-

ate in the novels and diaries of French colonialists, although, according to
Étienne aymonier, they did not have much opportunity to see Cambodian
women very often unless glimpsed drawing water from the well or partici-
pating in ceremonies at the wat. Upon seeing europeans, ‘these brown and
timid rebeccas’ would ‘slip in all haste towards home, grab feverishly the
window-shutters and disappear inside, where for nothing will they leave as
long as the stranger is in sight’. europeans fortunate enough to approach were
favourably impressed, at least with young women. henri Mouhot described a
new addition to King Norodom’s court as ‘one, whose features were delicate
and pretty, dressed in the european style, and wearing long hair. She would
have been reckoned a pretty girl anywhere’.5
Many men seem to have detected an underlying promise of sensuality in
the appearance of Cambodian women: ‘Lips partly opened to smile, with one
hand holding her dress … . [h]er sturdy but supple body undulated under
her tunic-sheath which tightly held her shoulders and her chest and displayed
her bosom’. the perceived exoticism of their appearance contributed to the
construction of Cambodian women as sexually licentious, but the casual
sexual encounters between enslaved women and their masters, observed
by europeans for centuries before the colonial period in Cambodia, led to
a widespread belief that Southeast asian women were inherently sexually
available and indiscriminate in their choice of partners. In the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, the association between slavery, perceived as a dishon-
ourable or degrading state, and the confusion of temporary marriages with
prostitution, devalued the status of the temporary wife in Southeast asian so-
cieties. the ‘exotic east’ was perceived as a place of sexual freedom, free from
the guilt and responsibilities that came with metropolitan sexual activity. this
comes across in many nineteenth- and twentieth-century French novels. as
penny edwards has remarked, these novels ‘conjured up an inverted dream-
world … . In this colonial utopia all the heroes were portrayed as French
men, the colonized were Cambodian women hungry for male domination’.
the sexual conquest of indigenous women is a metaphor for the violent
acquisitions of early colonialism. Indigenous women, because they were ‘dif-
ferent’, were thought likely to be ‘more compliant’ and ‘less discerning’ than
europeans, ‘more interested in the financial rewards of being associated with
a metropolitan male than with questions of love’.6

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 Cherchez la femme

the commoditisation of sex was of great concern to some senior French

administrators. as early as 1885 an arrête was promulgated giving the colonial
police the power to close brothels and arrest sex workers. In a letter to the
Résident Supérieur du Cambodge, dated 20 May 1901, Leclère drew attention
to the ‘houses of iniquity and the prostitutes who carry on, in phnom penh,
their degrading profession.’ he then listed a number of problems with the
existing situation and called for redresses that would regularise brothels and
discourage men from visiting them, including locating brothels at a distance
from the town. these suggestions were not adopted in the 1901 Code Pénal
cambodgien. Instead, ‘those who run houses of prostitution that have not been
authorised by the government’ would be fined between 30 and 100 piastres
and face imprisonment of three months. the following year, Leclère lament-
ed that the number of sex workers in phnom penh had increased from five in
1892 to fifty. a later arrête stated that sex workers known to have transmitted
diseases to clients would be imprisoned for a minimum of one month if they
continued working. Numbers of sex workers increased throughout the twen-
tieth century; Geoffrey Gorer commented in 1935 that ‘every rickshaw boy,
and there must be thousands of them, is a pimp’. Leclère blamed the increase
in sex workers and a general decline in female morality on the French, but he
was in the minority. Most colonialists believed that Cambodian women were
naturally inclined toward debauchery.7
temporary marriage acquired a new name during the colonial period: en-
congayment. as we have seen in earlier chapters, Cambodian women had been
taking foreign husbands for centuries.8 Large numbers of French colonial
officials had the inevitable result of temporary marriages with local women
who benefited materially from such unions. Léon Fonfrère, a military official,
received a letter from ang Lava (known as Marie thérèse Fonfrère) stating
that she was leaving him to live with a civil servant in Cochinchina and taking
her trousseau with her.9 Despite the prevalence of unions between French
colonial men and Cambodian women, the French metropole warned against
encongayment in the strongest possible terms:
It must not be forgotten that in most cases, the indigenous woman who con-
sents to live with a european is a veritable prostitute and that she will never
reform. When, after several years of free union with Frenchmen, the latter
disappear or abandon her, she fatally returns to the vice from which she came
and she nearly always sets an example of debauchery, sloth, and immorality

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 Lost Goddesses

for her children. She takes care of them with the sole purpose of later profit-
ing from their labor and especially from their vices.10
the French feared that the influence of indigenous women would lead
the colonial administrators to see things from the colonial, rather than metro-
politan, point of view. these fears were realised in the Yukanthor affair, when
albert huynh de Vernéville, Résident Supérieur du Cambodge, was accused
of being under the influence of his native mistress Mi ruong. thus, whilst
indigenous women were perceived as submissive and exotic, they were also
seen as potential destroyers of the boundary between metropole and colony,
through the children they produced.11 according to the 1899 statute of the
Société de protection et d’éducation des Jeunes Métis Français de la Cochinchine et
du Cambodge, métis sons were destined for lives of crime and sloth, girls for
prostitution, as
from the cradle, their mothers adorn them with bracelets and necklaces and
maintain in them a love of luxury … . arriving at the age of puberty, deprived
of any skills which would help them survive, and pushed into a life by their
mothers that they have a natural tendency to imitate, they will take to prosti-
tution in its diverse forms.12

Emancipation and exploitation

the sexualised image of Cambodian women held by many French officials met
its zenith with regard to the women of the palace, believing the institution to be
a Cambodian version of the Middle eastern ‘harem’ in which women had no
function other than to provide sexual services.13
[the palace] is dressed in a thousand different fabrics, bare shoulders and arms,
heads of black, short hair. there are old, wrinkled women, shaven-headed, col-
larbones like ropes, spines hard and curved under their white robes. there are
opulent matrons with tight jackets who eat betel like ruminating cattle; women
of round and soft figures, holding naked children, squatting on their haunches;
girls dressed in sampot shining and brittle as stars; servants carrying boxes of be-
tel … . One sees also some annamite women with their black clothing, beads of
gold at their necks; and Malays of opulent hairstyles. they are seated on mats,
squatting, lying down, leaning on their elbows.14
Leclère referred to the female ‘slaves’ of the palace as sauchey, synonymous
with ‘prostitute’, and the women whose duty it was to carry ritual objects
into the king’s chamber ‘femme du lit (du harem)’. French writers had few
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 Cherchez la femme

opportunities for close observation but this did not prevent them from writ-
ing sensational descriptions of the lives of the women inside the palace walls,
beginning with the bewilderment of the young girls who cried ‘in seeing their
mother disappear’, but quickly finding consolation in ‘the beautiful gardens,
the flowers, the pretty houses, the shops selling fried cakes’ inside the palace.15
the remainder of their girlhood, according to such descriptions, was spent
in learning the difficult art of Cambodian dance so that they might perform
for the king and attract his favour, in avoiding the inevitable petty jealousies
that exist between women, and wrestling with sexual desires that might never
be fulfilled as the women of the palace were forbidden to leave the palace
grounds.16 Secret lesbian trysts abound in Saramani, danseuse khmère, a story
largely sympathetic to women of the palace. In old age, the women of the pal-
ace have no option but to remain in their ‘prison’: ‘her parents are dead and
her friends divided by intrigues … . and so she becomes one of the ghastly
old women with which the palace is peopled’.17
the French had strong objections to the number of women in King
Norodom’s palace. Gouverneur Général Jean Le Myre de Vilers wrote at the
end of his posting that Norodom had, ‘to crown everything, a harem, made
up of four hundred women, which becomes larger each year through the
recruitment of young girls carried on in Siam’.18 Norodom was extremely
reluctant to reduce the numbers of women maintained in his palace. the
French thought this was because Norodom wished to avail himself of their
services, and no doubt this was to some extent true; but what the French did
not understand was that the presence of large numbers of women in a man’s
entourage represented the extent of his support base, his masculinity, and his
charisma, all of which were important requirements for kings.19 Norodom
was particularly sensitive to his image as a legitimate king in possession of the
necessary attributes of sovereignty, as his reign was not universally endorsed
by the Cambodian oknha and he experienced considerable opposition during
his reign. he responded to Cambodian criticism by reinforcing his image as a
Cambodian king in traditional ways. One of these was to appease the me sa of
Ba phnom through human sacrifice, as discussed in Chapter 6.
another was to demonstrate the fealty of his oknha and other subjects by
taking into his palace (sometimes by force) their daughters as living symbols
of their acknowledgement of his right to rule. although his official wives
were eventually downsized to five, this number retained the symbolism of

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 Lost Goddesses

the cakravartin king whose power extended in all four cardinal directions,
with one principal queen at the heart of the kingdom. Norodom, like earlier
kings, saw infidelity on the part of the women of the palace as treason, as it
compromised the relationship established between the family and thus the
geographic area they represented. punishment for sexual transgressions was
harsh. In 1875 an official, Kuy, was found to have slept with one of the neak
moneang, Chhay. Kuy was condemned to death along with the two women
who had acted as intermediaries for the couple. after being shot, their heads
were cut off and displayed on bamboo stakes as a deterrent for others. Chhay
could not be shot as her rank as a woman by whom the king had had children
entitled her to mitigated punishment; thus she was beheaded with a sword.20
Ostensibly, the emancipation of the women of the palace was part of the
process of modernisation that the French were bestowing so benevolently
upon their colonial subjects. the treatment meted out to women of the pal-
ace by Norodom and the conditions in which they believed they were forced
to live provided the impetus to dissolve what they considered a barbaric form
of institutionalised slavery. although the French acknowledged that the peo-
ple themselves usually offered their daughters to the king, they dismissed the
practice as a superstition rather than an integral part of Cambodian political
culture: ‘[their] fathers are persuaded that their daughters offered to the king
will bring to them and their families the favour of the spirits and great protec-
tion’. there were other considerations, however, that led to the dissolution of
the women of the palace. the French objected to the largesse that the king
would freely distribute amongst his favourites and the control that the women
of the palace had over the treasury. Norodom entrusted his finances to his
favourite consorts in the latter part of his life. the women of the palace were
also considered an expensive luxury. paul Doumer described the women of
the palace as wearing ‘silk clothing … [and] masses of jewels on their persons
… . his dancers possessed costumes, golden, peaked crowns, each covered in
stones of an incalculable value’. In a country desperately in need of ‘civilising’
and ‘modernisation’, the women of the palace were a drain on resources. the
most threatening aspect of the women of the palace, however, was the influ-
ence that they wielded over the king.21
the death of Norodom in april 1904 gave the French the opportunity
to implement a host of reforms to the running of the palace. all members of
the court, including princes and princesses, were reviewed and their salaries

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 Cherchez la femme

brought into line with French civil service salaries. Control of the royal treas-
uries passed into the hands of the French. roland Meyer gave a very vivid,
if fictitious, account of how the reorganisation must have appeared to the
inhabitants of the palace: ‘the mayor of the palace, accompanied by a bald
Frenchman with big fish-eyes, went into the throne hall, opened the royal
treasure-coffers, and for several days appeared to be the true masters of the
house’. the number of women that the king could support was thereby re-
duced and many left the palace for marriages beyond its walls. King Sisowath
(r. 1904–1927), although less prolific than his father, had been an adult during
the heydey of Norodom’s excesses, and following this example had established
his retinue of women of the palace. No kang chao (the title given to women of
the palace with close relationships to the king) were added during his reign.
Girls continued to be absorbed into the palace, but in fewer numbers; by
1913 the custom was on the wane. those that did enter the palace after 1904
were destined for the palace troupes of singers and dancers rather than the
administrative and ritual functions of the past, and they were paid a salary
from the budget of the royal treasury. Some women managed to negotiate
important positions despite the reduced opportunities for advancement. Sou
Seth (1881–1963), the daughter of a palace official, began her palace career
as a chanter in the palace chorus, becoming secretary of the royal ballet (at
which time she held literacy classes for the dancers), the head of the women’s
chorus, and the manager of the orchestra.22 the reign of Sisowath can be seen
as a compromise between traditional Cambodian kingship and French efforts
at modernisation (see Fig. 7.2); although described as ‘more easy-going’ with
regard to the women of the palace, he maintained the tight control over their
sexual activities of yesteryear, as they continued to represent his potency as a
man and legitimacy as a sovereign.
the gossips wait and follow them, so that they cannot explain away a half-
hour. In this little world of grace and charm, a denunciation is rewarded with
the protection of an official or a favourite. they are spied upon and watched.
emissaries are sent out to the town while the dancers stay in the palace, to
find out what she, with authority, did! Who approached her? Who spoke to
her? Who is that man? Is that really her brother?23
Forced to accept the continuation of an institution they regarded as de-
bauched, the French strove to find some redemption in its existence. happily,
the ‘royal ballet’ – originally comprised of women of the palace gifted in dance
155
 Lost Goddesses

Fig. 7.2: Monument at Wat phnom depicting the return of Battambang, Siem reap and Sisophon
provinces, represented as submissive women, to the Cambodian king in 1907.

but by no means their sole occupation – fulfilled the colonial agenda of mis-
sion civilisatrice, the perceived responsibility of the French in modernising the
countries and peoples it colonised, and mise en valeur, the manifestation of
the supposed benefits colonialism brought, ‘a means through which to meas-
ure and display the beneficial impact of the French enterprise abroad’. the
French had been exposed to the spectacle of the royal ballet from the begin-
ning of their involvement with Cambodia. It was the custom for guests to the
court to be honoured with a banquet and entertainment provide by the palace
dancers ‘in accordance with the custom of past entertainments at the court of
the great king’. George Bois, a French representative at the Cambodian court
in the early twentieth century, determined that the Cambodian royal ballet
would make an admirable addition to the Exposition colonial in Marseilles
in 1906. although paul Doumer said that the Cambodian king was ‘happy
to offer them to europeans as an entertainment’, Sisowath refused to allow
the royal ballet dancers to travel to France without him, setting forth with a
sizeable entourage that included cooks, valets, doctors, monks, a number of
princes and princesses, forty-two dancers, eight rhythm-keepers, eight dress-

156
 Cherchez la femme

ers, twelve musicians, eight narrators, and two jewellers. It is possible that
the dancers themselves thought that they were accompanying their king on a
period of house arrest in France,24 as had been the custom at the thai court.
the French modified the choreography of the Cambodian ballet in keep-
ing with metropolitan tastes. It was feared that too accurate a representation
of indigenous artistry would not enthral onlookers. this was a sentiment that
had been voiced by paul Doumer in 1903: ‘the events, borrowed from scenes
of the Ramayana, seductions, battles, battles between men and monkeys, are
for us a little more incomprehensible. the Cambodians find such mimicry an
extreme pleasure and the king more so than his subjects’. these augmentations
were favourably received by the viewing public; after seeing the Exhibition co-
loniale in 1922, Geoffrey Gorer commented that he was ‘very impressed with
them’ and that ‘their white makeup, their expensive and peculiar costumes,
and their stylised movements, is [sic] far pleasanter when seen in a european
theatre’. roland Meyer has his heroine, a Cambodian dancer who accompanied
the troupe to Marseilles, comment upon the superficiality of europeans, that
they can conceive only of the present world, through visual means; they know
nothing of spirituality. Later, two dancers discuss leaving the royal ballet, as
their position has been devalued from attendants to the power of sovereignty to
performing animals. When one girl worries that the art of dance will degenerate
without skilled dancers, another says that ‘new dancers recruited from amongst
clumsy peasants will suffice to amuse the French’.25
When Sisowath died in april 1927, the French took control of the royal
ballet corps. a royal ordinance promulgated on 14 June 1927 placed the royal
ballet corps under the direct control of the Directeur des Arts cambodgiens.
reforms were made to the manner in which members of the troupe were cho-
sen, conditions of training and employment, and remuneration. previously,
these had been at the discretion of the king. Some aspects of the traditional
were retained in the reformed admission requirements, for example that
girls under eighteen must be presented for admission by their parents. the
majority of traditional elements were removed, however. advancement and
distribution of roles were no longer left to the king; according to the ordi-
nance, henceforth promotion would be decided by an agreement between
the Ministre du Palais Royal, the Directeur de Arts cambodgiens, two princes of
the royal family, one princess of the royal family, two ballet mistresses, one
Cambodian professor at the École des Arts, and one female instructor.26 the

157
 Lost Goddesses

king no longer had one of the rewards with which he used to remunerate his
favourites.
the royal ballet corps was recreated according to French aesthetic prin-
ciples. this meant that older women who had once been dancers could form
no part of the new troupe. ‘all dancers decommissioned or excluded from
Our personnel troupe in the past cannot, under any circumstances, form part
of that presently undergoing re-organisation’, wrote King Monivong in 1927.
the conditions of employment within the reformed troupe were arduous.
Members were expected to practise five days a week and be ready to perform
any one of six pieces. the Directeur des Arts cambodgiens was required to give
only eight hours’ notice before the troupe was needed for a performance.
Other changes were proposed but not implemented. these included the re-
quirement for adult dancers, aged between sixteen and twenty, to be present-
ed to the ballet corps with a Certificat de Moralité if she was unmarried, and a
Certificat de mariage and a letter of authorisation from her husband if married.
the original article 17 in the draft ordinance provided married dancers with
legitimate children an allowance, provided that the father of the offspring did
not support the child. In order to claim this allowance, dancers had to sup-
ply the Direction des Arts cambodgiens with a marriage certificate, the birth
certificate of the child or children, and the profession of her husband. the
final version of the Ordonnance royale makes no mention of members of the
troupe entering the service already married, or marrying once admitted, or
having children. article 14 of the final version, however, addresses the matter
of ‘dancers wishing to leave the ballet for reasons of personal convenience’.
Usually, dancers were required to inform the Directeur des Arts cambodgiens a
minimum of six months in advance of retirement. If her health was the reason
for retirement, a medical certificate signed by a French doctor, attesting that
it was impossible for the girl concerned to continue dancing, was required
before the pension could be claimed.27
alternatives to the official, state-administered ballet corps existed, but
do not appear to have been financially successful, at least in phnom penh.
this was probably due to a degree of persecution by the French administra-
tion. Soy Sang Vann, Directrice of a private troupe of Cambodian dancers in
phnom penh and wife of a lesser prince, applied for a passport in both 1931
and 1932 in order to facilitate travel to Bangkok. It is not clear why the 1931
application was rejected. Documents filed with the 1932 application, how-

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 Cherchez la femme

ever, are informative. a note from the Sûreté du Cambodge was sent to the
Commissaire Central de Police recommending that the applicant be subjected
to ‘the usual inquiries’ before proceeding with the application. the police re-
port stated that ‘her conduct, her morals and her loyalty are good and she has
never been the object of a complaint’. Five days later, however, a very different
report was sent to the Résident Supérieur au Cambodge, recommending that
Soy Sang Vann be refused a passport. Due to inquiries ‘into the real purpose
of this journey, it appears, from the information gathered, that the party con-
cerned finds herself presently in a financially precarious situation and that
her dance enterprise is on the point of failure.’ the reason for travel given by
Soy Sang Vann herself was ‘tourism’. the report of the agent who conducted
the inquiry was attached. he related that they had found that the princess
‘wished to go to Siam to collect a dancer named Yeun, sent to Siam to learn
to dance in the Siamese manner.’ the report also contained the information
that Soy Song Vann quarrelled with her husband each week, due to his having
become romantically involved with her sister, who lived with the couple, that
Soy Sang Vann owed a significant amount of money to an Indian banker, and
that her dancing troupe was on the verge of collapse.28
Whatever the marital problems existing between Soy Song Vann and her
husband, there are other interpretations of her application for a passport than
a possible escape from her debts and her marriage. Struggling to turn her
private ballet corps into a successful financial venture, she would have had
recourse to a moneylender in order to pay salaries and rent practice rooms
and costumes. In an effort to inject new techniques into the repertoire of the
ballet, she sent one of the dancers abroad to acquire new methods. Wishing
to escape her unhappy domestic situation and business worries for a time,
she may have decided to travel to Siam in order to distract herself and check
on the progress of her dancer. the French, however, did not subscribe to any
possible view other than that Soy Sang Vann was a cantankerous harpy deter-
mined to evade her debts and the (deserved) failure of her private dancing
troupe.
the women of the palace recruited during the reign of King Sisowath
Monivong were of distinctly humbler backgrounds than their predecessors.
there was no longer any political merit in oknha seeking to establish an al-
liance with the king, as he was no longer in control of the bestowal of titles,
honours and wealth. as a result, there were only a few dozen women of the

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 Lost Goddesses

palace by the time of his death in 1941. those that remained were involved in
the royal ballet; Long Meak, the daughter of the private secretary to Chhim
Long, private secretary of the Résident Supérieur, had been a dancer during the
reign of King Sisowath and bore a son to the then prince Monivong. When he
acceded, she was appointed khun preah moneang, ‘lady in charge of the ladies’
and on his death a senior instructor of dance. her cousin, Saloth Sareoun,
was also a dancer in Monivong’s court, attending him on his deathbed. When
King Monivong died in 1941, all women of the palace below the third tier
of wives were removed from the list of palace employees and their already
meagre civil servants’ salaries reduced to nothing.29 In 1943 only eleven kang
chao, very elderly women, remained at court; they had nowhere else to go
and no provision had been made for them by the foreign presence that had
condemned their once honourable role.

The ( failed) institutionalisation of midwifery

another colonial policy that removed women from positions of significance,
but with much less success, was the institutionalisation of midwifery. as
discussed in earlier chapters, midwives were accorded special status in pre-
colonial Cambodia, as they habitually exposed themselves to the dangers of
the delivery room and the supernatural forces that could manifest around the
mother and her newborn child. Midwifery had been a profession requiring
no formal education in Cambodia, merely instruction from older midwives
and assisting at births. Until World War I, the only admonition made by the
French in this area was that Cambodian midwives not assist women in pro-
curing abortions.30 a decree promulgated on 16 april 1924 stated that hence-
forth all midwives practising in Cambodia would be required to obtain the
Diplôme de l’Infirmière Accoucheuse from a recognised school of midwifery.31
Midwives who did not obtain the required qualification were prohib-
ited from practising and persecuted. this is clearly illustrated in the 1925
closure of a private maternity hospital in phnom penh, directed by the wife
of a Vietnamese official employed in the phnom penh mayoral residence.
a woman who had spent ten days at the private clinic was admitted to the
French-run Clinique Roume on 13 March 1925 with a puerperal infection. She
died within a few hours. the local director of the Service de la Santé advised
the Résident Supérieur in phnom penh that the private clinic should be closed
pending investigation of the personnel, whom he suspected were not licensed

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 Cherchez la femme

under the provisions of the 1924 decree. the investigation revealed that the
director of the clinic held a certificate in midwifery, obtained from the Cholon
school in 1913, but the other two women had no formal qualifications. None
had received authorisation to operate a maternity clinic by the Direction local
de la Santé. the report of the investigation concluded by drawing attention to
an attached list of other non-French midwives ‘still practising in phnom penh
without authorisation’ and asking that measures be employed to prevent
this state of affairs from continuing. the result was an arrête issued by the
Gouverneur Général en Indochine to the effect that all midwives practising in
Cambodia should belong to the state health concern, the Assistance Médicale
au Cambodge.32
the French administration believed that the recruitment of young girls,
educated in écoles franco-cambodgiennes, would result in a more obedient corps
of midwives. On 17 September 1924 the Gouverneur Général en Indochine re-
commended that an École Pratique des Sages-Femmes Ingigènes, along the same
lines as that of Cholon, be established in phnom penh.33 the school opened
in October 1924. the administration does not seem to have publicised the
imminent opening of the École Pratique des Sage-Femmes as applications
received for the 1924–1925 school year from inhabitants of Cambodia all
sought admission to the school at Cholon. the application process was hap-
hazard and overly bureaucratic. Madeleine Ba, a half-French, half-Vietnamese
girl born in phnom penh, wrote to the Résident Supérieur au Cambodge stating
her intention of enrolling in midwifery at the maternity hospital in Cholon
and asking for his help, as the Directeur Local de la Santé had lost the results
of her physical examination and the two photographs she had sent with her
application.
I am an orphan and without resources … . I appeal to your kindness in help-
ing me go to Cholon in order to study a subject that will allow me to find
work. after my two years of study, I pledge to serve in Cambodia where you
will establish many maternity hospitals.34
an official in the police department, M. rozier, assisted Madeleine Ba
in her application. the administrative officer who handled Madeleine Ba’s
application spoke to him regarding his protégée. In the margin of the letter,
beside M. rozier’s name, a handwritten comment appears: ‘he suggests the
École in phnom penh, which opens soon’. the application process required
candidates to submit to a physical examination, during which they were
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 Lost Goddesses

required to fill out a form detailing their name, age, place of birth, national-
ity, race, height, weight, general state of health, and any medical problems. a
photograph, expensive to obtain, was to be affixed to the bottom left-hand
corner of the page. Copies of the applicant’s Certificat d’Études Primaires
franco-indigènes and Certificat de le bonnes vie et mœurs, literally ‘good life and
sound morals’, were to be provided. Once admitted to the school, the appli-
cants were expected to abide by the terms and conditions of the Assistance
Médicale au Cambodge, which included six years of state service.35
the terms of employment for state midwives were complicated and did
not entertain much scope for promotion. advancement was entirely at the
discretion of the Résident Supérieur au Cambodge, acting on the recommen-
dations of local officials, administrators and ‘interested parties’.36 the condi-
tions by which midwives were expected to abide must have been more than
most women were prepared to adopt, as enrolments declined over the next
two years. In 1927 the situation was so precarious that the Résident Supérieur
au Cambodge wrote to the Directeur Local de la Santé in favour of admitting an
applicant who was underage:
I … propose that we dispense with the age requirement, if such a thing is
possible, for this candidate, for three reasons. 1) the lack of midwifery
personnel and the difficulties of recruitment. there are not more than two
students in the first year at present. 2) this candidate is the only one who has
been awarded the Certificat d’Études Primaires. 3) If her application is rejected
and if the candidate must wait a year before reapplying, it is likely that in the
interval she would find another use for her abilities, and the service has the
chance of losing her altogether.37
there was no attempt by the French to improve the situation of student
midwives in order to attract more applicants. In 1931, Justine poggi, a half-
French, half-Vietnamese girl who had been adopted by a French official,
wrote that she would pledge herself ‘to the service in the same terms as the
other student-midwives, without board, lodging nor remuneration’.38 these
are hardly attractive terms. the unnecessarily complicated, intrusive and of-
ten expensive application process, the terms of service, and the conditions of
advancement had little attraction for those who were qualified for admittance
to the École des Sages-Femmes in phnom penh, and overall the institutionalisa-
tion of midwifery, one of the few colonial policies specifically directed toward
the improvement of conditions for women, failed.

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Education and exhibition

No comprehensive plan of reform was devised for the Cambodian education
system until quite late in the colonial period, although it constituted a corner-
stone of French modernisation efforts. In 1867 King Norodom established a
secular school for the children of the royal family, under French patronage.
the first French-administered school in Cambodia, the École de Protectorat,
opened in 1873 under the direction of a navy corporal, Ferryrolles, but its
purpose was to train indigenous men (usually Vietnamese) who could serve
as intermediaries between the palace and the French. a French-administered
school for indigenous children in phnom penh opened in 1884, but such was
the local antipathy towards the largely Chinese and Vietnamese ethnicity of
the students that few Cambodians attended. those that did were the children
of the royal family and wealthy local elite. In 1890 a committee was organised
in order to oversee the establishment of Instruction Publique en Indochine. In
april 1893 the Collège du Protectorat was created in phnom penh. the best
students were sent to the secondary schools in Saigon, or went to France on
scholarships to study in a special division of the École Coloniale.39
the lack of educational initiatives and reforms during the early phase of
French intervention in Cambodia stunted Cambodia’s development for dec-
ades and reflected the insouciance with which the French viewed Cambodia
as a colony. Following the death of King Norodom in 1904, educational
reform took on a new impetus. King Norodom made provision in his will
that funds from his personal fortune be allocated for the establishment of
a school for princes and princesses. King Sisowath donated the buildings
he had lived in prior to his accession to the Instruction Publique en Indochine
for use as schools in 1906. the following year 750 pupils were recorded as
attending schools in phnom penh, of which 54 were children of the royal
family, while 400 attended state schools in rural areas. these Écoles primaires
franco-cambodgiennes were split into two categories in 1908 – résidentielles,
primary schools in each provincial capital and phnom penh, and khet, district
schools that provided a preparation for résidentielles.40
elite girls could access primary education in phnom penh at the private
schools and at the École du Protectorat. Girls enrolled at the latter institution
were required to prepare work for the 1906 Marseilles Exhibition. Nicola
Cooper has suggested that the purpose of the Expositions coloniales was to
provide legitimation for French imperialism through recognition of successful

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efforts at modernisation whilst ensuring that the ‘backwardness’ of the colonies

was emphasised, in order to necessitate a continued presence. ‘Celebrating’
the arts of the indigenous peoples of the colonies was a means of including the
colonised within the greater French collective. auguste pavie remarked that
the ‘silk cloths woven by the women of Cambodia, using a method preserved
from the oldest civilisations, are particularly rich and remarkable’. Girls at the
Écoles Yukanthor, Norodom and Sutharot were required to send their work to
the Exposition Coloniale in 1922. Items ranged from ladies bags to plates to
head-dresses. Significantly, the exhibition organisers ‘eliminated all ordinary
garments … obviously inspired by French fashion magazines’. Students’ ex-
ercise books and examinations were shown in Vicennes. these exhibitions of
people and culture served to reinforce the attitude of the metropolitan towards
the colonies, propagated through adventurers’ accounts, popular novels, and
schoolbooks legitimising French imperialism.41
In 1907 an administrative division of the Instruction Publique en Indochine
called the Direction de l’École des Filles du Protectorat was established,42 but the
first French-administered school for girls was not established until 1911. On
16 September 1911 ernest Outrey, Résident Supérieur au Cambodge issued
a circular to his administrators asking them to identify non-French officials
employed by the government who had daughters and direct them to send
the girls to the proposed École des filles, due to open on 1 October 1911. the
language of the directive was menacing:
I recommend to you that it would be good, in advising your native assistants
of this measure, to make them aware that the government would look upon
them with pleasure should they send their daughters to this school, and thus
give the native population of the town of phnom penh an example that could
not have a more beneficial effect.43
the possible benefits of education for girls were not mentioned in the
circular, although Outrey commented that ‘the dissemination of instruction
to girls is a question of very capital importance’. the assumption was that the
‘natives’ would do as they were told. In order to ensure capitulation, Outrey
instructed the French bureaucrats to send lists of all indigenous employees’
children’s names and ages and whether or not they would be attending the
École des filles. reactions varied. the Hôpital mixte de Phnom Penh acquiesced
readily, sending a neatly typed table of personnel with the names of their
daughters and which ones would be sent to the new school. Only five of the
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seventeen girls listed were not to be sent to the school and these seem to be
for reasons other than parental recalcitrance, as in some cases siblings were
marked down as future students. Some responses were polite yet firm. the
Tresorièr replied that of his employees, ‘the majority … have girls too young
to go often to the new school; that of secretary Binh, aged six, he will send
next October’. a veterinary assistant, thong, was the sole Cambodian mem-
ber of the Service Vétérinaire who ‘would be happy to send [his daughter] to
the school, if her young age permitted him’.44
Others were less diplomatic. the chief of the Services Agricoles et Com-
municaux locaux wrote that ‘the principal native officer, Kett, has a daughter
aged seven years, but he does not consent to her taking courses at the new
school’.45 the head of the Service du Cadastre et de la Topographie was overtly
critical of the short notice given and hardly bothered to conceal his dismiss-
iveness of the entire exercise:
I have the honour to inform you that it is difficult for me to furnish the list
of native married officials or employees before the beginning of October, as
many of these agents are presently in the jungle in the course of their duties,
where the means of correspondence are fairly primitive and certainly not
quick. I have in vain attempted to make recruits out of my sedentary person-
nel; the first of these who lives in the north of the city has placed his girls in
the school of the nuns who are much closer, the second has children who
each day sell in the market in order to augment their resources, the third has a
daughter too young (7 years), a fourth lives south of the palace … .46
he concluded his letter by saying that he hoped to have more success at the end
of the month, but commented that the ‘eccentric situation’ of the school did not
lead him to think that it would be a successful experiment. Despite reservations,
the École des filles opened under the name École Norodom. enrolments increased
in the next two years, a fact that the Résident Supérieur attributed to the teaching,
‘above all professional and tactful’, thus assuaging ‘the obstructive instincts of the
natives against the education of girls, which they have long considered a danger-
ous novelty’. princess Malika, daughter of King Norodom and his 26th wife neak
moneang phayu, founded a private girls’ school on 11 December 1911, at which
both her daughters later taught.47 around the same time another private girls’
school, École Sutharot, was established by another princess.48
a ‘traditional’ opposition towards educating daughters is often cited in
studies of Cambodia. Virginia thompson wrote in 1937 that ‘it has been

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 Lost Goddesses

impossible to make much headway with women’s education – a develop-

ment of which the bonzes are very chary. Discreet efforts have resulted in
some Franco-Cambodian schools for girls, which are, in this as well as in
other respects, more liberal than the pagoda education’. the French had little
regard for ‘traditional’ education across the board. auguste pavie was aston-
ished to discover that the local wat possessed a library: ‘I had not thought
that, above all, the Cambodians could have a truly deep education within
reach; I had expected to hear them say that this knowledge was transferred
from father to son’. the low regard in which the pagoda schools were held
was reflected in the endemic attempts that the French made to discourage
pupils from attending them. royal ordinances issued in 1911 and 1916 or-
dered all Cambodians aged ten or more who lived less than two kilometres
from an école franco-cambodgienne to enrol or face a fine. Ultimately this was
not an effective threat, as an employee of the Service de l’Instruction publique
in Kampot lamented that ‘one must literally pay our students’ to attend the
écoles franco-cambodgiennes.49
after the promulgation of albert Sarrault’s 1918 educational reforms,
the administration set about reforming the pagoda schools in Cambodia.
although the official reason for the campaign was that the pagoda schools
lacked practical curricula, formal examinations, and trained teachers, the
pagoda schools were far more popular. In 1925 there were 2,402 schools in
Cambodia, 105 of them écoles franco-cambodgiennes, the remainder pagoda
or private schools. 8,367 of the estimated 38,000 pupils in Cambodia at the
time attended the écoles franco-cambodgiennes. 78 per cent of children, there-
fore, were beyond the reach of the Service de l’Instruction publique. this was
unsettling for the French: ‘the intellectual and moral formation of young
male Cambodians … is, almost entirely, in the hands of the monks’. the
lack of standardisation, in terms of materials and other resources, was also
of concern. Course materials varied considerably according to the wealth of
the district. Most pagoda schools used the traditional codes of conduct, the
cbpab, in order to instruct pupils.50
the pagoda school system was never designed to facilitate social mobil-
ity. the concept of studying in order to ‘better oneself ’ did not enter into the
equation for the vast majority of Cambodians. the pagoda education pro-
vided patterns of interaction between members of society, male and female,
older and younger, patron and client. Girls were also instructed in the tenets

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of the cbpab by the monks, although it is not clear where this instruction took
place. according to adhémard Leclère, they were taught ‘the discourse of the
Buddha … the different types of husband … the laws concerning wives and
daughters, the respect that is due to them, the duties of husbands and fiancés’.51
Boys were educated at the pagodas because it was necessary for them to learn
to read Buddhist texts, as they were all destined for a period of novicehood.
Girls were not taught in the pagoda schools because their adult lives would be
spent in the home, in the market, in child-rearing, in the fields, or engaged in
cottage industries. the Cambodians themselves perceived these activities as
necessary and valuable. the French, unable to disengage from the belief that
public space was more important than private space, and, therefore, that the
value of activities conducted in the former was greater than those carried out
in the latter, assumed, because girls did not attend the pagoda schools, that
education per se was denied them, and the joal m’lap dismissed as a mecha-
nism for restraining the sexuality of girls of marriageable age rather than a
celebration of their reaching a new life stage and an opportunity for them to
be instructed in the things they would need to know in their lives.
the popularity of girls’ schools did not extend beyond the municipal
boundaries of phnom penh. In 1927 the École primaire élémentaire de filles in
Koki, Kandal province, was shut down. the school was described as ‘very ir-
regularly frequented by a restrained number of students’ and the failure of the
school was put down to the Cambodian headmistress, ‘only slightly educated
and of fragile health’. It may not be coincidental that 1927 was the first year
that the administration of the protectorate implemented financial incentives
to encourage girls to stay in primary schools. two girls attending the École
Norodom ‘whose family situation [was] really pitiable’ and who lived more
than two kilometres from the school were awarded a bursary in 1927 on the
grounds that they were good students.52 the problem of secondary education
for girls in the provinces was addressed in 1929, when the Résident Supérieur
au Cambodge issued a circular to all provincial résidents on the subject:
to remedy, within the confines of the possible, the feebleness of the instruc-
tion given to young Cambodian girls and to facilitate the recruitment of
indigenous teachers … a boarding-house for Cambodian girls will be opened
on 15 September 1929 in phnom penh.53
the boarding-house was to have twenty places, to be allocated in the first in-
stance to girls who had obtained the Certificat d’Études primaires franco-indigènes
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 Lost Goddesses

and who wished to further their studies in order to become midwives or teachers.
the language of this circular was a far cry from its 1911 counterpart; the 1929 ver-
sion politely suggested that the provincial administration ‘inform the population
of the opening of this boarding-house for girls and give it all desirable publicity so
that the families who would most benefit from it are made aware’.54
Cambodian girls interested in progressing to secondary education had no
choice but to relocate to Vietnam. the best schools in French Indochina were
in hanoi or Saigon.55 Gaining admission to one of these schools was an overly
complicated process, made more difficult by the necessity of sitting entrance
exams in Vietnam before admission was granted and finding means of financial
support once there. It is hardly surprising that the Cambodians, already dis-
inclined to send their daughters to French-administered schools in their own
country, were even more reluctant to send them to another country. Incentive
was provided in the form of a number of bursaries and scholarships for girls
who had graduated from primary school in Cambodia. One of these bursaries
enabled a girl to attend ‘an academic establishment frequented by young French
girls’ in Saigon for further study in French language and literature. another al-
lowed the daughter of a Cambodian school principal bowed down by the finan-
cial obligations of supporting an extensive family to attend the Collège de Jeunes
Filles Indigènes in Saigon for four academic years. this girl, tong Siv eng, was
to become intimately connected with the family of King Norodom Sihanouk
for nearly half a century. her father, tong Keam, was very supportive of his
daughter’s education. In a letter to the head of the local Service de l’Enseignement
dated 13 July 1934, he said that it was his wish that his daughter ‘still young and
little educated’, despite having obtained her Certificat d’Études Primaires franco-
indigènes, continue her education in a girls’ school. as there was no Collège de
Filles in Cambodia, the Collège des filles indigènes in Saigon would ensure Siv eng
‘a more solid education that will permit, later, the acquisition of a situation in
line with her tastes and aptitudes’.56
Facilities for vocational training and higher education were similarly geo-
graphically remote for Cambodian women. the École pratique d’industrie, opened
in phnom penh in 1903, was reserved for men, as was the Collège du Protectorat,
which offered training in the French civil service. the one early vocational
school that did allow women was the Manufacture Royale au Palais. It opened
in phnom penh in 1907 and was responsible for manufacturing replicas of
Cambodian art and antiques. the French established similar manufactures else-

