RECONCEPTUALIZING Wolters and Mabbett's suggestions seem INDIANIZATION: closer to the real situation, and that Southeast Asia has its own typical A STUDY OF THE ART civilization. OF THE LOCAL FEMALE 1 DEITIES Introduction

Rattanaporn Poungpattana 2 In the past, when talking about the civilizations of Southeast Asia, almost all observers, or even scholars, looking from Abstract outside the region, might have thought of the term "Indianization". What was worse It was formerly known and agreed was that the term might have been coined generally that the earliest Southeast Asian for Southeast Asia in particular. people did not create their own civilization, but adopted models from In earlier times, almost all people thought India. Accordingly, civilization in of Southeast Asia as 'the farther India' as Southeast Asia is called "Indianization". if the region had no identity of its own. Yet there are three mains schools of While some Southeast Asians might have giving different views of the tho~ght silently disagreed, it would have been in characteristics of Southeast Asian vain to openly complain: "Don't say that! civilization. While the first school, led by we have our own cultural identity that Coedes, points out that civilization in cannot be found anywhere else even in any Southeast Asia is not so different from its other Southeast Asian state." Indian models, the second school, led by Wolters, suggests that Southeast Asian It cannot be denied that the civilization of civilization is completely different from Southeast Asia came mainly from Indian the Indian one due to the process called influence. But to claim that this influence 'localization' . Compromisingly, the last is eternal and unchangeable is to overstate school, led by Mabbett, proposes the the case. harmonious living of the two cultures in local societies. As the debates are still uncompromised, the article offers the For a long time, discussions on this topic examination of the case study of female have involved two questions: Whether Indian influence left in Southeast Asia is deities in an attempt to compromise those debates. According to the observation on pure or not, and if not, what is the extent of Indian influence on local cultural the case study, it can be summed up that materials.

Coedes' view that "to study Southeast 1 The writer would like to thank her teacher, Dr. Asia gives us only further knowledge of Snnait Chutintranond, director of the Southeast 3 Asian Studies, Chulalongkom University, for his India," clearly shows that, in his opinion, kindness and his patience. Without him, the paper would not have been completed.

2 A Master's Degree student of Southeast Asian 3 Coedes. 1968. The Indianized states of Studies, Chulalongkom University. Southeast Asia, p. 34.

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the two cultures, or the cultural materials In this paper, 'I will first summarize of India and Southeast Asia, are alike. earlier scholars' debates on Indianization in Southeast Asia, relating to the two After Coedes' day, more and more questions I have raised initially. Then, I scholars took an interest in this topic. will focus on each local goddess. In the Later scholars who focused their attention third part, I will analyze them and present on Southeast Asia, opposed Coedes other scholars' views in order to determine fiercely. One might agree with Coedes if whose interpretation is more credible. glimpsing only at the surface of those Finally, I will discuss why the degrees of material, or at their veneer. However, Indian influence 1eft i n each c ase are not Coedes' view has been debated by many equal. other scholars. Thus, between Coedes' view which we can observe with our own Debates on lndianization in Southeast eyes, and the view of many other Asia scholars', which is completely opposed to Coedes', whose view should we believe? All scholars have unanimously agreed that Indian influences spread into Southeast The aim of this paper is to find out the Asia and had a major impact on local answer to this question. We will look cultures. However, the debates that follow through our own eyes, before accepting still arise. the suggestions of scholars, and conduct our own analysis through a case study of local Southeast Asian goddesses. 1.1 The debate on whether Southeast Asia cultural materials resemble the The local goddesses I choose to analyze Indian originals: include Mae Phosop, the Thai and Tai ethnic groups' rice goddess; Po Nagar, the Coedes' view is the c ause o f this debate. Cham's mother goddess; Wathoundaye Actually, he too accepts that the and Mae Thauranii, the Burmese and Thai indigenous Southeast Asians who adopted earth goddesses; and other three local Indian cultural materials, adapted or deities of the Burmese, including the localized them, as he believes that "each 4 Golden Face, the Lady Three Times people possessed its own local genius." Beautiful, and the Little Lady. However, he still believes that the localized materials cannot be very The reason I choose to analyze these different from the original ones as, "Their goddesses is that the local goddesses are culture never lost the family 5 representatives of what Mabbeth calls resemblance." 'inferior culture', and as such received the big impact from the input of the superior culture, namely Indianization. Thus, focusing on them, we can see the relationship and level of interaction between the two cultures from the 4 Wolters. 1982. History, Culture, and Region in beginning of the process to the end. Southeast Asian Perspectives, op. cit. Coedes, in p.45.

