Rice Goddess
Thai Lao · deity · pre Buddhist Tai agrarian folk religion; living cult · Recorded classification
Deity. English title leads; native Mae Phosop (แม่โพสพ) and the Lao Nang Khosop in alt/transliterations.
Domains
- rice and harvest
- fertility and abundance
Powers
- Embodies and safeguards the life-soul (khwan) of the rice crop
- Flees the fields when humans waste or disrespect the grain
Epithets
- แม่โพสพ 'Mother Phosop' — the rice goddessCentral Thai agrarian rice-soul (khwan khao) tradition (secondary)
Sources
- Mae Phosop is the Thai-Lao rice goddess, the soul of the rice crop, propitiated through the cycle of rice agriculture; her Lao counterpart is Nang Khosop.: Phya Anuman Rajadhon, 'Me Posop, the Rice Mother', Journal of the Siam Society, 1955 (secondary); Phya Anuman Rajadhon, Life and Ritual in Old Siam, HRAF Press, 1961 (secondary)