The Kingdom of Stories: A Guide to the Folktales and Legends of Cambodia

The Kingdom of Stories: A Guide to the Folktales and Legends of Cambodia
Chapter One: The Serpent's Embrace: The Founding Myth of Preah Thong and Neang Neak At the very dawn of the Khmer people's history lies a beautiful and powerful origin story. It is not a tale of great wars or migrations, but an intimate, romantic, and deeply symbolic legend of a marriage between a foreign prince and a native serpent princess. This is the story of Preah Thong and Neang Neak, the foundational myth of the Cambodian nation. It is more than just a folktale; it is a sacred "charter myth," a sophisticated allegory that explains the unique, dual identity of Khmer culture, provides a divine origin for its monarchy, and establishes the profound, mystical connection between the Cambodian people and their land. This single story is the narrative bedrock upon which the Kingdom of Stories is built. The Arrival of the Prince from Across the Water The legend begins with an exiled Indian prince named Preah Thong. Having been cast out of his own great kingdom, he set sai…