5 Ibid.

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Coedes also views the Indian influence in All scholars unanimously agree that the Southeast Asia as a legacy with strong indigenous societies of Southeast Asia had roots even today. He says: cultures of their own long before the arrival of the Indians. Even Coedes Even in the countries where himself agrees: indigenous traditions reacted most strongly and splintered the Indian The Indians were not confronted veneer; however, such was the by uncultured 'savages', but on force of the penetration of Indian the contrary, by people endowed culture that its legacy is far from with a civilization that had traits being negligible. This legacy in common with the civilization includes 'the system of writing', of pre-Aryan Indian.8 'the virtually unchanged cosmogonic myths', 'the great In a sense, the local earth god cult~ that epic themes of the Ramayana spread throughout Monsoon Asia should and Puranas', 'certain artistic be included in the civilization mentioned formulas' ...6 above by Coedes. Paul Mus, as quoted in Mabbett, has stated that in pre-Aryan India This idea is reiterated in his other work. and pre-Indian Southeast Asia the [earth 9 And it is also quoted with disapproval by god] cults were alike. Thus, what Mabbett: happened in Southeast Asia had been happening in India where "Hindu culture George Coedes has aJso given developed from contact between Aryans weight to indigenous initiative in and pre-Aryans .. . " In other words, what the process and to the continuing happened to the cults in Southeast Asia vitality of indigenous culture; can be explained by the following however, he sees Indianization message: overall as a transplant rather than a mere graft: 'Indian culture put These localized indigenous cults down its roots in a new soil, and assumed more elaborate forms, changed without losing its adopted .. .and acquired universal 7 identity.' values, without losing their essence. 10 Coedes' hypothesis has not been accepted by many other scholars, including Mabbett This assertion gives credence to the idea, and Wolters. They used logic to oppose proposed by Mabbett and Mus in the assertion and support their own novel opposition to that of Coedes. In this suggestion. This logical process will be matter, they and also Wolters believe that explained in the section that follows.

8 Coedes. 1968. The Indianized states of 6 Coedes. 1968. The lndianized states of Southeast Asia. p.IS. Southeast Asia. p.34. 9 Mabbett. 1978. Kingship in Angkor, op. cit. 7 Wolters. 1982. History, Culture, and Region in Mus in p.49. Southeast Asian Perspective.s Op. cit, Coedes in p.45. 10 Ibid.

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the cultures of Southeast Asia that adopted welcomed and 'lived' without Indian influences are not so pure as consciousness of change. 13 The claimed by Coedes, and that local essences two levels of cultures [therefore] . continued to exist. lived in each other and were not consciously distinguished.14 In his "Kingship m Angkor", Mabbett concludes: "Thus, an examination of the Meanwhile, though Wolters also opposes nature and extent of Indian influence Coedes' view that "the 'states' of suggests that it didn't drive out local Southeast Asia were continuously shaped traditions in any Southeast Asian and sustained by Indian cultural Kingdom."11 influences," his suggestion is similar to Mabbett's though not entirely the same. However, scholars differ on the extent of He claims that the local genius causes a Indian influence. Their differences · are process he calls "localization", . in which discussed briefly in the section that "the Indian materials tended to be follows. fractured and restated and therefore 15 drained of their original significance ••• 1.2 Different ideas on the extent of The materials, including their words, Indian influence sounds of words, book, or artifacts had to be localized in different ways before they could fit into the local complexes ... and While Coedes sees Indian influence as still 16 strong and not much changed, Mabbett belong to a new cultural whole." views this matter differently. In his view, the extent of Indian influence has retreated, However, in one way Wolters completely and "the interaction of two cultures is in a disagrees with Mabbett. Wolters states: network of interdependence." He states, "What happened was the two orders ·-• In some local statements, however, the foreign materials have Indian and local, high and low - adapted retreated so completely that they themselves into a series of complementary 17 seem to have disappeared, ... relationships so that they could become the heads and tails of a single coin."12

