The Whispering Stones: An Encyclopedia of Khmer Myths and Legends

The Whispering Stones: An Encyclopedia of Khmer Myths and Legends
Chapter 1: The Serpent's Gift: The Legend of the Creation of Cambodia Every culture possesses a foundational story, a creation myth that serves not as a literal history, but as a sacred charter, explaining a people’s origin, their intrinsic connection to their land, and the divine source of their identity. For the Khmer people, this story is a beautiful and potent legend that weaves together the themes of water, royalty, foreign encounter, and supernatural power. It is the story of a Naga princess and a Brahmin prince, whose union gave birth to the Cambodian nation. To understand this myth is to understand the symbolic bedrock upon which the entire Angkorian civilization was built. The tale begins with an Indian prince, a Brahmin known in Sanskrit history as Kaundinya and in Khmer legend as Preah Thong. He was a man of destiny, a skilled archer who set sail from a distant land, guided by a prophecy. His journey brought him to the shores of a strange island that would one day become …