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where in their colonies, ostensibly in order to ensure that indigenous artistic

traditions were retained. an École des Beaux-Arts was added in 1912 and the
entire complex renamed École des arts Cambodgiens, with Georges Groslier as
its director, in 1918. a visitor to the École des arts in 1929 was full of praise for
Groslier – ‘a Cambodian-born French artist, archaeologist and novelist’ who
‘freed it at the outset from political and commercial pressure, kept its ideals
pure and true to native tradition and even provided for the midday meal and
the living of the accepted pupils, so that any and every promising boy or girl,
whatever his or her economic status, may take advantage of the instruction’. he
warned, however, that the success of the enterprise ‘is a question depending
upon the capacity of the Cambodians themselves … . It is too early to say what
the modern Cambodians will make of their French-given opportunity’.57
the education offered by the écoles franco-cambodgiennes was designed to
prepare indigenous adolescents for lives in industry or domestic service, not
for higher education. the Université Indochinoise in hanoi was too far for most
Cambodians to reach and in most cases their secondary education was not of
a high enough standard to merit entrance. the schools of Buddhism, opened
in phnom penh and Siem reap in 1909, and the École de Pâli, established in
phnom penh in 1915, were also off-limits for women, for obvious reasons.
Women were encouraged to train as teachers as a result of the reforms imple-
mented in the 1920s. publications for indigenous teachers were produced in
order to provide teaching materials, update pedagogical methodology, and
standardise curricula across the country. although the post-1918 reforms of
albert Sarrault recognised that it was necessary ‘in each colony, to adapt to
particular characteristics, to local needs as to the mentalities of very differ-
ent races’, teachers were expected to uphold and disseminate French ideals.
Collège Sisowath, given full lycée status in 1935, became a production line for
bright Cambodians of both sexes who rose through the education system, de-
parting from there to further training (usually as teachers) in Saigon, hanoi
or paris.58 Several future political leaders received their upper secondary edu-
cation at the Lycée Sisowath, including the first Cambodian woman to receive
a baccalaureat, Khieu ponnary.59

Constructing a ‘traditional’ Cambodian identity

Increased emphasis on formal education – whether in a pagoda school, a pri-
vate institution or a French école normale – led to a greater number of educated

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 Lost Goddesses

people. In the past, people who were ‘educated’ – that is, with the ability to
read texts, especially those in pali, and to write discourses and commentaries
upon them – were considered to be socially superior, as they were usually
members of the sangha or the royal family, if not both. their elite status earned
privileges and opportunities. In the colonial period, a new group of educated
people emerged: the neak che deung,60 ‘people knowing knowledge’, who had
attained their status through the patronage and administrative mechanisms
of the French rather than through royal favour. Despite their origin, politi-
cal culture remained unchanged, and the elite, including the neak che deung,
continued to see themselves as naturally entitled to certain perquisites. as
increasing numbers of people became ‘educated’, and therefore, ‘elite’, they
sought to demonstrate their right to be perceived as such by embracing ‘tra-
ditional’ customs such as polygamy and the values of ‘traditional’ literature.
It became increasingly important for families seeking to ally themselves with
important men to prove their own elite status through the tighter sexual con-
trol of daughters.61
the people responsible for determining what constituted ‘tradition’ were
the neak che deung, the sangha, the royal family, and French officials. printing
and mass distribution of material was unknown in the Cambodian language
until 1908, although printing had been available in neighbouring Vietnam
since 1862. permission from both mahasangharaja, the Mohanikay and
Dhammayut, in addition to the Council of Ministers, was required before a
text could be published. It was not until the 1920s that strict religious scrutiny
of published material was relaxed, and then only after lobbying by Louis Finot,
then director of the École Française d’Extrême-Orient. Manuscripts that had
reposed forgotten in pagodas and storerooms for decades were rediscovered
and rewritten with introductions commemorating their place in Cambodian
literature. Many folktales and cbpab (codes of conduct) were incorporated
into the state educational syllabus.62
the journal Kambojasuriya played a major role in shaping the notion of
Cambodian ‘traditional’ society through the inclusion of stories and com-
mentaries by authors who were perceived, by the neak che deung, as significant,
such as the palace oknha and people who reflected ‘traditional’ Cambodian be-
liefs. the work of oknha suttanta prachea Ind was a popular subject, including
his Subhasit Cbpab Srei. the Cbpab Kram Thmei and Cbpab Kerti Kal Thmei
written and performed by phiroum Ngoy were recorded and transcribed for

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publication in Kambujasuriya in the early 1930s as well. according to Ngoy,

these cbpab thmei were necessary as ‘people nowadays are of poor quality,
they do foolish things, bad deeds, their speech is confused; insolence is met
at every turn’; yet they are very similar to earlier versions, outlining correct
behaviour and good moral conduct.63
It was texts such as these to which Cambodians turned in their search for
a national identity separate from that of the ‘Cambodge’ constructed by the
French.64 Critical thinking was never inculcated in the Cambodian education
system, whether religious or secular; the Buddhist tradition taught unques-
tioning acceptance of one’s dharma and the French did not wish their colonial
subjects to question the legitimacy of their presence. Cambodians searching
‘traditional’ literature for evidence of a society free of foreign influence be-
lieved that the cbpab reflected true patterns of behaviour rather than guide-
lines for them. this meant that people perceived gender roles in ‘traditional’
Cambodian society to reflect those outlined in Cbpab Srei, without reflecting
upon the possible biases and motivations of its authors, and dismissing other
evidence of egalitarianism or status for women in Cambodian rural traditions,
because they were those of socially insignificant people rather than the elite.
the Japanese presence in Indochina in the early 1940s furthered nation-
alistic stirrings in Cambodia. In an attempt to negate Japanese anti-imperi-
alist propaganda, the French (now under the Vichy administration) sought
to channel the nationalist spirit (both male and female) into controllable
outlets, such as patriotic youth organisations. the umbrella organisation
was the Jeunes du Cambodge or Yuvan Kampuchearath, administered by the
Commisariat à la jeunesse et aux sports, established in 1941. Other organisa-
tions existed, including the Mouvement de rassemblement, members of which
included students, teachers and civil servants, and in which members were
trained in military activities. In June 1943, there were approximately 15,500
members of youth organisations. the early 1940s were the first time that
many young Cambodians – male and female – had experienced a feeling
of collective solidarity beyond the traditional realms of the family and the
sangha. this experience contributed to the nationalist movements estab-
lished and joined by many young Cambodians in early 1950. Ultimately, it
was the popularity and success of the nationalist movements that prompted
King Norodom Sihanouk to begin his ‘royal Crusade for Independence’ in
June 1953. peers, rather than family or religious leaders, were determining

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 Lost Goddesses

behaviour. Freedom of choice and liberation, not so much sexual as romantic,

were popular themes in novels written by Cambodians at the time. according
to Nguyen Sy tuan, this new literature sought to re-orient the position of the
individual in a society that was undergoing a series of changes, wrought by
improved literacy, increasing population, and nationalism.65
Yet the Cambodian nationalist movement, although advocating an active
role for women, did not seek to empower them beyond the limits indicated by
the Cbpab Srei. the Cambodian-language newspaper Kampuchea recruited a
group of female writers in 1945 in order to prepare articles concerned with
moral instruction. these harked back to the Cbpab Srei:
Glorious and prosperous countries are not only composed of men but also
of women who help out in all fields. Indeed, the most important field is the
home … . So please fulfil your duties as good housewives … . the wife holds
the wealth of the family and she should have good conduct, work industri-
ously, keep the house clean and neat, and think only of her family’s well-being
… . a woman is not considered civilized if she does not follow customs, and
does not contribute to the development of the motherland. Khmer daughters
– your nation is waiting for you to apply your collective strengths!66
revolutionary and nationalist movements worldwide have sought to mobilise
women by blending women’s liberation with emancipation from the colonial
presence. In Cambodia, however, women complained that ‘men tried all the
means to obstruct the positive progress of women’.67
Cambodian women received little assistance from their French counter-
parts, despite some well-intentioned (if insensitive) attempts to improve the
situation. Some took up the cause of métis children abandoned by their fathers,
denouncing French men and their lax morality. andrée Viollis, who travelled
through Indochina at the end of 1931, published an account of her observa-
tions entitled SOS Indochine. She advocated that French women act as role
models and moral instructors for indigenous women. Virginia thompson,
although not French, also conveyed an imperial feminist sentiment in 1937:
‘Like so many Oriental women, they only begin to live when they become
mothers’. the only signs of a genuine Cambodian women’s movement
were to be found amongst the educated bourgeoisie in phnom penh. the
Cambodian Women’s association was established in 1949. Its scope, how-
ever, was limited. Some have suggested that although in the best position to
resist the changes wrought by colonialism, elite women – those related to the

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 Cherchez la femme

royal family or prominent members of the government – accepted French

policies in return for the legitimation of their social status. Kate Frieson cites
a story by a woman writer, published in 1949, which ‘suggests a natural order
of hierarchy in the home that women should respect and maintain, regardless
of their personal yearnings’.68
©
the French contributed to the disempowerment of women in Cambodia
through their colonial policies by effectively devaluing some areas wherein
women had enjoyed power and placing controls over others. efforts at mod-
ernisation did little to improve the lives of Cambodian women; in at least
two ways French policies and attitudes destroyed avenues for social mobility
in which women had been able to increase their wealth and prestige – by be-
coming women of the palace and through temporary marriages with foreign
men. the French were simultaneously intrigued and repelled by Cambodian
women, yet displayed them as Oriental treasures of the French empire. In
areas beyond the concern of colonial policy, in marriage, ritual practice and
spiritual status, women continued to be perceived as powerful. But the status
of women declined overall. the literature produced before the imposition of
colonial rule was taken to represent ‘traditional’ gender roles and maintained
as a form of resistance to French influence. It is therefore not surprising that
the nationalist movement saw a return to these values as opposition to im-
perialism. Once independence was achieved, however, the perpetuation of
these mores continued to disadvantage Cambodian women.

Notes to Chapter 7
1 David Chandler, The tragedy of Cambodian history: Politics, war and revolution since 1945,
New haven: Yale University press, 1991, pp. 12–13; penny edwards, ‘Cambodge: the
cultivation of a nation, 1860–1945’, phD thesis, Monash University, 1999, p. 6.
2 attachment to Service de la Sûreté, envoi No. 1381/Ip, 16 September 1935, National
archives of Cambodia, Material of the résident Superièure du Cambodge [hereafter
rSC], file no. 12906; hann So, The Khmer kings, San Jose, California, n.p., 1988, p. 35.
3 For example, in translating a passage from Kram Srok (1693) that lists the most impor-
tant people in the land as the king, the king’s father, queen mother, and uparaj, Leclère
says in a footnote ‘I believe one must here place the uparaja before the queen mother’
(Kram Srok, in adhémard Leclère, Les codes cambodgiens, paris: ernest Leroux, 1898, t.
1, p. 120, f.n. 2).

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 Lost Goddesses

4 adhémard Leclère, Le buddhisme au Cambodge, paris: Leroux, 1899, p. 503.

5 auguste pavie, The Pavie Mission Indochina Papers 1879–1895, vol. 1: Pavie Mission
Exploration Work: Laos, Cambodia, Siam, Yunnan, and Vietnam [1901], trans. Walter e.
J. tips, Bangkok: White Lotus, 1999, pp. 55, 61; Francis Garnier, Voyage d’exploration en
Indo-Chine, éfféctué par une Commission française présidée par M. le Capitaine de Frégate
Doudart de Lagrée, paris: hachette, 1885, p. 48; Henri Mouhot’s Diary: Travels in the cen-
tral parts of Siam, Cambodia and Laos during the years 1858–61 [1864], Kuala Lumpur:
Oxford University press, n.d., p. 35; roland Meyer, Saramani, danseuse khmêr, Saigon:
a. portail, 1919, p. 13; George Groslier, Danseuses cambodgiennes: Anciennes et modernes,
paris: augustin Challamel, 1913, pp. 113–114; Étienne aymonier, Notes sur les coutumes
et croyances supersititeuses des cambodgiens, commenté et présenté par Saveros Pou, paris:
Centre de Documentation et de recherche sur la Civilisation Khmere [Cedorek], 1984,
p. 73.
6 pavie, Pavie Mission, vol. 1, p. 61; Barbara Watson andaya, ‘From temporary wife to
prostitute: Sexuality and economic change in early modern Southeast asia’, Journal of
Women’s History 9, 4 (1998), pp. 14, 19; Nicola Cooper, France in Indochina: Colonial
encounters, Oxford; New York: Berg, 2001, pp. 135, 157; penny edwards, ‘Womanizing
Indochina: Fiction, nation, and cohabitation in colonial Cambodia, 1890–1930’, in Julia
Clancy Smith and Frances Gouda (eds), Domesticating the empire: Race, gender, and family
life in French and Dutch colonialism, Charlottesville, Virginia: University press of Virginia,
1998, pp. 109–110; Louis Malleret, L’Exotisme Indochinoise dans la littérature française
depuis 1860, paris: Larose Éditeurs, 1934, pp. 219–220; edward W. Said, Orientalism,
New York: random house, 1979, p. 190.
7 Résident de France à Phnom Penh, letter No. 322, 20 May 1901, rSC 12858; Code Pénal
Cambodgien, article 229, p. 208, rSC 30548; thompson, French Indo-China, p. 361;
Draft arrête, undated, article 6, rSC 12858; Geoffrey Gorer, Bali and Angkor: A 1930s
pleasure trip looking at life and death [1936], Oxford: Oxford University press, 1986, p.
151; Virginia thompson, French Indo-China, London: allen & Unwin, 1937, p. 361.
8 pavie, Pavie Mission, vol. 1, p. 55. a popular Cambodian saying of the nineteenth century
reflects the acceptance of foreign men as husbands and fathers: ‘a varied diet is tasty, a
varied ancestry gives good results’ (a. pannetier, ‘Sentences et proverbes cambodgiens’,
BEFEO 15, 3 (1915), p. 19).
9 Rapport, 12 august 1912, rSC 15226.
10 Statute of the Société de protection et d’éducation des Jeunes Métis Français de la Cochinchine
et du Cambodge, trans. ann Laura Stoler in ‘Sexual affronts and racial frontiers’, in
Frederick Cooper and Laura ann Stoler (eds), Tensions of empire: Colonial cultures
in a bourgeois world, Berkeley, California: University of California press, 1997, p. 207;
edwards, ‘Womanizing Indochina’, p. 112.
11 emmanuelle Saada, ‘the empire of law: Dignity, prestige, and domination in the “co-
lonial situation”’, French Politics, Culture & Society 20, 2 (Summer 2002), p.99. pierre
L. Lamant, L’Affaire Yukanthor: Autopsie d’un scandale colonial (paris: Société Française
d’histoire d’Outre-mer, 1989), p. 141. Cooper, France in Indochina, pp. 158–159; Stoler,

174
 Cherchez la femme

‘Sexual affronts and racial frontiers’, p. 206; Jean Leuba, L’Aile de feu, paris: [n.p.], 1920,
p. 115; M. harry, Les petites épouses, paris: [n.p.], [n.d.], cited in Malleret, L’Exotisme
Indochinoises, p. 221; Cooper, France in Indochina, p. 102. the wives and daughters of
the colonial administrators and settlers, for the most part, did not look kindly upon their
indigenous counterparts. the French attempted to prevent encongayment by encouraging
men to bring their wives and families to the colonies. the French women who settled in
Indochina have been blamed for the proliferation of patronising colonialism, revelling in
their social superiority, their servants, and their proximity to the Cambodian court. In
most French literature dealing with colonial Cambodia, French wives cannot compete
with Cambodian women. In George Groslier’s Le Retour à l’argile, a French woman loses
her husband to a Cambodian woman and, knowing that she had no chance of reclaiming
his affection, leaves the colony (Le Retour à l’argile [1928], paris: Kailash, 1994, p. 154).
12 Statute of the Société de protection et d’éducation des Jeunes Métis Français de la Cochinchine
et du Cambodge, trans. Stoler in ‘Sexual affronts and racial frontiers’, p. 207.
13 Criticism of polygamy also became more overt in Siam as increasing numbers of for-
eigners began frequenting the thai court from the 1850s. See tamara Loos, ‘Sex in the
Inner City: the fidelity between sex and politics in Siam’, Journal of Asian Studies 64, 4
(November 2005), p. 898.
14 Groslier, Danseuses cambodgiennes, p. 17.
15 Leclère, Codes cambodgiens, p. 122, f.n.; Preas Reachea Kroet Prapdaphisek du Preas
Sauriyobarn, in Codes cambodgiens, p. 45; Groslier, Danseuses cambodgiennes, p. 28.
16 ‘If she goes beyond this limit, she will be punished with fifteen lashes and a month in
prison. If she goes outside the palace by day, she will receive 30 lashes and three months
in prison. If by night she leaves through a hole or underneath a wall, she will receive 60
lashes and six months in prison. If she goes out to find a lover or if she is trying to run
away, she will be condemned to death’ (Kram montiro bal, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p.
181).
17 Meyer, Saramani, pp. 161-162; Groslier, Danseuses cambodgiennes, pp. 117–118.
18 Cited in Milton e. Osborne, The French presence in Cochinchina and Cambodia: Rule and
response (1859–1905), Ithaca, New York; London: Cornell University press, 1969, p.
202.
19 this perspective has been retained by later historians. See for example John tully, France
on the Mekong: A history of the Protectorate in Cambodia, 1863–1953, Lanham, Maryland;
New York; Oxford: 2002, p. 67.
20 Kram montiro bal, in Codes cambodgiens, t. 1, p. 176.
21 Groslier, Danseuses cambodgiennes, p. 27; Meyer, Saramani, p. 105; Osborne, Rule and re-
sponse, pp.181–182; paul Doumer, L’Indo-Chine française, 2nd ed., paris: Vuibert & Nony,
p. 248; King Norodom, having grown up in the thai court, had a large number of thai
or half-thai women in his retinue, including one of his father’s consorts, khun Sancheat
Bopha, a supporter of thai interests. her son, Duong Chakr, was a strong contender for
the throne, but the French forced Norodom to exile him to algeria. See Osborne, Rule

175
 Lost Goddesses

and response, p. 181; Justin Corfield, The royal family of Cambodia, Melbourne: Khmer
Language & Culture Centre, 1993, p. 47.
22 Osborne, Rule and response, p. 255; Meyer, Saramani, p. 111; Groslier, Danseuses cam-
bodgiennes, p. 27; thiounn, Danses cambodgiennes, trans. Jeanne Cuisinier, phnom penh:
Bibliothéque royal du Cambodge, [1930], p. 36; Judith M. Jacob, The traditional litera-
ture of Cambodia: A preliminary guide, Oxford: Oxford University press, 1996, p. 82.
23 Groslier, Danseuses cambodgiennes, pp. 29–30.
24 Mathew Burrows, ‘’Mission civilisatrice’: French cultural policy in the Middle east,
1860–1914’, The Historical Journal 29, 1 (1986), p. 109; David Chandler, A history of
Cambodia, 3rd ed., Boulder, Colorado: Westview press, 2000, p. 126; Cooper, France in
Indochina, pp. 29, 84; Garnier, Travels in Cambodia and part of Laos, p. 49; Christopher
pym, Mistapim in Cambodia, London: hodder & Stoughton, 1960, pp. 47–49; Doumer,
L’Indo-Chine, p. 248; thompson, French Indo-China, p. 359; tully, Cambodia under the
Tricolour, pp. 8–9; Meyer, Saramani, p. 126.
25 Cooper, France in Indochina, p. 85; Doumer, L’Indo-Chine, p. 248; Gorer, Bali and Angkor,
p. 155; Groslier, Danseuses cambodgiennes, pp. 29–30; Meyer, Saramani, pp. 134, 177.
26 Ordonnance royale No. 40, 14 June 1927, rSC 9093. an earlier draft of this ordinance
contends that the parents must also present a Certificat de Moralité. Ordonnance royale
(No. 40, section 3, article 7).
27 Ordonnance royale No. 40, section 3, article 19, rSC 9093; Ordonnance royale No. 40,
section 5, articles 20 & 22, rSC 9093; Ordonnance royale No. 40, section 7, article 33,
rSC 9093; Draft ordonnance royale No. 40, article 3/b, rSC 9093; Ordonnance royale
No. 40, section 4, articles 14 and 15, rSC 9093; Ordonnance royale No. 40, section 4,
article 16, rSC 9093.
28 passports Nos. 167 and 337, rSC 24963; Sûreté du Cambodge, note No. 4044, 18 June
1932, rSC 24963; Commissaire Central de Police, letter No. 285/5, 18 June 1932, rSC
24963; Chef des Services Police et Sûreté, note postale No. 4152, 23 June 1932, rSC 24963;
rapport d’agent à Monsieur le Commissaire Spécial, Chef de la première Section, dated
22 June 1932, rSC 24963.
29 Chhim Long was the brother of phen Saloth, father of Saloth Sar (pol pot). Justin Corfield
does not include Sareoun in his list of Monivong’s consorts. tully, France on the Melong,
p. 200; Corfield, Royal house of Cambodia, p. 92; David Chandler, Brother number one: A
political biography of Pol Pot, rev. ed., Boulder, Colorado: Westview press, 1999, p. 8; Tableu
de reclassement des fonctionnaires et agents en service palais royal, 1943, rSC 29012.
30 a. Cabaton, ‘La vie domestique au Cambodge’, Revue Indochinoise 2 (fevrier 1910), p.
111; Code penal cambodgien – exemplaire revue et corrigé, 30 December 1908, book 3,
chapter 5, article 222, rSC 30548. In 1901 the French mayor of Cholon, in Cochinchina,
appalled at the high rate of infant mortality (65 per cent in 1900), attributed to ‘the
slovenly practices of midwives and maternal ignorance’, canvassed his French and non-
French constituents for donations for the improvement of maternal and child health.
having raised 30,000 piastres, he founded the Association Maternelle de Cholon, with

176
 Cherchez la femme

the intention of establishing maternity wards in hospitals and schools for the training of
midwives. By 1904 the infant mortality rate in Cholon had fallen to 35.3 per cent. the
Association Maternelle de Cholon became the model for other maternal and child health
societies in Indochina. See ennis, French policy and developments in Indochina, p. 150.
31 rSC 1094.
32 Directeur local de la Santé au Cambodge, letter dated 25 March 1925, rSC 1094;
Administrateur des Services Civils, letter No. 235, 29 april 1925, rSC 1094. Unsigned ar-
rête, article 1, 1925, rSC 14640.
33 Service local de la Santé au Cambodge, letter No. 702, 24 October 1924, rSC 14640.
34 Madeleine Ba, letter dated 30 august 1924, rSC 32287.
35 Dossiers of Néang Saroun, pham-thi Kim, and Madeleine Ba, rSC 32287; Madeleine Ba,
letter dated 30 august 1924, rSC 32287; unsigned arrête, article 4, 1925, rSC 14640.
36 Unsigned arrête, article 6, 1925, rSC 14640.
37 Bulletin de soit communiqué No. 639p, 7 December 1927, rSC 1151.
38 Justine poggi, letter dated 28 September 1931, rSC 6183.
39 David M. ayres, Anatomy of a crisis: Education, development, and the state in Cambodia,
1953–1998, honolulu: University of hawai‘i press, 2000, pp. 23–25; Osborne, Rule
and response, p. 203; pascale Benzançon, ‘l’Impact de la colonisation française sur
l’emergence d’un système éducatif moderne au Cambodge (1863–1945)’, in Proceedings
of International Conference on Khmer Studies, ed. Sorn Samnang, phnom penh: Sorn
Samnang, 1996, vol. 2, pp. 895–897.
40 ayres, Anatomy of a crisis, p. 23; Benzançon, ‘L’Impact de la colonisation française’, pp.
897, 899; Osborne, Rule and response, pp. 253, 255–156.
41 École du Protectorat letter No. 43, 22 November 1905, rSC 1211; pavie, Pavie Mission,
vol. 1, p. 114; Lists, rSC 2022. Résident Supérieur au Cambodge, undated letter, rSC
2022; Cooper, France in Indochina, pp. 79, 83, 87.
42 Administration des Services Civils letter No. 608, 4 June 1907, rSC 1581.
43 Résidence Supérieur du Cambodge, circular No. 100, 16 September 1911, rSC 1214.
44 Résidence Supérieur du Cambodge, circular No. 100, 16 September 1911, rSC 1214; Liste
des employés indigènes mariés en service à l’Hôpital Mixte de Phnom Penh, attachment
to Hôpital mixte de Phnom Penh letter No. 335, 22 September 1911, rSC 1214; Trésorier
particulier du Cambodge, letter No. 69, 22 September 1911, rSC 1214; Chef de Service
Vétérinaire, letter No. 330, 22 September 1911, rSC 1214.
45 Services Agricoles et Communicaux locaux au Cambodge, letter No. 346, 26 September
1911, rSC 1214.
46 Service du Cadastre et de la Topographie, letter No. 188, 18 September 1911, rSC 1214.
47 Service du Cadastre et de la Topographie, letter No. 188, 18 September 1911, rSC 1214;
Résident Supérieur du Cambodge, undated letter, 1913, rSC 2022; Corfield, Royal family
of Cambodia, pp. 36–37.

177
 Lost Goddesses

48 the princess called ‘princesse Sutharot’ in the documents was princess Norodom
phangangam (1874–1944), married to prince Norodom Sutharot, her half-brother
(Corfield, Royal house of Cambodia, p. 45).
49 Benzançon, ‘L’Impact de la colonisation française’, p. 899; Cabaton, ‘La vie domestique
au Cambodge’, p. 112; thompson, French Indo-China, p. 353; pavie, Pavie Mission, p.
45; Rapport de mission sur les écoles de pagodas au Cambodge, phnom penh: Direction de
l’Inspection publique de Cambodge, 1925, p. 2, rSC 30895; Organisation et fonctionne-
ment des écoles de pagodes rénovées dans la province Kampot, 1931, p. 3, rSC 26013.
50 Inspecteur d’academie, Rapport de mission sur les écoles de pagodas au Cambodge, hnom
penh: Direction de l’Inspection publique de Cambodge, 1925, pp. 1–3, rSC 30895;
ayres, Anatomy of a crisis, p. 24.
51 Leclère, Buddhisme au Cambodge, p. 504; ayres, Anatomy of a crisis, p. 28.
52 Administrateur des Services civiles, letter No. 971, 24 June 1927, rSC 31308; Service de
l’Enseignement local, letter No. 192c, 28 December 1927, rSC 31313.
53 Résident Supérieur du Cambodge, circular No. 156b, 31 July 1929, rSC 26632.
54 Résident Supérieur du Cambodge, circular No. 156b, 31 July 1929, rSC 26632.
55 all French policy in Cambodia was tempered by the perceived superiority of the
Vietnamese. they saw the Cambodians as lazy and unorganised, although good-natured,
and the Vietnamese as energetic and rational. the French accepted the geo-political
makeup of mainland Indochina as it appeared in the middle of the nineteenth century,
maintaining Vietnamese hegemony over Laos and Cambodia within French Indochina.
Finding that Cambodia and Laos had no universal law code, the French placed all of
Indochina under ‘annamite Law’ as of 25 July 1864. the peoples affected included ‘the
Chinese, the Cambodians, the Minh huongs, the Siamese, the Mons, the Chams, the
Stiengs, the half-breeds (Malays from Chaudoc)’. School curricula also reflected the
perceived predominance of the Vietnamese in Indochina. the educational reforms of
1924, which replaced francocentric subjects with Humanités extrêmes-orientales, did not
take into account the cultural diversity of the region. Instead, Confucianism and history
that depicted the Vietnamese as conquerors were taught to the theravada Buddhist
Cambodians. a greater number of schools were established in Vietnam, as the adminis-
tration implemented preventative educational measures in areas where anti-imperialist
sentiments were strongest. Vietnamese immigration into Cambodia was encouraged
as the French found the Vietnamese better civil servants than the Cambodians. the
persons included in the 1943 Souverains et notabilités d’Indochine, a French publication
designed to show the high regard that the French had for their indigenous subjects in the
face of Japanese invasion and nationalistic movements, were predominantly Vietnamese.
Cambodian women, therefore, had to compete for educational, employment, and encon-
gayment opportunities with Vietnamese women who had greater access to education and
were perceived as culturally superior in French eyes.
56 Letter from ‘Madame Mau’, dated 20 March 1920, rSC 8518; diverse letters and pa-
pers concerning tong Siv eng, 1934–1939, rSC 25294; tong Keam, letter dated 13

178
 Cherchez la femme

July 1934, rSC 25294. tong Siv eng taught some of the royal children, married a court
oknha, held several ministerial portfolios during the 1950s and 1960s, and was a promi-
nent behind-the-scenes figure in brokering the meetings between the king and hun Sen
in the 1980s.
57 Benzançon, ‘L’Impact de la colonisation française’, pp. 898, 901;Cooper, France in
Indochina, pp. 35, 83; thompson, French Indo-China, p. 354; Willowdean C. handy,
‘renaissance in Indo-China: a French experiment in reviving Cambodian art’, Pacific
Affairs 2, 2 (February 1929), p. 72.
58 the Buddhist Institute in Siem reap was forced to close in 1911due to lack of local
interest. Benzançon, ‘L’Impact de la colonisation française’, p. 900. Cooper, France in
Indochina, p. 39; albert Sarrault, Grandeur et servitude colonials, paris: Sagittaire, 1931,
p. 97; ayres, Anatomy of a crisis, p. 25. according to hann So, the first female students to
attend were phana Douc, tramouch Yen, thouch Yen, huon hen, Ven tep, Vansy Sim,
Chon pol and ponnary Khieu (Khmer kings, p. 35).
59 Chandler, Brother number one, p. 17.
60 edwards, ‘Cambodge’, p. 136.
61 this was the case throughout Southeast asia. See Barbara Watson andaya, The flam-
ing womb: Repositioning women in early modern Southeast Asia, honolulu: University of
hawai‘i press, 2006, p. 225.
62 edwards, Cambodge, p. 136; Leclère, Buddhisme au Cambodge, p. 402; Jacob, Traditional
literature of Cambodia, p. 5; Jacques Nepote and Khing hoc Dy, ‘Literature and society in
modern Cambodia’, in tham Seung Chee (ed.), Literature and society in Southeast Asia,
Singapore: National University of Singapore press, 1981, p. 57; fieldnotes, 2003.
63 Kambujasuriya 6, 7–9, pp. 176–179; Gatilok ke oknha Suttanta Prachea Ind, Kambujasuriya
7 (1927), pp. 75–93; Kambujasuriya 9 (1928), pp. 25–41 and 10 (1928), pp. 21–58;
Kambujasuriya 4, 7–12 (1932), pp. 149–180; Kambujasuriya 4, 7–12 (1932), pp. 181;
Ngoy, ‘Cpbap kram thmei’, Kambujasuriya 4, 7–12 (1932), p. 149.
64 penny edwards has used the term ‘Cambodge’ to ‘denote the political life-span and
geographic domain of the protectorate, and to denote the conceptual rubric of nation
structured within this temporal and territorial frame’. See edwards, Cambodge, p. 3.
65 anne raffin, ‘easternization meets westernisation: patriotic youth organizations in
French Indochina during World War II’, French Politics, Culture & Society, 20, 2 (Summer
2002), pp. 121, 127, 130; Michael Vickery, Kampuchea: Politics, economics and society,
Sydney; London; Boston: allen & Unwin, 1986, pp. 11–13; raoul M. Jennar (comp.
and ed.), The Cambodian constitutions, 1953–1993, Bangkok: White Lotus, 1995, p. 36;
Nguyen Sy tuan, ‘Khmer novel and the struggle for democracy: National independence
in Cambodia during the period of 1940–1960’, in Khmer Studies, vol. 2, p. 636.
66 ‘Khmer daughters’, Kampuchea 190 (1945), p. 2, cited in and translated by Kate Frieson
in ‘Sentimental education: Les sages femmes and colonial Cambodia’, Journal of Colonialism
and Colonial History 1, 1 (2000), online print version, pp. 11–12.

179
 Lost Goddesses

67 Maria Mies, patriarchy and accumulation on a world scale: Women in the international
division of labour, London and atlantic highlands, New Jersey: Zed Books, 1986, p.
175; Frieson, ‘Sentimental education’, p. 13.
68 Stoler, ‘Sexual affronts and racial frontiers’, p. 206; andrée Viollis, SOS Indochine, paris:
Gallimard, 1935, p. 35; thompson, French Indo-China, p. 326; Vickery, Kampuchea:
Politics, economics and society, p. 5; ‘l’association des femmes Cambodgiennes’, Cambodge
Nouveau 7 (November 1970), p. 52; Frieson, ‘Sentimental education’, p. 15.

180
 Chapter eIGht

‘Liberation’

I n the years between official independence in 1953 and

the fall of phnom penh to the Khmer rouge on 17 april
1975, Cambodia appeared to be a newly independent
nation embracing modernisation, led (some might say dominat-
ed) by Norodom Sihanouk. the years between 1953 and 1970
are known as the Sangkum Reastr Niyum period or ‘Sihanouk’
era. Yet underneath this calm surface, a growing number of
Cambodians were becoming dissatisfied with the status quo.
the nearby war in Vietnam led inexorably to the bombing of
Cambodian territory in order to drive out Vietnamese insurgents
sheltering on the Cambodian side of the border. Corruption
and anti-monarchism increased in tandem as the 1960s drew
to a close, leading finally to the removal of Sihanouk as head of
state on 18 March 1970 and the establishment of the Khmer
republic (1970–1975). the ensuing civil war pitted the stand-
ing army, loyal to General Lon Nol and backed by the United
States, thailand and South Vietnam against the Front National
Uni du Kampuchea (FUNK), representing the Gouvernement
Royal d’Union Nationale du Kampuchea (GrUNK), comprising
prince Sihanouk, his supporters and the communist resistance,
supported by North Vietnam and the National Liberation
Front. By 1973, the Khmer republic controlled only the capital,
phnom penh, some provincial capitals, and most of Battambang
province, while the rest of Cambodia was under the control of
the Khmer rouge.

181
 Lost Goddesses

the 1950s and 1960s are crucial for understanding the relationship of
women to power today as the post-liberation nation-state was responsible for
the way that subjects come to be identified.1 the government promised, but
did not deliver, gender equality. Constructs of gender roles that permitted the
mobilisation and participation of women within strict parameters of support
and domesticity, and in which women were entrusted with the guardianship
of Cambodian traditions in the post-colonial world, persisted in the minds of
the elite. this construct was disseminated to new generations of Cambodians
through the entrenchment of the Cbpab Srei in the educational system and
a confused sense that it was written by ang Duong, hailed as the restorer of
Cambodian culture and identity. Simultaneously, people who sought social mo-
bility did so through an emulation of the values of the elite, which had changed
little since the nineteenth century. When, in the 1960s, Cambodians began to
be dissatisfied – education no longer resulted in lucrative government positions
but unemployment; the elite were not unquestioningly obeyed; the promised
democratic government was still presided over by a wilful ex-king beloved by
people in the countryside – a deviation from so-called ‘traditional’ ways was
identified as the explanation. the fact that women were no longer content to
remain constrained by the boundaries of the past figured prominently in this
rationale. In some ways, women achieved a greater level of equality than ever
before at the end of the 1960s and early 1970s, as they were mobilised on both
sides of the civil war. Yet even here attitudes toward the participation of women
were tempered by a belief that ‘correct’ Cambodian women complied with the
teachings of the Cbpab Srei and other ‘traditional’ literature, even though, as
discussed in Chapter 7, these values had been absorbed uncritically. equality
was never intended to be any more than a temporary measure brought about by
extraordinary times. at the same time, the significance and authority of female
figures in the supernatural arena belies the construction of women as passive
and powerless prior to 1975.

Sex in the Sangkum

the newly independent government of the Kingdom of Cambodia officially
endorsed the participation of all its citizens in political life. the National
Congress declared on 25 September 1955 that women had the right to par-
ticipate in the electoral process. the 1964 Constitution stipulated that men
and women were entitled both to vote and to membership of the popular

182
 ‘Liberation’

assemblies, and were equally eligible for office. Citizens of either sex were
invited to take part in the National Congresses, in which any person might air
their views regarding a matter of personal or national significance.2 Yet these
principles did not translate into practice. this is evident from the fact that the
head of State consistently addressed his speeches to a male audience: ‘It is
convenient that we men of politics realise …’.3
a woman occupied the throne of Cambodia from 1960 but her politi-
cal power was virtually non-existent. Queen Kossamak (see Fig. 8.1), born

Fig. 8.1: Queen Kossamak. pamphlet, National archives of Cambodia.