He also reinforces his idea by citing what B.P. Groslier and Paul Mus have suggested: 13 Mabbett. 1977. The lndianiazation of There had to be an approximate Southeast Asia: Reflections on the Historical equality between giving and sources, pp.l44-145. receiving cultures. And because oft he shared substratum beneath 14 Mabbett. 1978. Kingship in Angkor, p.49. both Indian and local traditions, the former were recognized, 15 Wolter. 1982. Histcry, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives, p.52.

16 Ibid. 11 Mabbett. 1978. Kingship in Angkor, p.50. 17 Wolters. 1982. Histcry, Culture, and Region in 12 Ibid. Southeast Asian Perspectives, p.55.

}

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Here, one can see that the ideas ofMabbett is Vessavana, and in Sanskrit it is and Wolters are dissimilar. To be able to Vaishravana . The word was inflected or judge the validity of these ideas, let us localized several times into, namely, proceed to the case study. Phaisropana, then Phaisop, and eventually Phosop. Though we can see Po The specification on the case studies Phosop' s name in some Thai literature related to agricultunil rituals, Po Phosop 1. Mae Phosop18 was not so well known among the people as Mae Phosop. According to Textor, the earliest Mae Phosop is shapeless as she is "Khwan", a Even today, the myths of Mae Phosop are Thai word meaning "soul". 19 Her origin varied, not only among the Tai ethnic was as an agricultural supernatural power groups, but also among the people in Thai worshipped by Tai ethnic groups for society. Among the Tai ethnic groups, whom rice was significant for many though the content of the myths of Mae thousands ofyears. The soul (Khwan) was Phosop is varied, the subject of the believed to abide in the paddy, rice, or rice legends is alike. All are about the story of shaft. a female rice deity who, upset by the ingratitude of human beings, flees from In Indianization, the formless soul the world of men. (Khwan) was transformed or reified into the Indian goddess, Savadheve, who is the On the other hand, in Thai society, the consort of Indra. She also got a new name, myths narrated in temples are different Phosop, coming from the adaptation of from the myths passed on among the Savadheve into Phosavadheve, which was common people. Some myths say that Mae then inflected into Phosop. Phosop was Indra's wife who wanted to help human beings. Other myths tell that However, there is also a male version of she felt slighted by Buddha's ingratitude at the rice deity. This is because in some her great kindness, and then went away. areas the local people believed that their old supernatural being, or Khwan, was As previously mentioned, we can see that male, Pu Khwan Kao. Thus, when there are many myths of this deity. She Indianized, the Khwan was transformed was either identified as wife of lndra or as into the image of an Indian god, namely, the slighted local rice goddess, or even as Kuvera, who according to Hindu-Buddhist the rice goddess who had met the Buddha. belief is considered the god of abundance. The Pali version of the Indian god 's name An image of Mae Phosop as the Indian goddess Savadheve still remains. Her picture is found at Wat Sam Kaew a Buddhist temple in Chum-porn providce, 18 The. source of Mae Phosop comes mainly Thailand (see also picture 1). In the picture from an article, written by Wanna Navigamoon she sits in the same row as the two Indian in the book, "Rice in Thai Arts and Cultures. " goddesses, Lakshmi, the consort of Visnu, See her pictures 1-8 and Sarasvati, the consort of Brahma.

