YIEY MAO - FROM LOCAL GODDESS TO CULTURAL SYMBOL: DECODING THE ORIGIN OF KHMER FOLK BELIEF

Abstract

In the cultural and religious life of the Southern Khmer in Vietnam, the Yiey Mao belief represents a distinctive form of folk religiosity shaped through the interaction between indigenous beliefs, Theravāda Buddhism, and Hindu influences. Despite its widespread presence in both Vietnam and Cambodia, the origin and formation of this belief system remain fragmented and insufficiently examined from an interdisciplinary perspective.

This paper aims to clarify the origin and symbolic structure of the Yiey Mao belief within its historical, social, and cultural contexts in Southern Vietnam. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates religious anthropology and folklore studies, the research combines textual analysis with ethnographic fieldwork. Primary data were collected through 25 semi-structured interviews with key informants—including achar, Theravāda Buddhist monks, shrine caretakers, and lay devotees—in An Giang, Tây Ninh, and Sóc Trăng provinces, conducted during fieldwork periods between 2024 and 2025, alongside participant observation of rituals and sacred spaces.

The findings indicate that Yiey Mao emerged through the sacralization of a legendary–historical female figure who gradually became a local guardian goddess. The belief system is composed of multiple cultural layers: folk narratives of a heroic woman, the Khmer cult of sacred dead, and the syncretic integration of Theravāda Buddhism and Hindu elements.

By examining the origin and symbolic configuration of Yiey Mao, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of religious syncretism and demonstrates how a folk belief is transformed into a cultural symbol that sustains ethnic identity, collective memory, and spiritual resilience among the Khmer community in the socio-cultural landscape of Southern Vietnam.