183
 Lost Goddesses

Sisowath Kossamak Nearireath, daughter of King Sisowath Monivong and

Queen Norodom Kanviman Norleak thevi, continued to rule after the death
of her husband King Suramarit (r. 1955–1960). her son prince Sihanouk had
sworn in 1955 that he would never ascend the throne and he had forbidden
his own children from assuming sovereignty during his lifetime. a demonstra-
tion took place in Battambang soon after the death of King Suramarit in 1960
in which the protestors called for Queen Kossamak to take the throne. article
25 of the Constitution, however, stipulated that ‘the throne of Cambodia is
the heritage of the male descendants of King ang Duong’. prince Monireth,
the Queen’s brother, was in favour of amending the Constitution to allow the
Queen to be instated as sovereign in her own right. In his memoirs, prince
Monireth wrote that it was ‘a shame’ that Kossamak had not been born male.
‘What a King we would have in her! Certainly with her, a great many disagree-
ments, and a great deal of foolishness could have been avoided’. the Council
of regency did propose this as a solution, only to have the idea rejected by
prince Sihanouk because of his own uneasy relationship with his mother and
the perceived threat of someone other than himself as head of state. prince
Sihanouk was more enigmatic as to his motives: ‘Only God understands the
reasons why I do not want my mother to ascend the throne.’ the relation-
ship between mother and son certainly appears to have been problematic;
Sihanouk reorganised the royal palace, in which his mother lived, once he
had been made head of State on 20 June 1960.4 although not wielding any
political power, the Queen was nonetheless described as highly significant in
newly independent Cambodia:
today, her Majesty Queen Kossamak who neither reigns nor governs, exer-
cises considerable moral authority over all Khmers and sits well in the line of
past queens, compassionate towards the poor and busies herself in fulfilling
her duties with regard to the Nation and the people.5
Queen Kossamak’s duties included hosting state functions, which almost
always included performances of the royal ballet corps. these occasions af-
forded opportunities to establish and consolidate links with potential allies,
such as Chen Yi, who led a women’s delegation from the people’s republic of
China in November 1958.6
the reluctance to accord women political power was also reflected in
their low numbers in government positions. In the 1958 elections the only
candidates not to receive wholehearted support, as David Chandler com-
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mented, were ‘women, recalcitrant Democrats, and members of the outgoing

assembly’.7 Only one woman was elected to parliament in these elections:
tong Siv eng. the first female member of the Cambodian parliament, she
was Secretary of State for Labour and Social action between 1958 and 1959,
Minister of Social action from 1959 to 1961, and Minister of health between
1963 and 1968. She and her husband, pung peng Cheng, were amongst
Sihanouk’s most trusted political advisors. Khieu thirith was offered a posi-
tion in the National assembly of 1962 but declined as the communist party
advised against it.8 Only three other women held senior political positions in
the 1960s: tip Man (1962–1966), Diep Dinar (1966–1970), and Nou Neou
(1966–1970). towards the end of the Sangkum period, more women were
entering into and promoted within the government.9 they were not permit-
ted to retain their own names within the political arena, however. Female civil
servants were legally required to take their husbands’ names, whereas ‘accord-
ing to custom’ other married women were to keep their name and add ‘wife of
…’.10 In other words, women would only be ‘allowed’ into politics if they were
chaperoned by their husbands.
the 1959 Cambodian civil code underscored the reliance of women
upon their husbands and the family as the basic social unit. according to the
code, the keystone of society was marriage, ‘the union of a man and a woman
in order to create a cohesive unit, the dedication of their lives to that unit,
and the raising and education of children’. Yet women were not legally recog-
nised as heads of households, although they could substitute under certain
conditions. the civil code considered married women as extensions of their
husbands, ‘bound to obey’ them. husbands had the power over all aspects of
the household, including the conduct of their wives. they represented their
wives in contracts and other legal undertakings. a married woman could not
sign a contract without the authorisation of her husband, although he could
give her permission to act on her own behalf.11
the civil code privileged the interests of men over those of women.
polygamy continued to be recognised, although only two levels of wife were
permitted, the prapuon jerng having been abolished. the prapuon thom en-
joyed ‘a dominant place in the marital home’ with power over the lesser wife
stipulated in law. Should a man die or disappear, the prapuon thom had the
right not only to assume command of the household finances and enterprises
but make decisions regarding the children of both wives. Lesser wives did not

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 Lost Goddesses

have the right to inherit any of their husbands’ property and could claim only
those costs associated with accommodation, food, and basic living costs. If
the prapuon thom did not object, both wives and their children could live in
the same household, but this does not seem to have been popular: ‘the rapid
changes to the condition of women has made these duties more theoretical
than practical. For them, life in the marital home is not appropriate, and usu-
ally, they have a separate abode’. Sarayeth remembered that her uncle, a mid-
level civil servant in Kompong thom, had maintained two establishments
with four children by his first wife and two by his second. When his wife of
the first rank died in 1964, he married again, installing the new wife in the
house of the one who had died. this was apparently regarded as entirely ap-
propriate because the new wife was a young girl from a good family, and the
second wife had been a widow upon whom her uncle had taken pity. Women
were not prohibited from re-marrying, although they had to observe a period
of ten months after their divorce or the death of their husband to ensure that
they were not carrying his child.12
Only the elite could afford to have more than one wife. Monogamy was
the norm, although a man seeking to elevate his status might take a lesser
wife as a social statement as to his power and wealth. Marriage customs that
had prevailed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were in-
corporated into the 1959 civil code, for example where marriages were to be
celebrated (at the bride’s home) and where the couple was to live afterward (a
marital home apart from either set of parents, after an initial period in which
the groom lived with the bride’s family). the state thus provided a template
for regulation of the basic social unit in Cambodia. this was bolstered by
publications outlining the history and customs of Cambodian marriage, in
which references were made to the unions upon which Cambodia itself had
been founded, such as that of ‘preah thong’ and the Nagini.13
Legally, men could not prevent their wives from working. article 7 of the
Code of Commerce entitled women to participate in commercial enterprises
without requiring the consent of their husband; if he opposed her participa-
tion, a woman had the right to be heard before a tribunal on the matter.14 It
was in the interests of the newly independent state to appear to be modern
and progressive, including universal access to education and employment
opportunities for all, particularly women. the pages of Femmes du Cambodge
(Cambodian Women), a 1963 government publication showcasing the

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 ‘Liberation’

progressive policies of the Sangkum, abound with photographs of women

participating in all occupations. Some women were successful in pursuing
a career in the civil service; towards the end of the Sangkum period an in-
creasing number of women were being entered into or promoted within the
government infrastructure and working as local staff in international organi-
sations, radio announcers, writers, photographers, painters, musicians, and
members of the police and armed forces.15
Women were also entering medical training programmes, although their
numbers were few compared to men.16 Midwifery, a privately practised pro-
fession despite attempts to regularise it by the colonial government, was beset
by further onslaughts during the Sangkum period. the government’s rural
midwives’ training scheme prevented women from practising midwifery
without a state certificate, for which they had to pay to attend a course; in
return they received free bicycles. In 1957 there were sixty state and eight-
een private midwives registered in Cambodia. the royal ballet was similarly
brought under state control. In 1961 the Ministry of National education and
Fine arts announced a project that would accredit the dance instructors of
the royal ballet with pedagogical qualifications. So, they too had to attend a
course and pay the fees.17
education policies pursued by the Cambodian government in the 1950s
and 1960s should have resulted in greater employment opportunities for wom-
en. Improvement of female attendance and literacy were objectives of particular
concern to the Sangkum government. On paper, these rates improved during
the early 1960s. the number of girls in primary schools rose from 25.4 per cent
in 1957 to 32.8 per cent in 1964. Secondary enrolments rose from 16.1 per cent
to 21.7 per cent and enrolments in tertiary degrees increased from 7 per cent to
10.8 per cent over the same period, from a base figure in 1958 of only 29 women.
technical and vocational training saw the greatest increase, from 2.4 per cent in
1957 to 21.1 per cent in 1964. Yet girls were constrained from accessing educa-
tion to the same degree as boys because of an ingrained perception of schools as
potentially dangerous places where girls could dishonour the family. In March
1961 the government announced plans for the Lycée Sangkum Reastr Niyum,
to open the following year. the lycée would be of benefit to girls in particu-
lar, as ‘secondary education is usually co-educational and in all of these places
girls are in the minority’. the sentence concluded by remarking that in that in
co-educational schools girls were simultaneously ‘cherished and wooed by the

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 Lost Goddesses

boys’, thereby hindering ‘the spirit of [good] behaviour and total concentration
towards their studies’. education for girls was seen as a double-edged sword.
On one hand, some education was seen as positive as literate and numerate
daughters could assist their families in business and household management.
two to three years of education was usually enough to ensure a basic standard
of literacy and numeracy. Girls, even in some elite families, were then kept at
home in order to manage the household, including participation in the family
business, or the care of younger siblings. after puberty, parents exercised more
control over their daughters.18
Control over female sexuality increased as more families sought to elevate
themselves socially. Marriage alliances remained a key component in social
mobility. thus socially aspirant families believed that a good match could be
achieved through an emulation of the same values that the elite appeared to
embrace, such as an emphasis on virginity. the inculcation of these values
occurred largely through the educational syllabus, which departed very lit-
tle from the colonial model in incorporating the uncritical study of literature
such as the cbpab and folktales.19 the Cbpab Srei of Minh Mai was one of the
most popular set texts, although most people were under the impression that
ang Duong was the author. as the role of education was not to encourage
critical inquiry but to reinforce the status quo, students understood that these
were the values that Cambodian society not only espoused during the ‘golden
age’ before colonisation, but also was expected to adhere to in the present.
texts authored by ang Duong were particularly revered, as he was celebrated
as the liberator of Cambodia from Vietnamese imperialism.20
Other works published during the Sangkum period emphasised the neces-
sity of chastity and fidelity for women, the importance of obedience to one’s
husband, and that social harmony and cultural heritage were the responsibil-
ity of women. In 1957 Sakhan Samon published Kpuon Apram Chariya Satrei
(Manual for raising good women), which advised readers on how to be a good
daughter, wife, and mother, and suggested good recipes; others extended this
theme further, explaining how selected excerpts from the Cbpab Srei of ang
Duong might be observed, and the correct manner in which women should
sit, stand, recline, and so forth. Some such commentaries were published in
French although clearly directed toward a Cambodian audience, such as Son
Siv’s Le savoir-vivre: à la famille sociale which explained how people might
observe the tenets of the cbpab while enjoying the benefits of affluence; it

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 ‘Liberation’

also listed the signs by which one might recognise srei krup leakkhana and
broh krup leakkhana, women and men who were perfect in every way. Morale
aux jeunes filles by Luong Vichetr Vohar was another of these. the Buddhist
Institute re-issued ang Duong’s Cbpab Srei in French as well.21
a form of inductive reasoning was at work in post-colonial Cambodian
society. education was a characteristic of a socially superior person in the
Cambodian past. elite persons enjoyed privileges. therefore, education –
of any sort, pursued with no deliberation as to temperament or availability
of jobs – would result in similar lifestyles for anyone who took the trouble
to acquire it.22 Most graduates expected to enter the civil service or private
corporations and avail themselves of the perquisites that the elite possessed,
and were upset when there were simply not enough jobs in the government
or in private enterprise to meet the demand. this is a common occurrence in
modernising societies. In the Cambodian context the education system, in
the words of Michael Vickery, ‘was thus producing an increasingly numerous
class of useless people’.23 the fact that they had degrees should have entitled
them to western-style lifestyles; instead, they were stranded between the lives
that they aspired to in phnom penh and the rice paddies to which they would
not return.
the new class of recently educated people who had managed to acquire
positions in the government or private enterprises required new models for
correct behaviour. popular literature provided ways in which the demands of
modern life could be faced and dealt with. Women were not overlooked in this
new genre. the female protagonist in La destinée de Mademoiselle Nakri, by
Souy Nyheng, convinces her fiancé that he must go into business and defeat
the Chinese and Vietnamese merchants who are trying to take over Cambodia’s
economy. Socheavatadar samrap broh neung srei (harmonious living for men
and women) instructed Cambodians on how to behave in a changing social
and economic milieu, including how to speak on the telephone and what was
the correct attire for a cocktail party. those who achieved their objective of
upward movement along the social trajectory often rejected the mores and
traditions of their origins. Some began seeing Buddhism and its teachings as
quaint attributes of yesterday rather than an integral part of modern life. ratha,
daughter of an ex-Minister of Culture, recalled: ‘My parents each had their
own ideas, and in our house my mother’s room was furnished with modern
imported furniture, whereas my father’s room was furnished with traditional

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 Lost Goddesses

handmade Cambodian furniture. My father observed the Buddhist precepts

so rigidly that my mother said he should become a monk’.24
In 1963 the Sangkum announced that it had ‘effectively liberated Cambodian
women’.25 Whilst it was true that women were entering more diverse fields of
work outside the home than ever before, the ‘liberation’ of the 1950s and 1960s
did not include equal representation in politics, rates of education, or participa-
tion in civil society, due to a continued perception of women’s issues to focus
solely upon domestic concerns.26 the Cambodian Women’s association, origi-
nally established in 1949, lapsed in the 1960s.27 Only one of the ten founding
members of the association of Cambodian Writers in 1956 was a woman, Suy
hieng. although the literary prize presented every two or four years was called
the ‘Indradevi’ after the late twelfth-century queen who had excelled in Sanskrit
composition, only ‘well-known literary men such as rim Kin, Sam thang, hell
Sumphea, and trinh hoanh’ were elected as presidents of the association.28
Some women, however, were more successful in individual pursuits. In 1960
Khieu thirith was working in an english-language high school; the following
year Khieu ponnary established an underground association for women, the
Women’s Organisation of Democratic Kampuchea, and began working at prince
Sihanouk’s official magazine, Kambuja, where she stayed on for two years after
her husband, pol pot, took to the maquis. tong Siv eng was the editor-in-chief
of Samlanh Neary (Women’s Voice) newspaper for a time in the 1960s. Daun chi
aun built two wats, one in phnom penh and one in Sihanoukville, in the early
1970s. On the other hand, there is evidence that life for women was not easy.
Cheat Satrei, written in the late 1950s, apparently recorded ‘a woman’s struggle
for existence’. according to statistics from the late 1960s, women were marry-
ing later. this may have been due, as Jacques Migozzi suggested, to the exodus
of males to the cities in search of employment; or it may have been because
when looking for potential mates, ‘often, one only finds alcoholics and smokers
of hashish’.29
Women’s so-called liberation did not extend to sexual freedom. a double
standard was alive and well in the 1950s and 1960s. prostitution was widely
perceived as a legitimate business and as an acceptable recreational activity
for men. haing Ngor candidly admitted that his ‘previous relationships with
girls were the kind best not described in public’.30 romanticised descriptions
of visiting a brothel were included in official publications aimed at showcas-
ing Cambodia to the world:

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 ‘Liberation’

One gets out of the cyclo, and directs oneself to ‘Flower alley’. at their win-
dows, the pretty girls look at you, smiling … . a door opens, you enter. a
dozen of young women are there, kneeling on mats, naked and brown, pert
breasts, white teeth, mouths lipsticked and luscious.31
Maslyn Williams was told that the best-looking girls rounded up in the
periodic crackdowns were sent to the seaside resort of Sihanoukville, the only
place in Cambodia where prostitution was legal, and where the elite congre-
gated on weekends and for public holidays. One madam took advantage of
the public forum offered by the National Congresses to bitterly protest the
closure of her premises. the government displayed an ambivalent attitude
towards prostitution. every edition of the Cahiers du Sangkum recorded how
many people had been arrested for ‘clandestine prostitution’ and measures
taken to prevent them re-offending. although civil servants were advised not
to ‘frequent places of pleasure, exercise restraint’, short-term sexual liaisons
in the company of one’s relatives, friends and colleagues was considered to
be a normal method of relaxation, male bonding, and even hospitality. an
australian journalist visiting phnom penh in the late 1960s was invited to
the home of a young Cambodian friend. after an afternoon chatting, eating
and drinking, he was invited to stay the night. Just before he turned out the
light, there was a knock at his bedroom door. he opened it to find a young
Cambodian girl of around twenty standing there with his host. his friend
explained that she was a distant relative, and would be his companion for the
night should he be so inclined.32 temporary sexual encounters, therefore,
were considered to be a normal part of social life and hospitality for the men
who had the resources to purchase them.
although some elite women may have taken advantage of their husbands’
preoccupations with lesser wives and mistresses to indulge their own pro-
clivities, there was no tacit approval of such activities. Similarly, although
men were expected to have had sexual experience before marriage, virginity
became mandatory in brides. prince Sihanouk, for example, told his sons that
he would not take responsibility for their ‘mistakes’ and that he had no sym-
pathy for the girls who put themselves at risk by associating with the princes.
Love letters were seen as a landmine in the field of arranged marriages as they
could be used to prove that the girl concerned was not a virgin, and therefore
it would not be necessary to go through the full marriage ceremony in or-
der to marry her (if at all). In effect, this meant that the bride’s family would

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 Lost Goddesses

receive fewer gifts, less social prestige, and they could not demand that the
groom perform a period of service in their home after the engagement, as was
usual in marriages of the first rank. Sambat Neary of 4 august 1968 contained
an article that stressed the importance of maintaining and preserving one’s
beauty, unquestionable conduct, and virginity for one’s husband. Beauty pag-
eants were well patronised in the 1950s and 1960s. Youth, beauty, obedience,
and purity were considered to be the necessary qualities in a woman before
marriage and the meba (ancestral spirits) still required appeasement after
transgressions of a sexual nature on the part of their female descendants.33
there was an underlying assumption that Cambodian women must simul-
taneously appear modernised yet retain the essence of traditional Cambodian
femininity. a visitor to Cambodia in 1957 wrote that the Cambodian woman
‘occupies a key position’ in the family and was ‘a carrier of the basic social
and moral values of Cambodian culture’. In this way Cambodia would remain
uniquely Cambodian whilst having ‘caught up’ with the rest of the world.
Female chastity began to be identified with the purity of Cambodian culture.
Modernisation threatened the integrity of both. Some found it impossible
to reconcile the construct of the chaste Cambodian woman as guardian of
culture with the freedoms that Cambodian society was beginning to exhibit
and sought to reorient women back toward their ‘proper’ roles. although
women were legally entitled to remarry, one author warned that ‘married two
or three times, one becomes less pure’. another wrote of a young woman who
wore modern clothes and makeup, drove her own car, and habitually went
out unaccompanied. a friend drugged her and facilitated her rape by a male
acquaintance. this was her own fault, he asserted, as she did not act in accord-
ance with correct behaviour. Similarly, sex workers were regarded as being
morally corrupt influences from which ‘nice’ girls should preserve a distance,
as even being seen in the same area could blemish their reputations.34
Women who exerted themselves in public life or appeared superior to
their husbands were seen as threatening to the preservation of Cambodian
cultural identity. Men seemed to have been slightly alarmed at the achieve-
ments of the ‘weaker’ sex, although the government painted their bemuse-
ment in a generally positive light:
the last ten years have been marked by profound transformations of social
comportment of Cambodian women, mainly in the urban regions … . But
young girls and young women are quickly seeking and finding a compromise,

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 ‘Liberation’

sacrificing a bare minimum of customs and adapting them to the necessities

of modern life. the young Khmer woman today is by the side of her husband
at receptions, informs herself of all aspects of national life and international
events before expressing her point of view, interests herself in literature and
music, goes often to cinemas, learns western dances and follows fashion. and
men, dumbfounded, face a metamorphosis wherein they must be at the same
time proud and worried at the extent to which women assert prerogatives!35
there was a definite sense that women should not outshine or dominate men.
Inverting the ‘traditional’ domestic hierarchy and placing men in subservient
positions would have disastrous consequences. In 1967 Sam Neang, a wom-
an, wrote Socheavatadar samrap broh neung srei (harmonious living for men
and women), which gently suggested that some women were ‘forgetting the
Cbpab Srei’ and thinking they were ‘bigger’ (i.e., more important) than their
husbands, which did not contribute to a harmonious home and therefore
endangered society as a whole. She also stated that although women should
work outside the home in order to contribute to the family finances, they
should not neglect their domestic responsibilities.36 Women who sought to
deviate from these social norms were not exhibiting correct behaviour. this
was reinforced in the social handbooks of the 1960s. In a cartoon illustrating
what not to do, the husband sits calmly, in control of himself and his emo-
tions, whereas the wife is belligerent and accusing (see Fig. 8.2).
the perceived failure of some Sangkum initiatives was attributed to
inherently ‘female’ characteristics that could not cope with the demands of
the new, modern Cambodia. the government was sensitive to criticisms
that there were too few women in political office; a Ministry of Information
publication of 1963 said that although there were only two women in the
73-member National assembly, ‘one might remark that this proportion of
women in the assembly is equal or greater to that elected to parliaments in
western democracies’. another explained that the absence of women in poli-
tics was due to the natural ‘timidity’ of women:
In Cambodia today, as in most democratic countries, it is necessary to re-
member that women only very rarely and timidly use the means that they
have been given in order to effect their complete emancipation. One may
note in particular that although they come in large numbers to electoral meet-
ings and to the National Congresses it is still exceptional that they have the
courage to find the words to bare their troubles there … . It is this timidity

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 Lost Goddesses

that results in their reduced numbers in elections to the National assembly,

and the absence of female representation in the Council.37
the dearth of women in politics was a problem facing most modernising na-
tions in Southeast asia in the immediate post-colonial period. Far from being
due to any biological inclination toward shyness, however, this was directly
related to education. admission to the royal School of administration, nec-
essary for a career in the civil service (and, therefore, a career in politics),
was contingent upon a candidate obtaining the full baccalaureat upon leav-
ing secondary school and passing a complicated entrance examination. the
Cambodian government acknowledged that this requirement posed a prob-
lem for women, but blamed the ‘tradition’ of families being reluctant to send

Fig. 8.2: Cartoon depicting a woman who is ‘bigger’ than her husband. San Neang, Socheavatadar
samrap broh neung srei [harmonious living for men and women], phnom penh: n.p, 1967.

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 ‘Liberation’

their daughters to school after a certain age.38 the unspoken implication was
that this was an aspect of life over which the government had no control.
the presence of a pervasive sex industry was also perceived as being a
result of female immorality, vanity, and lack of willingness to engage in ‘real
work’. In 1964 the government launched a series of crackdowns on the sex
industry in which unlicensed brothels were closed and sex workers arrested.
the women were ostensibly sent for re-training and employment elsewhere,
although the Minister of Social action did not have much faith in the efficacy
of the programme.39 Sihanouk described the attempted implementation of
the government’s retraining programme as follows:
One day, her excellency luok jamdev pung peng Cheng [tong Siv eng],
Minister of Social action within the royal Sangkum reastr Niyum govern-
ment, went to the prostitutes in order to tell them this: ‘Ladies, the profession
that you follow, although officially recognised by the Sangkum reastr Niyum
national administration, is not at all honourable. It is time that you change
your profession. With your agreement, I will contact the directors of our fac-
tories, textile factories in particular. Ladies, you will become honourable and
respectable workers in our lovely factories.’ the prostitutes contacted, in all
good faith, by her excellency Minister pung peng Cheng, responded: ‘Luok
jamdev, look at our long nails, shaped, filed, and their beautiful varnishes
of red, pink, and purple! Is it that our hands and our fingers, destined for a
sensual profession, can reasonably be used for a profession as primitive, as
strenuous as that of a worker in a textile factory, or any other?’ a little later
… my very respectable Minister for Social action, came to see me at my
residence, at Chamcar Mon, in order to tell me and my wife the previous
misadventure. My wife Monique, luok jamdev pung peng Cheng and myself
had lots of laughs.40
In other words, the government had offered the women a way out of their
allegedly immoral lives through respectable employment in the factories that
were contributing to the national economy. the women refused because they
preferred the less strenuous work of the brothel, which would not damage
their nails. In the face of such vanity and obstinacy, a progressive govern-
ment’s hands were tied.41

Private spaces, sacred places

the role of women in public life was constrained by elite perspective that
women did not belong there. private space was considered to be appropriate
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 Lost Goddesses

for women. Yet in Cambodia the private sphere extended beyond the house-
hold and family to include the realm of the supernatural, which was an inte-
gral part of daily life. people in the modern Cambodia of the 1950s and 1960s
were as likely to see a kru khmei, practitioner of traditional healing, as they
would a doctor of western medicine, if not both. every house, government
compound, and business had an area in which moneang pdteah, ‘household
spirits’, were said to dwell and which were venerated through offerings of in-
cense, fruit, cakes, rice, and, as consumption of Western products grew, cans
of soft drink. Some neak ta lived in statues or rocks. K’mouch (ghosts) and
malevolent spirits such as brai were well-known to congregate near stagnant
water and women in childbirth. Spirit mediums and fortune-tellers plied a
brisk trade as people consulted their ancestors on business decisions, poten-
tial spouses or a likely exam results.42 In other words, the unseen world had
resonance. Female power permeated the supernatural realm and women of
the mundane world participated in it.
Women were not permitted to ordain as bhikkhuni but they constituted an
active presence in Buddhism. When boys became samre (novices) for a short
time at the age of twelve, it was said to be in honour of their mothers; when
they ordained as bhikku at age twenty they did so in honour of their fathers.
the women who became daun chi were not precluded from studying Buddhist
texts and meditation. Many travelled, alone, to remote wats and mountains
in order to fulfil their spiritual quest. pao Chin became a daun chi in 1960
rather than marry again after the death of her husband. She studied dhamma
and vipassana with a learned teacher and learned pali to the highest level. Not
all daun chi actively practised meditation or participated in formal education,
however. Some women maintained the wat grounds or cooked, washed and
cleaned for the monks in return for food and shelter. the daun chi seem to
have transcended space beyond the parameters of formal Buddhism. 43
Images of preah Dharani maintained a presence in wats and new im-
ages were commissioned during the Sangkum period. anthropologist Milada
Kalab observed a meditation ceremony in the 1960s in which participants
first paid their respects to a statue of the Buddha, then to an image of preah
Dharani on the other side of the altar. preah Dharani was depicted vanquish-
ing Vietnamese forces in anti-communist propaganda of the early 1970s.
possibly the best-known statue of preah Dharani in Cambodia was erected
in 1966 as part of a general beautification of phnom penh. the mayor of the

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 ‘Liberation’

city, tep phon, specifically commissioned the statue, which rests in the centre
of a roundabout near psar Orussei. traffic islands seem to have been popular
places for statues imbued with female spirits in the years after 1954. a statue
of the god Yama, identical to that known as the ‘Leper King’ except that it had
no ‘fangs’ protruding from its mouth, was unearthed at Wat Khnat rangsei in
Siem reap and relocated to a traffic island northwest of the royal residence
in the provincial capital. although male, it was worshipped as a female deity
called Yeay Deb, ‘Grandmother Goddess’. another statue, a modern cement
replica of the ‘Leper King’ statue housed in the National Museum in phnom
penh, was placed outside the museum site in 1970 in order to confuse would-
be thieves; this too was worshipped as Yeay Deb. Kong Sovonn recounted
that in her village monastery there was a hut of a yeay deb in front of which
pregnant women could not pass or they would give birth prematurely. two
gilded wooden statues of the Buddha from Siem reap were also feminised as
Preah Neang Chek and Preah Neang Cham and used in a procession involving
Queen Kossamak.44
Many beliefs of ‘traditional’ Cambodia described in Chapter 6 endured
despite policies of modernisation after indepedence. the practice of the koan
kroach was one of these; aing Chum Sarun recounted that while chief of dis-
trict in Kompong Staung in the early 1970s ‘some people came to complain
to me against a man who had eviscerated his pregnant wife in order to extract
the foetus’. taking some soldiers with him, he went to the house of the man’s
father-in-law, where they found him near the body of his wife, covered with
blood and holding the foetus as a talisman. Sites that had been significant due
to the presence of brai and female neak ta continued to be significant places
for most Cambodians. In 1968 six girls were alleged to have died because of
a brai near a river in Sisophon. François Bizot described a journey to Wat
phnom Sampou, in Battambang province, in which people descended to the
‘womb’ of the earth mother (m’dey doeum), in a cave beneath the wat com-
plex, and were reborn by cleansing themselves in the ‘amniotic fluid’ of a pool
of water.45 Buddhist and local beliefs fused to provide significant space for
women in terms of ideological power.
the tradition of rup, ‘mediums’, also continued in the postcolonial period.
the statue of preah Dharani near the Olympic Stadium was the scene of a pos-
session in 1972, when a woman climbed onto the roundabout and went into
a trance. ang Chouléan has published the testimonies of several Cambodians

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 Lost Goddesses

who had female relatives or neighbours who were rup during this period.
the Cambodian grandmother of Kong Sovonn communicated through the
(Vietnamese) maid of Kong Sovonn, for example. prince Sihanouk was well
known to consult his dead female relatives. a nineteenth-century princess,
Nojeat Khsatri Varpheyak, regularly advised prince Sihanouk in the Sangkum
period. he also brought the ashes of his four-year-old daughter, princess
Kantha Bopha, on overseas trips. In Kratie province, the stupas of Wat Vihear
thom were inhabited by the spirit of a princess, Krapum Chhuk, who had
been eaten by a crocodile in the sixteenth century. She often communicated
through a medium who then transmitted her messages to the government.
In 1969 she interpreted a message to the effect that prince Sihanouk would
no longer lead the country and was never seen again.46 Less than a year later,
prince Sihanouk was overthrown in a coup d’etat.

The Khmer Republic

the short-lived Khmer republic also guaranteed equal rights to participa-
tion and representation for women. Yet there were fewer women in the upper
echelons of the Khmer republic than there had been in the Sangkum period.
Indeed, Nou Neou, who had been Undersecretary of State for tourism in 1969,
was removed from her position in 1970 when the government was reorgan-
ised ‘in order to assure the best efficiency possible in government activity, in
a time when Cambodia is mobilising’. Clearly, having women in high political
office was not in the interests of efficiency according to the new government.
Nou Neou then channelled her energies into resuscitating the Cambodian
Women’s association. By 1972 she was once again in office. the same year
pheng Santhan was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Finances in the
Son Ngoc thanh government and the first unmarried woman to serve in a
Cambodian government, plech phirun, was made Under-Secretary of State
for Labour and Social Welfare. With the exception of plech phirum, these
women were referred to in official publications by their husbands’ names, for
example ‘Mrs Ung Mung’ for Nou Neou, and it is debatable whether they
would have been appointed had their husbands not been involved in the
management of the country. It is fairly unlikely that ‘Mrs In tim’ would have
been appointed one of the eight deputies in the Cambodian delegation to the
eighth Conference of asiatic Congressmen in July 1970 had her husband,
Chairman of the National assembly, not headed the mission.47 Women’s

198
 ‘Liberation’

activities in the public sphere, therefore, continued to be mediated by their

relationships to men.
this did not mean that the contributions of women in the political arena
were unimportant, although they were largely unrecognised. the govern-
ments of the Khmer republic frequently turned to women as intermediar-
ies and envoys in times of political crisis. In the aftermath of the coup that
deposed Sihanouk, Queen Kossamak communicated between her son and
the National assembly ‘in a last-ditch attempt to turn the people’s anger and
save her son’.48 as we have seen, Cambodia had precedents for women dip-
lomats dating back to the classical period. During the Khmer republic, the
Cambodian Deputy permanent representative to the United Nations was a
woman, ‘Mrs Nhoung peng’:
Being highly dynamic, she speaks incessantly, without discrimination, with
all delegations accredited to the UN, even with those countries who have rec-
ognised the GrUNK. In an easy, moderate way, she explains, refutes, decries,
confirms, reaffirms the permanent position of the Khmer republic.49
Nou Neou claimed to have been ordered by Lon Nol to broker an agree-
ment with Khmer rouge forces with a view to integration of resistance fight-
ers into the standing army. She stated that she had reconciled a local resistance
commander to the idea, but the plan was rejected because all members of the
standing army had to have passed through the Cambodian Military academy
– a requirement that all military leaders in the resistance could not meet.50 Yet
women seem to have been considered appropriate mediums for diplomacy in
the Khmer republic.
Female metaphor was often invoked in relation to the civil war. Cambodia
was spoken of as a woman ‘with the crushing weight of her remote and recent
past, with her naked and sometimes revolting realities, her first own expe-
riences made up of trials and errors, sparks of hopes and disappointments,
but also her firm will to succeed’. Slogans such as ‘Defend the motherland
against invasion’ began appearing on classroom walls as the civil war intensi-
fied. Government publications such as New Cambodge depicted the fledg-
ling FUNK forces as a baby being nursed by China, anthropomorphised as
a large, middle-aged woman with drooping breasts, dressed as a Chinese
peasant. Cartoons represented Cambodia as a young, innocent woman,
frequently ‘molested’ by drooling male representations of Vietnam, China,
and GrUNK. Chhang Song entitled his 1971 interview with henry Kamm
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 Lost Goddesses

‘the rape of Cambodia’. the ‘purity’ of Cambodia was further symbolised

in the first flag-raising ceremony of the Khmer republic. General Lon Nol
is purported to have ordered that young, unmarried – and therefore morally
‘pure’ girls – be involved with the manufacture and consecration of the flag.
In a ceremony reminiscent of Shaivite puja ceremonies, the girls were made
to ‘kneel around the flag holding lotus blossoms. then he ordered the girls to
wrap the flag about a tall gold-and-silver candlestick, then to unfurl it again.
the monks showered jasmine blossoms over the girls and the flag’. even mili-
tary operations were named after women who had resonance in the minds of
Cambodians, such as ‘Operation Kangrey’, which was named after ‘a woman
of dazzling beauty who held everyone under her spell’.51 the success of the
mission, therefore, was inevitable.
Not all imagery associated with women was positive. as had occurred
in the nineteenth century (see Chapter 5), women of earlier periods were
held responsible for mistakes made by Cambodian kings in the past, such
as the ‘fall’ of angkor, the ‘occupation’ of Cambodia by the Vietnamese in
the nineteenth century, and the imposition of colonialism.52 the propaganda
machine of the Khmer republic laid the blame for the corruption and ex-
cesses of the Sangkum era at the feet of princess Monique.53 although some
censured prince Sihanouk for interfering in processes that were supposed to
be democratic, or allowing himself to be distracted by frivolous pursuits such
as film-making while the country slid toward chaos,54 he was represented
even by the Khmer republic has having been led astray by his favourite con-
sort.55 Sihanouk ‘passed his time making films and spending money while
his wife lined her pockets’; the state casino, seen by many as the symbol of
the depths of depravity to which Cambodian society had sunk by the end of
the 1960s, was ‘the private creation of Sihanouk-Monique-pomme and their
associates’.56 Monique, with the collaboration of her brother Oum Manorine,
and her mother, Madame pomme, was implicated in every corrupt practice,
including the selling of government positions:
Instead of seeking means to halt this development, the prince’s entourage,
directing the State in his name, was in favour of corruption, offered lucrative
positions to the highest bidders … the position of Director of Customs was
priced at a million riels to be paid monthly, clandestinely and in the sewers
of Chamcar Mon, to the Goddess of the South … . this practice became so
usual and so frequent that even the man in the street knew by heart the adage:

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 ‘Liberation’

‘everything goes to Chamcar Mon, and everything comes from Chamcar

Mon’.57
the name ‘Goddess of the South’ associated princess Monique with Vietnam,
Cambodia’s aggressor. Female power, therefore, became connected with
corruption, social ills, and the loss of Cambodian sovereignty to ‘hereditary
enemies’. She was even accused of supplying the Viet Cong.58
princess Monique was also held responsible for prince Sihanouk’s strained
relationship with his mother, Queen Kossamak. Sihanouk’s reluctance to allow
his mother to become head of State in 1960 was explained by some members
of the Khmer republic literati as due to his being ‘blinded by his passion for his
wife Monique’. Queen Kossamak made no secret of the fact that she disliked
princess Monique, however, and any strain between mother and son could have
resulted from his irritation with anyone who showed their disapproval toward
his behaviour. Some have suggested that Queen Kossamak also exercised the
prerogative of the elite in making appointments to civil service positions and in-
vestment in enterprises that were less than transparent.59 Neither woman fared
well under the Khmer republic; Queen Kossamak was placed under virtual
house arrest in one wing of Khemarin palace in order to prevent her involve-
ment in a royalist uprising against the new government. princess Monique was
burned in effigy in public condemnation of her alleged involvement in corrup-
tion.60 the message was clear: Women had to be constrained from wielding too
much power. If they overstepped these boundaries, society would suffer. Yet
this did not prevent the Khmer republic from mobilising hundreds of thou-
sands of women into action in the civil war.

Fine lines: Mobilisation and morality

the image of Cambodia as a peaceful, idyllic island in a sea of regional con-
flict in the 1960s hid the existence of a resistance movement that increased
in membership as the decade wore on. after independence in 1954, com-
munists were able to participate as leftist activists in the political life of the
country, although they continued to operate as a clandestine organisation.
the Samlaut uprising of 1967 prompted the government to target officials
whose sympathies lay with the far left. those purged joined an increasing
number of Cambodians, disillusioned with the limited employment oppor-
tunities and corruption of mainstream society, who took to the maquis. the
following year guerrilla warfare broke out. In 1970 the communist resistance
201
 Lost Goddesses

joined the Front uni national du Kampuchea (FUNK), led by the ousted prince
Sihanouk. the participation of the one politician whom every Cambodian
could identify, and who continued to be perceived as a semi-divine being in
the countryside, guaranteed the co-operation of much of the rural popula-
tion. By 1973 the revolutionaries held most of the country with the exception
of phnom penh, some provincial capitals, and most of Battambang province.
refugees, escaping the encroachment of communist power and the bomb-
ing campaigns of the Vietnam War, flocked to the cities, overloading an
infrastructure already compromised by increased corruption and reduced
american aid. the mobilisation of young Cambodians occurred on all sides
of the political landscape, and in some ways resulted in the highest level of
gender egalitarianism the country had ever seen. François ponchaud saw the
militarisation of women during this period as a natural consequence of the
equality between men and women in Cambodian society.61 Yet ingrained at-
titudes as to the correct place of women endured. there was a distinct sense
that the mobilisation of women, and the freedoms that they began to enjoy as
a result, were temporary measures for both sides of the civil war.
the mobilisation of Cambodian youth had begun in the colonial period.
In 1957 the Jeunesse Socialiste Royale Khmère ( JSrK) was established to con-
tinue to channel the energies and aspirations of Cambodian young people
into ‘safe’ areas that posed no threat to the government. the aims of the JSrK
were to ‘inculcate to the young the ideals of National Socialism devised by
prince Sihanouk and the Sangkum reastr Niyum’. Students enrolled in pri-
mary and secondary schools were thereby politicised (see Fig. 8.3). prince
Sihanouk was attended by boy and girl JSrK members, one on each side, at
official functions; when foreign visitors of state arrived, schoolchildren were
given flags and taught to pronounce their names for days beforehand before
being assembled, in a special uniform that included ‘closed-in’ shoes, on the
footpaths to cheer the visitors into town. Members of the JSrK functioned
as diplomats and exemplars of Cambodia’s progressive policies, participating
in regional and international youth sports and artistic competitions. their
activities and devotion to prince Sihanouk were widely publicised. By the
middle of the 1960s, however, groups of young people were collectivising in
the pursuit of other objectives, such as the trashing of the offices of the right-
ist newspaper Khmei Ekareach in June 1967, and many were choosing to join
the communist resistance.62

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‘Liberation’

the government of the

Khmer republic was simi-
larly concerned at the poten-
tially disruptive force repre-
sented by Cambodian youth.
a few days after the coup of
18 March 1970, all second-
ary-school students were
gathered at the National as-
sembly, where government
representatives explained why
prince Sihanouk had been
deposed. the following week
students were given four
days of holiday so that they
could return to their villages
and relay the explanation to
their relatives. the following
month, a larger plan of mobi-
lisation was announced that
required all public servants
and students, irrespective of
age or gender, were to wear
military uniforms. as Khmer
republic uniforms quickly
outsold demand, people in-
corporated any combination
of uniform into their daily
attire, including South Viet-
namese, american, and even
old French uniforms. adults

Fig. 8.3: Girls and young women in

the Jeunesse Socialiste Royale Khmère.
Femmes du Cambodge, phnom penh:
Ministère de l’Information du Gouvern-
ment royal du Cambodge, 1963.

