Naga Princess Queen of Funan
Khmer · demigod · founding of Funan, c. 1st century CE · Recorded classification
Progenitor demigod (naga-descended foundress). English description leads; native Soma / Neang Neak and the Chinese name Liǔyè ('Willow-leaf') in alt/transliterations. Her consort is Kaundinya / Preah Thong; the dynasty is matrilineal through her.
Domains
- serpent water lineage
- queenship and rule
Powers
- Weds the seafaring brahmin and founds the matriline of Funan
- Has her serpent-father drink the waters to bare the land of Kambuja
Epithets
- 柳葉 'Willow-Leaf' — the Chinese name for the Nāga princess foundress of FunanJin shu / Liang shu, accounts of Funan (primary)
Relations
- spouse: Brahmin Founder-King of Funan
Sources
- Soma (Chinese Liǔyè, Khmer Neang Neak), the naga princess who wed the brahmin Kaundinya, is the legendary founding queen of Funan recorded in Chinese annals and Khmer tradition.: Paul Pelliot, 'Le Fou-nan', Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient, vol. 3, 1903 (secondary); George Cœdès, The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, University of Hawai'i Press, 1968 (secondary)