Potao Ia
Jarai · mortal · Jarai traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
The Potao Ia, or King of Water, is the second of the Jarai sacral masters, traditionally drawn from the Ro-cham clan and paired with the Fire King as his ritual complement. Where the Fire King answers to the sun-warmed order of fire and the sacred blade, the Water King's rites bear on rain, springs, and the inundation of the fields. Like his senior he is a master of the yang rather than a chief, bound by taboo and consecrated for the welfare of the highland communities. Vietnamese chronicles from the eighteenth century onward name him alongside the Fire King as Thuy Xa, receiving and returning tribute across the frontier of the interior. The office is generally reckoned to have lapsed in the modern period.
Domains
- water
- rain
- sacral kingship
Powers
- summons rain and water
- mediates between people and the yang of the waters
Epithets
- Potao Ia — King of WaterDournes, Potao (1977). (primary)
- Thuy Xa — Lord of Water (Vietnamese court title)Le Quy Don, Phu bien tap luc (1776). (primary)
Relations
- ally: Potao ApuiJunior partner to the Fire King in the sacral order.Dournes, Potao (1977). (primary)
- ally: Potao AnginDournes, Potao (1977). (primary)
Sources
- The Potao Ia, or Water King, is the second Jarai sacral master, traditionally of the Ro-cham clan, whose rites govern rain and water and who complements the Fire King.: Dournes, Potao (1977). (primary); Hickey, Sons of the Mountains (1982). (secondary)