203
 Lost Goddesses

of both sexes began receiving basic paramilitary training. Students were

drilled in marching, combat and weapons and were made responsible for the
defence of their schools. Some proposed that ‘youth colonies’ be established
during the school holidays so that young people could remain useful. Govern-
ment publications constantly emphasised that women were willing and active
participants in all mobilisation activities, including photographs of female
students affixing propaganda signage to walls, being drilled in formation, and
going out to the countryside to ‘rally’ the rural population to the Khmer
republic. On 11 april 1970, ‘100,000 young men and girls, representing the
Life-Forces of the nation’ participated in a ‘March of National Concord’ to
symbolise the commitment of Cambodian youth to the new regime.63
Female mobilisation was not restricted to schoolgirls. Large numbers of
women joined the armed forces and their photographs were published with
captions such as ‘she also participates in the defense of national territory
against the Communist aggressors’ and ‘François Sully of Newsweek presents
his press card to a charming Cambodian female soldier’. Cambodian women
could also ‘mobilise’ from home, depending upon the individual’s ‘intellectual
and physical capabilities’. the Cambodian Women’s association joined the
Writer’s association and the Committee of Cambodian patriots in europe
in an open letter asking that the temples of angkor be spared in the bomb-
ing, for example; but its leader, Nou Neou, was also the head of the patriotic
Women’s Youth Commandos.64
the resistance provided many Cambodian women with their first taste
of public power. the anti-republic activities of ‘liberated’ women were ap-
plauded by the movement:
Just like the men, Cambodian women, yesterday and today, have contributed
greatly to the struggle against foreign aggression in defense … . at the front,
women take part in combat, in medical teams, in destroying communica-
tions, in voluntary work teams. Behind the lines, women play a top-level role.
Numerous guerrilla units have been formed entirely of women. Women take
charge of various tasks, replacing men who have left for the front; village de-
fense, making booby-traps, agricultural production, planing, medical work,
etc … . Many other such examples demonstrate the political responsibility of
women in Cambodia.65
Some of the mit neary, ‘female comrades’, were very young. In Kompong
Chhnang province Yen Savannary encountered a group of Communist sol-

204
 ‘Liberation’

diers that included 12-year-old girls who forced him into the jungle at gun-
point. Life in the maquis offered girls an alternative to marriage and provided
opportunities for an equal standing with men that they found hard to achieve
in mainstream Cambodian society. Numbers increased after the deposition of
Sihanouk in 1970. Bun rany, wife of current prime Minister hun Sen, joined
the maquis after the coup, opting for medical training. Five years later she
was director of the Kroch Chhmar district hospital. Male and female recruits
were trained as soldiers, cooks, and manufacturers among others. they were
also put to work disseminating anti-government propaganda and promulgat-
ing the equitable vision of the resistance movement, as their counterparts in
the Khmer republic were doing in the ‘unliberated’ zones. Interviews and
publications produced by FUNK included photographs of girls putting up
banners in preparation for International Labour Day, women in fields with
hoes, and constant emphasis that the contribution of women was valued in
the movement. the best known of the women in the resistance were Khieu
thirith and Khieu ponnary. the former was a vice-minister in the GrUNK
and with her husband, Ieng Sary, acknowledged to be the leading political
authority amongst the Cambodian communist community in hanoi in the
early 1970s.66
the achievements of women mobilised in the cause were extolled as ex-
emplars for other women to follow on both sides of the conflict. One woman,
whose husband had been killed in a FUNK attack on her village, ‘wiped away
the tears on her cheeks with her hand and solemnly swore to avenge her hus-
band. how? to become a soldier’. her responsibilities as a mother were not
forgotten, however, and luckily an ‘old woman of the village took charge of
her daughter’.67 those who died as a result of enemy fire received widespread
coverage in the news. Diep Vandar, a 19-year-old from Siem reap, was killed
in a bazooka attack on the high school that she was defending on 5 June 1970.
her father was reported in New Cambodge as saying
I mourn the loss of my daughter without however receiving a severe emo-
tional shock. Dying on active service, she truly fulfilled her duty as a citizen,
as a true patriot who sacrificed her herself for the defence of her country in
grave danger. My daughter was extremely courageous.68
the courage of women in the resistance was also acclaimed. a FUNK propa-
ganda pamphlet of 1973 told the story of a poor woman, Oeurn, who cou-
rageously stood up to government agents and accused them of cowardice in
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 Lost Goddesses

not doing more to halt corruption and exploitation of the working masses.
another document told the story of four girls who had outwitted a group of
armed Khmer republic soldiers in ‘Village t’.69
Yet despite the emphasis placed upon the participation and contribu-
tion of women, there persisted a conviction that women were mentally and
physically ‘weaker’ than men and that equality with men was defeminising. In
describing a poster used in a youth demonstration of 3 September 1970, San
Sarin wrote that the female fighter ‘has for a moment abandoned her natural
gentleness. But she still keeps, however, her gracious features, nevertheless
being also firmly resolved to oppose the aggressors’. the new emblem of gen-
eral mobilisation adopted in 1971 included the image of a woman, who signi-
fied that ‘even the weaker sex is mobilised’. this was echoed by the resistance.
One of the revolutionary songs, The beauty of Kampuchea, ran as follows: ‘O
beautiful, beloved Kampuchea, our destiny has joined us together, uniting
our forces so as not to disagree. Even [emphasis added] young girls get up and
join in the struggle.’
Moreover, although their participation at all levels of the civil war was
encouraged, women were expected to also fulfil their ‘traditional’ roles of
nurturers and domesticity. Kate Frieson suggested that these ‘traditional re-
strictions placed on women’s activities outside the home, duties to take care
of their children and parents, and a general disinterest in male-dominated
political affairs’ was the reason that more women did not defect to the maquis.
those that did were expected to conform to many of the same mores to
which they had always lived, such as cooking for their work units. Democratic
Kampuchea is Moving Forward published photographs of women with guns
juxtaposed against photographs of women in the ricefields.70 this was the
same on the other side of the conflict. thea Voss, a Dutch freelance journal-
ist, accompanied government forces on a series of reconnaissance missions in
Siem reap, and observed that the female soldiers
were fighting in the front line like men do, and they were very brave. Some
went back with the ambulance to take care of the wounded. Many of them
were students from the Lycée. When the battles were over, they put on the
sarongs and started cooking.71
the courage of Cambodian women in the field was also attested by Yos,
who at age 22 had been trained in basic combat in Battambang: ‘Let me tell
you, when we were waiting to be attacked, we were glad we had been handling
206
 ‘Liberation’

choppers in the kitchen since we were small – we knew how to use them, the
boys vomited with fear’.72
Many women became unwillingly ‘mobilised’ as the conflict intensified.
On 18 March 1969, the United States began its bombing campaign to rout
out Viet Cong sheltering within Cambodian borders. after three-year respite,
the bombing restarted in 1973. Over the next year approximately two million
refugees sought shelter in phnom penh and 250,000 in Battambang. those
who could afford it left the country, seeking refuge in France or the United
States. Food, already in short supply due to the disruption of the civil war, be-
came scarce and the infrastructures of the provincial and municipal capitals
were stretched to their utmost. the Women’s association distributed aid to
refugees in phnom penh and the nearby provinces. Centres offering voca-
tional training and machinery for small business enterprises were provided by
the Ministry of Community Development, assisted by private donors. One of
these was the Butterflies Center, along the north side of the Boeung Kak lake.
traditional mechanisms that would usually have provided alternatives for
women in dire circumstances were not available because of the disruption of
the conflict. Families had fewer resources to extend to distant relatives. Some
women sought refuge as daun chi in local wats when their husbands died.73
Mom, originally from prey Veng, said that when her mother’s aunt’s husband
died in 1972, the family was placed in a quandary:
Food was getting difficult. We already had a house full of family members
whose husbands and fathers were away being soldiers or had been killed. She
had no children so she had nowhere that they had to take her. So she went to
the wat and asked to become a daun chi; but ten days later she came back,
saying that the pagoda was not a calm place, and there was no food.74
It was inevitable that the conflict would impact upon urban Cambodian
society in negative ways. Western journalists, diplomats and advisors and the
Cambodian elite continued to enjoy the same luxuries as they had in the 1960s.
Corruption reached its heights in the last years of the Khmer republic, with
Ministry of education employees selling exam questions to students, army
officers refusing to pay bills in restaurants, and the siphoning of government
supplies of food and other goods, destined for the army, hospitals and refugees,
disappearing into the black market. the increased wealth and prestige of the
military forces led to an increased demand for sex workers, which in turn led
to an apparent trend for the kidnapping and sex slavery of young women. Serey
207
 Lost Goddesses

phal’s parents ‘carefully watched over us, especially me, because bad people
kidnapped girls and sold them to brothels’. people in the villages were afraid
that Lon Nol soldiers would kidnap their girls and take them to phnom penh
to be sold. the unprecedented freedoms of the mobilised society afforded
women more control over their lives than ever before, but this does not seem
to have resulted in wholesale permissiveness toward premarital sex. the men
and women who married during the early 1970s, for the most part, observed
the regulations surrounding chastity as laid down in the past. Sovanna, who
married her husband Sa in 1974, said that they ‘followed Khmer tradition and
never met privately or spoke together alone before our wedding’. the integrity
of the movement, on both sides of the conflict, seemed to be directly related to
the moral purity of its young women. as a concession to ‘tradition’, girls were
not required to staff the night shifts in the youth commandos of the Khmer
republic; and in the FUNK Liberated Zones ‘the morality of the troops is such
that families are easily convinced to allow their young girls to join the cultural
groups or production units in the countryside’.75
Young women enjoyed their new-found freedoms. Some seemed to see
mobilisation as an opportunity to explore new fashions – especially the ‘tight
khaki pants’ they could now legitimately wear as a symbol of their commit-
ment to the cause – and to spend time with their friends, although this was
couched in more patriotic terms in the press. Diep Vandar’s father said that
his daughter had approached him for permission to join the commando unit
at her high school.
I tried to restrain her but in vain. as an answer, she said to me, ‘papa, why be
afraid, we must not wait for the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong to come
and swallow us up. the daughters of our officers are already serving in the
commando.’ Finally she joined the commando and underwent military train-
ing with her friends.76
henry Kamm recounted that students appeared to have no real convic-
tion regarding the new regime. he asked two ‘sweetly smiling girls’ for their
opinions. they told him that they hated Sihanouk. ‘But a couple of weeks ago
you loved him, didn’t you? they agreed, and one added quickly, “But now I
don’t dare.” “I waver between the two,” said her friend. the first giggled. “But
if Sihanouk comes back, I’ll shout ‘Bravo, Sihanouk!’”’77
elite Cambodian society responded to the rapid changes with which it
was faced by retreating into the ‘traditional’. a survey of popular literature
208
 ‘Liberation’

produced at this time reveals a preoccupation with the timeless and far-off
Cambodia of legend and romance, not to mention ‘traditional’ models of
Cambodian femininity, as opposed to the growing harshness of real life.
the Buddhist Institute published Chansons populaires in 1970, remarking
that ‘although our poets exalt the enviable qualities of young girls, they do
not forget to remark upon the importance of older women who, best of all,
often prepare for their husband an appetising dish or a nice chew of betel’.
Semi-official government magazines and the Buddhist Institute continued
to publish Cambodian folktales and cbpab. the Women’s association also
colluded in ensuring that despite their participation in the militarisation of
Cambodia, women knew that their true place was in the home, having as its
aim ‘to acquaint women of their responsibilities as young women, mothers
and citizens, to make women understand the importance of their place in the
family as well as in society’.78 Once the civil war was over, women would no
longer be needed in the public realm; they should therefore be prepared to
return to their natural sphere of domestic concerns and acceptance of male
privilege.
©
the policies implemented by the Cambodian governments following inde-
pendence should have enhanced women’s access to power. Women were en-
titled to the same civil and legal status as men. policies for increased literacy
and education were implemented. Yet women were impeded from exercising
greater social and political power due to deeply ingrained male attitudes and
‘traditional’ social constructs that maintained the idea that men were supe-
rior to women. these constructs were assimilated through the non-critical
study of ‘traditional’ Cambodian literature dating, in most cases, only from
the nineteenth century, and embodied the conservative morality of elite
men. For the people that led Cambodia to independence, a Cambodia free
of external interference meant a return to the values that were believed to
have been in place the last time Cambodia had been unfettered – in other
words, during the reign of ang Duong. Cambodian women had to remain
as ‘traditional’ as possible so that Cambodian culture was not lost in the face
of rapid modernisation. thus women were constrained from accessing posi-
tions in the political realm, although they maintained their significance in the
domestic and supernatural realms. as in other countries at war, the politicisa-

209
 Lost Goddesses

tion and militarisation of men and women on both sides of the conflict – the
defense of the nation and the realisation of the revolutionary objective – went
a long way towards recognising the value of gender equality and offset the
(temporary) loss of ‘traditional’ culture. Yet women continued to be seen as
the custodians of Cambodian cultural identity, and too great a deviation from
models of correct Cambodian womanhood brought censure. It is very un-
likely that had the Lon Nol government prevailed, Cambodian women would
have rebelled against their relegation to domesticity when the war was over;
but many of them never had the chance.

Notes to Chapter 8
1 Maria Mies, Patriarchy and accumulation on a world scale: Women in the international divi-
sion of labour, London and atlantic highlands, New Jersey: Zed Books, 1986, p. 177.
2 Femmes du Cambodge, phnom penh: Le Ministère de l’Information du Gouvernment
royal du Cambodge, 1963, p. 5; articles 49, 50, 85, and 92 of the 1964 Constitution, in
raoul M. Jennar, The constitutions of Cambodia, Bangkok: White Lotus, 1995, pp. 44, 50,
51; speech given by prince Sihanouk on the tenth anniversary of the Constitution, 6 May
1957, National archives of Cambodia, material of the Sangkum reastr Niyum period
(hereafter SrN), Box 340. the national congresses were biennial affairs held outside the
royal palace, with prince Sihanouk presiding, commentating, and interjecting. Later, they
became a forum for the prince to defend himself and his actions and vilify his enemies.
3 Speech commemorating the tenth anniversary of the promulgation of the constitution,
6 May 1957, SrN Box 340.
4 article 25 of the 1964 Constitution, in Jennar, Constitutions of Cambodia, p. 40.Milton e.
Osborne, Sihanouk: Prince of light, prince of darkness, St. Leonards, New South Wales: allen
& Unwin, 1994, p. 116; memoirs of prince Monireth, cited in David Chandler, The tragedy
of Cambodian history: Politics, war and revolution since 1945, New haven: Yale University
press, 1991, p. 115; Milton e. Osbourne, Politics and power in Cambodia: The Sihanouk
years, Camberwell, Victoria: Longman, 1973, pp. 65–66; Kret No. 30, Réorganisation des
services du palais royal, 31 December 1960, SrN Box 108. Sihanouk seems to have been
jealous of the Queen’s popularity even after stripping her of all real power. the Cahiers du
Sangkum recorded that the January 1961 production of posters bearing the photograph
of the queen was 4,000. posters of prince Sihanouk totalled 3,000. the following edition
of the Cahiers du Sangkum stated that 3,000 posters of Queen Kossamak and 4,500 of
prince Sihanouk had been produced. See Cahiers du Sangkum 9 (avril 1961), p. 55.
5 New Cambodge 5 (September 1970), p. 4; Femmes du Cambodge, p. 2.
6 Osbourne, Politics and power in Cambodia, p. 84; Osborne, Prince of light, prince of
darkness, pp. 140–142; speech of Queen Kossamak, delivered at Khemarin palace, 24
November 1958, SrN Box 343.
7 Chandler, Tragedy of Cambodian history, p. 95.

210
 ‘Liberation’

8 Ben Kiernan, How Pol Pot came to power: A history of communism in Kampuchea,
1930–1975, London: Verso, 1985, p. 176.
9 Kret 36/70 Ce Journal Officiel du Cambodge [hereafter JOC] 7–1–70. the Sangkum
government felt that the natural concerns of women would continue to revolve around
the household and family, as is evident from the portfolios managed by women (Social
action, health, National education, and tourism).
10 Droit civil khmèr, comp. Marcel Clairon, phnom penh: Faculté du Droit, 1959, t. 1, p. 23.
11 In 1956, prince Sihanouk established a commission to carry out reforms to the exist-
ing 1920 civil code, itself largely based upon colonial-era customs and the cbpab (see
Chapter 7). articles 194–203, 804, Droit civil khmèr, t. 1, pp. 49, 66–67.
12 articles 114-148, 245, Droit civil khmèr, t. 1, pp. 51, 58; fieldnotes, 2006.
13 articles 74 and 138, Droit civil khmèr, t. 1, pp. 45–46; Chau Seng and Charles Meyer, Le mar-
iage cambodgien, phnom penh: Université Buddhique preah raj Sihanouk, [1962?], p. 1.
14 article 7 of the Cambodian Code of Commerce, cited in Droit civil khmèr, t. 1, p. 66.
15 roles included, for example, Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign affairs (Kret 36/70
Ce, JOC 7–1–70) and Chief Doctor (Kret 67/70, JoC 8–1–70). See also Cambodian
Genocide Database records (hereafter CGD) Y06010, Y06414, Y06016, Y06409,
Y06160, Y06456 Y06440, Y06455; Femmes du Cambodge, pp. 27, 36.
16 When Lieng started medical school in 1969, there were four other women in her class of
fifty. See Lieng’s story, in Soul survivors, p. 94; CGBY06131, Y06042.
17 these were midwives registered by the state; there were, of course, many more who
were unregistered. Cambodian statistical yearbook 1958 data, cited in David J. Steinberg,
Cambodia: Its people – its society – its culture, New haven, hraf press, 1959, p. 248; Cahiers du
Sangkum: Revue mestrièlle des realisations du Sangkum (Communauté Socialiste populaire)
8 (Mars 1961), p. 44.
18 Cahiers du Sangkum 2 (October – Novembre – Decembre 1958), p. 40; Cahiers du
Sangkum 8 (Mars 1961), p. 33; Femmes du Cambodge, pp. 8, 39; fieldnotes, 2001, 2002,
2006. For ethnographic data on school attendance see the holdings of the Buddhist
Institute archives project 4: Gender & Buddhism, 2005–2006.
19 published works of literary criticism did appear during the 1950s and 1960s. See George
Chigas, ‘the emergence of twentieth century Cambodian literary institutions: the
case of Kambujasuriya’, in David Smyth (ed.), The canon in Southeast Asian literatures:
Literatures of Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines,Thailand and
Vietnam, richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 2000, p. 144.
20 ang Duong, Cbpab srei, phnom penh: Buddhist Institute, 1962, p. k.
21 Sakhan Samon, Kpuon Apram Chariya Satrei [Manual for raising good women], phnom
penh: n.p., 1965; aing Sokroeun, ‘a comparative analysis of traditional and contempo-
rary roles of Khmer women in the household: a case study in Leap tong village’, Ma
thesis, royal University of phnom penh, 2004, pp. 15, 46; Luong Vichetr Vohar, Morale
aux jeunes filles, phnom penh, [n.p.]; fieldnotes, 2006.

211
 Lost Goddesses

22 Some, however, saw reincarnation, not education, as their path to a better life; in the
mid-1960s May ebihara encountered an eighteen-year-old girl who had decided to par-
ticipate in as many kathin festivals as possible that year in the hopes of improving her
karma enough to be reborn as a rich american. May ebihara, ‘Svay, a Kmer village in
Cambodia’, phD thesis, Columbia University, 1968 [ann arbor, Michigan: University
Microfilms, 1971], p. 383.
23 S.N. eisenstadt, ‘post-traditional societies and the continuity and reconstruction of
tradition’, Daedalus 102, 1 (Winter 1973), p. 4; peter poole, Cambodia’s quest for survival,
New York: american-asian educational exchange, 1969, p. 21; Steinberg, Cambodia:
Its people – its society – its culture, p. 93; Michael Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, North
Sydney, New South Wales: allen & Unwin, 1984, pp. 19–21, 24.
24 Steinberg, Cambodia: Its people – its society – its culture, p. 266; San Neang, Socheavatadar
samrap broh neung srei [harmonious living for men and women], phnom penh: n.p,
1967, pp. 54, 36; Vickery, Cambodia 1975–1982, p. 10; ratha, in Soul survivors, p. 34.
25 Femmes du Cambodge, p. 39.
26 this is, of course, a global phenomenon, not something peculiar to Cambodia.
27 ‘l’a ssociation des femmes Cambodgiennes’, Cambodge Nouveau 7 (November 1970),
p. 52.
28 Other members were Nhok them, hell Sumphea, Ma Lai Khem, thack thuon, Ly
theam teng, Leang hap an, Sien Khandy, Biv Chhay Leang, and Ung Saron. New
Cambodge 4 (august 1970), p. 53.
29 New Cambodge 4 (august 1970), p. 53; Kiernan, How Pol Pot came to power, p. 185;
Communist party of Kampuchea, ‘Decisions of the Central Committee on a variety of
questions’, 30 March 1976, trans. Ben Kiernan, in Pol Pot plans the future: Confidential
leadership documents from Democratic Kampuchea, 1976–1977, trans. and ed. David p.
Chandler, Ben Kiernan and Chanthou Boua, New haven, Connecticut: Yale University
Southeast asia Studies, 1988, p. 5; Chandler, Tragedy of Cambodian history, p. 127;
Kiernan, How Pol Pot came to power, pp. 193, 204; aing Sokroeun, personal commu-
nication; aun, in Soul survivors, pp. 124–127. Ma Lai Khem, ‘Khmer literature’, New
Cambodge 2 ( June 1970), p. 70. Jacques Migozzi, ‘population, economic development,
land planning in Cambodia’, New Cambodge 2 ( June 1970), pp. 45–50, at pp. 45–46;
Luong Vichetr Vohar, Morale aux jeunes filles, phnom penh: Université Bouddhique
preah Sihanouk raj, [n.d.], pp. 5–6.
30 Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 176; haing S. Ngor, A Cambodian odyssey, New York:
Macmillan, 1987, p. 33.
31 Cambodge: Revue illustrée khmère, 1 janvièr 1953, pp. 48–49.
32 Williams, Cambodian dilemma, pp. 97, 102; Cahiers du Sangkum, 6 ( Janvièr 1961), pp.
18, 45; fieldnotes, 2002.
33 Fieldnotes, 2003, 2005. Milton Osborne, Before Kampuchea: Preludes to tragedy, Sydney:
George allen & Unwin, 1979, p. 46; aing Sokroeun, ‘a comparative analysis of tradi-
tional and contemporary roles of Khmer women in the household’, p. 61; fieldnotes,

212
 ‘Liberation’

2001, 2003, 2006; ang Chouléan, Les êtres surnaturels dans la religion populaire khmère,
paris: Cedorek, 1986, p. 234.
34 Steinberg, Cambodia: Its people – its society – its culture, p. 79; Luong Vichetr Vohar, Morale
aux jeunes filles, pp. 8, 14; Judy L. Ledgerwood, ‘Changing Khmer conceptions of gender:
Women, stories, and the social order’, phD thesis, Cornell University, 1990, p. 114.
35 Femmes du Cambodge, p. 37.
36 San Neang, Socheavatadar samrap broh neung srei; Ledgerwood, ‘Changing Khmer con-
ceptions of gender’, p. 26.
37 Femmes du Cambodge, p. 5; Cambodge, phnom penh: Le Ministre de l’Information du
Gouvernment royal du Cambodge, 1962, p. 5.
38 Grégoire Kherian, ‘Instruction de la femme, condition de l’évolution et de la croissance’,
in Éducation et développement dans le Sud-Est de l’Asie: Colloque tenu à Bruxelles les 19,
29, et 21 avril 1966, Brussles: Éditions de l’Institut de Sociologie, Université Libre de
Bruxelles, 1967, p. 55; loose leaf of Cambodia Today, p. 18, SrN Box 341.
39 Williams, Cambodian dilemma, p. 102.
40 excerpt from King Sihanouk’s website.
41 prostitution probably allowed some women earn money, although perhaps the insti-
tution did not have the wide-sweeping liberalising effect that Michael Vickery claims
(Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 330, note 371).
42 Fieldnotes, 2005, 2006.
43 ebihara, Svay, note 2 at p. 385; Bizot, Le chemin de Langka, paris: eFeO, 1992, pp. 35–36;
interviews compiled as part of the Buddhist Institute project 4: Gender & Buddhism,
2005–2006. transcripts are archived at the Buddhist Institute in phnom penh under the
code BtB–DC20, BtB–DC31 and BtB–DC32.
44 Milada Kalab, ‘Buddhism and emotional support for elderly people’, Journal of Cross-
Cultural Gerontology 5 (1990), pp. 12–13; elizabeth Guthrie, ‘Outside the sima’, Udaya:
Journal of Khmer Studies 2 (2001), p. 13; hang Chan Sophea, ‘Stec Gamlan and Yāy
Deb: Worshipping kings and queens in Cambodia today’, in John Marston and elizabeth
Guthrie (eds), History, Buddhism and new religious movements in Cambodia, hawai‘i:
University of hawai‘i press, 2004, pp. 113–126. ang Chouléan, Les êtres surnaturels,
pp. 134, 219. See Ian harris, Cambodian Buddhisim: History and practice, honolulu:
University of hawai‘i press, 2005, p. 57.
45 ang Chouléan, Les êtres surnaturels, pp. 150, 162–163; Vickery, Cambodia 1975–1982, p.
4; François Bizot, ‘La grotte de la naissance’, BEFEO 67 (1980), pp. 221–273; fieldnotes,
2005, 2006.
46 ang Chouléan, Les êtres surnaturels, pp. 40–41, 222; Guthrie, ‘Outside the sima’, p. 13;
fieldnotes 2001, 2005; harris, Cambodian Buddhism, note 72, page 282; Osborne, Before
Kampuchea, pp. 46–47; Osborne, Prince of light, prince of darkness, p. 70.
47 articles 2, 10 and 25 of the 1972 Constitution, in Jennar, Constitutions of Cambodia, pp.
59–60, 62.New Cambodge 3 ( July 1970), p. 4; ‘l’association des femmes Cambodgiennes’,

213
 Lost Goddesses

Cambodge Nouveau 7 (November 1970), pp. 52–55; New Cambodge, 1 (May 1970), p. 2;
New Cambodge 17 ( Jan–Feb 1972), p. 3; Justin J. Corfield, Khmers stand up! A history of
the Cambodian government 1970–1975, Clayton, Victoria: Monash papers on Southeast
asia No. 32, 1994, pp. 132, 175.New Cambodge 4 (august 1970), p. 15.
48 New Cambodge, 1 (May 1970), p. 9.
49 New Cambodge 28 (February 1973), p. 29.
50 american intelligence did not believe that Nou Neou had been entrusted with such a
mission, claiming that she was an unimportant political figure with a lively imagination.
Corfield, Khmers stand up!, p. 190.
51 Nuon Khoeun, ‘She has survived’, New Cambodge 3 ( July 1970), p. 40; Geoffrey Coyne,
‘Schools in crisis: phnom penh high schools and their reaction to the war in Cambodia,
March-December 1970’, Malaysian Journal of Education 9, 2 (1972), p. 140. New
Cambodge 3 ( July 1970), p. 15; henry Kamm, Cambodia: Report from a stricken land,
New York: arcade publications, 1998, pp. 85–86; New Cambodge 6 (October 1970), p.
28; Chhang Song, ‘the rape of Cambodia: a chat with henry Kamm of the New York
Times’, New Cambodge 10 (February 1971), pp. 9–21; .New Cambodge 13 (august 1971),
p. 26. this is not a typical description of Neang Kangrey, who was a yaks from the under-
world; perhaps the author confused Neang Kangrey with Neang Kaki. then again, Neang
Kangrey led her forces on an expedition to reclaim her husband, so the name may not be
entirely inapposite.
52 ‘the kings and us’, New Cambodge 4 (august 1970), pp. 38–41, at pp. 40–41.
53 Monique Izzi was the daughter of a Frenchman and the stepdaughter of an Italian.
54 See for example Soth polin, L’Anarchiste, paris: La table ronde, 1980; ros Chantrabot,
La République khmère (1970–1975), paris: L’harmattan, 1993, p. 13; eng hun, ‘Norodom
Sihanouk and the national economy: a catastrophic balance’, New Cambodge, 1 (May
1970), p. 49.
55 Sihanouk was fond of female company and his numerous liaisons resulted in a large number
of potential claimants to the throne. prince Sihanouk’s first wife was neak m’neang phat
Kanhol, mother of princess Norodom Bopha Devi and prince Norodom ranariddh. they
divorced and phat Kanhol married again. prince Sihanouk also married princess Sisowath
Monivong pongsanmoni, mother of prince Norodom Yuvaneath, prince Norodom
ravivong, prince Norodom Chakrapong, princess Norodom Soriya roeunsey, princess
Kantha Bopha, prince Norodom Khemanourak, and princess Botum Bopha. princess
pongsanmoni also remarried. princess thavet Norleak, who had divorced her husband,
prince Norodom Vakrivan, in order to join then King Sihanouk’s household in 1946, was
officially married to him on 4 March 1955; she left him the next day, when he married
Monique Izzi. the fourth wife, princess Sisowath Monikessan, had one child with prince
Sihanouk, prince Norodom Naradipo, and died giving birth to another. prince Sihanouk
had two daughters with his Lao wife, Mam Monivann, princess Norodom Suchata and
princess arun rasmei. See Justin Corfield, The royal family of Cambodia, Melbourne:
Khmer Language & Culture Centre, 1993, pp. 99–100, 102–106.

214
 ‘Liberation’

56 Op Kim ang, ‘the state casino in phnom penh’, New Cambodge 2, ( June 1970), p. 35;
prom thos, ‘Margain’s affair’, New Cambodge 2 ( June 1970), pp. 36–37.
57 phouk Chhay, ‘the social and economic heritage of the old regime’, New Cambodge, 1
(May 1970), p. 52.
58 San Sarin, ‘For Victory’, New Cambodge 5 (September 1970), p. 68.
59 Chandler, Tragedy of Cambodian history, pp. 116, 146; Osborne, Prince of light, prince of
darkness, pp. 69–70; Osbourne, Politics and power in Cambodia, p. 84; Osborne, Before
Kampuchea, p. 20; Williams, Cambodian dilemma, pp. 68–69.
60 New Cambodge 5 (September 1970), p. 4; New Cambodge 6 (October 1970), p. 31.
61 François ponchaud, ‘Social change in the vortex of revolution’, in Cambodia 1975–1978:
Rendezvous with death, ed. Karl D. Jackson, princeton, New Jersey: princeton University
press, 1989, pp. 151–177, at p 163.
62 Cambodge, p. 67; Williams, Cambodian dilemma, p. 22; Someth May, Cambodian witness,
London; Boston: Faber and Faber, 1986, p. 87; Osbourne, Politics and power in Cambodia,
p. 71; Cahiers du Sangkum, 5 (mai – decembre 1959), p. 19; Ben Kiernan, The Samlaut
rebellion and its aftermath, 1967–70: The origins of Cambodia’s liberation movement, part 2,
Clayton, Victoria: Monash University Centre of Southeast asian Studies Working paper
5, [1975], p. 1.
63 Coyne, ‘Schools in crisis’, p. 138; Osbourne, Politics and power in Cambodia, pp. 9, 61;
David Chandler, ‘Changing Cambodia’, Current History 59, 352 (1970), pp. 333–338
at p. 337; Coyne, ‘Schools in crisis’, p. 138; Nuon Khoeun, ‘She has survived’, New
Cambodge 3 ( July 1970), p. 40; Seua tiansath, ‘Battambang: Granary of Cambodia’, New
Cambodge 5 (September 1970), pp. 76–77; San Sarathsy, ‘the activity of our Youth’ New
Cambodge 13 (august 1971), pp. 35–41; New Cambodge, 1 (May 1970), pp. 22–25, 34;
New Cambodge 6 (October 1970), p. 50; New Cambodge 29 (March 1973), p. 38; New
Cambodge 27 (December 1973), p. 32; New Cambodge, 1 (May 1970), p. 11.
64 New Cambodge 4 (august 1970), pp. 23, 48; New Cambodge 11 ( June 1971), p. 38; New
Cambodge 3 ( July 1970), p. 27; New Cambodge, 1 (May 1970), p. 27.
65 ‘Cambodian women in the revolutionary war for the people’s national liberation (1973)’,
Cambodian Genocide Program Resources, www.yale.edu/cgp/kwomen.html, retrieved 24
June 2003.
66 John Barron and anthony paul, Peace with horror: The untold story of communist geno-
cide in Cambodia, London: hodder and Stoughton, 1977, pp. 55, 126; harish C. Mehta
and Julie B. Mehta, Hun Sen: Strongman of Cambodia, Singapore: Graham Brash, 1999,
p. 29; David Chandler, Voices from S–21: Terror and history in Pol Pot’s secret prison, St
Leonards, New South Wales: 2000, p. 33; ponchaud, ‘Social change in the vortex of
revolution’, p. 163; Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 100; Kiernan, How Pol Pot came
to power, pp. 321, 359, 371; La classe ouvrière et les travailleurs du Kampuchea dans la
guerre révolutionaire de liberation nationale et populaire, distributed by the Gouvernement
royal d’Union Nationale (GrUNK) in 1973, p. 23; Cambodge: Textes et documents,
[Cambodia?]: Mouvement national de soutien aux peuples d’Indochine, février 1973;

215
 Lost Goddesses

Ieng Sary, Cambodge 1972, booklet distributed by GrUNK in 1972 in Cambodge: Textes
et documents, [Cambodia?]: Mouvement national de soutien aux peuples d’Indochine,
février 1973.
67 Bonghom Devi, ‘a prison with invisible walls’, New Cambodge 13 (august 1971), pp.
32–33.
68 Seau tiansath, ‘the defence of the Lycée at Siem reap by the school battalion’, New
Cambodge 3 ( July 1970), p. 35.
69 La classe ouvrière et les travailleurs du Kampuchea dans la guerre révolutionaire de liberation
nationale et populaire, p. 53; ‘Cambodian women in the revolutionary war for the people’s
national liberation (1973)’, Cambodian Genocide Program Resources, www.yale.edu/cgp/
kwomen.html, retrieved 24 June 2003.
70 San Sarin, ‘For Victory’, New Cambodge 5 (September 1970), p. 67. New Cambodge 11
( June 1971), p. 38; translation of The beauty of Kampuchea, one of ‘Six revolutionary
songs’, in Ben Kiernan and Chanthou Boua (eds), Peasants and politics in Kampuchea,
1942–1981, London: Zed press; New York: M.e. Sharpe, 1982, p. 327; Kate G. Frieson,
the impact of revolution on Cambodian peasants, 1970–1975, phD thesis, Monash
University, 1991, p. 42; Democratic Kampuchea is moving forward, [Cambodia?], [n.p.],
august 1977, p. 11.
71 New Cambodge 4 (august 1970), p. 50.
72 Fieldnotes, 2006.
73 Chandler, Tragedy of Cambodian history, pp. 184, 207, 230, 235; Chandler, ‘Changing
Cambodia’, p. 338, note 19; New Cambodge 12 ( July 1971), p. 20; New Cambodge 25
(October 1973), 12; New Cambodge 29 (March 1973), pp. 24–27; Sovanna, in Soul survi-
vors, p. 180; Chantrabot, La République khmère (1970–1975), p. 98; interviews compiled
as part of the Buddhist Institute project 4: Gender & Buddhism, 2005–2006.
74 Fieldnotes, 2005.
75 Walter J. Burgess, ‘the role of the foreign media in Cambodia 1970-75’, in Khmer stud-
ies: Knowledge of the past, and its contributions to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of
Cambodia, proceedings of the International Conference on Khmer Studies, phnom
penh, 26–30 august 1996, ed. Sorn Samnang, phnom penh: toyota Foundation, French
embassy, British embassy, 1998, vol. 2, p. 941; Chantrabot, La République khmère, p. 93;
Osbourne, Politics and power in Cambodia, p. 89; Chantrabot, La République khmère, pp.
101–105, 107; Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 25; Serey phal, in Soul survivors, pp.
138–139; Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 177, and Kampuchea: Politics, economics and
society, London: Frances pinter; Boulder, Colorado: Lynne rienner publishers, 1986, p.
57; Sovanna, in Soul survivors, p. 180; fieldnotes, 2003, 2005, 2006; Coyne, ‘Schools in
crisis’, p. 139.
76 Seau tiansath, ‘the defence of the Lycée at Siem reap by the school battalion’, New
Cambodge 3 ( July 1970), p. 35.
77 Kamm, Report from a stricken land, p. 51

216
 ‘Liberation’

78 the first three traditional Cambodian stories in the english-language publications series
of the Buddhist Institute were about women: Neang Kangrey, Neang Roumsey Sok, and
Neang Kaki. See advertisement in New Cambodge 4 (august 1970), p. 71; l’association
des femmes Cambodgiennes’, Cambodge Nouveau 7 (November 1970), pp. 52–55;
Chansons populaires, phnom penh: Institut Bouddhique, 1970, p. 4; ‘Une femme cupide’,
trans. tvear (rené Laporte), Realités Cambodgiennes 719 (October 1970), p. 27.

217
 Chapter NINe

Into the fields

O n 17 april 1975, a new era unfolded with the fall of

phnom penh to the Khmer rouge. the policies of
Democratic Kampuchea endorsed gender equality,
both in official instruments and in the codes of conduct laid
down by ‘angkar’, the organisation comprising the Khmer
rouge leadership. Women were mobilised into public works,
agriculture, and military activities wherein they could techni-
cally attain high positions. Yet political power remained the
perquisite of those connected to men. the legacy of earlier pe-
riods was still apparent in the attitudes of men in power. thus,
emulation of past models of elite male behaviour and therefore
male privilege continued, to the detriment of women. It could
be argued that rural women now had more opportunities in
terms of diversification of tasks and control over others than
ever before, but women who had been living middle-class or
elite lives were totally bereft of choice or personal freedoms.
the sufferings of women during this period are markedly dif-
ferent to those of men. Dysmenorrhoea, miscarriage, and death
in childbirth were widespread. the punishments visited upon
women often involved an element of sexual sadism or supersti-
tion surrounding ‘female power’. Democratic Kampuchea was
gender-equal only insofar as both men and women from non-
rural backgrounds equally suffered from starvation, over-work,
disease, deprivation of basic freedoms, torture, and death.

218
 Into the Fields

The gender-neutral state

at the outset it appeared that Democratic Kampuchea represented a new level
of gender egalitarianism. Women continued to be active in the revolutionary
movement throughout the final weeks of the Khmer republic. the mit neary
(female comrades) who participated in the liberation of phnom penh were
witnessed administering beatings, giving orders and executing people with as
much zeal as the boys and men who marched into the cities on 17 april 1975.
Once the war was over, men and women were demobilised and put in charge
of civilian work units or given positions within the district party administra-
tion. Many of the cadres brought in to replace the purged eastern Zone cadres
after 1977 were women. the countryside was divided into khum, ‘districts’,
comprising several phum, ‘villages’, which in turn were made up of krom, or
‘collectives’, of around ten families. Several villages made a khum. the village
was organised into work units divided according to gender, marital status, and
age. Some work units, chalat, comprised groups of young men and women
who could be dispatched over great distances to provide labour for irrigation
and agricultural work, and to provide good examples of model workers to the
inhabitants of the areas they visited. the leaders of these groups were entitled
me kong, ‘group mother’, regardless of their gender. Some were people who had
had positions of authority or some education prior to the revolution. Others
earned their elevated rank through displaying skill at their allotted task; for
example, penh Lieng aun became the me kong of a state weaving enterprise.
Most were very young; Molyda Szymusiak recalled that the 17-year-old me
kong in charge of her work group was replaced by one aged fifteen.1
Other women worked in factories. Soon after 17 april 1975, eighty
Khmer rouge men and women arrived at the textile factory where peang
Sophi worked in order to learn industrial techniques. Women worked on con-
struction projects (such as on the railway), in state enterprises (doing sewing
or weaving, for instance), and in fishing and agriculture. Yet the Vietnamese
delegation invited to Cambodia by the Women’s association found the fac-
tories and other enterprises initiated by the government to be sub-standard.
One factory was completely deserted, its workers having been sent en masse
for ‘re-education’. a Cambodian textile worker, described as being incredibly
proficient with the machines she learned to use only a few months before,
was discovered to be absent with a cold when a member of the Vietnamese
delegation asked for a demonstration. the 17-year-old director of a pharma-

219
 Lost Goddesses

ceutical manufacturing concern claimed that her premises produced tetracy-

cline, aspirin, and anti-diarrhoeal tablets. there were no ingredients in sight
and the mixing was carried out by hand. She explained that machinery was
not necessary as the Cambodian communists had invented a special recipe
during the civil war.2
It was Khmer rouge policy to applaud the efforts of those whom they
considered model workers. Often, these were young girls. a teenage girl
named phali from Kandal lost first her father, then her mother, leaving her to
care for her three young brothers. her dedication to the revolution in the face
of this adversity was celebrated, even more so when her brothers died after
eating something they had foraged in the jungle. the emulation campaign
ended when phali died of malaria. Similarly, a cadre at the district hospital
ensured that girls renowned for being hard workers received medical atten-
tion: ‘these girls need to be looked after. You can let old women die, that’s
not important, but these girls have been promoted. I’ve come to tell you that
they are now Daughters of pol pot, because of the exemplary work they ac-
complished up on the mountain.’3
the Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea supported gender equality,
referring to ‘men and women fighters and cadres’.4 ‘arts teams’, comprising
singers, musicians, and dancers of both genders,5 would travel from region
to region performing new material written specifically for purposes of dis-
seminating Democratic Kampuchea values, or pre-revolutionary material
that had been suitably modified. Songs that were broadcast over the radio
while people worked in the fields or attended political education sessions
took gender equality for granted. titles of these songs included: ‘Boys and
girls flourish under the light of the revolution’, ‘Men and women soldiers are
stirred like boiling water to build a new country’, ‘Young men and women
resolve to make restitution for the blood of the people’, ‘the women of the
solidarity teams increase production’, ‘Mothers advise their children to strive
to build a new Kampuchea’, ‘We, the newly liberated young men and women,
resolve ourselves’, ‘the troops – men and women – repair train tracks’, and
‘We young men and women, fighters and factory workers, resolve to fight to
increase production’.6
Songs addressed both men and women listeners. Speeches were addressed
to ‘all cadres, male and female combatants, and the people in the Zone’.7
perpetuating the traditions of the colonial and both post-independence

220
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governments, a youth association comprising young men and women, the

Yuveajun neung yuvea neary padevat (‘revolutionary male and female youth’),
was established whose members, though they lived apart, often worked to-
gether (see Fig. 9.1). Gender relations as prescribed by ‘angkar’, the name
under which the government of Democratic Kampuchea issued its orders,
were enforced by the me kong. Men and women were segregated in village
gatherings for political education and self-criticism sessions. even husbands
and wives were forced to live apart in some places. In fact, as John Marston
has pointed out, ‘instead of an emphasis on individual women and men in
interaction with each other we have the image of women as a class interacting
with men as a class’.8

Obedience and obfuscation

the purity of the young men and women of Democratic Kampuchea reflected
the purity of the revolution itself. this integrity was manifested in the voluntary

Fig. 9.1: Yuvea jun neung yuvea neary [revolutionary male and female youth].