I9 T extor. 1960. An Inventory of Non-Buddhist Obje_cts in a Central Thai Village, p.418.

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Interestingly, however, she is identified, 2. Po Nagar20 under the picture, as Mae Phosop, not Savadheve. Moreover, her image is likely Po Nagar was the Goddess Mother of the not that of an Indian goddess anymore. Cham. In the earliest time, she was a spirit Sitting between Lakshmi and Sarasvati, believed to live in trees. Mus mentioned who wear the more typical Indian style that she is the deity venerated in Nha costume, Mae Phosop herself wears a Trang. Originally, she was a strictly local Thai-style headdress and costume indigenous goddess. with rice shafts in her hand. In the process of Indianization, she was In some pictures, Mae Phosop is shown transformed into the "feathers" of riding a fish. These can be understood by Bhagavati Uma, the wife of Shiva, carved the fact that some myths tell that when from a block of black basalt. 21 Mae Phosop, the rice-keeper deity, felt Simultaneously, she was bestowed by the slighted by the ingratitude of people, she Cham with a new title, Bhagavati left the village, and the suffering peasants Kauthareshvari, which means 'the happy could successfully meet her again with a one of Kuathara's sovereign.' Mus states fish's assistance (Picture 2). that "Sanskrit inscriptions testify to the existence of the (amalgamation] (of the To conclude, it can be said that the union of Shiva and Parvati, which is differences in Mae P hosop' s image carne generally represented in Indian texts), if from the different myths of Mae Phosop not by representation, at least in the ritual told since early times. In the local myth, of the Goddess Kauthara." This shows, Mae Phosop was either a local female, or said Mus, that Champa followed Hinduism male, deity (Pictures4-5). Meanwhile, Mae even in its details?2 Phosop in temples is described as Savadheve, a wife of Indra. Among the Nowadays, her name changes from Yan Pu peasants, where myth depicts Mae Phosop Nagara, as indicated in the old as just a slighted local deity, she is inscriptions, to Po Nagar. Also, she is portrayed as a Thai woman in a Thai-style mostly referred to as Po Nagar, the Lady costume with rice shafts in her hand. of the Kingdom. Mus says: Meanwhile, the images of Mae Phosop found in temples are different. In many Though having been pushed south temples she i~ depicted as a bare-breasted of Nha Trang, and nothing of the deva (angel) like the deva of India, who

are also represented as bare-breasted 20 women, though she is identified as Mae Po Nagar's story is from two sources, Nguyen Phosop (pictures6-7). In some areas where The Anh's article. 1995. The Vietnamization of the Cham Deity Po Nagar, p. 42, and Paul Mus. the local god of abundance was male, Po The Religious Ceremonies of Champa, p. 83. Her Phosop, the local people adopted the image is in Picture 11 . image of the Indian god of abundance, Kuvera, instead of Phosavadheve 21 Nguyen The Anh. 1995. The Vietnamization of (pictures4-5). the Cham Deity Po Nagar, op. Cit. A Bergaigne, in p. 42.

