Khmer Words for Women-Sacred Terms from Cambodian History
This article is based on research presented by Trudy Jacobsen in her book “Lost Goddesses: The Denial of Female Power in the History of Cambodia“.
“Lost Goddesses” traces the trajectory of female influence in Cambodia from ancient to modern times. Immediately following her Preface, Dr. Jacobsen opened the book with a Glossary. The vocabulary that a society uses is an important indicator of values, priorities and beliefs. It therefore struck me as a practical, original and brilliant idea to first introduce the female-related terms that her investigation would include.
The list below includes Khmer, Pali, French and Sanskrit terms with English meanings. With the author’s kind permission, I extracted this list from the complete glossary that appears in “Lost Goddesses“. I have also augmented her list with a sampling of additional terms from the online Khmer-English dictionary at the Southeast Asian Language Library. I regret any mistakes or errors in my attempts to transliterate some of the additional terms. Note that this list is by no means exhaustive, nor is it a complete list of female related words in Khmer…but the words below are certainly explore some fascinating social, political and spiritual concepts.
Article by Kent Davis Khmer Words for Women-Sacred Terms from Cambodian History
Khmer Words About Women Khmer Words for Women-Sacred Terms from Cambodian History
| TERM | MEANING |
| a | prefix indicating that something is bad |
| adthipul | a supernatural energy manifested in spirits and practitioners of magic |
| akyeay chastum | elderly women of the palace |
| anuj khshatri | “young queen” |
| ap | witch |
| arhat | a person who is very spiritually advanced |
| Bhagavati | one of the names of Lakshmi |
| bhariya | wife |
| anuj bhariya | lesser or younger wife |
| jao bhariya | stolen wife |
| nea nea bhariya | wife through unusual circumstances |
| patoe kan bhariya | wife whose father has refused his consent |
| satru bhariya | enemy wife |
| sroengkar bhariya | (minor) wife of the king in the Middle Period |
| tean resey bhariya | wife through charity |
| bhikkhuni | ordained nun |
| Bodhisattva | a person with sufficient merit to enter Nirvana; a Buddha-in-waiting |
| bonne femme | good woman, good wife |
| boppha | 1. flower2. term of endearment, dear, darling |
| boppha veatay | menstruating, menstruating women |
| brai | female spirits, ghosts of dead women |
| araks brai | wild spirits, inclined toward evil |
| brai krala plerng | ghosts of women who died in childbirth |
| brai kramom | ghosts of women who died as virgins |
| cbpab | law; code of conduct |
| cpbab chah | ‘old cbpab’ written before c. 1790 |
| cbpab thmei | ‘new cbpab’, written after c. 1790 |
| chen-t’an | defloration ceremony observed by Zhou Daguan in the late thirteenth century |
| daun chi | Buddhist nun |
| devadasi | (female) slave of the gods; temple slave |
| devadhītā | Pali term for nymph, goddess, female divinity or angel, daughter of a god |
| devata | guardian spirit, often found at temple doors and archways |
| encongayment | term used to refer to temporary marriages between the French and local women in their colonies |
| guha | womb; inner sanctum of a temple complex |
| Heemeaheem | Hemavata, the Indian goddess Uma |
| huyen quart | Vietnamese title meaning ‘princess’ |
| hyang | title meaning ‘princess’ in early Cambodia |
| jamdev | title meaning ‘Lady’; female equivalent ofoknha |
| joal m’lap | ‘entering the shade’; ceremony marking the entrance of girls into womanhood |
| kaev hva | title of the Middle Period |
| kaakay | a female crow |
| Kaki | the name of the main character in a popular Cambodian folktale about a beautiful, but unfaithful woman |
| kalyaanay | 1. a beautiful woman2. to be exquisite, lovely, attractive (of women) |
| kamplang | 1. to be charming, fascinating, delightful, attractive, shapely2. beautiful charming women |
| kamratan an | title meaning ‘Holy, revered’ |
| kamraten jagat | ‘holy, revered god’ |
| kang chao | title given to women of the palace |
| kanlong kamraten an | title given to deceased women of the royal family during the Angkor period; also a cult devolving upon these women |
| kanlong theat | widow observing propriety |
| kantuel | type of earring formerly worn by Cambodian women, now only worn by dancers |
| kanyaa | 1. young woman, girl, unmarried girl, miss2. September – the sixth month of the Cambodian solar calendar, but the ninth month of the Western calendar (i.e. Virgo, the virgin) |
| kantai | woman, women |
| keareanee | wife, woman (poetic use) |
| khloh, khlon | title or reference to elite rank |
| khunpreah moneang | title given to women of the palace; denotes rank over others |
| k’mouch | ghost |
| koan | child, children |
| koan kroach | fetus that has been smoked over a ritual fire, worn as a talisman of protection |
| kolthida | a daughter of a respectable family, young woman |
| Kraak | the name of a malevolent spirit of a corrupt old woman who was in charge of preparing food for the royal family and monks in temples near the royal palace during the reign of King Monivong, 1927-1941 |
| krangam | to be attractive, of unusual beauty |
| kramom | virgin |
| krasean | 1. the price of a woman as determined by her age in ancient Khmer civil law, bride price2. very small handwriting; calligraphic style |
| krup leakkhana | ‘full of [good] qualities or virtues’ |
| ku | early Cambodian term meaning ‘woman’; also an honorific for non-elite women, including slaves |