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 Lost Goddesses

sacrifice of individuality to the collective revolutionary ideal and in sexual re-

straint. ‘everyone was proper and well aware of the correct simplicity. everyone
lived in a happy state. they worked conscientiously and studied hard. they
devoted themselves towards the service of their people, their country and the
revolution. they asked nothing in exchange’.9 haircuts were to be uniform – a
neat bob below the ears for women and short back and sides for men. Men and
women were to wear loose-fitting shirts and pants or skirts. Women were to but-
ton their shirts to the neck. No jewellery was permitted. the reasoning behind
the adoption of uniform hairstyles and clothing was that ‘Western’ influence,
as identified with long hair and fashions such as flared trousers and mini-skirts,
was equated with the lax morality and corruption of the Khmer republic and
Sangkum periods.10 a radio broadcast of 14 May 1975 announced that when
the revolutionary army marched into the cities
they were very astonished at what they saw. Boys and girls were mixed up,
with their strange clothes and hair styles. Customarily, we used to wear sim-
ple pants and shirts, but our youth, under the rule of the US and the Lon Nol
clique, liked the opposite. their pants were all different, and had big sleeves
[flares].11
the loss of female identity took its toll on young women. Chea, sister of
Chanrithy him, composed a poem in which she says:
I pity myself
though a virgin, I am called an old man
In the previous society, how furious I would have been
But now it’s normal for a woman.12
Kunthea, fourteen in 1975, felt that the loss of her hair jeopardised her future
happiness:
the wife of the village chief asked me if I was a prostitute. I said no. She asked
me why I had such long hair. I said it was the fashion. She said that there were
no fashions any more, and cut my hair off to my ears with a knife. I cried for
days because I thought that nobody would think I was beautiful, and I would
never get married.13
the ‘unfeminine’ behaviour of the mit neary shocked some observers more
than the summary executions. a Khmer republic officer recalled three Khmer
rouge soldiers whom he described as ‘black-clad country girls no older than
seventeen, armed as heavily as their male colleagues and totally unsmiling’.

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 Into the Fields

another female cadre forced members of the defeated government army to

disarm and strip off their uniforms at the Olympic market. Yet some mit neary
appropriated western clothes and makeup from ‘new’ people and experimented
with them.14
the purity of the revolution extended to intimacy. Democratic Kampu-
chea, as Michael Vickery commented, monitored ‘much more strictly than
in prewar society, the official morality of ordinary Cambodian culture’.15 the
sixth of the twelve rules for correct behaviour, according to angkar, was ‘Do
not behave inappropriately towards women’.16 people were left in no doubt
as to what was meant by this: a total ban on interaction with the opposite
sex. even holding hands, according to one source, could result in death.17
restrictions also applied to married couples although this was subject to local
variation. Someth May recounted that even married men and women were
expected to live apart in many villages, men in one hut and women in another.
In phnom penh, a set of office buildings were transformed into living quar-
ters, with one section for men, another for mothers with infants, and one for
women who had no young children. this segregation of husbands and wives
is peculiar considering that the DK government had set a population target of
20 million by 1990. peang Sophi stated, however, that this was an unrealistic
expectation, as everyone was too tired by the end of the day to take any steps
toward increasing the population.18 a member of the Vietnamese delegation
to Cambodia in 1977, reasonably enough, asked Khieu thirith how women
could expect to become pregnant if husbands and wives did not live together.
She retorted, ‘You do not understand the problem of women at all.’19 the of-
ficial rationale behind the separation of husbands and wives was that personal
happiness could not be indulged as long as ‘the people’ suffered: there was too
much work to be done in reconstructing the nation. So that the people would
not be distracted, songs that spoke of romantic love were banned. husbands
and wives were forbidden to call each other by pet names; instead, the correct
way was to call each other mit p’dai (‘comrade husband’) and mit prapuan
(‘comrade wife’).20
the marriages that took place during Democratic Kampuchea have
been described by some scholars as ‘forced’ and the relationships between
men and women therein constructed as sexual violence;21 but as others have
commented, it would be hard to describe any marriage in Cambodia prior to
1975 (or, indeed, since then) as the result of individual choice by the parties

223
 Lost Goddesses

involved.22 Marriages were ‘suggested’ with varying degrees of force by local

cadres on behalf of angkar. revolutionary heroes sometimes were rewarded
for their efforts through marriage to a ‘new’ girl who took their fancy. Some
areas allowed for a higher degree of personal choice than others, although
at times the choice lay between marrying or working in the harshest condi-
tions in an ‘unmarried’ labour brigade. Women agreed to arranged marriages
in order to remain where they were, near family members, rather than have
to travel in work units.23 the important issue was that angkar was kept ap-
praised of every circumstance: ‘If someone falls in love in Unlong run and
fails to inform Angkar, the penalty is death. If you talk to your fiancée’s par-
ents ahead of Angkar, you’re killed.’24 Once angkar had been informed of a
couple’s desire to marry, they would have to wait until a certain number of
couples in the village were ready to be married, then all would be married
en masse (see Fig. 9.2).25 regardless of how these mass marriages deviated
from usual practice, once they had taken place, men and women considered
themselves legitimately married, with all the obligations that this had entailed
in the past.26
State regulation of behaviour that in the past had been considered ‘private’
was perhaps the most disorienting factor of day-to-day life in Democratic
Kampuchea. Discontinuation of traditional practices associated with preg-
nancy and childbirth, such as the ‘firing’ of the new mother and the burial of
the placenta, were common grievances. Some women could choose whether
to have their babies at home or in a hospital; others recounted that no of-
ficial medical personnel were available to act as midwives, but they survived
nevertheless. In the event of complications, however, there was no help to be
had. Bun rany and hun Sen lost their first child through the ineptitude of
an untrained midwife. haing Ngor lost his wife huoy in childbirth, whereas
had there been the equipment for a caesarean section (which he could have
performed himself), she would almost certainly have lived. poet U Sam Oeur
lost his twin daughters in a barbaric display of ignorant midwifery. Lack of
food and the physical toll of agricultural labour resulted in dysmenorrhoea
and a high rate of miscarriage. the lack of adequate medical facilities further
increased the risk of maternal and neonatal mortality. So many wives in one
area died that there was a special collective made up of widowers.27
the ‘Four-Year plan’, tabled by the Standing Committee in July and august
1976, stipulated that women be allowed ‘two months’ rest for pregnancy and

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 Into the Fields

confinement’ and that child-care be provided.28 this was not implemented

across the board, however, and most areas discouraged bonding between
mothers and children. In 1977, all young children no longer breastfeeding
were taken from their mothers and cared for permanently by female mem-
bers of the Khmer rouge. this was supposed to free the mothers for more
productive work. Sokha complained of local cadres’ interference when she
was trying to nurse her youngest son in late 1976. She was prevented from
foraging for ingredients to make medicines and when she was unwilling to
take the baby to the hospital (she was afraid that he would die due to the slap-
dash treatments meted out there) she was accused of not trusting angkar.29
Defiance of the models of correct behaviour as outlined by angkar was
perceived as subversion. the penalty for establishing connections that could

Fig. 9.2: Mass wedding organised by ‘angkar’. Martin Stuart-Fox and Bunheang Ung, The murderous
revolution: Life and death in Pol Pot’s Kampuchea, Bangkok: Orchid press, 1999.

225
 Lost Goddesses

Fig. 9.3: huot Bophana, taken before her execution. Documentation Center of Cambodia.

potentially outweigh obedience to angkar was imprisonment with torture,

hard labour, or death, depending on the area. Insubordinate members of so-
ciety, therefore, could be dealt with by allegations that they had behaved with
impropriety, as in the case of Siet Chhe, who was accused of incest with his
own daughter.30 It was far more usual for women to be accused of ‘prostitu-
tion’, however. Men pich, executed at S-21, was arrested for suspected ‘illicit
liaisons’. her ‘rank’ during Democratic Kampuchea was given as ‘prostitute’.
at Chamcar Khnor temple in Sisophon province, a truck driver saw the bod-
ies of twenty young women, executed by a blow to the back of the head; he
was told that they were suspected prostitutes. the elimination of prostitutes,
as symbols of the decadence of the prewar society, was often referred to
as a goal immediately after the communist victory. a cadre commented to
haing Ngor: ‘Life is much better now. there is no more corruption. No more
226
 Into the Fields

gambling or prostitution.’ If they were not killed outright, women were also
sent to provincial prisons for punishment and ‘re-education’. huot Bophana
(see Fig. 9.3) was one of these. the wife of her krom leader began spreading
rumours that Bophana had been a prostitute during the civil war. She and her
lover, Ly Deth, with whom she had had a relationship since 1965, were caught
exchanging love letters. Bophana was imprisoned in S-21 and tortured before
being executed on 18 March 1977. In the final ‘confessions’ she was forced
to write, Bophana eventually broke down, writing that she had never loved
Ly Deth and that professions of affection were part of a CIa plot to corrupt
high-ranking Khmer rouge cadres.31

Fig. 9.4: Chan Khem-Saroeun and infant, tuol Sleng. Documentation Center of Cambodia.

227
 Lost Goddesses

Gendered punishment
Women sent for re-education and punishment faced a humiliating and usually
fatal ordeal. those who were not model workers, or had connections, how-
ever tenuous, to members of the Lon Nol army or the urban elite, faced harsh
treatment. Moreover, if angkar decided that someone was contaminated with
pre-revolutionary ideology, it might decide that their spouse and children, in-
cluding infants, had been ‘infected’ and eliminate them as well (see Fig. 9.4).
the wife of a Lon Nol general whose true identity was revealed never spoke a
word to anyone after her husband ‘disappeared’. Many of the tortures devised
for women in during Democratic Kampuchea were more sadistic than any
account of nasal amputation or vice-squeezing from the tenth century. haing
Ngor recounted seeing a woman tied spread-eagled to a bench, covered with
red ants, and the sexual mutilation of another woman, who was pregnant.
the koan kroach custom, in which pregnant women would have their stom-
achs ripped open and the foetus removed, was carried out by Khmer rouge
cadres. the foetus would then be hung up to dry for some weeks before be-
ing used as a talisman against evil spirits, worn around the neck. there were
special tortures for women – genitals burned with hot pokers, breasts slashed,
and poisonous reptiles placed all over them. Mothers were forced to watch
their children be tortured.32
Sexual violence assists in constructing the victim as the ‘other’ through
intimidation and dehumanisation, after which it should theoretically be easier
to kill them.33 this was mitigated somewhat by the interdict on sexual activity
of any sort. Documented cases of rape were rare in Democratic Kampuchea.34
people were constantly told not to ‘do anything improper respecting women’.
haing Ngor knew that his nurses would be safe on their way to their home vil-
lages as ‘Khmer rouge didn’t rape or rob’. the brand of morality promulgated
by angkar prohibited sexual activity, even in torture. an interrogator at S-21
recorded in his notebook that ‘When questioning females, there must always be
two people asking the questions. Don’t lie down, and don’t pinch their hair or
their cheeks.’35 the penalty for transgressing this tenet was death for the cadre
concerned. even the hint of impropriety would result in an investigation.
punishments were especially harsh for cadres and those in positions of
power were warned against transgressing. the chief of phum andong was
purged for allowing and then attempting to conceal a rape perpetrated by
two of his underlings. personnel at S-21 were arrested for the sexual mistreat-

228
 Into the Fields

ment of female prisoners.36 One woman used the strict morality of the Khmer
rouge to take revenge on unpopular cadres. Caught having sex with the vice-
chairman of the locale, she claimed that she had also had had liaisons with a
cholop (‘spy’) and the secretary of the local committee. the two other men
were executed on her word alone; the vice-chairman and the woman herself
were also killed. the ‘new’ people, who had suffered at the hands of all three
men, regarded the woman as a heroine: ‘She had had her revenge, and had
struck back for all of us.’37 perhaps in order to protect cadres from temptation,
several female interrogators were on the staff at S-21. One of these was prak
Khoeun, the wife of another member of the S-21 staff. another was Cheng
Sron, a ‘group worker leader’. Ung pech, one of the few to survive incarcera-
tion and torture at tuol Sleng, remembered one female interrogator whom
he nicknamed a-yaks, ‘demon’. Others also existed, although some who had
been imprisoned in S-21, and a guard at the prison, could not remember any
women being employed in such a capacity.38
Widespread massacres of women occurred during the evacuation of the
cities and the elimination of those whom angkar considered to pose a threat
to the establishment of Democratic Kampuchea. the wives and daughters
of 200 Lon Nol soldiers were led away from their menfolk and massacred by
mit neary outside Sisophon. In Siem reap, ‘frenzied troops’ murdered over
a hundred men, women and children in the civilian and military hospitals.
the purge of the eastern Zone in 1978 was particularly horrific. all cadres
were called to attend a meeting, ostensibly to discuss new policies, before
being seized and tied up. they were forced to dig their own graves and the
women were raped before they were killed. One female cadre named pheng,
a leader of a woman’s mobile work group, shouted ‘Long live the Communist
party of Kampuchea’ before she died. those killed included the chiefs and
party committee members of each phum and khum, the leader of the village
mobile group, cholop, down to medical personnel from the district hospital.
Soon afterwards, another massacre took place in the district, at Svay Chrum
hospital, in which men, women and children were led naked to their deaths,
tortured, raped, and humiliated in droves.39

The triumph of ‘tradition’

In many ways the elitism of previous periods continued in Democratic
Kampuchea, only now the ‘elite’ were Cambodians who had fought in the

229
 Lost Goddesses

resistance or had acquiesced to the communists early in the piece – and, of

course, those in the core leadership group. as kings had done in the past,
the DK elite treated people as ‘objects rather than subjects’.40 their individual
lives did not matter as long as the revolutionary objective was achieved. ‘Base’
or ‘old’ people who had lived in the liberated zones before 17 april 1975 were
accorded greater status than those who had been evacuated from the cities.
the rural population had been won over to the communist cause by the
claim that the towns were parasitic on the countryside. ‘Base’ people seized
the opportunity to get their own back on the urban elite who had corrupted
Cambodian society and engineered the deposition of prince Sihanouk,
whom many people still believed to possess the power of sovereignty despite
his abdication. thus the evacuees were usually given the hardest and most
physically demanding tasks to perform, such as digging irrigation ditches and
transporting tons of soil with nothing more than baskets and rudimentary
tools, while the ‘base’ women and ex-Khmer rouge soldiers supervised and
carried out less rigorous activities. the available evidence indicates that ‘base’
people were entitled to more food in some areas and would exchange their
surplus for luxury items. they would also accord the ‘new’ people special
favours in exchange for additional chores.41 patronage thus continued, albeit
in a reverse form.
Some men sought to demonstrate their new-found status through the
same mechanisms that had always operated in elite society, namely establish-
ing alliances through marriage and maintaining more than one wife, or hav-
ing a sexual relationship, themselves. as Margaret Slocomb has commented,
the ‘sudden rise to power of poor, uneducated, and, for the most part, male
adolescents of peasant stock … resulted in an easy return to traditional inter-
pretations of power relations’.42 Women sometimes traded their bodies for
food.43 ta Mok’s daughters were married to ascending political and military
cadres in order to expand their father’s influence.44 Disabled soldiers and
war heroes were gifted with marriages to young, urban women as a reward
for their efforts during the revolution: ‘Just think, these guys have not had a
woman in five years!’ one village chief was alleged to have said. ‘they paid for
victory with their blood, and the weddings will be their reward.’ the conver-
sation then continued about the ‘decadent city girls who had lived in luxury
throughout the war’ and how they deserved whatever their husbands felt like
doing to them.45 according to henri Locard, the elite (men) in the DK appa-

230
 Into the Fields

ratus ‘retained all the feudal privileges of deflowering virgins’.46 Several seem
to have maintained two households of women, in separate villages, despite
the official prohibition of polygamy.47
Women continued to be associated with nurturing, domestic roles despite
their activities in the fields and factories. even though young children were
removed from their mothers and placed in the care of the state, the cadres
who replaced their parents were female. Similarly, in the areas where schools
operated, teachers were women. So were nurses. When women occupied
ministerial positions, they were associated with issues that were thought to
be appropriate for women – such as Social action, education, and Culture.
although alex hinton suggests that the estimation of a woman in terms of a
srei krup leakkhana (‘woman of virtue’) was replaced by her performance of
‘revolutionary zeal’,48 it appears that women had to continue to act ‘tradition-
ally’– that is, according to the Cbpab Srei – as well as cheerfully comply with
the new social regime that removed them from any of the pleasures associ-
ated with being wives or mothers whilst preventing all but a select few from
exercising any freedom of choice or authority.
there were few women in the senior leadership of Democratic Kam-
puchea. those that did appear did so because of their relationship to politi-
cally powerful men. Khieu thirith stands out as the most powerful woman in
Democratic Kampuchea. In april 1976 she was appointed minister for Social
action and vice-minister for education, Culture, and propaganda.49 One of
her first ministerial duties was to carry out an evaluation of conditions in the
Northwest Zone at the request of pol pot. although she found conditions in-
adequate, people ill and overworked, and generally ‘very queer’, she took no
steps to redress the situation. Instead, she concluded that ‘agents had got into
our ranks’ and blamed the Northwest Zone cadres for not carrying out their
duties correctly.50 Described as ‘even more of a zealot than her husband’, Ieng
Sary, Khieu thirith seems to have been universally regarded as someone to
be reckoned with. She instigated an inquiry into the death of the third Khieu
sister, thirath, in 1977, and weathered allegations of CIa involvement that
would have resulted for most Khmer rouge cadres in being taken to S-21.
She was not afraid to air her views. annoyed at the ‘slavish devotion’ with
which Khieu Samphan regarded pol pot, she allegedly told the former: ‘You
should talk back to him. You act like the head of his office, not like the head
of state.’51 Yun Yat, married to Son Sen, also served as Minister of education,

231
 Lost Goddesses

Culture and propaganda, and seems to have been as outspoken as Khieu

thirith. On the flight out of Cambodia in January 1979, she had no hesitation
in interrupting and correcting Ieng Sary.52
Khieu ponnary, ‘Mrs pol pot’, was allotted various posts in the govern-
ment of Democratic Kampuchea that do not seem to have had much impact
upon government policy, including Vice-president of the FUNK Committee
for the Capital and the presidency of the Women’s association of Democratic
Kampuchea. She became ill with what appears to have been either depression
or dementia before 1975 and spent most of her time living apart from her hus-
band, under the care of her sister. although still the president of the Women’s
association in name, Khieu ponnary was not on hand to greet the Vietnamese
delegation in February 1977. the explanation given was that she was unwell.
One member of the Vietnamese delegation left Cambodia with the impres-
sion that the Women’s association existed in name only. Nevertheless, Khieu
ponnary was hailed as me padevat (‘Mother of the revolution’) at a party meet-
ing in 1978.53 It is extremely unlikely that she would have been accorded any of
these honours had she not been married to pol pot.
Other women formed part of the party leadership at the district and pro-
vincial levels. Some me kong had administrative positions in the party leader-
ship. a woman named roeun was described as the ‘right arm’ of Ieng Sary. Moc
Men was an executive member of the party in region 31. the Vietnamese
delegation, however, encountered no women among the provincial welcom-
ing committees in February 1977. the women who were employed in vari-
ous ministries in phnom penh seem to have been related to men who were
also employed in the capital. Lawrence picq, a French woman married to a
Cambodian national, worked at the Ministry of Foreign affairs. Similarly, the
few women who were appointed village chiefs were older and usually mar-
ried to men who were themselves locally significant. they also exercised the
prerogatives of the elite of earlier periods in having more freedoms than their
counterparts at lower levels of society. Women in positions of power con-
ducted their own marriage negotiations. hun Sen received a proposal from
a woman who was ‘a professor’ twelve years his senior. She had been told,
by angkar, ‘to marry a man with the rank of commander’ and had chosen
him. he had difficulty extricating himself from the proposal. elsewhere, the
daughter of a local leader attempted to seduce a handsome man so that she
would become pregnant and her father would then force the man to marry

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 Into the Fields

her.54 even the strict sexual mores of Democratic Kampuchea, it seems, were
not expected to apply to the new elite.
©
Democratic Kampuchea, as was the case for the postcolonial governments
preceding it, promised but did not deliver gender equality because there was
no attempt to change the ingrained assumptions surrounding (male) political
culture at the grassroots level. people in the countryside, for the most part,
had been coopted to the revolutionary cause because compliance allowed
them to live in relative safety and may have brought enhanced prestige in
the area; after the revolutionary objective was realised these people consti-
tuted a new elite, but an elite nonetheless, with the privileges of rank that
had always applied in Cambodian society. true, DK society reinforced the
notion that men and women were capable of performing the same tasks.
however, women did not comprise a strong presence at the highest levels
of the Democratic Kampuchea government. those with high office seem to
have been ‘allowed’ to participate, awarded token portfolios that do not seem
to have accomplished much, on the basis of their connection to men at the
top of the regime. this is not to say that Khieu ponnary, Khieu thirith, and
Yun Yat were not committed to the party cause; rather, once the legitimising
and mobilising power of women had been utilised in the accomplishment of
the revolutionary political goal, they were expected to go back to their sup-
porting, nurturing, domestic roles, and the rest of Cambodian womanhood
was to follow.

Notes to Chapter 9
1 tuol Sleng prison records [tSpr] B15412, B15370, B15897, B15368, B16026; Ben
Kiernan, ‘Social cohesion in revolutionary Cambodia’, Australian Outlook 30, 3 (1976), p.
377; Ly Y, Heaven becomes hell: A survivor’s story of life under the Khmer Rouge, New haven:
Yale University press, 2000, pp. 15, 49; Jean Morice, Cambodge, du sourire à l’horreur, paris:
Éditions France-empire, 1977, p. 291; Michael Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982 [1984],
Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1999, pp. 102, 106, 109; Chanrithy him, When broken
glass floats: Growing up under the Khmer Rouge – A memoir, New York; London: W.W.
Norton & Company, 2000, p. 130; Kenneth M. Quinn, ‘the pattern and scope of vio-
lence’, in Karl D. Jackson (ed.), Cambodia, 1975–1978: Rendezvous with death, princeton,
New Jersey: princeton University press, 1989, p. 199; John Barron and anthony paul,
Peace with horror: The untold story of communist genocide in Cambodia, London: hodder
and Stoughton, 1977, p. 132; David Chandler, The tragedy of Cambodian history: Politics,

233
 Lost Goddesses

war and revolution since 1945, New haven: Yale University press, 1991, p. 259; Molyda
Szymusiak, The stones cry out, New York: hill and Wang, 1986, p. 174. It should be noted
that the Barron and paul text is regarded with reservation by some historians citing Cold
War geopolitical bias.
2 peang Sophi, cited in David Chandler with Ben Kiernan and Muy hong Lim, The early
phases of liberation in northwestern Cambodia: Conversations with Peang Sophi, Clayton,
Victoria: Monash University, Centre of Southeast asian Studies, 1976, p. 3;tSpr
B15875, B15702, B15687, Y05030, Y05018, B16067, B16007, B16006, Y05018, B16040,
B16030, B16025, Y05028, B15896, B15508; Democratic Kampuchea is moving forward,
[Cambodia?], august 1977, pp. 30–33, 55; Lawrence picq, Au-delà du ciel: Cinq ans chez
les Khmers rouges, paris: Éditions Bernard Barrault, 1984, p. 72; Ben Kiernan, The Pol
Pot regime: Race, power, and genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975–79, New
haven: Yale University press, 1996, p. 161.
3 Barron and paul, Peace with horror, pp. 197–198; Szymusiak, Stones cry out, p. 80.
4 article 19 of the DK Constitution, in raoul M. Jennar (comp. and ed.), The Cambodian
constitutions, 1953–1993, Bangkok: White Lotus, 1995, p. 87.
5 Including some who had been popular before 17 april 1975 and who were later executed
in S-21 (tSpr Y06414).
6 haing S. Ngor, A Cambodian odyssey, New York: Macmillan, 1987, p. 140; John Marston,
‘Khmer rouge songs’, Crossroads 16, 1 (2002), pp. 100–127, at pp. 104, 120–122; Morice,
Cambodge, du sourire à l’horreur, p. 380.
7 ‘Speech at the Opening of the assembly’, 3 June 1976, in David Chandler, Ben Kiernan
and Chanthou Boua (eds), Pol Pot plans the future: Confidential leadership documents from
Democratic Kampuchea, 1976–1977, New haven: Yale University, 1988, p. 13.
8 Marston, ‘Khmer rouge songs’, p. 109.
9 picq, Au delà du ciel, pp. 54–55.
10 peang Sophi, in Ben Kiernan and Chanthou Boua (eds), Peasants and politics in
Kampuchea, 1942–1981, London: Zed press; armonk, New York: M.e. Sharpe, 1982, p.
325; Chanrithy him, When broken glass floats,p. 99; Chandler, Conversations with Peang
Sophi, p. 12; Chandler, Tragedy of Cambodian history, pp. 244, 259; Ben Kiernan, ‘the
Genocide in Cambodia, 1975-79’, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars 22, 2 (april–June
1990), p. 38.
11 Cited in Kiernan, ‘Social cohesion in revolutionary Cambodia’, p. 378.
12 Chanrithy him, When broken glass floats, p. 232.
13 Fieldnotes, 2005.
14 haing Ngor, Cambodian odyssey, pp. 133, 208; Barron and paul, Peace with horror, p. 69;
Kiernan, Pol Pot regime, p. 35.
15 Vickery, Cambodia 1975–1982, p. 187.
16 Morice, Cambodge, du sourire à l’horreur, p. 383. peang Sophi (Chandler, Conversations
with Peang Sophi, p. 8) did not list the directive to respect women amongst the rules of
angkar that he remembered.

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 Into the Fields

17 this must have been a deeply ingrained threat; hun Sen recounted ‘somewhat defen-
sively’ in his biography that although he was often lonely as a resistance fighter in the
maquis, ‘When I say that I was popular with any girl I do not mean that I had a love
affair with her.’ (harish C. Mehta and Julie B. Mehta, Hun Sen: Strongman of Cambodia,
Singapore: Graham Brash, 1999, p. 31).
18 Someth May, Cambodian witness, p. 233; picq, Au delà du ciel, p. 22; Chandler,
Conversations with Peang Sophi, pp. 9–10.
19 Kiernan, Pol Pot regime, p. 162.
20 picq, Au delà du ciel, p. 54; Marston, ‘Khmer rouge songs’, p. 106; haing Ngor, Cambodian
odyssey, p. 221; Barron and paul, Peace with horror, p. 136.
21 See for example elizabeth Becker, When the war was over, New York: Simon & Schuster,
1986, p. 257.
22 See for example patrick heuveline and Bunnak poch, ‘Do marriages forget their past?
Marital stability in post-Khmer rouge Cambodia’, Demography 43, 1 (February 2006), p.
110; peg LeVine, ‘a contextual study into marriages under the Khmer rouge: the ritual
revolution’, phD thesis, Monash University, 2006, p. 11.
23 Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 187; Chanrithy him, When broken glass floats, p.
243; Martin Stuart-Fox and Bunheang Ung, The murderous revolution: Life and death in
Pol Pot’s Kampuchea, Bangkok: Orchid press, 1999, p. 104; François ponchaud, ‘Social
change in the vortex of revolution’, in Cambodia 1975–1978: Rendezvous with death, pp.
166–167; thoun Cheng, in Peasants and politics in Kampuchea, p. 292; heuveline and
Bunnak, ‘Do marriages forget their past?’, p. 109.
24 Barron and paul, Peace with horror, p. 200.
25 Stuart-Fox and Ung, Murderous revolution, p. 102; Morrice, Cambodge, du sourire à
l’horreur, p. 393; Mehta and Mehta, Hun Sen, p. 38; fieldnotes, 2001, 2004, 2005.
26 peg LeVine found that over 80 per cent of respondents thought that their DK-era
marriages were legitimate arrangements (‘a contextual study into marriages under the
Khmer rouge’, p. 10). however, some women no doubt took advantage of the general
atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion and invented false backgrounds for their husbands
in the hope that they would be killed, leaving them free to take another husband ( Judy
Ledgerwood, ‘Changing Khmer conceptions of gender: Women, stories, and the social
order’, phD thesis, Cornell University, 1990, pp. 201–202.
27 Someth May, Cambodian witness, pp. 132, 155, 176; tae hui Lang, in Peasants and politics
in Kampuchea, p. 360; Mehta and Mehta, Hun Sen, p. 40; U Sam Oeur, ‘the Loss of My
twins’, in thomas Beller, ‘a reluctant prophet’, Cambodia Daily, Saturday and Sunday,
april 28–29, 2001, p. 12; haing Ngor, Cambodian odyssey, p. 293; Chanrithy him, When
broken glass floats, p. 174; Chandler, Tragedy of Cambodian history, p. 278; Ledgerwood,
Changing Khmer conceptions of gender, p. 202; Ida Simon-Barouh, Le Cambodge des
Khmers Rouges: Chronique de la vie quotidienne, recit de Yi Tan Kim Pho, paris: L’harmattan,
1990, p. 117; Maureen h. Fitzgerald, et al., Hear our voices: Trauma, birthing and mental

235
 Lost Goddesses

health among Cambodian women, paramatta, New South Wales: transcultural Mental
health Centre, 1998, p. 44.
28 ‘the party’s Four-Year plan to Build Socialism in all Fields’, in Pol Pot plans the future, p.
112.
29 Sat, in Peasants and politics in Kampuchea, p. 335; fieldnotes, 2005.
30 Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 9; ponchaud, ‘Social change in the vortex of revolu-
tion’, p. 167; memorandum of Siet Chhe (alias tum), 5 June 1977, in David Chandler,
Voices from S-21: Terror and history in Pol Pot’s secret prison, St Leonards, New South
Wales: allen & Unwin, 2000, pp. 158–159.
31 tSpr B16134, Y06455; Barron and paul, Peace with horror, p. 77; haing Ngor, Cambodian
odyessey, p. 199, 244; Becker, When the war was over, p. 225.
32 Chandler, Tragedy of Cambodian history, p. 254; Simon-Barouh, Le Cambodge des Khmers
Rouges, p. 49; Becker, When the war was over, p. 235; haing Ngor, Cambodian odyssey, pp.
223, 245–246; fieldnotes, 2004, 2005. Of the six people I interviewed who recounted
incidences such as these, only one actually witnessed the event; the others had heard
about it from others. they were, however, adamant that these events had occurred.
33 Christoph Schiessl, ‘an element of genocide: rape, total war, and international law in the
twentieth century’, Journal of Genocide Research 4, 2 (2002), p. 208.
34 Ledgerwood, ‘Changing Khmer conceptions of gender’. as Ledgerwood states, how-
ever, the prevalence of rape is difficult to determine given the shame attached to rape in
Cambodian society, in which the woman is always perceived as at fault.
35 haing Ngor, Cambodian odyssey, pp. 113, 124; Chandler, Voices from S-21, p. 131.
36 Stuart-Fox and Ung, Murderous revolution, p. 129; Chandler, Voices from S-21, p. 131;
Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 151.
37 pin Yathay, Stay alive, my son, pp. 172-173.
38 tSpr B15847; Chandler, Voices from S-21, p. 26; Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p.
97.
39 Barron and paul, Peace with horror, pp. 37, 85; Fitzgerald et al., Hear our voices, p. 43;
Stuart-Fox and Ung, Murderous revolution, pp. 139, 142.
40 David Chandler, ‘a revolution in full spate: Communist party policy in Demo-cratic
Kampuchea, December 1976’ [1987], in Facing the Cambodian past, p. 265.
41 Barron and paul, Peace with horror, pp. 93–94, 154; Becker, When the war was over, p. 228;
fieldnotes, 2005.
42 Margaret Slocomb, The People’s Republic of Kampuchea, 1979–1989: The revolution after
Pol Pot, Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2003, p. 256.
43 Kate Frieson, In the shadows; Women, power and politics in Cambodia, Victoria, British
Columbia: University of Victoria Centre for asia-pacific Initiatives Occasional paper 26,
2001, p. 11.
44 Vickery, Cambodia: 1975–1982, p. 99.

236
 Into the Fields

45 Barron and paul, Peace with horror, p. 96.

46 henri Locard, Pol Pot’s Little Red Book: The sayings of Angkar, Chiang Mai: Silkworm
Books, 2004, p. 257.
47 article 13 of the DK Constitution, in Jennar, Cambodian constitutions, p. 86; fieldnotes,
2003, 2005.
48 alexander Laban hinton, Why did they kill? Cambodia in the shadow of genocide, Berkeley;
Los angeles; London: University of California press, 2005, p. 193.
49 Becker, When the war was over, p. 247; Chandler, Brother number one, p. 113; Craig
etcheson, The Rise and demise of Democratic Kampuchea, Boulder, Colorado: Westview
press; London: Frances pinter, 1984, pp. 166–167.
50 Becker, When the war was over, p. 247.
51 Barron and paul, Peace with horror, p. 44; Chandler, Voices from S-21, p. 93; Kamm,
Cambodia: Report from a stricken land, p. 139.
52 Chandler, Brother number one, p. 113; Kamm, Cambodia: Report from a stricken land, p.
155.
53 etcheson, Rise and demise of Democratic Kampuchea, pp. 166–167; Vickery, Cambodia:
1975–1982 [1984 version], p. 145; Chandler, Brother number one, pp. 137, 172; Kiernan,
Pol Pot regime, pp. 160, 162. She was hospitalised with a nervous complaint in Beijing in
the early 1980s and in 1987 she is purported to have given pol pot permission to take
another wife, with whom he had a daughter.
54 tSpr-Y05199, B16191, Y05035; picq, Au delà du ciel, pp. 31, 73; Ly Y, Heaven becomes
hell, p. 151; Kiernan, Pol Pot regime, p. 161; Barron and paul, Peace with horror, p. 103;
Ledgerwood, Changing Khmer conceptions of gender, p. 194; Mehta and Mehta, Hun
Sen, p. 36.

237
 Chapter teN

Picking Up the Pieces

V ietnamese forces entered Cambodia on 25

December 1978 with members of the National
United Front for the Salvation of Kampuchea,
their joint purpose to overthrow Democratic Kampuchea. the
Khmer rouge forces were no match for the comprehensively
trained and equipped Vietnamese; moreover, the civilian popu-
lation made no attempt to prevent the takeover. On 7 January
1979 phnom penh fell and the Khmer rouge leadership fled
to the most remote provinces, where it continued to wage war
for over a decade. the Kampuchean people’s revolutionary
Council was officially proclaimed, composed of Cambodians
who had been in exile in Vietnam, some since the 1950s,
others having defected from Democratic Kampuchea. the
country was renamed the people’s republic of Kampuchea
(prK). the Vietnamese remained intimately connected with
post-revolutionary Cambodia until September 1989, when
the last Vietnamese forces withdrew from Cambodian terri-
tory. the same year, the country changed its name to the State
of Cambodia. Democratic elections, monitored by the United
Nations, were held on 23 May 1993. No women feature in the
‘who’s who’ of post-revolutionary Cambodia as established by
political scientists.1 Yet the role that women played in the re-
construction of Cambodia and Cambodian society cannot be
overemphasised. this contribution, and the particular burdens
faced by women in the 1980s and early 1990s, was diminished

238
 Picking Up the Pieces

Fig. 10.1: Villagers, Kompong Speu, 1989.

by the return of Cambodians from refugee camps and from overseas who
had conflicting notions as to what constituted appropriate space and agency
for women. Constructs of ‘traditional’ Cambodia were resurrected, but once
again, the tradition invoked was sourced from the conservative literature such
as the Cbpap Srei; once again, women were co-opted into the symbolism of
the purity and unassailability of Cambodian culture.

The People’s Republic of Kampuchea, January 1979–April 1989

Cambodians who had managed to escape death through starvation, illness, or
the purges of an increasingly paranoid and brutal regime faced the reconstruc-
tion of their country. tragically, those who were most necessary in this process
– that is, people who had received some education and experienced members of
pre-revolutionary public and private sectors – had been targeted for execution
and ill-treatment between 1975 and 1979. More than a million people died dur-
ing those years – some estimates put the number as high as three million – and
hundreds of thousands more had fled. Over half, and perhaps as many as 65 per
cent of the survivors were women (see Fig. 10.1). reconstruction was carried
out with the direct involvement of the Vietnamese, an involvement that some
have chosen to call an occupation. each Cambodian minister was shadowed
by a Vietnamese counterpart; government documents had to be approved by

239
 Lost Goddesses

the Vietnamese before promulgation. 180,000 Vietnamese soldiers ensured the

protection of Cambodia between 1979 and 1989, although they sometimes
compromised the personal safety of Cambodian women in so doing.2
One of the first state initiatives implemented by the prK government
was the creation of krom samaki bongko bongkoeun phol, ‘production solidar-
ity groups’ or ‘co-operatives’, at the commune and village level. each krom
samaki, comprising between five and twenty families, was allocated an equal
amount of good and bad land for cultivation, owned in common.3 equipment
and animals were owned by individuals, according to their means, but other
members of the same krom samaki were entitled to their use. In return, own-
ers received an extra portion of the harvest. Women participated in leader-
ship roles in the krom samaki, although some have commented that this prob-
ably reflected the high ratio of female to male survivors. according to the
Secretariat of State for Women’s affairs, one of the main purposes of the krom

Fig. 10.2: rural women selling food by the roadside, Kompong Speu, 1989.

