Khmer History, Mythology, Gods, Deities and Information

For thousands of years Indochina was isolated from the rest of the world. India and China ‘discovered’ Southeast Asia early in the first millennium and trade links were soon established. The Indian influence was particularly strong in the Mekong basin area. The Khmers adopted and adapted Indian script as well as their ideas on astrology, religion (Buddhism and Hinduism) and royalty. The indigenous cult of the mountain (the rulers of Funan called themselves ‘king of the mountain’) was strengthened by the sacredness that Hindus attributed to the Himalayas, the seat of the god Shiva. He was the third member of the trimurti, the triple form, also including Brahma, god of origin, and Vishnu, keeper of the world. Shiva dissolves the universe and allows its rebirth. The Indian influence gave rise to the legend from which Cambodia traces its historical origins. Kaundinya, an Indian Brahmin married Soma, the daughter of the Naga king ( see Naga information ) and their offspringfounded the ‘Lunar Dynasty’ of Funan.

FUNAN – the forerunner of Kambuja – was established on the Mekong in the middle of the 3 rd century and became the earliest Hindu state in Southeast Asia. Funan was known for its elaborate irrigation canals which controlled Mekong floodwaters and irrigated the paddy fields. By the 5 th century Funan’s influence covered most of present day Cambodia, Indochina and parts of the Malay peninsula. Leadership was measured by success in battle and the ability to protect your people. Rulers from the Funan period onward incorporated the suffix ‘varman’, which means ‘protector’, into their names. In the fifth century, after the death of king Rudravarman, the kingdom disintegrated. Khmer vassals of Funan founded an independent principality, Chenla, to the north of Tonle Sap, the great lake at the heart of present day Cambodia.

CHENLA – the ‘Solar Dynasty’. The people of Chenla – the Kambujadesha, or Kambuja literally meaning ‘land of the descendents of Kambu’ – lent their name to the country. The Kambu in question was a legendary hermit Kambu Svayambhuva, to whom Shiva gave the nymph Mera as his bride. Chinese chronicles relate that by the 8 th century a ‘land Chenla’ and a ‘water Chenla’ existed. The land Chenla was apparently united and centred around the ancient territories of Chenla (in present day southern Laos), while water Chenla was fragmented into numerous small states in an area that once constituted Funan. The main states of water Chenla were Shambhupura, Vyadhapura, south of Prei Veng, and Bhavapura, which was centred in Sambor Prei Kuk. Their affairs are described in ninth century inscriptions, but it is not known how historically accurate these are.

The situation in the southern part of Kambuja was influenced by raids by the Malays, and above all the advent of two great empires, the Shrivijaya Empire, which already controlled the straits from Sumatra in the 7 th century, and the Shailendra Empire in Java, whose power rapidly increased from 8 th century onwards. Water Chenla must have acknowledged the sovereignty of Java, and the Khmers remained under sovereignty until Jayavarman II (802-850), who changed the course of Cambodian history. The period from the fall of Funan until 8 th century is known as the Pre-Angkor period, and is a hazy period in Cambodian history.