| kuladhītā | Pali term for a daughter of a respectable family, young woman |
| kumtiev | 1. title given to the wives of high government officials holding the rank of minister, ambassador or higher2. title given by the king to a married woman |
| Lakshmi | Sanskrit term for Vishnu’s wife, goddess of beauty |
| Leaksmay | Vishnu’s wife, goddess of beauty; deities who give luck and wealth; luck; health; progress; prosperity; good personality; peace, calm, tranquility |
| matra-vamsa | matrilineal family |
| m’dey doeum | ‘original mother’, goddess who was one’s mother in a previous life |
| me | ‘mother’; also polite way to refer to a married woman |
| me kha | title given to wives who had been slaves |
| me kong | head of group |
| me sa | ‘White lady’; very powerful female spirit |
| me vat | head of wat (Buddhist temple) |
| meba | ancestral spirits, usually in the female line |
| meba p’dteah | ancestral spirits dwelling in the house |
| mekala | belt (according to Tandart, specifically a metal leaf used to hide the sexual parts of a young girl) |
| Mekala | name of the goddess of the sea |
| metis | term of the colonial period used to refer to children of mixed parentage wherein one parent was European |
| mise en valeur | term used to legitimate the French colonial presence |
| mission civilisatrice | the perceived responsibility countries of the French in modernizing the and peoples it colonized |
| mit neary | ‘female comrade’ |
| mit p’dai | ‘comrade husband’ |
| mit prapuan | ‘comrade wife’ |
| mohat | person indentured to serve the royal family |
| neak | people, person |
| neak che deung | ‘people who know knowledge’; group of secular elite patronized by the French |
| neak khlon | ‘people of the khlon’ |
| neak ta | ancestor spirits |
| neang | 1. Miss, title given to young women2. young woman3. the queen in chess |
| neang chi | Buddhist nun |
| Neang kmav | 1. Black Lady, epithet for the goddess Kali2. witch[with different prefixes]3. type of bush that grows in dense forests with medicinal roots used to treat digestive ailments (Microtopis discolor)4. type of tree with medicinal roots used to treat kidney ailments |
| nintrie teipii | Nidra (Indian goddess of sleep) |
| pangcapit kalyaanay | a woman who possesses the five beauties (beauty of hair, lips, teeth, skin and age) |
| prapuon | wife |
| prapuon jerng | ‘end’ or ‘last’ wife; wife of third rank |
| prapuon kandal | ‘middle’ wife; wife of second rank; also called prapuon stoeu |
| prapuon mecak | ‘bought wife’; wife of third rank; also called prapuon touch |
| prapuon thom | ‘big’ or ‘principal’ wife; wife of first rank |
| Preah | ‘holy’; prefix to royal or divine titles |
| Preah ek khsatri | ‘first princess’; elder sister of the king |
| Preah moneang | title of a rank of royal wife |
| Preah neang kaam teep | goddess of love |
| Preah snang | lesser wife of the king |
| purohita | religious official |
| quan chua | Vietnamese title given to Queen Ang Mei(r. 1835-1840, 1844-184?) |
| raks | supernatural being; demon |
| Ramakerti, Reamker | Cambodian version of the Ramayana |
| sakti | female aspect of Brahmanical gods; female power |
| sampeah kmouch | ceremony of saluting the ancestors’ wherein a couple who have offended the meba ask for forgiveness |
| sampot | traditional skirt made from patterned silk or cotton |
| sampuor | a fruit used by women to wash their hair in the Middle period |
| Saraswat, Saraswati | 1. Brahma’s wife, goddess of eloquence2. name of a sacred river in India, generally considered the Indus3. a charming girl |
| Saytaa, saytaa | 1. Sita, Rama’s wife in the Ramayana, originally a goddess of agriculture2. plowed earth3. a kind of alcoholic drink |
| Sati | ‘Virtue’; practice of wives killing themselves by immolation at their husbands’ funeral pyres |
| sauchey | class of female servants in the palace; also a name given to prostitutes in the colonial period |
| setthi manus | human rights |
| smir | women who turn into tiger-like creatures when smeared with a certain oil |
| snang | assistants who interpret the words of mediums; lesser wives of the king |
| som kanleng | to ritually request permission of the earth goddess to use a specifically delimited plot of land |
| sothie | goddess |
| srah | artificial lakes, part of temple complexes |
| srei | woman, female |
| srei aht leakkhana | ‘woman with no qualities or virtues’ |
| srei kouch | ‘broken women’; women who have had sex; prostitutes |
| srei krup leakkhana | ‘woman full of qualities or virtues’ |
| srei luok khluen | ‘woman who sells herself, prostitute |
| srei neak leng | ‘woman who gambles’ |
| srei rijoh rilenh | ‘wriggly woman’; prostitute |
| stridhana | property and goods belonging to a wife |
| tai | woman; female slave |
| teepea thida, teep thida | nymph, goddess, female divinity or angel, daughter of a god |
| teipii | goddess, princess (official wife of a prince) |
| ten | title denoting elite (female) status |
| thmup | male witch, sorcerer |
| vangchie | sterile woman or sterile female bird |
| veathuu | a newlywed woman, bride still under the observation of her in-laws |
| viputstray | goddess, female angel |
| vienii | 1. words, sound, language2. woman who speaks pleasantly3. epithet of the Indian goddess Saraswati |
| vierunii | 1. alcohol, liquor2. woman possessed by the devil3. derived from Varuni, the Hindu goddess of wine and intoxication; consort of Varuna |
| vrah kamratan an | ‘the holiest holy’; title given to royal and divine persons |
| yaks, yaksini | supernatural being; demon |
| yeay | ‘grandmother’; elderly woman |