240
 Picking Up the Pieces

samaki system was to enable widows, and other women without ‘manpower’
and means of agricultural production, to support themselves.4
the fact that the majority of able-bodied survivors of the Democratic
Kampuchea regime were women meant that responsibility for providing for
the family fell on their shoulders. In 1986, a survey revealed that women headed
a quarter of all households in phnom penh and that 91 per cent of these were
widows. Faced with having to support their families with no help from an
extended family, women eked out a living through a range of activities. Some
sold fried bananas from baskets in the streets or set up food stalls selling rice
porridge and noodles on the pavements. Some 85 per cent of market vendors
were women, selling fruit, vegetables, fish or groceries. the profits from these
enterprises were small or non-existent. Many women would have preferred
to undertake other work but were not given any opportunity to do so. Others
wanted to expanded their businesses, but were unable to obtain any capital for
expansion, though some did borrow money to establish restaurants. In addition
to vending and market enterprises, women were employed in the industrial
sector. according to data presented at the Women’s Congress in 1988, women
constituted 65 per cent of textile workers, 70 per cent of salt factory employees
and 50 per cent of those engaged in rubber production.5
rural women were more directly involved in the physical reconstruction of
Cambodia. although men and women had both participated in the physically
demanding agricultural work of rural communities, men had assumed the most
laborious of tasks such as ploughing and irrigation. Many women were now re-
quired to shoulder these tasks. Loung Ung’s sister Chou took cooking, fishing,
cleaning, tending to the young children of the family, nursing, and chopping
wood in her stride and still attempted to go to school when the opportunity
offered. When the cycle of harvesting permitted, rural women would travel to
provincial capitals or phnom penh in search of other work or bring ‘luxury’
goods home for re-sale. Older women, precluded from physically taxing work,
ran roadside food stalls (see Fig. 10.2). Large numbers of rural women were
engaged in military activities, some in direct combat, but most in logistical sup-
port. Women transported supplies of food, arms and ammunition and made
uniforms. the prK’s appreciation of women’s contribution was expressed in
the following slogan: ‘her fingers move from morning until night … and the
fact that their husbands become cadres is due to their wives’ contributions to
the cause of the nation.’6

241
 Lost Goddesses

the post-revolutionary government installed in January 1979 searched

survivors camping outside phnom penh for educated and experienced peo-
ple whom they could employ in the civil service and vocational professions.
reflecting the urgency with which the process of rehabilitation was regarded,
people with hardly any formal education were sent on training courses lasting
from one month to one year in duration, and sent to the provinces for ‘field-
work’. the School of pedagogy offered a one-month training course before
dispatching graduates to schools. Some of the training conducted by govern-
ment officials was by women such as Chhouk Chhim, vice-president of the
Women’s association, who lectured on ‘Qualities of a cadre trained in the
mores of a revolutionary’. Women were enthusiastic about their contribution
to national reconstruction through these training programmes. a nursing stu-
dent finishing her course in 1981 said: ‘When we finish the course we shall
serve the people well – and just as competently as the men do!’ Graduates
of civil service courses worked in municipal offices in a variety of capacities,
including legal advisory and clerical work.7
Official state initiatives and policies of the prK espoused gender equality.
the constitution of the people’s republic of Kampuchea, based on that of
Vietnam and adopted on 27 June 1981, endorsed ‘equal rights in marriage’ for
men and women, ‘measures to alleviate the burden of housewives and ensure
them the conditions necessary to participate like men in social activities’,
equality in law, universal suffrage, and equal pay. article 27 provided for the
particular needs of women:
the State cares for mothers and children. the State and society organise ma-
ternity hospitals, crêches and kindergartens … . Working women or women
employed by the State enjoy a ninety-day maternity leave with pay. Nursing
mothers enjoy a reduction of daily work hours while receiving the public
welfare fixed by the State. the State shall take concrete measures concerning
women working outside the State sector.

a visitor to Cambodia in 1981 recorded that female government officials were

entitled to two months’ paid maternity leave and access to a special mater-
nity hospital. Some ministries organised day care for their employees’ young
children, as did factories. Women were employed as heads of departments in
health and industry and throughout the public sector. Women themselves did
not feel that they were discriminated against. One woman said, ‘I think I am

242
 Picking Up the Pieces

treated equally to my male colleague; I have enough knowledge to perform

the task and so does he.’8
Women and men were encouraged to join associations as a means of con-
tributing to the restructuring of the country, as directed by article 38 of the
prK constitution: ‘all citizens may join mass organizations to protect revo-
lutionary gains and the social order, to build and defend the country and to
develop national and international solidarity’. In reality, all associations were
organs of the state. the Women’s association was one of the most important
of these. the official date of its establishment is given as 2 December 1978,
three weeks before the official liberation of Cambodia by the Vietnamese.
representatives of the Women’s association were present at central, pro-
vincial, district, commune and village level, and one woman in each krom
samaki would also act as the representative of the Women’s association. the
Women’s association maintained a presence throughout Cambodia. at times
this presence put representatives at risk. In 1981, Khmer rouge soldiers ar-
rested a sub-district president of the Women’s association in Stung treng.
She was held captive for two months, during which time she was tortured and
sexually assaulted.9
the Women’s association implemented programmes aimed at redress-
ing poor literacy, improving education, and offering vocational training for
women.10 Material assistance was also provided in the form of capital for
the establishment of small enterprises or in cases of severe hardship. Urban
women and, to a lesser extent, rural women, received advice, informal mar-
riage counselling, and help in emergencies. they were also ‘reminded’ of the
correct behaviour that a model citizen should exhibit and government poli-
cies and initiatives expounded. representatives of the Women’s association
made recommendations to the Council of Ministers regarding issues of
concern to women and commented on draft legislation directly impacting
upon women, such as the marriage code and family planning policy.11 the
Women’s association held National Women’s Congresses in 1983 and 1988,
published a magazine for women from 1984 onwards, and organised yearly
events to celebrate International Women’s Day every 8 March.12
Women aged between 16 and 28 were also encouraged to join the Youth
association, described in 1981 as having ‘more drive and impact that the
Women’s association’. perhaps this was due to the comparative youth and
energy of its constituents. the Youth association expounded political propa-

243
 Lost Goddesses

ganda; its official publication, Yuvajun-yuvaneary Kampuchea, provided pages

of information about governmental ideology and initiatives in a ‘frequently
asked questions’ format. the backs of the booklets were printed with in-
spirational songs, complete with musical score, or photographs of men
and women working industriously in rice paddies. Men and women aged
between 17 and 25 also served in the armed forces. Women’s Livelihood
Groups were established in 1980 at village level. they convened each month
to discuss problems facing local women and convey matters of concern to
the Women’s association for representation to government policy-makers.
Women’s associations were also active in the refugee camps along the thai-
Cambodian border. representatives, usually young women, determined en-
titlement to supplementary food and organised the distribution of additional
goods for births, deaths and marriages. In 1985 princess Norodom Marie
ranariddh established the Khmer Women’s association, later the Samdech
rasmi Sobhana Women’s Foundation, which provided materials and training
in education and health services in the refugee camps.13
there were some active and influential female commune leaders in rural
areas. Ya Soeun, appointed acting chief of Krala commune, Kompong Cham
in 1981 and then permanent chief in 1984, regularly accompanied the district
militia on military offensives against Democratic Kampuchea soldiers. thlang
Yam, deputy leader of tang Krang commune, Kompong Cham, conducted
regular sorties into DK areas in order to persuade ‘misled people’ to defect
to the prK. after some success persuading men to integrate into the prK
– once by snatching two live grenades from the hands of a DK soldier – she
recounted that she was approached by other several other women wanting to
leave the DK-controlled areas. Life for women in these remote areas under
control of Democratic Kampuchea was especially difficult. they assumed the
preponderance of labour roles, working in the fields and transporting goods in
addition to food preparation and other household work. they also retrieved
food from relief trucks, in line with aid agencies’ policies of distributing food
to women only, and carried ammunition for the DK military forces.14
More women were elected to leadership positions at the municipality
and provincial commune level. a study conducted in early 2000 reported
that there were four women commune leaders in phnom penh. the Chief
of Boeung Keng Kang I quarter had held the position since 1985; the Chief
of the Olympic quarter had been elected in 1981, downgraded to Deputy in

244
 Picking Up the Pieces

1985, then appointed Chief again in 1987; and the Chief of psar Kandal II
quarter came to office in 1985 after working at a series of low-ranking author-
ity positions since late 1979. In the 1981 commune elections, 21 out of the 24
provincial female candidates won their seats and the other three were elected
deputy leaders. these elections are particularly significant, as prior to 1985
candidacy was not based on central party nominations. after the introduc-
tion of this requirement, fewer women were nominated, resulting in fewer
women in leadership roles.15
Officially, there were no impediments to the empowerment of women
in the prK. Yet there were few women in high-profile roles. Writing in 1982,
Chanthou Boua remarked: ‘the accelerated short-term training has already
produced numerous, surprisingly forceful and capable cadres. among them,
there are many women, but, as yet, very few occupy important positions.’
although the government espoused equal access to education for boys and
girls, the latter comprised only one-third of children enrolled in the last year of
primary school. the Women’s association was criticised for not doing much
to change the situation of Cambodian women. an observer remarked in 1981
that the Women’s association was not addressing women’s issues: ‘It does not
yet seem to exert much influence on vital decisions concerning women’s eco-
nomic and social well-being.’ this included a glossing over of questions such as
divorce, a phenomenon that did not fit the desired image of a functional society
of happy workers. Many visitors to Cambodia in the early 1980s commented
that the main activity of the Women’s association appeared to be propounding
the policies and programmes of the new government rather than promulgat-
ing a developmental agenda. the accessibility of training programmes for rural
women was also an area of contention. Critics of the Women’s association
acknowledged, however, that its activities were constrained by the government
policies and budgetary priorities.16 as Viviane Frings has remarked, there was a
‘persistent gap between theory and practice’ in the prK.17
they were also constrained by ‘tradition’. In 1995, the Secretariat of State
for Women’s affairs estimated that the average number of female parliamentary
numbers until the signing of the paris peace accords was 18 per cent. Only
eight of the 162 full members of the Communist party of Kampuchea (CpK)
attending the Fourth Congress in May 1981 were women, and only one wom-
an, Men San an, was appointed to the 22-member CpK Central Committee
for Organisation. three years later the Central Committee for Organisation

245
 Lost Goddesses

admitted its second female member, Mean Saman. the following year saw
more women in key party positions. Men San an was appointed president of
the Central Committee for Organisation as well as the Central Committee for
propaganda and education. Other women occupying key political positions
included ho Non (Deputy Council Minister), Som Kim Suor (editor of the
state newspaper); and Lak On (party Secretary, ratanakiri province).18
Why was the prK government so reluctant to do more to empower
women and why were women amenable to this state of affairs? Chantou Boua
has suggested that the lack of Cambodian women within the government hi-
erarchy was the result of ingrained modesty, ‘the widespread chauvinism of
Khmer men’, and a lack of self-esteem and self-confidence due to trauma suf-
fered during Democratic Kampuchea. Many women had lost their husbands
and faced raising their children without any emotional or financial support
from the extended family typical of Cambodian kinship.19 this identity crisis
was compounded by the presence of the Vietnamese and the state-driven
reconstruction of Cambodian culture to reflect a ‘tradition’ that included
friendship toward Vietnam and omitted any references to a monarchy.20 Many
Cambodians wished for a return to the 1950s and 1960s, having forgotten the
chaos hidden beneath its peaceful exterior; those in the refugee camps, politi-
cised toward either the anti-Vietnamese Khmer people’s National Liberation
Front or the royalist FUNCINpeC, were more vocal about how this could be
achieved politically, but all had very definite ideas about the role of women
in maintaining social harmony. thus a journey by a group of Cambodians
living in diaspora to Cambodia in the late 1980s included a picture montage
of women in sampot engaged in ‘traditional’ practices of dancing and weaving
with the caption ‘keeping the traditions alive’. 21
Margaret Slocomb has argued that, despite the inability of the prK to
sustain socialism, ‘it ended the terror and gave the people the means with
which to restore their lives’.22 For many, restoration meant a return to values
perceived as ‘traditional’ pi doeum, ‘the time before’ the upheaval of the
Khmer rouge period – in other words, those espoused in Cbpab srei. as
Judy Ledgerwood has explained, the socially acceptable Cambodian woman
of these texts ‘is not discussed as being “strong” or “powerful”, but as “vir-
tuous”.’23 although some commentators warned that Cambodian women
should not be so weak as to lead to the troubles of the past, it also conflated
notions of Cambodia’s past glory during the angkorian age, the family as the

246
 Picking Up the Pieces

building block upon which social harmony rests, and the role of women in
ensuring this accord through the observance of correct behaviour (see Fig.
10.3).24 Chou, faced with the prospect of an arranged marriage in the 1980s,
remembered her mother’s words: ‘a proper woman is neutral, doesn’t gossip,
never screams, complains, or throws tantrums, and blends in with the crowd.
a proper woman is like warm water, not shocking like cold or burning like
hot.’25 Soeur remembered her mother telling her and her sisters that it was
very important not to act like boys ‘all loud and crazy’, but to sit quietly, lest
people not realise they were girls, or think that they were Vietnamese.26
this notion of correct action for women restricted their choices in the
prK period. Women who did not marry were perceived as being peculiar, as

Fig. 10.3: Cover of Meun thalla, Vijjea apram satrei khmei [Manual on raising Cambodian women],
Koh-I-Dang: 1981.

247
 Lost Goddesses

if their unmarried state resulted from their own determination to defy social
conventions rather than the lack of available men. Chantou Boua recounted
that a young Cambodian woman complained to a foreign aid worker, ‘I wish
you would bring a shipload of men instead of food!’ polygamy, despite its
prohibition by article 7 of the Constitution, became socially acceptable. In
1981, a senior (female) member of the Women’s association suggested that
polygamy be legalised in order to ease the economic burden and loneliness of
women. although Chantou Boua believed that the situation in the provinces
was better for women as there was ‘more solidarity between women’, there is
evidence that some male commune leaders undermined the ability of women
to act autonomously.27 as early as 1980, a prK document related concern over
some cadres who were ‘getting excited by females and materialism … some
other cadres think only of themselves, living every day to gather lovely girls to
come and serve them and forgetting about their revolutionary stance’.28 Some
women overcame issues of isolation and hardship by amalgamating with
other women and their children, thus creating a combined household finan-
cial and support unit. Others took the only socially sanctioned route available
to women (aside from marriage) and became daun chi (Buddhist nuns).29
Yet this was not met with approval by the government; in 1982 a memo was
circulated stating that ‘old women seeking the shelter of wats should be sent
back home if any family exists to provide for them’.30
Women were therefore constrained on all fronts. a shortage of men meant
that ‘untraditional’ characteristics had to be repressed or ‘un-Khmer’ women
could not fulfil their ‘destinies’ as wives and mothers. this meant not complain-
ing at the scarcity of women in high political office or when practices that had
been the privilege of elite men in the past were resumed, such as polygamy,
or the education of boys instead of girls, who, given their ‘natural’ association
with domesticity, were kept home when circumstances dictated. even those
that retreated to the spiritual world were subject to the directives of the gov-
ernment. although women did assume a more varied range of tasks and were
more directly associated with the reconstruction of Cambodia than men were,
particularly in rural areas, this did not translate into gender equality.

The State of Cambodia, May 1989–September 1993

In april 1989, the National assembly of the prK adopted a number of
amendments to the constitution as part of a general policy of liberalisation.

248
 Picking Up the Pieces

the name of the country was changed to State of Cambodia; the flag and
national anthem were altered; state policies such as the krom samaki were
abolished; Buddhism was reinstated as the state religion; private ownership
of land was introduced; price controls were instated; and many state-owned
enterprises were partially or completely privatised.31 the last Vietnamese
troops withdrew in September 1989, setting the scene for political recon-
ciliation, and leading to the signing of the paris peace accords in 1991. this
resulted in the mobilisation of the United Nations, first as the United Nations
advanced Mission in Cambodia (UNaMIC) and then as the United Nations
transitional authority in Cambodia (UNtaC), consisting of over 20,000
people from all over the world.
the official statistics of women’s participation in the political realm in
the 1980s and early 1990s do not take into consideration the behind-the-
scenes roles played by many women in brokering the agreements between
the factions in exile and in Cambodia, thereby bringing about the paris peace
accords in 1991. tong Siv eng is credited by some as having been responsi-
ble for the first meetings between Norodom Sihanouk and hun Sen in 1987
and 1988. as evan Gottesman has pointed out, the importance of Queen
Monineath (Monique) has also gone unnoticed by most observers, yet she
was present at almost all of the reconciliation meetings. She was not always
successful in preventing prince Sihanouk from perpetrating a diplomatic de-
bacle, however: ‘as delegates to the month-long international conference on
Cambodia, held in paris last august [1989], stared at the speaker [who had
just announced “I support genocide!”], his wife vainly tried to restrain him.
“Don’t breathe a word,” he hissed at her’. Staff witnessed letters, telephone
calls, and meetings between the Queen and members of political factions
before the first recorded meetings between the latter and the King. princess
royal Norodom arunrasmy, the youngest surviving daughter of the King,
was a member of his cabinet between 1982 and 1985.32 Yet their presence
would not have been tolerated had they not been near relations or established
members of the inner circle.
the liberalisation policies implemented by the Cambodian government
had significant social and economic consequences for women. In order to
conform to the standard modus operandi of market economies, the government
had to cut the number of staff employed in the public sector. Women, who
staffed many of the lower- and mid-level positions of the ministries, were the

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 Lost Goddesses

most affected by this. public expenditure was reduced across the board. the
Women’s association was one of the first casualties. Lack of staff and funding
undermined the organisation from within and by January 1992 the government
cut off all financial support. Many of its representatives, however, continued to
work in development initiatives for women with local and international non-
governmental organisations. Others began seeking employment in the more
lucrative private or mixed sectors. Some found employment in UNtaC. rural
women were affected by the abolition of the krom samaki in that they lost au-
thority and decision-making opportunities. the loss of the krom samaki also
placed more demands upon rural households, which were still predominantly
headed by women, as resources that had been shared became precluded from
collective use. another result was that farmers were compelled to sell a portion
of their rice produce to the government at state prices.33
Only 5 per cent of the candidates put forward by over twenty political
parties for the May 1993 elections were women, and only five were amongst
the 120 members elected to the National assembly. although the percentage
of women candidates on the ballot for the 1993 elections was small, women
were indispensable at the grassroots political level. the contribution of non-
governmental organisations in educating women about the electoral process
cannot be over-emphasised. Khemara, established in 1990 by Mu Sochua
(Minister for Women’s and Veteran’s affairs, 1998–2003), was the first non-
governmental organization dedicated to advancing women’s leadership. the
stability of the UNtaC era and the subsequent influx of donor funding saw
the creation of many interest groups in addition to political parties. Many had
women’s issues as core objectives.34
human rights groups in particular advocated women’s rights. One group,
LIChaDO, was founded by Kek Galabru, who returned to Cambodia after
decades in exile in France. her mother was tong Siv eng, who was, as we
have seen in the preceding chapter, closely connected to prince Sihanouk.
Women were enthusiastic patrons and members of these organisations, which
extended their agendas to development, hIV/aIDS, and health. although
most were initially based in phnom penh, some maintained a presence in
the provinces. they organised debates and provided forums for women to
question the various candidates as to their parties’ policies towards women
and women’s concerns. the Women’s association organised the celebration
of International Women’s Day on 5–8 March 1993 at which a national sum-

250
 Picking Up the Pieces

mit on women’s affairs was held, a five-stage proposal specifying recognition,

participation, equal rights, development, and solidarity as aims for the post-
election government to work towards. 35
the official reasons, put forward by the Secretariat of State for Women’s
affairs in 1995, that so few women ran in the May 1993 elections, were politi-
cal harassment, lack of true democracy, and ‘the lack of political will of the
parties’ leaders, who were predominantly men’.36 Some have also pointed out
that UNtaC did not set a good example in this regard; there were no female
heads of components and few provincial heads.37 Male politicians were not
adverse to using women in order to confer legitimacy upon themselves, how-
ever. Judy Ledgerwood attended a political rally in Kompong Cham province
in april 1993 in which a khmei khieu (diaspora) politician drew upon the
presence of two women imbued with the power of tradition in order to es-
tablish himself as man who deserved election to a position of power. One of
the women was his wife, dressed and styled in a traditional Cambodian silk
sampot with expensive jewellery identifying her as a wealthy (and therefore
influential) woman. She did not address the crowd but remained attentive
and approving in the background. the other woman was older, dressed
as a secular nun. She was the leader of a local militia in the province. the
politician said that she was ‘too strong’ to address the crowd but referred
to her and her loyalty to him frequently. Conversely, the politician verbally
castigated another woman, the wife of the chief provincial official of the poli-
tician’s party, for daring to take the microphone and make a statement that
supported a point that the politician had just made; he delivered a harangue
against american women and their freedom, and said that ‘Khmer women
would never reach this stage’.38 as Kate Frieson has remarked, when women
do appear in the public, political sphere, it must be in a (preferably silent)
supporting role rather than as an agent.39 Deviation from ‘tradition’ meant the
further obfuscation of Cambodian culture.
Sex work, sexual permissiveness, and sexual depravity were categorised
as resulting from foreign influences. a negative consequence, and one that
tends to be dwelt upon in histories of the period, is that liberalisation, the
sudden appearance of wealth, and foreigners led to inflation, corruption,
nepotism, widespread prostitution, and the spread of hIV/aIDS.40 there
were, however, some 6,000 prostitutes in Cambodia before UNtaC arrived.
Some Cambodians assert that these were Vietnamese, brought in by the

251
 Lost Goddesses

Vietnamese tandem government of 1979–1989 and who chose to remain

in order to ‘corrupt’ Cambodian men.41 the number jumped to 20,000 in
phnom penh by the end of 1992. this seems abnormally high even for a mili-
tary mission that had only a few hundred women in its numbers, but it must
be said that the behaviour of certain of the UNtaC forces seemed to indicate
that there could not be enough women to satisfy the appetites of the peace-
keepers. In the early days of the UN operation, it was possible to identify the
location of particular people from their vehicle’s UN numberplate. One of the
most popular past-times for some (female) expatriates was to cruise up and
down the street in tuol Kork, the ‘red-light district’, in order to spot who was
patronising the brothels. Mocking and derisory comments would ensue in
the office the next day. During the election itself, in May 1993, an australian
electoral process observer was supposed to be billeted in the house rented
by the Bulgarian contingent. as she and her fellow observer approached the
house, they realised that what they had initially taken to be a moat was in
fact a metre-wide perimeter of used condoms that had been flung out of the
nearest window or door.
the idea that paid sex was a perfectly natural recreation for military
men was, alarmingly, initially reinforced by the head of UNtaC, Yasushi
akashi. this tacit approval from the ‘man in charge’, the perceived exoticism
of asian women and their favourable comparison to aggressive, demand-
ing, possibly critical Western women (whose numbers were too few in any
case for a balanced ratio of ‘peacekeeper’ liaisons),42 and an environment in
which ‘emergency sex’ was condoned as a release for the pressures that UN
personnel found themselves under,43 all contributed to the rise of sex work
in 1992–1993. the name ‘UNtaC’ is synonymous with an explosion of
sex work in Cambodia; the tableau representing the UNtaC period in the
tourism museum in Siem reap comprises a blue-beret-wearing soldier with
his arm draped around a vaguely Vietnamese-looking young woman. Both
look sad and resigned at their imminent parting. Unexpectedly, a number of
reports of sexual assaults began to occur during the UNtaC period. at the
human rights Component, a number of women or their families came to
report assaults carried out on them by foreign men. Unfortunately, as they
had sometimes waited days or even weeks before coming in, there was little
that the hrC could do. the men concerned, however, almost universally de-
clared that sexual relations had been taking place for some time and reporting

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 Picking Up the Pieces

the ‘rape’ was retribution for a failure on the man’s part to give the woman
money, or agree to marry her. Some Cambodian men associated the presence
of UNtaC with the rise in prostitution and the rape of Cambodian women.
Both activities resulted in the ‘contamination’ of Cambodian society, whether
the prostitutes were Vietnamese or not. If they were, then Cambodia was be-
ing invaded by a ‘fifth column’ aimed at sedition when Cambodia’s men were
off their guard; if they were Cambodian, the presence of the UN was forcing
Cambodian women to act in a most un-Cambodian way.
In her phD thesis Judy Ledgerwood identified two social absolutes that
showed no sign of changing in Cambodian societies whether in Cambodia or
in diaspora: sexual control and the ordering of society, wherein virginity and
sexual fidelity within marriage and the dominance of husbands over wives
were of prime importance.44 the maintenance of social harmony devolved
upon women acting ‘correctly’, that is in accordance with the social mores
espoused in Cbpab Srei and other contemporaneous literature. this has oc-
curred elsewhere in Southeast asia: ‘[Men] may enjoy new freedoms and op-
portunities because women have been given the task of preserving traditional
values … . Women are to be responsible for filtering out negative influences
from abroad’.45 this results in a disassociation of women and political power.
as the modernising policies of post-conflict governments impact upon even
private space, however, the household gradually grows to replicate the gender
hierarchy of the public arena, however significant women initially may have
been in other areas.46
©
Women contributed directly and materially to the reconstruction of Cambodia
and Cambodian society. although the number of women was greater than
that of men in the aftermath of Democratic Kampuchea, the number of edu-
cated men was greater than that of educated women. the legacy of colonial-
and Sangkum-period educational trends weighed heavily against women in
being selected for public service positions in reconstruction. Fewer women
than men went on to secondary education in the 1950s and 1960s and fewer
still to tertiary institutions (see Chapter 8). there were more women than
men left alive after the fall of Democratic Kampuchea, but hardly any had
completed secondary school. the disparity of the male-to-female ratio meant
that the burden of women in post-revolutionary Cambodia was greater than

253
 Lost Goddesses

that of men because they were often the only members of a family able to
work. Women whose husbands had died or were in the refugee camps, or
who had been conscripted into an army were forced to provide subsistence
for their children and their husbands’ relatives who were unable to fend for
themselves. In many cases, there was neither the time nor support for the
upgrading of skills that would enable women to take white-collar positions.
this also contributed to the lack of women in post-revolutionary political
positions between January 1979 and april 1989.
the policies of liberalisation and reconciliation that heralded the sec-
ond phase of post-revolutionary Cambodia resulted in an influx of return-
ing Cambodians and a large-scale international peacekeeping mission. this
impacted on the empowerment of women in two ways. Men assumed many
roles within the industrial and public service sectors that had hitherto been
taken by women. returning Cambodians brought with them their own ideas
of a ‘correct’ Cambodian society that did not take into consideration changes
to gender roles that had occurred in the intervening 25 years. those who had
left before 1975 were, for the most part, members of the educated elite. the
majority were men, reflecting pre-revolutionary educational trends. these
returnees were seen as integral to the reconstruction of Cambodia. high-
profile public and mixed sector opportunities were made available to them to
ensure their continued participation. they also brought with them their own
nostalgia for pre-revolutionary Cambodia. the tendency of Cambodians
to remember the time prior to the civil war as a ‘golden age’ is common.47
Whereas the prK had precluded a return to practices deemed ‘royalist’ rather
than populist – such as patronage, nepotism, and, to some extent, chauvin-
ism – they formed an integral part of the memories of many returnees. this
underlying perception of women sat uneasily with official policies of gender
equity and has resulted in the multiple and conflicting identities imposed
upon – and in some cases assumed by – women since the re-establishment of
the Kingdom of Cambodia in September 1993.

Notes to Chapter 10
1 See for example evan Gottesman, Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge: Inside the politics of
nation building, New haven; London: Yale University press, 2003, pp. xxi–xxv.
2 Grant Curtis, Cambodia reborn? The transition to democracy and development, Washington,
DC; Geneva: Brookings Institution press and the United Nations research Institute
for Social Development, 1998, p. 4; eva Mysliviec, Punishing the poor: The international

254
 Picking Up the Pieces

isolation of Kampuchea: Oxford: Oxfam, 1984, pp. ix, 30; William Shawcross, The quality
of mercy: Holocaust and modern Cambodia, Bangkok: DD Books, 1985, p. 37. See also
Viviane Frings, ‘the failure of agricultural collectivization in the people’s republic of
Kampuchea (1979–1989)’, Clayton, Victoria: Monash University Centre of Southeast
asian Studies Working paper 80, 1993. Michael Vickery, Kampuchea: Politics, econom-
ics and society, Sydney; London; Boston: allen & Unwin, 1986, p. 3; David Chandler,
A history of Cambodia, 3rd ed., Boulder, Colorado: Westview press, 2000, p. 229. Some
Cambodians relate stories of rape perpetrated by the Vietnamese during the 1980s; oth-
ers allege that the Khmer rouge were responsible for all sexual violence. It is probably
fair to say that some such acts occurred on all sides – by the Vietnamese and prK troops
in addition to Khmer rouge forces. In the refugee camps women were also vulnerable to
sexual attacks by thai authorities and Cambodian men.
3 Chanthou Boua, ‘Women in today’s Cambodia’, New Left Review 131 (1982), p. 49;
Gottesman, Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge, p. 91.
4 Chanthou Boua, ‘Observations of the heng Samrin government, 1980–1982’, in David p.
Chandler and Ben Kiernan (eds), Revolution and its aftermath in Kampuchea: Eights essays,
New haven: Yale University Southeast asia Studies Monograph Series No. 25, 1983, p.
261; Mysliwiec, Punishing the poor, p. 30; Women: Key to national reconstruction, phnom
penh: Secretariat of State for Women’s affairs, Kingdom of Cambodia, 1995, p. 10.
5 Boua, ‘Women in today’s Cambodia’, p. 49; Women: Key to national reconstruction, pp.
10–12; Shawcross, Quality of mercy, p. 203.
6 Boua, ‘ Women in today’s Cambodia’, pp. 47, 49; Mysliwiec, Punishing the poor, p. 58;
Loung Ung, Lucky child: A daughter of Cambodia reunited with the sister she left behind,
London; New York; Sydney; auckland: Fourth estate, 2005, p. 40; Gender in election
and female leadership at the communal level, phnom penh: Women’s Media Centre of
Cambodia and the royal embassy of the Netherlands, 2000, p. 16.
7 David M. ayres, Anatomy of a crisis: Education, development, and the state in Cambodia,
1953–1998, honolulu: University of hawai‘i press, 2000, p. 129; Boua, ‘Women in to-
day’s Cambodia’, pp. 51, 56; Gottesman, Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge, pp. 39, 75;
Gender in election, p. 22; Boua, ‘Observations of the heng Samrin government’, p. 287.
8 articles 7, 27, 31, 33 and 81 of the Constitution of the people’s republic of Kampuchea,
in raoul M. Jennar, The Cambodian constitutions (1953–1993), Bangkok: White Lotus,
1995, pp. 94, 97–99; Boua, ‘Women in today’s Cambodia’, pp. 52, 58; Boua, ‘Observations
of the heng Samrin government’, pp. 260, 266.
9 article 38, Constitution of the people’s republic of Kampuchea, in Cambodian constitu-
tions, p. 100; Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 26; Gender in election, p. 5; Judy L.
Ledgerwood, Changing Khmer conceptions of gender: Women, stories, and the social
order’, phD thesis, Cornell University, 1990, p. 225; Boua, ‘Observations of the heng
Samrin government’, p. 264.
10 article 22, Constitution of the people’s republic of Kampuchea, in Constitutions of
Cambodia, p. 97; Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 15.

255
 Lost Goddesses

11 Jacqueline Desbarats, Prolific survivors: Population change in Cambodia, 1975–1993,

tempe, arizona: program for Southeast asian Studies, arizona State University, 1995, p.
59; Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 27.
12 Mysliwiec, Punishing the poor, p. 61; Women: Key to national reconstruction, pp. 5, 26–27,
34–35; Boua, ‘Women in today’s Cambodia’, p. 59; Jacqueline Desbarats, Prolific survi-
vors: Population change in Cambodia, 1975–1993, tempe, arizona: program for Southeast
asian Studies, arizona State University, 1995, p. 59.
13 Boua , ‘Women in today’s Cambodia’, p. 59; Yuvajun-yuvaneary Kampuchea, 3 (1981) and
6 (1982); Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 26; Ledgerwood, ‘Changing Khmer
conceptions of gender’, p. 225; Julio a. Jeldres, The royal house of Cambodia, phnom
penh: Monument Books, 2003, p. 76.
14 Gender in election, pp. 24–25; Shawcross, Quality of mercy, pp. 350, 352; Mysliwiec,
Punishing the poor, p. 100.
15 Gender in election, pp. 16, 22.
16 Boua, ‘Women in today’s Cambodia’, pp. 52, 55, 59; Boua, ‘Observations of the heng
Samrin government’, p. 260; Shawcross, Quality of mercy, p. 266; Women: Key to national
reconstruction, pp. 34–35, 58; Mysliwiec, Punishing the poor, p. 61; Gender in election,
p. 16.
17 Frings, ‘the failure of agricultural collectivization in the people’s republic of Kampuchea’,
p. 1.
18 Women: Key to national reconstruction (phnom penh: Secretariat of State for Women’s
affairs, Kingdom of Cambodia, 1995), p. 26; Vickery, Kampuchea, pp. 74, 80–81. Vickery,
Kampuchea, pp. 80–81.
19 Boua 1982, ‘Women in today’s Cambodia’, p. 52; Women: Key to national reconstruction,
p. 7.
20 Gottesman, Cambodia after the Khmer rouge, p. 218. the prK altered the lyrics of
traditional songs and re-named traditional dances to reflect contemporary events and
the relationship between Cambodian and Vietnam, such as the robam joon bper kang
taib (‘wishing the army well dance’) and the robam mittapheap aindoa-chun (‘Indochina
friendship dance’). Names that referred to the glory of Cambodia’s distant past, however,
were retained, such as the robam apsara, ‘apsara dance’. See Sam-ang Sam, ‘role of Khmer
culture in social development within the global context of the new millennium’, in Khmer
studies: Knowledge of the past, and its contributions to the rehabilitation and reconstruction
of Cambodia, proceedings of the International Conference on Khmer Studies, phnom
penh, 26–30 august 1996, ed. Sorn Samnang, phnom penh: toyota Foundation, French
embassy, British embassy, 1998, vol. 1, p. 86.
21 hann So, The Khmer kings, San Jose, California, n.p., 1988.
22 Margaret Slocomb, The People’s Republic of Kampuchea, 1979–1989: The revolution after
Pol Pot, Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2003, p. 268.
23 Ledgerwood, Changing Khmer conceptions of gender, p. 24.

256
 Picking Up the Pieces

24 Meung talla, Vijjea apram satrei kh’mei [Manual for raising Cambodian women], Khao-
I-Dang, thailand: International rescue Committee, 1981.
25 Ung, Lucky child, p. 184.
26 Fieldnotes, 2006. Soeur was, in fact, one-quarter Vietnamese; her father was born in
Kampuchea Krom to a Cambodian mother and Vietnamese father.
27 Gender in election, p. 18.
28 ‘Decisions of the third party plenum, 1980’, cited in Slocomb, People’s Republic of
Kampuchea, p. 136.
29 Mysliwiec, Punishing the poor, p. 60. In some cases the elaborate puos ceremony was dis-
pensed with given the exigent circumstances. See trudy Jacobsen et al., The situation of
daun chi in Cambodia, phnom penh: Buddhist Institute/hBF-asia, 2006, pp. 6, 15, 26.
30 heike Löschmann, ‘the revival of the don chee movement in Cambodia’, in Karma
Lekshe tsomo (ed.), Innovative Buddhist women: Swimming against the stream, London:
Curzon, 2000, pp. 91–95, at p. 92–93.
31 For a detailed treatment of the failure of collectivisation in the prK and policy changes
under the State of Cambodia, see Vivianne Frings, Le socialisme et le paysan Cambodgien:
La politique agricole de la République Populaire du Kampuchea et de l’Etat du Cambodge,
paris: l’harmattan, 1997.
32 Minh Sucheata, pers. comm., 30 March 2001; t.D. allman, ‘Sihanouk’s sideshow’, Vanity
Fair, april 1990, p. 152; Jeldres, Royal house of Cambodia, p. 83.
33 Women: Key to national reconstruction, pp. 10, 28–29; Gottesman, Cambodia after the
Khmer Rouge, p. 329; Curtis, Cambodia reborn?, p. 124; Judy Ledgerwood, An analysis of
the situation of women in Cambodia, phnom penh: UNICeF, 1992, p. 14.
34 Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 17; Chanthou Boua, Cambodia’s country report:
Women in development, prepared for the Second asia-pacific Ministerial Conference,
Jakarta, 7–14 June 1994 (phnom penh: Secretariat of State for Women’s affairs, 1994),
p. 14; Curtis, Cambodia reborn?, p. 119; Shawcross, Cambodia’s new deal, p. 59.
35 Women: Key to national reconstruction, pp. 31–32. the creation of these groups during
the UNtaC era belies robert Muscat’s assertion that Cambodian society has shown lit-
tle tendency towards, or tolerance for, interest groups or other extra-familial associations
(Curtis, Cambodia reborn?, p. 124).
36 Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 18.
37 Sandra Whitworth, Men, militarism, and UN peacekeeping: A gendered analysis, London:
Boulder, 2004, p. 71.
38 Judy L. Ledgerwood, ‘politics and gender: Negotiating changing Cambodian ideas of
the proper woman, Asia Pacific Viewpoint 37, 2 (1996), pp. 141–142.
39 Kate Frieson, Women in the shadows: Power and politics in Cambodia, Victoria, British
Columbia: University of Victoria Centre for asia-pacific Initiatives Occasional paper 26,
2001, p. 3.

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 Lost Goddesses

40 Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 20; Shawcross, Cambodia’s new deal, p. 15.
a typical description of these influences can be found in Chou Meng tarr and peter
aggleton, ‘“Sexualising” the culture(s) of young Cambodians: Dominant discourses and
social reality’, in Khmer Studies, vol. 2, p. 1034: the ‘young and glamorous appearance’ of
srei beer ‘symbolised what the consumption of alcohol could do for young males. Before
the appearance of UNtaC in 1992 alcohol was not marketed in this fashion’. at the
same time, some authors laud the UN’s achievements in Cambodia. Usually, however,
their analysis does not have a gender dimension. See roland paris, At war’s end: Building
peace after conflict, Boulder, Colorado: Cambridge University press, 2004, p. 89; Leviseda
Douglas, Sex trafficking in Cambodia, Clayton, Victoria: Monash Unviersity Centre of
Southeast asian Studies Working paper 122, 2003, p. 1.
41 Fieldnotes, 2004, 2006. Interestingly, one of the people who shared this view was himself
an advocate for sex workers’ rights.
42 Some contingents saw any woman as a potential sex partner, whether expatriate or lo-
cal. One evening in the rock hard Café, my friend and I were repeatedly harassed by a
group of soldiers. they kept asking what it would take for us to agree to speak to them.
Sarcastically, I eventually said that they couldn’t afford us – we were USD1,000 per hour.
the spokesman returned to the group but came back five minutes later saying ‘We can
get together USD600 – what would that buy?’
43 For a realistic account of the lives of UN peacekeepers, see andrew thomson, Ken Cain
and heidi postlewait, Emergency sex (and other desperate measures), London: ebury press,
2004.
44 Ledgerwood, ‘Changing Khmer conceptions of gender’, p. 243.
45 elizabeth Fuller Collins, ‘(re)negotiating gender hierarchy in the New Order: a South
Sumatran field study,’, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 37, 2 (1996), p. 136.
46 Linda K. richter, ‘exploring theories of female leadership in South and Southeast asia’,
Pacific Affairs 4 (Winter 1990–1991), p. 526; Frieson, Women in the shadows, p. 15.
47 See for example Chandler, History of Cambodia, p. 190; Ledgerwood, Changing Khmer
conceptions of gender, p. 126.

258
 Chapter eLeVeN

Contemporary Conspiracies

T he new Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia,

promulgated on 21 September 1993, promised an
unprecedented age of gender egalitarianism. Special
protections and services for women were included; issues such
as trafficking, exploitation, workplace discrimination, maternity
leave, and rural needs were addressed. One of the first interna-
tional instruments signed by the newly-formed government was
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CeDaW). two months later, the Secretariat
of State for Women’s affairs was established. Its mandate was
to become the focal point and platform for the advancement of
Cambodian women through advocacy and the improvement of
living conditions. this was to be effected by increasing women’s
participation in the economy and in health, education and social
services.1 Despite these assurances, however, most women in
Cambodia continue to be discriminated against and prevented
from realising their potential. their contribution to Cambodian
society is considered one of guardianship and heritage; any
divergence from the comportment of a srei krup leakkhana
(virtuous woman) is considered threatening to the stability of
Cambodian culture.

Locating women in contemporary Cambodia

two underlying tenets in Cambodian society preclude the re-
alisation of gender equality, despite state policy to the contrary.