22 Mus. 2001. Religious Ceremonies and Superstitions of Champa, p.83.

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goddess appears to survive, the Not only did the Cham reform her name, Cham have not forgotten their but they also changed Po Nagar's myth, oldest goddess. They always which is nothing like that of Bhagavati. called her Po Nagar, that is, Here is the myth that appears in the hymn Queen of the Kingdom. And the the Cham dedicated to her: legend attached to her name no longer evokes Bhagavati, the wife In the hymn to Po Yang !no of Shiva. And the goddess returns 3 Nagara, it is said that she was to her primitive state? born from cloud in the sky and foam of the sea. She had In other words, after being transformed materialized in the shape of a into the image of Shiva's sakti, she was not piece of eaglewood floating on called Parvati or Uma, but was given a top of the waves. She had ninety-· new title: Bhagavati Kauthareshvari. The seven husbands, among whom Po old Sanskrit inscriptions of the Cham Yang Amo was the most powerful identified her as Yan Pu Nagara, which favorite. She had given birth to means Queen of the Kingdom. The thirty-nine daughters, who had inscription by King Sriparameshavara in become goddesses like their AD 1050, mentions a hymn to the goddess mother. She is the one who had of Nha Trang, the ancient Bhagavati created the earth, eaglewood, and Kauthareshavari identified with Uma, the rice. And she animated the sacred 5 wife of Shiva. The hymn was translated by fig-tree? Bergaigne as follows: We can see that her myth no longer evokes Being for the one who is the Lord Bhagavati, the wife of Shiva. "And the of what is and what is not, having goddess has returned to her primitive state. as true nature the origin of the This [implies that she] then is the new development of existence on local deity. [And] Hinduism is again earth ... being only one with non• absorbed by something that it escaped being and the being that exists in from in India herself. "26 the world, the primordial virtuality of being and non-being, 3. Watboudaye27and Mae Tbauranii 28 having as body half the body of Shiva who has the moon as his diadem, having a beautiful body,

0 thou who are part of 25 Lord ... O Happy One, triumph in The hymn is from Nguyen The Anh, p.42. some way over us who are 26 Mus. 2001. Religious Ceremonies and prostrate before thee, by the Superstitions of Champa, p. 83. magtca. 1 power, ...24 27 Her source is from Melford E. Spiro's Burmese Supernaturalism; A Study in the Explanation and Reduction of Suffering. Her images in pictures 12-13. 23 Mus. 2001. Religious Ceremonies and Superstitions ofChampa, p.83. 28 This source comes from an Inventory ofNon• Buddhist Objects in a Central Thai Village, 24 Ibid, p.84. Pictures12-13.

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These two goddesses are the same. They same. The new title still means earth are earth goddesses. Wathoudaye is the goddess in the Burmese language. She also earth goddess of Burmese, while Mae is identified in the Burmese Buddhist myth Thauranii, of the Thais. as the assistant of the Lord Buddha. Here is the myth of Wathoudaye, told by Spiro. In Burma, the original supernatural being there is called 'nat.' Meanwhile in [The earth goddess appeared,] Buddhism, supernatural beings are called when the embryo Buddha was 'devas.' As imported into Burma, they about to be ousted from his place were classified together with the under the Evil One and his host to indigenous Burmese supernatural beings fight in the flood of water which 'nats.' However, the devas were and are she wrung from her hair, wet with differentiated from other nats by being libations commemorating the meritorious deeds ferformed by designated as good, or as Buddhist the future Buddha? nats, while the indigenous nats were designated as evil. Spiro also mentions that her myth is very similar to that of Mae Thauranii, the Spiro states that nats-devas are frequently Earth mother in Thailand. The reason that to be seen on pagoda platforms or in the Thais adopted her might be the same monastic compounds. He also claims that as that of Wathoudaye; that is to serve "in fact, nats are only rarely and Buddhism. inconspicuously found in pagoda compounds. With one important exception, Her name is unlikely to be the local Thai the only conspicuous nats to be found in language. The word "Thauranii" is an any Buddhist holy place or holy structure in Indic word, both in Sanskrit and Bali, Burma are devas, the Buddhist nats." meaning earth. However, her name had been adapted by putting the Thai word The reason why these nats are the only "Mae" in front, in order to make a local kind that can live in the vicinity of a sounding word. Interestingly, like her Buddhist holy place is, according to Spiro, Burmese version - Wathoudaye - she is that it has to trace back since the reign of depicted as a woman wringing her hair in King Anawratha. In adopting the order to help the Buddha (see picturesl2-13). supernatural beings of Buddhism, devas, placing them in the temple area, and then 4. Burmese local female deities: .the classifying them as a kind of nat, the King Golden Face, Lady Three Times hoped to "induce the conventional local 30 people into new religions," which he first Beautiful, and Little Lady introduced into Burma.