259
 Lost Goddesses

Not all Cambodians subscribe to these generalisations, but they are pervasive
at all levels of society, and are often used to rationalise a host of activities that
are detrimental to women. the first principle is that the world outside the
household is the realm of men. In this Cambodia follows the global paradigm
wherein men ‘dominate the public space and the field of power … whereas
women remain (predominantly) assigned to the private space’.2 article 16 of
the Constitution prohibits the queen from exercising political power.3
No women were appointed to ministerial positions after the 1993 elec-
tions, although they constituted a large percentage of the civil service. there
were five female Under-Secretaries of State in the Secretariat of State for
Women’s affairs, the Ministry of Social action, the Ministry of Justice and
the Ministry of Foreign affairs. Most women who had run for election or
campaigned for political parties found low-ranking jobs in government min-
istries after the elections. Subsequent administrative reshuffles increased the
number of women parliamentarians to seven in 1995. No women were elected
to governorships at the provincial level, although there was one female deputy
governor in Stung treng province. In the 1998 parliamentary elections, 16.47
per cent of candidates were women but only 9.1 per cent were successful in
the final analysis. princess Bopha Devi was appointed Minister of Culture and
Fine arts, having held the positions of Deputy Minister and advisor to the
royal Government regarding the portfolio since 1991. Mu Sochua replaced
Keat Sukhun as Minister for Women’s and Veteran’s affairs. there were also
four female Secretaries of State and four Under-Secretaries of State during
this period and Kit Kimhourne was appointed the director-general of aKp,
the official Cambodian press agency, on 6 September 2000. after the results
of the 2003 elections were finally ratified, the number of female members
of parliament increased from 12 in 1999 to 22 in 2006 (out of a total of 122
seats); there are currently two female ministers, Men Sam an, Minister of
parliamentary affairs and Inspection, and Ing Kantha phavi, Minister of
Women’s affairs. there are also three female Secretaries of State.4 although
there has been improvement over time (see Fig. 11.1), these figures are low
considering that the total number of ministerial portfolios is 31.
even this slight female presence has been mediated, for the most part,
by relationships to powerful men. princess Vacheahra, half-sister to King
Sihanouk, has been a Member of parliament for Siem reap (1998) and phnom
penh (2003) and Chair of the parliamentary Committee for Foreign affairs,

260
 Contemporary Conspiracies

Fig. 11.1: Number of women in high political office, 1993–2001.

International Cooperation, press and Information. a major focus of her portfo-

lio has been border demarcation. princess Sisowath Santa, daughter of prince
Sisowath Sirik Matak and princess Norodom Kethneary (a grand-daughter
of King Norodom), was elected to the National assembly as representative
for prey Veng in 1998 and 2003. She also participated in the Commission on
public health, Social and Women’s affairs. princess Norodom rattanadevi
is a Member of parliament for Kratie. tioulong Saumura, daughter of Nhiek
tioulong and wife of Sam rainsy (himself son of Sam Sary, confidant of
the young King Sihanouk and later Deputy prime Minister and Minister of
Finance), has been elected twice as Member of parliament for phnom penh.5
this does not mean that these women are not committed to the interests
of the people they represent; most fulfil their functions admirably and some
Cambodians see them as less corrupt than their male counterparts. Yet it
is unlikely that they would have been admitted to the political sphere had
they not had connections to male politicians. this phenomenon is not, of
course, restricted to Cambodia. all female heads of state in Southeast asia
have been the daughters and/or widows of charismatic male political lead-
ers. In the aftermath of the 1998 elections Mona Lilja and tevy prom found
that many female politicians had one or more family members engaged in
politics and that this made their own presence more acceptable. the women
themselves believed that khsae (connections) ‘had contributed in some way
to their power in politics’ and that their husbands were encouraging of their
political aspirations.6 this may be so, but there are obvious benefits for male
politicians in having wives – who are socially constrained to agree with them
– in politics. the khsae that the women establish in their positions can then
be co-opted by their husbands in requiring support for a proposed develop-
ment, constitutional amendment, or candidate.

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another means by which women have been successful in negotiating a

presence in public space is to negate their gender through modification of
their appearance. Women who assume the clothes and ascetic habits of daun
chi (Buddhist nuns) carry far greater legitimacy than other women. the
activities of the Me Daw Karuna organisation, for example, have been suc-
cessful in community engagement, including conflict resolution. Whereas a
group of normally attired women would be seen as ‘busybodies’, the daun
chi were ‘not women, but come from Buddhism’. Some commune-level fe-
male leaders adopted the appearance of daun chi during election campaigns
as they found that people paid more attention to them. Significantly, one of
these was praised not for her political leadership but as ‘a woman full of great
sacrifice’.7 Other women disguise their feminine characteristics by wearing
loose shirts, buttoned to the neck, with trousers or long skirts, cut their hair
short, and eschew jewellery. Still others opt for a very traditional appearance,
wearing sampot and modest tops that cover their arms and décolletage. these
strategies are most common in the civil service, state educational institutions,
and Cambodian non-government organisations – in other words, where
male Cambodian perspectives on what constitutes appropriate activities for
women predominate. this reassures men that the women concerned are not
moving too far from the Cambodian standard of ‘correct’ female behaviour.
the second general belief is that women are either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ with
no area for negotiation.8 ‘Good’ women are dutiful and obedient daughters,
faithful wives, and nurturing mothers who devote themselves to their fami-
lies. Daughters are expected to abide by their parents’ decisions, contribute
to the family economy, and not behave in a manner that would attract social
censure. In practical terms, this means that girls are expected to agree to
whichever marriage partner is selected for them, drop out of school in order
to assume responsibilities in the household (rice planting, the care of younger
siblings or farm animals, domestic tasks, weaving, marketing) or take what-
ever cash jobs are available, and not put themselves in positions wherein the
honour of the family could be compromised – in other words, wherein they
could lose their virginity, and therefore their value as prospective marriage
partners. these requirements pose a dichotomy for many young Cambodian
women. Obedience to parental demands and the necessity of providing for
the family means that the young women who are put up as surety for loans
cannot resist. For the term of the loan, they are then considered the property

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 Contemporary Conspiracies

of the money-lender and bound to obey them. It is no coincidence that many

money-lenders are also me bon (brothel manager).
Other girls are sold outright to distant relatives or people who are no rela-
tion at all, who come to rural areas offering lucrative jobs elsewhere; whether
or not parents believe that their daughters will really work as housekeepers
or seamstresses is debatable, but the outcome is the same. the girls have a
duty to contribute to the family and respect their parents’ wishes. therefore,
they have no choice but to accept and poverty constrains the parents from
refusing such offers. Some parents worry that their daughters, far from home,
will meet ‘bad people’ who will lead them astray; but this is almost always
articulated in terms of daughters being ‘tricked’ into illicit behaviour, not vio-
lence being perpetrated against them unwillingly. there is growing concern
of women being ‘kidnapped’ and sold into sex trafficking in some places but
the link between parental culpability in selling their daughters into ‘service’
in distant places and the sex industry is not well articulated. On the other
hand, parents continue to construe a girl’s ability to send and receive love
letters as potentially destructive to their marriage prospects as they are evi-
dence of premarital ‘contact’ with a man. this results in their removal from
the education system, often before completing primary school, which limits
their employment options and awareness of their rights.9
a ‘good’ daughter will evolve into a ‘good’ wife who obeys her husband, sup-
ports him in his endeavours, manages the household, and does not shame the
family name by revealing any inadequacies her husband may have. this trans-
lates into a scenario wherein women are expected to fulfil domestic obligations
of shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, and child-rearing, whilst participating
in the family business or working outside the home in the civil service or private
organisations. they are also constrained from attaining a higher position than
their husband, as this would be shaming for him, and cannot question his deci-
sions, report domestic violence, or ask relatives for assistance, as this would be
‘carrying fire outside the house’ – in other words, airing publicly that which
should be private. Women should not respond to their husband’s anger, but go
away, and come back with ‘sweet words’ that will make him see the error of his
ways, or simply accept his viewpoint in order to maintain domestic harmony.
this includes acceptance of husbands who frequent sex workers or maintain
second wives. In fact, the taking of a mistress or second wife is a public state-
ment on the man’s part that his current wife is not adequate in some way.

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On the other hand, sexual fidelity on the part of wives is absolute; those
who transgress it bring shame upon their husband as his virility is placed in
doubt, and the family unit is thus destabilised. In a 2006 survey of attitudes
toward sexual activity, premarital sex for women was considered acceptable
by 30 per cent of male university students and 28 per cent of male unskilled
workers; yet none condoned married women having extramarital sexual
partners.10 Wives who deviate from their role are asking for trouble. Vanna, a
nurse in a private hospital in phnom penh, often treats women after beatings
from their husbands; in her opinion ‘such women are not clever; they don’t
know when to be quiet’. Women are often blamed for causing the violence
perpetrated against them, but how did the women whose husbands beat
them after their preferred candidates lost in the 1998 elections cause their
injuries?11
at the same time, men who are not married are perceived as somehow
incomplete. Women’s superior knowledge of household management and
child-raising contribute to the reputation and well-being of the family, and
thus to the image of the family carried into public space by men. Work car-
ried out in the domestic space is valued in this regard. this is the reason
that decision-making within families continues to be made by both parents.
Cambodian proverbs emphasise the importance of women to men: ‘Behind
every husband is a clever wife’ and ‘the seedling supports the soil, the woman
supports the man’ are two such examples used today.12 Yet as paid work be-
comes increasingly valued in Cambodian society for the status it can confer
(in terms of consumer goods), the significance of work carried out by women
in private space is declining, although the need for it remains.
Women who are not srei krup leakkhana as defined by the Cbpab Srei and
other literature of the past are by definition srei aht leakkhana – women with
no good qualities, ‘bad’ women, whose redemption is impossible and whose
current situation is the result of an accumulation of bad karma from previous
existences. Such women, it is thought, deserve any and all evils that may befall
them. It thus becomes very easy to legitimise violence against them. Wives
who contravene the ‘traditional’ mores of submission and passivity deserve
to be punished by their husbands. If a woman does not observe the dictums
that she should stay close to home, remain indoors after nightfall, and wear
modest clothing, then she should expect to be raped or have people think she
is a sex worker. the fact that woman are also expected to contribute to the

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family economy and so must agree to overtime or jobs long distances away
from her house are immaterial. If she was a srei krup leakkhana, she would
not have been in a position to be violated; therefore she must be a srei aht
leakkhana, and deserves everything she gets.13
Should a girl’s virginity be taken before marriage, under any circumstances
(including rape), she immediately becomes a srei kouch, ‘broken woman’, and
her value plummets to zero. Sokha, a 26-year-old administration assistant in
an international NGO, said that in the event that his fiancée was sexually as-
saulted, ‘I would feel sorry for her, but I would not want to marry her, and my
family would call off the wedding’. there is a brief window of opportunity
in which the situation can be redressed; if the perpetrator is made to marry
the victim and/or the meba (ancestral spirits) of the latter placated through
a special ceremony. the sexual act then becomes legitimate, not a transgres-
sion, because sex is sanctioned between married couples.14 Many families
only report rape to authorities after attempts to have the perpetrator marry
the victim have failed, in the hope that the threat of prosecution will be an
added incentive.15
as srei kouch have no value, their treatment is of no importance and their
futures immaterial. this is why Cambodian women in the sex industry – even
those who are coerced – remain there. they can never be srei krup leakkhana
again. this view is shared by many Cambodians, even those working in advo-
cacy and rights for victims, who refer to the futility of trying to ‘convert’ bad
women into virtuous ones. Similarly, there is a sense that once a woman has
become srei kouch, it should not matter who else she has sex with. In august
2005 I saw a sex worker who kept trying to elude a drunk Japanese tourist
forced to leave with him by security guards. One of the guards explained to
me in a fatherly manner that this man was the woman’s boyfriend and the
reason she was crying and begging me for help was that they had argued
and she was now trying to make him embarrassed so he would give her nice
presents. this was patently untrue; the tourist had been speaking loudly at
the bar about his overland arrival from Bangkok that day. the security guard
also advised me not to concern myself with the lives of srei kouch. I said that
I had heard that Cambodia now had setthi manus (human rights). he smiled
and said, ‘human rights are for people. this is a srei luok khluen [woman who
sells herself].’16 the same sentiment applies to the practice of bauk, rapes
perpetrated by gangs of young men against sex workers or those believed to

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be sex workers because they work in hospitality or entertainment. Usually

one or two men will engage the services of the woman, or offer to give her
a lift somewhere, and take her to a house or hotel where a room has been
reserved and where a further group of ten or more men is waiting. the fact
that the number of clients has been changed or that she never agreed to the
arrangement in the first place cannot matter to her, it is assumed; she is srei
kouch.
Given the intolerance toward women who are not srei krup leakkhana,
it is hardly surprising that the articulation of new female identities is met
with hostility. although daun chi are generally seen in a positive light as
having a family member accruing merit is a good thing, it is only respect-
able for women who have fulfilled their obligations as daughters, wives, and
mothers – in other words, those who no longer have a husband or family to
care for and support. Many people believe that only women who have been
wives and mothers themselves know how to give advice on these issues to
others. Women who become daun chi following divorce or the death of their
husband seem to be more acceptable. people describe daun chi as being eld-
erly women with shaved heads.17 Young, never-married women who declare
their intentions of becoming daun chi because of a personal inclination are
regarded with suspicion. Yiey phal, 21, was drawn to the life of the daun chi;
her family would prefer her to remain with them and assist with the family
enterprise. She had to run away in order to take up a religious life.18 Young
daun chi pose a dichotomy for Cambodian society. they cannot be srei aht
leakkhana because they are daun chi. But they cannot be srei krup leakkhana
because they are not fulfilling the roles of ‘good’ women as set out in the
Cambodian codes of correct behaviour.
a similar issue arises for the women working in garment factories. they are
young women, often unmarried, living far from home, with no parents at hand
to observe and correct their behaviour. this makes them srei aht leakkhana.
Yet most have taken jobs in these factories in order to contribute to the family
economy, thus easing the burden for their parents and perhaps facilitating
the education of younger siblings. they are therefore srei krup leakkhana as
well. this dual identity most often reverts to the srei aht leakkhana, however,
as the women who work in factories are described as being ‘loud’, ‘noisy’,
‘gossiping’, and materialistic. Mom, a roasted-corn vendor at the riverside in
phnom penh, described the women who worked in the factories as ‘always

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thinking about clothes and furniture; they don’t think about their future and
don’t care that their parents have nobody to look after them’. Female factory
workers participating in a demonstration to protest against working condi-
tions were told by police to return to work or to find work as srei kouch.19 the
implication was that they were srei aht leakkhana already, and thus there was
no respectable option for them.
Women who work in environments such as restaurants, beer gardens, bars,
and as vendors around phnom penh’s popular evening entertainment venues
are believed to be sex workers regardless of their actual functions. During the
course of fieldwork in 2005, I became friendly with a group of young women
who worked in Western-patronised restaurants and bars along the river and
at the Boeung Kak lake. One night five of us (including the French boyfriend
of one of the girls) went to Spark, a popular Cambodian dance venue. When
I went to the bar, one of the waitresses asked me why I was socialising with
sex workers. I said that they were my friends regardless of their jobs, but as
it happened, they were waitresses. She smiled wryly and said, ‘It means the
same thing in my country.’ I asked if she was a sex worker. She was shocked. I
pointed out that she was a waitress and had just said that all waitresses were
sex workers. She said that of course she was not referring to girls like herself –
her brother was a bouncer at the same club and took her home every night. I
said that for all she knew my friends could have similar arrangements. She ad-
mitted that this might be true. For the most part, however, old associations of
entertainment with sexual activity have been retained, and women who work
as waitresses, hostesses, and srei beer – waitresses who work for a particular
beer company and continually fill patrons’ glasses from large jugs of their
product – are regularly propositioned by their customers. Whether they ac-
cept the offers every night, some nights, or never does not matter. they have
been devalued in the eyes of society by the fact that the only employment
they could find was in a less-than-respectable environment. this becomes
internalised by the women themselves.20

Male culture and double standards

Many attribute the impact of the Khmer rouge years to the culture of violence
in contemporary Cambodia; but this has not been definitively established.21
the violence against women in Cambodia today seems to be a product of a
male culture that has its origins in earlier times and has found new expres-

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sion in a society that legitimises behaviour according to past mores. Lyda was
22 years old when I met her in an internet shop near Lucky Supermarket in
phnom penh in May 2001. two years earlier, her stepbrother, then seven-
teen, had raped her in the family home in Battambang. She said that for some
months she had noticed him looking at her in a strange way, and he constantly
came into her room when she was in bed or might be dressing. One day, when
her mother had gone to see a neighbour’s new baby, he came in to her room,
and proceeded to assault her so badly that she required a blood transfusion.
When she was well enough to travel, her mother sent her to a distant relative
in phnom penh, who organised a ‘marriage’ for her with a taiwanese busi-
nessman living in Singapore, where he already had a Chinese wife. Lyda now
runs his business in phnom penh and sees him once a month. She told me
that she was lucky not to have been sold to a brothel. this is only one of many
similar stories of violence perpetrated against women, often family members
or children, by young Cambodian men.
Louise Brown has commented, in reference to the sex industry, that the
clients tend to disappear from the discussion. the same can be said of men in
relation to gender issues in Cambodia. Yet it is male perspectives, particularly
those of the elite, that dominate the discourse on women and shape their
destinies. Men are content with the status quo and so have little reason to
alter trends that demean women and privilege men. While the Cbpab Srei
is held up as a model for women to follow, the tenets of the Cbpab Broh –
the ‘Code of conduct for men’ – is not. In fact, of 58 men and women aged
between 18 and 35 surveyed in 2005, 38 had heard of Cbpab Broh as a piece
of Cambodian literature; but only eight could recite or paraphrase any of its
teachings, in contrast to over 80 per cent who could provide a detailed ac-
count of the Cbpab Srei.22
Men are not held to the same moral yardstick as women. this is because
men are believed to have inherent inclinations and characteristics that they
cannot help and from which they need to be protected. One of these char-
acteristics is that men are sexually voracious by nature and require many
female partners in order to reach a level of satiation. It is therefore only right
that they patronise sex workers; if they did not, then ‘good’ women would
be compromised as men would not be able to contain their sexual needs.
a consequence of this belief is that sex workers themselves are blamed for
preying on men, who are struggling on a daily basis to resist their natural

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urges. In early 1998, riem Sarin, then chief of the phnom penh Municipal
Office of Minor Offences in the Ministry of Interior, said that a crackdown
on prostitution ‘helps bring happiness to every household because prostitu-
tion distracts husbands from their wives. If the prostitutes are available only
at rather inaccessible places, husbands will stay at home and concentrate on
caring for their families’. Some women also believe that removing the tempta-
tion will re-orient men in the right direction. acid attacks, orchestrated and
perpetrated by ‘first wives’ against lesser wives, mistresses, and sex workers
frequented by their husbands, have mutilated and killed many women.23 the
husbands themselves are not held responsible for having transgressed the
tenet of marital fidelity – at least not in public.
paid sexual encounters continue to be associated as a natural component
of recreation, hospitality, and fealty for Cambodian men. Migrant workers
from the provinces, such as construction workers and moto drivers,24 who
come to the large towns in search of short-term work during the agricultural
off-season, comprise the main customers for the ‘low class’ brothel areas of
tuol Kork and Boulding in phnom penh, where women are expected to serv-
ice up to twenty customers per day and encounters take place on wooden
pallets separated by thin curtains. Most moto drivers said that they would
only be able to afford a brothel visit once every five or six weeks. When asked
whether they would continue to frequent sex workers when they returned
home to their wives in the provinces or once they were married, fifteen of
nineteen said no; one man introduced a caveat: ‘Unless it was a special time,
like a public holiday, or I won the lottery, when it is normal to celebrate with
friends.’
end-of-year festivities for many male university students (and usual
weekend activities for the sons of politicians and business people) involve an
en masse visit to pool halls, ‘dancing restaurants’, and beer gardens where they
will end up paying for sex to round off the night’s entertainment. In many
respects the group or shared experience of sex-for-cash serves to reinforce
the notion of Cambodian ‘maleness’; as Bourdieu described, ‘manliness must
be validated by other men, in its reality as actual or potential violence’. Gang
rape is validation of masculinity in its most extreme form. In this context,
bauk provides Cambodian men with an opportunity to establish themselves
as powerful men, regardless of their actual social position, whilst reaffirm-
ing their ‘membership of the group’. as Luke Bearup of the NGO Gender

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 Lost Goddesses

and Development for Cambodia commented in 2002, ‘20 people can rape
a woman at the same time, and consider this a fun, bonding experience be-
tween males’. annuska Derks has pointed out that it is also more economical
and secure as personal property is guarded by the group while the individual
takes his turn.25
It continues to be the prerogative of elite men to demonstrate their po-
tency and superiority over other men through sexual access to large numbers of
women. If these women are virgins, the higher the prowess of the man involved,
because virginity is an expensive commodity. high-level business agreements
are ‘ratified’ by deflowering virgins procured for the purpose, in order to dem-
onstrate mutual high regard. a Western parallel might be the decanting of a
30-year-old single malt in order to toast the business agreement. Virginity car-
ries with it the assurance that there will be no ill-effects from the encounter
(for the man, at least) and some believe that taking the virginity of a girl will
remove bad luck, rejuvenate a flagging libido, or cure hIV/aIDS.26 this is why
so many sex workers are young teenagers. their value is diminished once their
virginity has been sold, but they will not physically show the toll that the sex
industry takes on their bodies for some years. another attractive characteristic
in young sex workers is that they are socially constrained to be obedient. Most
Cambodian men expect their sexual partners, including sex workers, to be
submissive and are disconcerted when their expectations are not met. It was
extremely difficult to convince any Cambodian man to speak openly about why
Cambodian women should not enjoy sex. Many seemed to think that it was
an inherent aspect of Cambodian femininity. One moto driver said ‘If I wanted
a srei rijoh rilenh [wriggly woman] I would go to a Vietnamese.’ Ly Ly, a sex
worker, told me that she had been surprised at first when her Western clients
‘told me to make noise, to move around, to sit on top … . If I did this with a
Cambodian man, he would be shocked and afraid’.27
the majority of Cambodian men believe that Cambodian women are nat-
urally timid, docile, and less capable than they are.28 the fact that these same
men may have wives, mothers and sisters who run businesses, work in private
and government organisations, and share equally in family decision-making
has nothing to do with the dominant notion of abstract Cambodian woman-
hood. this view permeates to the highest levels of the political apparatus.
In 1995, for example, the Cambodian government was astonished that there
could be any objection to the delegation to the Fourth World Conference on

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Women in Beijing being headed by the incumbent (male) Secretary of State

for Women’s affairs. the rationale was as follows:
If we send [an] inferior woman, it means we don’t give importance to the
meeting … . they are used to sitting in the back row. If we put them in the
front row and ask them to make a speech, take notes and answer questions, I
think they would be unable to manage.29
Sending women to lead a delegation, therefore, would be an insult to the
level of importance placed upon the conference. When women do demonstrate
that they are as capable as men, they are regarded with suspicion for not acting
in accordance with notions of correct behaviour. rath Yong, district governor
of Ba phnom in prey Veng, was dismissed on charges of corruption in august
1999. Many held that, if Yong had been male, her skill in manipulating tradi-
tional Cambodian mechanisms for power and wealth would have resulted in
promotion. Women as public agents are not looked upon kindly by Cambodian
male politicians, even when their talent for diplomacy is well regarded. a civil
servant said that ‘women are more gentle and straightforward than men in com-
munications and resolving problems for residents’ but pointed out that night
duty had a detrimental effect on their domestic tasks.30
the continued association between women and domesticity on one hand
and men and public activities on the other is hardly surprising. as others have
discussed in relation to global and regional instances wherein women have
been mobilised in revolutionary or reconstruction efforts and then later rel-
egated to the domestic sphere, this not only profits the state, but privileges
men. the competition for positions is removed; men’s wages, necessarily low
as the nation seeks to reconstruct itself, are subsidised by women’s private la-
bour; women are fixed to their activities throughout the day, thus freeing men
for ‘nine-to-five’ work in more prestigious and economically lucrative fields.
Last but not least, men thereby control women’s work. Some Cambodian
women themselves have commented on ‘the understandable lack of will from
our male leaders to allow any challenge to their dominant position’ whilst
insisting that this cannot be permitted to endure.31 Clearly, Cambodian men
would have no interest in power-sharing, as this would put an end not only to
the arrangements that have privileged them, but change what it means to be
a Cambodian man. this is a serious proposition for a society that has already
faced a number of violent changes in the past thirty years. the erosion of fur-

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ther traditional values – or values inculcated as traditional – would increase

the vulnerability of Cambodian identity.

Complicity in the foreign quarter

perhaps one of the most shocking aspects of the current situation of women in
Cambodia is the level to which foreigners and Cambodians living in diaspora
are complicit in perpetuating stereotypes that depict Cambodian women
as passive and enabling practices that contribute to their disempowerment.
the supposed submissiveness of Cambodian women makes them a valuable
commodity as potential marriage partners for some overseas Cambodians, as
they are likely to be more obedient than those raised in the west, described as
‘too liberated’ and ‘ignorant of Cambodian traditions’.32 Some Western men
have also come to Cambodia on the express purpose of marrying Cambodian
women for similar reasons. Some of these partnerships are the result of genu-
ine affection and compatibility between the men and women concerned; but
a far greater number are predicated on the belief that Cambodian women will
‘put up and shut up’ with behaviour that Western women would not accept,
including patronage of sex workers or girlfriends on the side.
the perceived exoticism of asian women has assisted Cambodia eco-
nomically as thousands of men from Western countries come in search of
the legendary licentiousness and permissiveness of expatriate life therein.
For many Western men, Cambodia is a paradise of consequence-free sex
with young, pretty, submissive women who will obey their every whim and
not judge their social status, income, behaviour, and sexual prowess. Brian, a
23-year-old american teacher living in phnom penh explained:
Chantha … she’s sexy, she’s smart, she’s happy to be with me. She doesn’t
hassle me to get a better job. and it’s not like I’m paying her for sex. We’ve
travelled together, seen some of the country. I buy her meals when we’re to-
gether and sometimes clothes. and her mom was sick so I paid for her to go
to the doctor and get medicine. I’m helping her family.
Chantha keeps a toothbrush and some clothes at Brian’s apartment. Some
nights, however, he takes other girls home. On those nights, Chantha has to
make alternative arrangements. When I asked her how she felt about this, she
said ‘Of course it hurts me, but if I complain to him he will tell me to go and
then take another girlfriend.’ Competition between Cambodian women who
frequent the Western bars is fierce, especially for the attention of young, at-
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 Contemporary Conspiracies

tractive foreign men. Women often fought over Steve, a British NGO worker.
One night Somaly was sitting next to him at the bar when another girl, thida,
came in. they began quarrelling. thida explained to me that Somaly had
gone home with Steve on Wednesday, so tonight it was her turn. Women who
engage exclusively with Western clients are among the upper echelons of the
sex industry in Cambodia and most see their position as privileged, an op-
portunity for freedom of expression and behaviour denied their counterparts
who abide by the constraints that Cambodian society has devised for them.33
Yet their position is hardly one of empowerment. Some will earn USD 10 per
night; others USD 5; and towards dawn I have seen women agreeing to have
sex with men in exchange for the price of the moto ride to her own home
afterwards (around 50 US cents).
Foreign men come to Cambodia and find their every fantasy can be easily
facilitated while not earning any disapproval from society at large because
it is acceptable for Cambodian men to do the same. a popular ‘gentleman’s
bar’ in phnom penh offers a particular service combining the exoticism of
the east with the pleasures of the local pub. as soon as they walk in, men
are given a complimentary beer. Shortly afterward, a hostess will appear
and fellate them against the wall while they wait their turn at the pool table.
Disapproval of this and other exploitative practices is portrayed as jealousy
on the part of Western women who secretly desire the attention lavished
upon their ostensibly more attractive counterparts. a cartoon in a locally-
produced english-language magazine showed a Western man dancing with
four young, slim, sexily dressed Cambodian women while at a nearby table
four overweight older Western ladies voiced their disapproval over their col-
league’s contribution to the exploitation of women. In the next frame, each
woman had a thought-bubble over her head expressing sentiments such as
‘I wonder how much liposuction costs’ and ‘Can I get out to Bangkok for a
facelift before New Year?’ Criticism is dismissed as jealousy and participation
in an industry that subjugates and exploits hundreds of thousands of women
condoned because it is part of male culture in Cambodia. Western tourists
and expatriate residents constitute an elite class in Cambodian society.34 the
behaviour of the elite is emulated. Yet far from taking a stand against practices
that privilege men and exploit women, outlawed or censured in their own
countries, many foreign men see them as a perquisite of expatriate life.
Stereotypes of Cambodian women as passive and incapable have also
been perpetuated by women in the region and the west. this attitude was

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 Lost Goddesses

expressed in an interview with an international sponsor of a beauty pageant

in 2002:
‘In Cambodia, women are traditionally not as respected as men,’ she explained.
‘When you get married, you stay home. But now, women are becoming freer
and more confident, and this contest is a celebration of that.’ In addition,
[she] said the Miss tourism contest will promote Cambodia’s own tourism
and will give women the opportunity to interact with the international and
regional community. ‘It will encourage women to look after themselves,’ she
said.35
Notwithstanding the questionable legitimacy of beauty pageants as vehicles
of empowerment, the director of Lux Cosmetics echoed the sentiments of
many women who encourage their Cambodian counterparts to pull them-
selves out of their unemancipated predicament. appraisals of women in
Cambodia almost inevitably include a warning that gender equity will only
be possible when Cambodian women ‘themselves organise in their mutual
interest’, that development initiatives will be detrimental to future genera-
tions of women until they ‘themselves voice their dissatisfaction with existing
gender imbalances’. the achievements and processes of women elsewhere in
the world are held up as models for the mobilisation of Cambodian women.
Some consultants assert that Cambodian women ‘perpetuate the rules of ser-
vility and subservience from one generation to the next’ and that Cambodia’s
social problems stem from a lack of ‘gifted social leaders with the necessary
skills, training, and political or social connections to allow them to be effec-
tive advocates and change agents’. Only a handful of scholars recognise that
Cambodian women have been working within the constraints of their culture
to effect change for the better in women’s issues.36

Advocating women’s rights (or not)

the Cambodian women’s movement faces serious obstacles, not the least of
which is the identification of feminism as a dangerous Western concept that
would not translate well to Cambodian society. In 1994, eva Mysliviec, then
director of the Cambodian Development resource Institute, concluded that
gender awareness training had not been effective due to ‘a fixation that gender
is feminism (which, in their view, is bad), there is a lack of interest and a fail-
ure to see the relevance to the Cambodian development context’.37 the often
unrestrained behaviour, immodest clothing and licentiousness of female ex-

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 Contemporary Conspiracies

patriates and tourists in Cambodia send the message that this is how the free,
liberated women of the west act on a day-to-day basis. Western feminism has
therefore become associated with unrestrained hedonism and disreputable
behaviour. the extensions of these same freedoms to Cambodian women, it
is felt, will result in similar behaviour; therefore, they must not be allowed if
the purity of Cambodian culture is to be maintained.
Leading politicians fail to see the need for women to organise or agitate
for gender equality, preferring them to bolster existing platforms along po-
litical party lines. In an interview conducted by the Women’s Media Center
in 2000, Men Sam an said that there was no women’s movement within
the structure of the Cpp but there was ‘a 30-per-cent principle for women’,
realised through the Women’s association for Development, which was ‘all
for women but not for the party’.38 FUNCINpeC has been the worst of the
main parties in terms of gender equality, despite articles 1(b) and 3 of the
1999 party by-laws guaranteeing gender equality. there were no women on
the permanent Committee in February 2003 and only five on the 40-mem-
ber Board of Directors. the women’s movement within FUNCINpeC was
described in 2000 as ‘not doing much’. the Sam rainsy party, by contrast,
has been the more active. In 1999 the Srp created the National Council
of Women, comprising two women for each province and 48 for phnom
penh, in order to monitor women’s affairs. the guiding force for this initia-
tive was tioulong Saumura. elected to the National assembly in 1998, she
later chaired the electoral reform task Force of the alliance for reform and
Democracy in asia.39 She has also been vocal in advocating the necessity of
involving more women in Cambodian politics and criticising the attitude of
male Cambodian politicians, including her own husband, Sam rainsy:
I am now fighting a double battle: one for democracy and freedom for all
Cambodians against dictators, and one for better recognition of the contri-
bution of female activists within the party, against my own colleagues and
friends. I try to convince my male colleagues and party leaders, not to forget
my dear husband, Madame Chair, that freeing political leadership will bring a
beneficial evolution for both men and women.40
In the same speech she stated that she would establish her own political party
for women eventually, but the first priority for all Cambodian politicians was
to ensure ‘the basic rights for Cambodians of both sexes’. In 1998, a woman
named Noun Bunna established the Cambodian’s Women’s party. Interviewed
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 Lost Goddesses

in 2002, she claimed that by 2013 the Cambodian Women’s party would ‘be-
come the leading, ruling party and I will become prime minister’.41
the Cambodian women’s movement has devised its own strategies for
‘encouraging’ women to participate more in the political life of their nation.
One of these is to emphasise the equality between men and women, down-
playing the hostility of individual male politicians toward activities that may
be construed as ‘feminist’ and therefore un-Cambodian:
Weak women make the younger generation weak, thus affecting half the total
population since women account for fifty percent of the country’s population …
. a nation or government with men who do not understand women, might have
families in which spouses disagree with one another or with spouses disgracing
their children … . the objective of this publication is to encourage women to
be firm and to upgrade their capacities and abilities to a new status where men
will understand and help promote women as their equal partners. 42
another strategy for augmenting the number of women in public life has been
to point out past involvement of women in times of crisis and their subse-
quent relegation to supporting roles, citing slogans such as ‘riding a buffalo to
cross a muddy field’ (riding a buffalo at any other time would invite ridicule)
and drawing readers’ attention to the fact that women ‘were actively involved
in wars during the times of Banteay Srei, the US imperialists and the Khmer
rouge. Why then, can women not participate in the commune election?’43
Cambodian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focussing on wo-
men’s issues and human rights were established in 1993 and 1994, and these
were vocal in demanding the enforcement of legal protections for women. In
1995, there were sufficient local NGOs to warrant the establishment of the
amara Women’s Network, an umbrella organization that oversaw dialogue
and co-ordination of activities, particularly at the village and commune level.
Members of Cambodian Women against Violence founded the Women’s
Media Centre in 1995. the same year, Koh Kor Island, a resettlement pro-
gram for abused women, was established. the women-run community sup-
ported itself through farming and sewing and elected its own leaders annually.
Khemara also began running outreach workshops for sex workers at this time.
In October 1996 the Khmer Women’s Voice Centre conducted a grassroots
national training programme in women and family law. the Khmer Women’s
Voice Centre began publishing an eponymous bilingual magazine each
month in 1998. articles included summaries of women’s advocacy activities,

276
 Contemporary Conspiracies

Fig. 11.2: Cartoon in Khmer Women’s Voice Center Magazine.

training programmes, and comments by politicians and activists (see Fig.

11.2). the Women’s Media Center of Cambodia established radio WMC in
2000 in order ‘to raise awareness of social issues in Cambodia and to improve
the situation of women for the benefit of Cambodian society’. Young women
have been a particular target for rights awareness and initiatives. the non-
governmental organization Vulnerable Children assistance Organisation ini-
tiated a project that re-trained liberated child domestic workers, the majority
of whom are girls, in skills such as hairdressing.44
a number of NGOs with women’s issues as their focus trained women
candidates in topics germane to political participation, including electoral
process and decentralisation, prior to the commune elections in 2003.45
Women in prosperity was described in 2000 as the first organisation ‘com-
mitted to helping women in political positions to develop skills and gain the
courage to take the candidacy and become members of the parliament and
the senate’, including leadership training project for women candidates in
all three political parties.46 On 25 February 2000 the gender unit of Khmer
Women’s Voice Center, led by Koy Veth, in cooperation with the Ministry
for Women’s and Veteran’s affairs, laid sixteen proposals before the Senate
and the royal Government of Cambodia concerning ‘the strengthening of

277
 Lost Goddesses

women’s power, promoting women to assume mid-level positions and creat-

ing favourable conditions for equality and equity’. the proposals included
the organisation of gender training courses in all localities to promote the
understanding of the population in general, the introduction of gender issues
into school curriculum, the establishment of dormitories for female students
and the provision that 30 per cent of the candidacy will be women standing
for the commune elections. a fortnight later, on 6 March, a rally of over 200
representatives from national and international NGOs, United Nations agen-
cies, and government bodies marched from the Independence Monument to
the National assembly, where they presented proposals advocating women’s
rights to prince ranariddh. On 28 March 2000 prime Minister hun Sen
granted an audience to representatives of women’s non-governmental organi-
zations and rights groups who were asking for a quota of female candidates.
the prime Minister, however, favoured the ‘encouragement’ of women rather
than a quota system.47
©
Gender identity, particularly female, is intricately bound up with ideas of
culture and tradition, and resistance to change in this area is therefore con-
nected to notions of ethnicity and nationalism. this is not, of course, a pecu-
liarly Cambodian phenomenon; across the region, when ‘women embrace
alternative gender roles and openly express their sexual autonomy, existing
power relations are destabilized’. Cambodians find any assault on practices
or beliefs regarded as ‘traditional’ particularly difficult to countenance due to
the reconfiguration of Cambodian society during the Khmer rouge period.
relinquishing Cambodian customs that have been resurrected since 1979,
especially those that dictate one’s correct place in the complicated social
hierarchy, is perceived as inviting chaos. politicians criticise and delay the
ratification of legal instruments that will afford women greater protections as
‘they will be so happy with their freedom that they [will] not respect ancient
Cambodian customs’. periodic crackdowns on sex workers are carried out as
too great a presence will adversely affect the good reputation of Cambodia.
In any case, there is a widespread belief amongst Cambodians that all sex
workers in Cambodia are Vietnamese, as ‘Khmer women are thought to keep
up certain moral ideals, which are different (or non-existent) for Vietnamese
women’. advertising and television programming reinforce ‘traditional’ stereo-

278
 Contemporary Conspiracies

Fig. 11.3: postcard on sale in the central post office in phnom penh, December 2005.

types of gender roles wherein women are relegated to the domestic sphere
(see Fig. 11.3); the correct observance of their role therein ensures the har-
mony of Cambodian society.48 Deviation from these ‘traditional’ roles, it is
implied, will bring about another catastrophic inversion of Cambodian soci-
ety. Yet the ‘tradition’ of female powerlessness is false, constructed out of bias
and perpetuated by those who have dismissed the significance of women in
Cambodia’s past and ignored evidence for their consequence in the present.

Notes to Chapter 11
1 articles 31, 34–36, 43, 45–46, 50, and 73 of the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of
Cambodia, in raoul M. Jennar, The Cambodian constitutions (1953–1993), Bangkok:
White Lotus, 1995, pp. 12–13, 15–16, 19; astrid aafjes and Bama athreya, Working women
in Cambodia, phnom penh: asian american Free Labor Institute, 1996, p. 6; Women: Key

279
 Lost Goddesses

to national reconstruction, phnom penh: Secretariat of State for Women’s affairs, Kingdom
of Cambodia, 1995, p. 3. the Secretariat admitted in 1995 that these objectives ‘may be
difficult to achieve given the Secretariat of State for Women’s affairs received only 0.12 per
cent of the 1994 national budget’ (Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 29).
2 pierre Bourdieu, Masculine domination, trans. richard Nice, Stanford, California:
Stanford University press, 2001, pp. 93–94.
3 article 16 of the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, in Constitutions
of Cambodia, p. 10. the throne of Cambodia was once again occupied by Norodom
Sihanouk when the Kingdom was officially reconstituted; his favourite consort, princess
Monique as was, took the reign-name Queen Monineath in order to eradicate her non-
Cambodian background. article 16 is interesting. Should it be read as a pre-emptive
strike against the possibility of Monique reigning in the event of her husband’s death, the
legacy of her unsavoury reputation as the root cause of Cambodia’s social ills in the late
1960s, or plain gender discrimination?
4 Women: Key to national reconstruction, pp. 17–19; Gender in election and female leadership
at the communal level, phnom penh: Women’s Media Centre, 2000, p. 7; Katarina Larsson,
Country gender profile: Cambodia, report for the asia Department, Swedish International
Development agency, 1996, p. 18; Xinhua New agency, 6 September 2000. No data was
available for Under-Secretaries of State in 2006.
5 Julio a. Jeldres, The royal house of Cambodia, phnom penh: Monument Books, 2003, pp.
85–86, 94; Gender in election, p. 8
6 Mark r. thompson, ‘Female leadership of democratic transitions in asia’, Pacific Affairs
75, 4 (Winter 2002/2003), p. 538; Mona Lilja and tevy prom, ‘Female politicians in
Cambodia’, in John L. Vijghen (ed.), People and the 1998 national elections in Cambodia:
Their voices, roles and impact on democracy, phnom penh: experts for Community
research, 2002, pp. 50–51.
7 Gender in election, p. 15.
8 this dichotomy is not, of course, limited to the Cambodian context.
9 Fieldnotes, 2003, 2005, 2006; see also aing Sokroeun, ‘a comparative analysis of tra-
ditional and contemporary roles of Khmer women in the household: a case study in
Leap tong village’, Ma thesis, royal University of phnom penh, 2004, p. 67; annuska
Derks, ‘the broken women of Cambodia’, in evelyne Micllier (ed.), Sexual cultures in
East Asia: The social construction of sexuality and sexual risk in a time of AIDS, London:
routledgeCurzon, 2004, pp. 127–155; annuska Derks, ‘Khmer women on the move:
Migration and urban experiences in Cambodia’, phD thesis, University of amsterdam,
2005; Mark Bray and Seng Bunly, Balancing the books: Household financing of basic educa-
tion in Cambodia, hong Kong: Comparative education research Centre, the University
of hong Kong and the World Bank, 2005, p. 55.
10 Fieldnotes, 2006. Female perspectives on this were also low; 20 per cent of university
students and 9 per cent of unskilled workers thought it was acceptable for women to have
affairs after they were married.

280
 Contemporary Conspiracies

11 Gender in election, p. 7.
12 Field research conducted in 2006 showed 74.14 per cent of participants experienced this
in their family (fieldnotes, 2005, 2006; see also aing Sokroeun, ‘a comparative analysis
of traditional and contemporary roles of Khmer women in the household’, p. 48; audrey
riffaud, ‘Contextual and cultural pressures in development projects implemented by
GtZ in Cambodia’, Masters thesis, Université La Sorbonne-paris IV, 2006, p. 24).
13 Fieldntoes, 2005, 2006.
14 Fieldnotes, 2005, 2006; see also rebecca Surtees, ‘rape and sexual transgression in
Cambodian society’, in Linda rae Bennett and Lenore Manderson (eds), Violence against
women in Asian societies, London: routledgeCurzon, 2003, p. 107.
15 In any case rape is seldom reported due to lack of trust in law and order. See Caroline
hughes, The political economy of Cambodia’s transition, 1991–2001, London; New York:
routledgeCurzon, 2003, p. 56.
16 Derks, ‘the broken women of Cambodia’, p. 137; fieldnotes, 2005.
17 this is based upon nearly 200 interviews conducted as part of the Buddhist Institute
project 4 in 2005 and 2006. See trudy Jacobsen et al., The situation of daun chi in
Cambodia, phnom penh: Buddhist Institute, 2006.
18 Interviews of the project 4: Gender and Buddhism, 2005–2006, BtB-DC6.
19 annuska Derks found that in 2001 garment factories in phnom penh employed over
200,000 people, of which between 80 and 90 per cent were women (Khmer women on
the move, p. 113).
20 a srei beer said in 2002 ‘Whether I should vote is not important, because no political
party is going to improve our living conditions … . We are beer girls and we will re-
main beer girls’. ‘You can say that again – 2002’s quotable quotes’, Phnom Penh Post, 20
December 2002–2 January 2003, p. 14.
21 helen Jenks Clarke, ‘research for empowerment in a divided Cambodia’, in Marie
Smyth and Gillian robinson (eds), Researching violently divided societies: Ethical and
methodological issues, tokyo; New York; paris: United nations University press; London:
pluto press, 2001, p. 96.
22 Louise Brown, Sex slaves: The trafficking of women in Asia, London: Virago, 2001, p. 126;
fieldnotes, 2005.
23 Fieldnotes, 2005; 8 March, phnom penh: Khmer Women’s Voice Centre, 1998, p. 9. See
also Brown, Sex slaves, p. 131; Gender and behaviour towards love, phnom penh: Women’s
Media Centre, 2000, p. 27. For a thai parallel see Nerida Cook, ‘‘Dutiful daughters’, es-
tranged sisters: Women in thailand’, in Krishna Sen and Maila Stivens, Gender and power
in affluent Asia, London: routledge, 1998, p. 260.
24 ‘Moto’ or ‘moto-dup’, are the main form of public transport in urban areas in Cambodia.
Drivers convey passengers and goods on a medium-sized motorcycle for an agreed price.
25 Fieldnotes, 2001, 2006; Brown, Sex slaves, pp. 137, 139; Chou Meng tarr and peter
aggleton, ‘’Sexualising’ the culture(s) of young Cambodians: Dominant discourses and

281
 Lost Goddesses

social reality’, in Sorn Samnang (ed.) Khmer studies: Knowledge of the past and its con-
tributions to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Cambodia:Proceedings of International
Conference on Khmer Studies, Phnom Penh, 26–30 August 1996, phnom penh: Sorn
Samnang, 1996, vol. 2, pp. 1031–1032, 1035; Bourdieu, Masculine domination, p. 52; ‘You
can say that again! – 2002’s quotable quotes’, Phnom Penh Post, 20 December 2002–2
January 2003, p. 14; peter S. hill and heng thay Ly, ‘Women are silver, women are
diamonds: Conflicting images of women in the Cambodian print media’, Reproductive
Health Matters 12, 24 (2004), p. 111.
26 In 1999 a rumour was circulated to the effect that the royal palace had become inhabited
by ‘an evil god demanding thousands of long-haired virgin girls’; the implication was that
the ‘inhabitant’ (the king) was old, ailing and impotent. his political opinions, therefore,
could carry no weight. It is probably no accident that this rumour was documented on
the Cpp website (www.cambodianpeopleparty.org/29-02-00.htm).
27 Fieldnotes, 2003, 2006; see also Brown, Sex slaves, pp. 118–199, 120. Lisa Law also
found that ‘sex workers do not conceive their encounters with foreign men in strictly
oppressive terms’ (Lisa Law, Sex work in Southeast Asia: The place of desire in a time of
AIDS, abingdon, Oxon: routledge, 2000, p. 121).
28 this was also what Mona Lilja and tevy prom found in their study (‘Female politicians
in Cambodia’, pp. 48–49.
29 hill and heng, ‘Women are silver, women are diamonds’, p. 108.
30 Gender in election, pp. 16–17, 24.
31 Maria Mies, Patriarchy and accumulation on a world scale: Women in the international divi-
sion of labour, London and atlantic highlands, New Jersey: Zed Books, 1986, p. 193;
elizabeth Fuller Collins, ‘(re)negotiating gender hierarchy in the New Order: a South
Sumatran field study’, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 37, 2 (1996), p. 130; tioulong Saumura,
‘Gender, security and human rights: the case of Cambodia’, speech presented at the 14th
Asia-Pacific Roundtable, 3–6 June 2000, Kuala Lumpur. available at www.samrainsyparty.
org/national_assembly/KL_ISIS_CONF_JUNe2000_ts_speech.html.
32 Fieldnotes, 2001; Maureen h. Fitzgerald et al., Hear our voices: Trauma, birthing and
mental health among Cambodian women, paramatta, NSW: transcultural Mental health
Centre, 1998, p. 51.
33 Fieldnotes, 2003, 2005, 2006; see also Derks, ‘the broken women of Cambodia’, p. 151,
and Leviseda Douglas, Sex trafficking in Cambodia, Clayton, Victoria: Monash University
Centre of Southeast asian Studies Working paper 122, 2003, p. 6.
34 ‘See audrey riffaud: ‘Foreigners have de facto a power since they are associated to
people having knowledge, resources and money’ (Contextual and cultural pressures in
development projects implemented by GtZ in Cambodia, p. 22).
35 Flora Stubbs, ‘pageant strives to open door for all Cambodian women’, Cambodia Daily,
Wednesday, December 11, 2002, p. 20.
36 See for example Judy Ledgerwood, Analysis of the situation of women in Cambodia:
Research on women in Khmer society, UNICeF consultancy report, phnom penh, February–

282
 Contemporary Conspiracies

June 1992; Siobhan Gorman with pon Dorina and Sok Kheng, Gender and development
in Cambodia: An overview, phnom penh: Cambodia Development resource Institute,
Working paper 10, 1999.
37 Gorman et al., Gender and development in Cambodia, p. 6; Larsson, Country gender profile,
p. 25.
38 Gender in election, p. 20.
39 Gender in election, pp. 19–20. ‘Women leaders’, www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/cambo/
cmbdleads.html.
40 tioulong Saumura, ‘Gender, security and human rights’.
41 tioulong Saumura, ‘Gender, security and human rights’; Vanphone phomphipak and
Sun heng, ‘Women’s party takes single-minded approach to winning’, Light of the voters,
www.ijf-cij.org/folder_file_for_cambodia/9.htm. this party, although still in existence,
has not achieved much of a following in terms of voter turnout.
42 Gender in election, p. 2.
43 Gender in election, p. 17.
44 Fieldnotes, 2001; Women: Key to national reconstruction, p. 3; Kate Frieson, In the shad-
ows: Women, power and politics in Cambodia, Victoria, British Columbia: Centre for asia-
pacific Initiatives Occasional paper No. 26, University of Victoria, 2001, p. 16; aafjes
and athreya, Working women in Cambodia, p. 3; Charlotte McDonald-Gibson, ‘the bleak
and lonely world of child servants’, Phnom Penh Post, 3–16 January 2003, p. 12; Larsson,
Country gender profile, p. 25; David Kihara and phann ana, ‘program lets women regain
control of lives’, Cambodia Daily, thursday, March 8, 2001, pp. 1, 9; 8 March, p. 11;
KWVC, Women and family law: October 96–March 97 advocacy project report, phnom
penh: Khmer Women’s Voice Center, 1997; Women.s Media Centre of Cambodia informa-
tion leaflet, phnom penh, 2001.
45 Manila Vanthanouvong and Sak Linda, ‘Women moving toward power’, Light of the vot-
ers, www.ijf-cij.org/folder_file_for_cambodia/8.htm
46 the Women’s association for peace and Development had similar proposals in process
in 2000. See Gender in election, pp. 19–20.
47 Gender and behaviour towards love, pp. 35–37; Gender in election, p. 11.
48 Gorman et al., Gender and development in Cambodia, p.1; Frieson, In the shadows, p. 17;
Bennett and Manderson, ‘Introduction: Gender inequality and technologies of violence’,
p. 11; hill and heng, ‘Women are silver, women are diamonds’, p. 109; Derks, Khmer
women on the move, pp. 122, 125; Larsson, Country gender profile, pp. 20–21.

283
 C h a p t e r t W e LV e

Goddesses Found

T his book began by asking a number of questions.

Who or what is responsible for the denial of female
power in Cambodian history? have Cambodian
women ever been powerful? If so, when did this begin to change,
and by what agency? having examined the political, social and
ideological status of different categories of women throughout
Cambodian history, it is now possible to suggest some answers.
Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the women in
the upper echelons of society, namely the royal families and the
nobility, took an active role in court politics. the daughters of
kings were believed to embody the land into which they were
born; thus princes from other places would travel to their brides’
kingdoms and through union with them would access the right
to rule. exigent circumstances at times led some of these women
to rule alone, as we have seen in the cases of Jayadevi and the
Śambhupura queens in the seventh and eighth centuries, the
two ‘breakaway’ queens of the eighteenth centuries, and ang
Mei in the nineteenth century. although autonomous queens
were not the norm, they did receive sufficient support from
the oknha that allowed them to reign. Similarly, other queens
and princesses of the middle period, such as Devikhsatri, ang
Chuv and ang Li, were able to draw upon the support of their
clients to overthrown unpopular kings. elite women were thus
critical members of the intricate khsae system upon which po-
litical power in the Cambodian past rested. Wealthy women

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 Goddesses Found

made donations and participated in ceremonies, whether Brahmanical or

Buddhist; others ‘entered into religion’ as kantai kloñ and nuns; still others
joined their menfolk as temple officiants responsible for the maintenance of
cults and indentured servants tending the lands and enterprises associated
with particular religious establishments. Women and men beyond the palace
were treated equally in law, with special protections for young women in
the event of seduction and ill-treatment at the hands of their masters and
husbands. although epigraphy and codes of conduct after the ninth century
began to reflect a lessening of importance and agency for women, these were
ideals rather than a true reflection of Cambodian society.
the nineteenth century is a pivotal one for understanding how female
power came to be denied in modern Cambodia. If we are to accept the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as indicative of ‘traditional’
Cambodia, then a holistic overview, sourced from folktales and observers’ ac-
counts, is one of egalitarianism and agency for women. Yet the literature that
has been taken to represent an accurate picture of Cambodian society at this
time is the genre to which texts such as the Cbpab Srei belongs, in which female
sexuality is regarded as dangerous and female autonomy anathema. these
texts, authored by conservative men, at first did not permeate Cambodian
society beyond a literary appreciation at court. Similarly, the court chronicles
written (and those of earlier reigns revised) during this period, reflected the
perspective of the king who had emerged as the victor from the civil instabil-
ity of the first half of the nineteenth century: ang Duong. as the histories of
Cambodia written during the colonial period did not reflect upon possible
biases in authorship, and the inculcation of critical faculties in colonial sub-
jects was contrary to French interests, successive generations of Cambodians
came to believe that female inferiority and passivity were characteristics of
the Cambodian past. ang Duong and his reign became associated with the
period of Cambodian history between Vietnamese domination and the im-
position of colonialism; in other words, a Cambodian society free of external
interference. the texts and histories of elite authors, and thus the perspec-
tives on correct action for men and women therein, were considered more
important than folktales, and it was to the former that Cambodians turned
when searching for a national cultural identity free of colonial interference.
the powerlessness and subservience taken to be ‘traditional’ for
Cambodian women is based upon a false premise. Yet it is this role that

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 Lost Goddesses

has become identified as ‘correct behaviour’ in the minds of generations of

Cambodians and which has constrained women from accessing a greater
share of positions in public life. as modernisation began to impact upon
Cambodian society in the 1950s and 1960s, women were charged with
guardianship of the Cambodian past; any attempt to move beyond the param-
eters of a srei krup leakkhana was perceived as a threat to Cambodian culture.
even when mobilised in the course of patriotic and revolutionary activities,
women were expected to fulfil ‘traditional’ roles that tied them to domestic
rather than national concerns, and for many Cambodians in the 1990s the
re-establishment of society after decades of civil war meant a return to the
gender roles set out in Cbpap Srei and its ilk. Women, not men, are entrusted
with the continuation of Cambodian culture. as Kate Frieson has said,
the imprint of Khmer nationalism, with racial survival as its leitmotif, is
embossed on all nationalist movements, in and out of power, and as such, it has
placed an onerous burden on women to be the Khmer nation’s reproducers,
its ideological protectors, and its cultural guardians – sometimes with tragic
results.1
Cambodians must now choose whether to continue to accept this false
‘tradition’ that relegates over half the population to inferior positions in society
and legitimises violence and discrimination against them. there comes a time
when all traditions must be reappraised. Some Cambodians are questioning
the relevance of the Cbpab Srei to modern life, acknowledging that ‘old ideas’
on good conduct, written in the nineteenth century, will make it difficult to
improve the status of women in the future.2 there are other indications of a
positive change in social attitude towards women. Some feel that the events
of 5 and 6 July 1997 ‘would not have seen bloodshed if women had been the
political leadership’. this attitude has been fostered by new slogans devised
by people involved in women’s issues advocacy, such as ‘Man is one hand,
woman is the other: Cambodia uses both hands to build the nation!’ and
‘Women in power means that the country is powerful’. Women have been
described as better at conflict resolution and implementing initiatives than
men; they have also been described as less corruptible.3
In the supernatural world, however, female power has retained its
significance throughout the historical period. the legendary ruler of the earliest
Cambodian kingdom was an unmarried warrior queen; her legacy is apparent
in the many autonomous goddesses such as Durga Mahishasuramardani of the
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 Goddesses Found

earliest period. although independent representations of goddesses waned in

the ensuing period, the supernatural significance of women continued in the
cult of the kanlong kamraten an and the many neak ta, me sa, and brai who
pervade the Cambodian past and remain firmly entrenched in the lives of
most Cambodians today.4 the Naga king regularly manifests himself in kru
as Neang Nak, ‘Lady Naga’; other popular spirits are parvati, Srei Khmau,
preah Dharani and Umavati, believed to be the sister of Soma, the original
ruler of Cambodia. Didier Bertrand has found that the majority of rup are
women.5 perhaps, instead of looking for ‘significance’ of women in political
office, we should be looking to the unseen world that has far more resonance
for everyday life in Cambodia than the abstract decisions of an elite governing
body.
Masculine domination, as pierre Bourdieu described it, is a ‘paradox of
doxa’ in which it is astonishing that
the established order, with its relations of domination, its rights and
prerogatives, privileges and injustices, ultimately, perpetuates itself so easily,
apart from a few historical accidents, and that the most intolerable conditions
of existence can so often be perceived as acceptable and even natural.6
the reluctance of Cambodians today to abolish customs, particularly gender
roles, that they believe are cornerstones of Cambodian ‘tradition’ is under-
standable. the last time Cambodian society was radically inverted, between
1975 and 1979, roughly 2.5 million people died. ‘tradition’ is also a conven-
ient scapegoat upon which to blame poor performance in terms of human de-
velopment indicators, such as low female literacy and high levels of violence
against women. But traditions that are detrimental to over half the population
cannot continue to be upheld. people often cite the Cambodian adage ‘Men
are like gold, women are like white cotton’. this is understood as saying that
gold (read: men) can be dropped in mud and washed clean, whereas white
cotton (read: women), once ‘soiled’, loses its value. this is an obvious com-
ment upon autonomy for women and legitimises limiting opportunities for
female empowerment. Yet there are alternative interpretations of the relative
merits of gold and cloth. White cotton, even when it is stained, is still use-
ful. It can tie things together, transport them, thresh grain, polish, clean, and
cover people for warmth. It can keep out the rain and protect from the sun.
Gold, on the other hand, is practically useless in real terms; it is put away for
safekeeping and brought out to exchange for other, more useful goods.
287
 Lost Goddesses

Cambodian women in the past have been valued by their societies. Some
have led rebellions and instigated revolts. there is no doubt that women
were busily employed behind the scenes of palace life – whether they were
machinating successions, conferring legitimacy, or involved in diplomacy
– and working side-by-side with their menfolk in the less ostentatious, but
equally important, surroundings of the ricefields. Women may not have been
required to perform corvée labour to the same extent as men; on the other
hand, we know that Cambodian women and men were required to accom-
pany the thai army to Burma in the eighteenth century in order to mill rice
for the troops. the different roles that men and women undertook in agricul-
ture, animal husbandry, and family life do not mean that one was valued more
highly than another. the continued effort of all was necessary for the assured
good fortune of the family, the village, society, and ultimately the kingdom,
whether this activity took place in the economic realm, where the marketing
skills of women were key, in an ideological sense, wherein the performance
of certain rituals by women ensured peace and prosperity, or the political
sphere, in which the association between women and the land was of para-
mount importance for would-be male rulers. the importance of women in
the Cambodian past can be discerned from the creation mythology, the legal
codes protecting women’s interests and rights, and the continued presence of
female power in supernatural space, unbroken for centuries.
to deny women a similar value in the Cambodian present is to perpetu-
ate the interpretation of history by elite Cambodian men who had their own
reasons for perhaps resenting and controlling women, and the mistaken as-
sumptions of colonial-era historians as they ‘discovered’ the Cambodian past
through the texts of these authors. In any case, assuming that a female presence
(or lack thereof) in political representation is indicative of gender equality is
to perpetrate Western meanings of power in a non-Western context. this is
not to suggest that it is ‘un-Cambodian’ for women to seek to act as repre-
sentatives for like-minded men and women in 21st-century Cambodia. Yet
until Cambodians realise that letting go of elements of presumed ‘traditional’
culture will not result in cultural extermination we must look beyond political
office for signs of female power in Cambodia. the supernatural world – ig-
nored by most Western historians and political scientists – is omnipresent in
Cambodian society. In every home, meba p’dteah are offered fruit or rice daily.
Yeay Deb and other neak ta live on in wats and sacred places. Brai and ap stalk

288
 Goddesses Found

the night seeking fulfilment in bloody revenge for real or imagined slights.
preah Dharani stands proudly at the gates of the Ministry of Water resources
and Meteorology (see Fig. 12.1), on her roundabout near the Olympic mar-
ket, and in countless wat murals. the significance and relevance of the female
in this sphere – arguably the one of most resonance for Cambodians – has
never been diminished, despite repeated assaults on the role of women in the
tangible world by imported ideologies that relegated women to inferior and
dependent positions. It is here that we should look for the empowerment
of women in Cambodia, in a culturally context-specific locale rather than a
hybrid interpretation of misogynist perspectives foisted upon Cambodian
culture by foreigners for over a millennium.
Cambodian goddesses were never lost; we simply have been looking for
them in the wrong places.

Fig. 12.1: Statue of preah Dharani, phnom penh.

289
 Lost Goddesses

Notes to Chapter 12
1 Kate Frieson, In the shadows: Women, power and politics in Cambodia, Victoria, British
Columbia: University of Victoria Centre for asia-pacific Initiatives Occasional paper 26,
2001, p. 17.
2 aing Sokroeun, ‘a comparative analysis of traditional and contemporary roles of Khmer
women in the household: a case study in Leap tong village’, Ma thesis, royal University
of phnom penh, 2004, p. 74; editorial, The Mirror 7, 315 (2003), p. 1; Frieson, In the
shadows, pp. 16–17; Kek Galabru, The situation of women in Cambodia, phnom penh:
LIChaDO (Cambodian League for the promotion and Defense of human rights), July
2004, pp. 31–32.
3 8 March, phnom penh: Khmer Women’s Voice Centre, 1998, p. 15; Gender in election and
female leadership at the communal level, phnom penh: Women’s Media Centre, 2000, pp.
10, 28, 30.
4 ashley thompson, ‘Introductory remarks between the lines: Writing histories of Middle
Cambodia’, in Barbara Watson andaya (ed), Other past: women, gender and history in early
modern Southeast Asia, honolulu: University of hawai‘i press, 2001, pp. 47–68.
5 Didier Bertrand, ‘a medium possession practice and its relationship with Cambodian
Buddhism: the grū pāramī’, in John Marston and elizabeth Guthrie (eds), History,
Buddhism, and new religious movements in Cambodia, honolulu: University of hawai‘i
press, 2004, pp. 153, 159.
6 pierre Bourdieu, Masculine domination, trans. richard Nice, Stanford, California:
Stanford University press, 2001, p. 1.

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BEFEO Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient
EFEO École Française d’Extrême-Orient
JGIS Journal of the Greater India Society
JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
JSEAS Journal of Southeast Asian Studies
JSS Journal of the Siam Society

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319
 Index

Index

adthipul (supernatural energy), 142. aninditapura, 18, 23, 26, 29, 50, 64
See also power apsara (celestial female spirit), 45, 256.
adultery, 65, 100–101, 129 n.41. See See also devata
also divorce; marriage arhat (person of advanced spiritality),
ak yeay chastum (elderly women of 80
the palace), 91, 94. See also court; aymonier, Étienne, 150
women of the palace
alliances, 29, 33–34, 48–49, 60, 66,
Baen (oknha), 89, 127, 141
89–91, 99–100, 188, 230
Baen (princess), 112–113
ancestors, 19, 31, 47, 57, 96, 99, 142,
149, 196. See also neak ta baramei (charisma), 6. See also power
andaya, Barbara Watson, 8, 100 bauk (gang rape), 265, 269
ang Chan (King), 110–112, 119, 126 Bhagavati, 51, 55, 64
nn.7–8. bhariya (wife), 78, 91, 95, 97. See also
ang Choulean, 141, 197 wives
ang Duong (King), 1, 109, 111–115, bhikkhuni (ordained nun), 65, 80, 196.
122 See also Buddhism; daun chi; nuns
and ‘golden age’, 182, 188–189, 209, blood, symbolism of, 68, 102, 139, 144
285 bodhisattva (Buddha-in-waiting), 22,
legitimacy of, 118, 121, 142, 58, 78, 122. See also Buddhism
misogyny of, 115, 117–119, 121, brai (female spirits), 140–141, 144,
125, 132, 147 197, 287–288. See also devata;
ang Mei (Queen), 111, 284 female spirits; K’mouch
negative attitudes towards, 114–115, Brahmans, 34, 48–49, 67, 75
117, 125
reign of, 112–116 Briggs, Lawrence palmer, 24, 27
angkar, 218, 221, 223–226, 228–229, Buddhism, 13, 23, 196, 249, 262
232 colonial period, 169, 189
middle period, 74–75, 78, 80–81,
angkor. See Yaśodharapura 83, 102

321
 Lost Goddesses

nineteenth century, 121, 123, 125 Chinese

see also bodhisattva; morality; nuns cultural influences, 3
bunn (merit), 6–7 merchants, 99, 134, 136
observers, 17–19, 22–23, 25, 34–36,
46, 48, 62–63, 65, 99. See also
cakravartin (‘Lord of the earth’), 6, 49, Zhou Daguan
60, 88, 154
chronicles, 9, 10, 75, 86–102 passim,
Cambodian history. See classical peri- 103 n.1, 113, 114, 115, 123–125,
od; colonial period; contemporary 132, 285. See also Ramayana
period; Democratic Kampuchea;
classical period, 9, 26, 42–73 passim, 83,
Khmer republic; Khmer rouge;
109, 120, 199. See also marriage;
middle period; nineteenth century;
pre-modern period; sexual relations
people’s republic of Kampuchea;
preclassical period; pre-modern Cœdès, George, 2, 9, 24, 37, 66
period; Sangkum period colonial period, 8, 10, 13, 79, 131, 144,
cbpab (code, law), 10, 13, 75–76, 148, 150–152, 154, 157, 160, 163,
78–80, 95–96, 99–103, 129 n.41, 170, 202, 285, 288
166–167, 170–171, 188, 209 French attitudes toward Cambodian
Cbpab Kerti Kal, 170 women, 175
Cbpab Khon Sala, 91, 96, 99, 107–108 policies, impact upon women, 157,
Cbpab Koan Cao, 104, 106 160–162, 173, 253
Cbpab Kram, 80, 106, 170 see also Buddhism; education; laws;
Cbpab Kram Chakrei, 87 marriage; Norodom; pre-modern
Cbpab Preah Rajasambhir, 83, 105 period
Cbpab Rajaneti, 104, 108 concubine, 34, 108 n.46. See also mar-
Cbpab Srei, 109, 119–122, 128 n.32, riage; sexual relations
170–172, 182, 188–189, 231, 246, contemporary period, 259–283 passim.
253, 264, 268, 286 See also Khmer rouge; marriage;
Cbpab Tous Bhariya, 95, 98, 118 morality; sexual relations
Cbpab Trineti, 78, 104
court, life at, 42, 84, 86, 91, 160. See
Cbpab Tumnam pi boran, 97–99
also Cham; elite women; women of
see also laws
the palace
Cham, 17–18, 28, 30–31, 48, 64, 84–85,
creation mythology, 1, 19–20, 46–49,
95, 105 n.19, 124, 143, 178 n.55
288
Cham women at the Cambodian
court, 105, 124, 129
dancers, 36, 45, 93, 154–159, 220
Champa, 28, 37 n.5, 43, 50, 76
daun chi (Buddhist nun), 81, 190,
Chandler, David, 2, 9, 20, 37 n.5, 69
196, 207, 248, 262, 266. See also
n.1, 81, 85, 105 n.20, 115, 126 n.7,
bhikkhuni; Buddhism; nuns
142, 184
Democratic Kampuchea, 11, 190, 206,
childbirth, 6, 61, 67, 99, 102, 133, 135,
218–233, 244, 246. See also Khmer
140, 160, 196–197, 218, 224
rouge; sexual relations
322
 Index

devadasi (temple slave), 65. See also French. See colonial period
slaves; Vietnamese Funan, 17–20, 22–23, 26, 33–34, 36,
devaraja (‘god-king’), 49, 56, 59 46–47, 59
devata (guardian spirit), 45. See also
brai; female spirits; spirits ghosts. See K’mouch
dharma (duty), 23, 75, 79, 81, 83, 123, goddesses, 20–22, 31, 36, 42–46, 51,
171 79, 197, 200–201, 286–287, 289
divorce, 101, 118, 136, 144, 186, 214
n.55, 245, 266. See also marriage inheritance, 33, 65, 91, 137
domestic violence, 11, 98, 118, 137, Islam, 75, 105 n.19, 124–125, 129 n.41
263–264
Durga Mahishasuramardani, 20–21, Jacob, Judith, 119, 135, 146
44–45, 51, 142, 286 Jacques, Claude, 25, 54, 179
Jayadevi (Queen), 23–27, 32, 34, 51,
education, 8–10, 13–14, 259, 262–263, 284
266 Jayavarman II (King), 28–31, 48–49,
colonial period, 148, 160, 163–171, 56, 61, 64
178 n.55
Jayavarman VII (King), 46–48, 56,
Khmer rouge, 219–221
58–59, 62, 67, 69
pre-modern, 42, 62, 75, 89
prK, 239, 242–246, 248, 253 joal m’lap (puberty ceremony), 133,
Sangkum period, 182, 185–190, 138–139, 144, 167
194, 196, 209, 212 n.22 Jyestha (Queen), 24, 27, 30
traditional, 119
edwards, penny, 150, 170, 179 n.64 kang chao (woman close to the king),
elections, 184–185, 194, 238, 245, 155, 160. See also court; women of
250–252, 260–262, 264, 276–278 the palace
elite women, 31, 33, 49, 53, 59–60, 81, kanlong kamraten an (deceased royal
131, 172, 191, 284. See also court; woman), 49–53, 55, 57–59, 66,
queens; women of the palace 287. See also court; women of the
palace
encongayment (temporary marriage),
151, 175 n.11, 178 n.55 Kaundinya, 20, 47–48, 59
Khieu ponnary, 169, 190, 205,
female spirits, 20, 141, 144, 197, 287. 232–233
See also brai; devata; K’mouch; Khieu thirith, 185, 190, 205, 223,
meba; neak ta 231–233
fidelity, 45, 67, 83, 94, 119, 129, 188, khmei khieu (diaspora Cambodians),
253, 264, 269 114, 246, 251, 253, 272
folktales, 13, 103 n.1, 131, 170, 188, Khmer republic, 11, 13, 181, 198–208,
209, 285 219, 222

323
 Lost Goddesses

Khmer rouge, 4, 6, 8, 11–13 early modern period, 88, 90–91, 93,

female leaders, 181 96–97, 100–102
gender policies, 218–220, 222, 225 Khmer rouge period, 223–224, 230
legacies in contemporary Cambodia, Sangkum period, 185–186, 188,
238, 243, 246, 255, 267, 276 192, 203
treatment of women, 227–233 temporary, 99–100, 102, 150–151,
see also Democratic Kampuchea; 173. See also encongayment
education; marriage; morality ‘traditional’ approaches to, 111, 129,
khsae (patron–client links), 7, 33, 84, 132–135, 138–139, 142
132, 138, 261, 284 see also concubine; sexual relations;
K’mouch (ghost), 196. See also brai; virginity
devata; female spirits matrilineal succession, 2, 31, 32, 35,
koan kroach (foetus talisman), 97, 135, 55–56, 63, 69
140, 197, 228 Me penh, 82
komlang (strength), 6. See also power me sa (powerful female spirit), 142,
Kossamak (Queen), 183–184, 197, 153, 287. See also female spirits
199, 201, 210 n.4 meba (ancestral spirits), 6, 96–97, 99,
Kulaprabhavati, 22–23, 32, 34 133, 238, 192, 265, 288. See also
female spirits
laws, 10, 13, 276, 278, 288 mediums. See rup
colonial era, 167, 185–186 middle period, 10, 32, 74–108 passim.
nineteenth century, 117–119, 125, See also marriage; pre-modern
136–137, 143 period
pre-modern period, 35, 87, 93–100 midwives, 60–61, 140, 160–162, 168,
Sangkum approach to, 191–192, 209 176–177 n.30, 187, 211 n.17, 224
Leclère, adhémard, 78, 121, 133, 135, mise en valeur (development), 156
151–152, 167, 173 mit neary (‘female comrade’), 204,
Ledgerwood, Judy, 3–4, 32, 119, 246, 219, 222–223, 229. See also Khmer
251, 253 rouge
lesbianism, 153 morality, 6, 192, 195, 200–201,
Liu Ye, 19, 33, 37 f.n., 47–48 208–209
Buddhist, 121, 151
marriage contemporary attitudes toward, 268,
classical Cambodia, 46–49, 54, 57, 278
60, 66–68 european, 159, 162, 166, 171–172
colonial period, 150–151, 155, Khmer rouge, 222–223, 228–229
158–159 Muslims. See Islam
contemporary attitudes toward, 242,
247, 253
nationalism, 8, 13, 171–173, 178 n.55,
early Cambodia, 27–31, 33–35, 40
278, 286
n.36
324
 Index

neak che deung (secular elite), 170 early Cambodia, 18–20, 22, 25, 30,
neak ta (ancestor spirits), 79, 105 n.19, 33–34
140–142, 144, 196–197, 287–288. evidence for traditional female
See also female spirits ideological, 131, 135, 139–143
female access to during the early
Neang Khmau, 20, 79
modern period, 84, 86–87, 93, 95,
nineteenth century, 109–147 passim. 103
See also ang Chan; ang Duong; political, 182–186, 230, 271, 278
ang Mei; cbpab; manifestations at angkor, 42, 45–47,
nuns, 65, 81, 165, 248, 262, 285. See 49, 60, 63
also bhikkhuni; Buddhism; daun chi rewriting histories to limit appear-
Norodom (King), 121, 132–133, 135, ance of, 120, 123, 125
142, 150, 153–155, 163, 175 n.21 see also adthipul; baramei; komlang;
Norodom Sihanouk (prince/King), neak ta; omnaich; selathoa
10, 114, 168, 171, 181, 249, 280. pre-modern period, 102. See also
See also Sangkum period classical period; education; laws;
marriage; middle period; preclassi-
oknha (lord), 77, 80, 81, 84–86, 89–90, cal period
93–95, 98–99, 110, 112–113, Preah Neang Dharani, 79, 196–197,
115–117, 123–124, 132, 141, 153, 287, 289
159, 170, 284 preclassical period, 1–3, 17–41 passim,
oknha suttanta prachea Ind, 122, 170 46–49, 64, 83. See also Funan; mar-
omnaich (influence), 6, 19, 22. See also riage; pre-modern period; Zhenla
power pregnancy, 6, 64, 97, 99, 133, 135,
140–141, 197, 223–224, 228, 232
people’s republic of Kampuchea, property, rights to, 30, 35, 42, 63, 66,
238–258 passim. See also education 68, 94, 134, 186, 262
phnom penh, 74, 76–77, 81, 84, prostitution. See sex work/sex workers
109–110, 113–116, 132, 149, 151,
158, 160–64, 167–169, 172, 181, queens, 22, 27–33, 42, 48–49, 60, 62,
189–91, 196–197, 202, 207–208, 71, 84, 91–93, 113, 131, 184, 184.
219, 223, 241–242, 244, 250, 252, See also ang Mei; elite women;
260–261, 264, 266–267, 269, 273 Jayadevi; Jyestha; Kossamak;
polygyny, 36, 148, 170, 175 n.13, 185, Vijayendralakshmi; women of the
231, 248 palace
porée-Maspero, evéline, 58–59
portuguese mercenaries, 86, 90, 99, Ramayana, 10, 75, 103 n.1, 157
123 rape, 95, 133, 192, 228, 252–253,
power, 271, 278, 285–286, 288 264–265, 268–269, 285. See also
cultural distinctions of, 2, 4–7, 9, bauk; sexual relations
12–14
325
 Lost Goddesses

religion, 13, 48, 64, 74–75, 80–81, 83, srei aht leakkhana (woman without
102, 105 n.19, 122, 129 n.41, 285. virtue), 264–267
See also Buddhism srei beer (waitress), 258 n.40, 267, 281
rup (medium), 143–144, 197–198, 287 n.20
srei kouch (prostitute), 265–267. See
Sangkum period, 11, 181–217 passim, also sexual relations
222. See also education; laws; srei krup leakkhana (woman of virtue),
marriage; sexual relations 189, 231, 259, 264–266, 286
sati (widow burning), 66–67. See also State of Cambodia, 248–249
widows
selathoa (moral virtue), 6. See also power traditional
sex work, 151, 192, 195, 207, 251–252, education, 166. See also education
263, 268, 270, 273, 278 literature, 170, 171, 182. See also
sex workers, 120, 151–152, 192, 195, cbpab; chronicles; sexual relations
207, 222, 226, 251, 253, 263–270, see also marriage; power; values
272, 276, 278
sexual relations United Nations transitional authority
constraints upon in traditional in Cambodia (UNtaC), 249
literature, 88, 94, 96–99, 101–103,
133–134, 140
values, traditional, 4, 13, 197, 253, 262,
contemporary attitudes toward, 252,
264, 271–272, 285
267–270, 272
construction of, 170–171, 182, 206,
in Democratic Kampuchea period,
208–209, 231, 246, 272, 278–279
228–230
early evidence for, 45, 60, 63 Vickery, Michael, 20, 25, 27, 32, 54, 59,
with foreigners, 150–152, 154–155 103 n.1, 189, 213 n.41, 223
premarital 97, 208, 263–264 Vietnamese
Sangkum-era attitudes toward, Cambodian construct of, 181, 189,
191–192 196, 199–202
see also concubine; lesbianism; rape; French preference for, 163, 168, 178
srei kouch; virginity n.55
sexuality, female, 42, 67, 119, 167, 188, involvement in Cambodian politics,
278, 285 89, 109–117, 124, 238–240, 242,
246–247, 251–253, 255 n.2, 256
slaves, 25, 27, 30, 33–37, 53, 62–64,
n.20
69, 76, 81, 83–85, 97–99, 108
slaves in early Cambodia, 64. See also
n.48, 115, 132–134, 152. See also
slaves
devadasi
Vijayendralakshmi (Queen), 45, 57–58
snang (lesser royal wife, assistant to
medium), 91–92, 94, 144, 147 n.34 virginity, 67, 83, 188, 191–192, 253,
262, 265, 270. See also marriage;
spirits. See brai; devata; K’mouch
sexual relations

326
 Index

widows, 23, 66–67, 85, 87, 92, 97, Yaśodharapura, 17, 42, 53–57, 59, 65,
101–102, 134, 136–137, 186, 241, 74
261. See also sati
wives, categories of, 22, 32, 34, 60, 78, Zhenla, 17–18, 25
94, 99–100, 107, 111, 135, 160,
Zhou Daguan, 46, 59–68, 81
186, 191, 263. See also bhariya;
marriage
Wolters, O.W., 8, 35
women of the palace, 34, 60–62, 69,
91, 93–94, 115, 152–55, 159–160,
173. See also ak yeay chastum;
court; elite women; queens

327
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