The Burmese deva I choose to analyze in

the paper is said by Spiro to be the most 29 popular one. Her Indian name is Spiro. 1967. Burmese Supernaturalism; A Vasundhara, but as she was adopted into Study in the Explanation and Reduction of Suffering, pp.45-46. Burma the Burmese later inflected the word into the Burmese-sounding word, 30 Their sources come from Maung Htin Aung' s Wathoudaye, but the meaning is still the Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism

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These Burmese female deities . belong to Now let me discuss the story of each deity. the group of the thirty-seven nats. The original meaning of the Burmese word 4.1 The Golden Face ' nat' is 'Lord' . The difference between this group of deities, who actually were With her abode on Mount Popa, she is 'nats' , and Wathoudaye, who has also considered one of the most important nats, been called 'nat' as mentioned earlier, is as described by Maung Htin Aung, the that the former are the prototype of nats Lady Golden Face was a very beautiful worshipped by the I ocals long before the maiden who had a mighty brother. Her advent of Buddhism. On the other hand, brother was so powerful that it was said he W athoudaye was a new exotic Buddhist could shake the whole city. The king, Nat. This kind of nat is described by scared of her brother, raised the girl to be Maung Htin Aung as follows: his Queen. Having always desired to get rid of the Queen's almighty brother, the There were originally quite ordinary king later invited him to Tagaung. After . human beings, whose strange and sudden the mighty man's arrival, the king ordered deaths, however, roused feelings of terror soldiers to seize and tie him to a Saga tree and pity in the minds of their on the banks of the Irrawaddy. Then, they . 31 contemporaries. lit a fire at his feet. Seeing this, the Queen rushed into the fire to die with her brother. The worship of nats was purely native in The king tried unsuccessfully to save her; origin and developed out of a form of · he pulled her back by her hair. Though ammtsm. When Anawratha made almost all of her body had been burnt, her Theravada Buddhism the national religion beautiful face was saved. of the country, he tried to suppress Nat• worship. However, as his people went on As the brother and sister died and became worshipping the nats, Anawratha finally nat spirits, they made their abode on the decided to bring them over into Buddhism. Saga tree, and they killed all animals and human beings who came under the shade The figures of the Thirty-six of the tree. This frightened the king so Lords were taken from their much that he ordered the tree to be cut shrines and placed in the king's down and the trunk of the Saga tree great pagoda in an attitude of floated down the river. The trunk reached worship; he declared that the the city of Thiripyissaya, the Kingdom of number was now thirty-seven, Pagan to-be, where King Thinlikyaung because Sakra, the king of the reigned. The king ordered images of the gods and guardian of Buddhism, brother and sister carved out of the tree was at the head of the trunk. pantheon .. . The nats themselves were not shown to be . 4.2 The Lady Three Times Beautifue3 worshippers of the Buddha.32

32 Ibid, p.4. 31 Maung Htin Aung. 1959. Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism, p.84. 33 The Lady 1bree Times Beautiful and The Little Lady with the Flute are Pyu gods who were

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She is the second Pyu Goddess. Muang Significantly, Maung Htin Aung also Htin Aung states that she was a village describes the process of her maiden who was so beautiful that the king, transformation. the great Duttabaung, sent a nobleman to fetch h_er to be crowned queen of Pagan.34 As Hindu gods, especially Falling in love with Three Times Beautiful Krishna, a reincarnation of on the way, the nobleman came to the Vishnu, are often shown playing King alone and announced that she had a on a flute, it seems logical to beautiful face, yet her body was so assume that the Little Lady of monstrously fat that she could not enter Prome became merged with an the gates of the city. The King believed earlier Hindu goddess. him and expelled her to a hut outside the (Maung Htin Aung, pp. 87-88) city gates. She dwelt there, forgotten by the king, and forsaken by her lover. She By focusing on the first four goddesses, earned her living as a weaver. In time, she Mae Phosop, Po Nagar, W athoudaye and gave birth to a little girl and then died of Mae Thauranii, we can see that there are grief and became a nat. some changes in them from the pure Indian materials. The Indian materials As stated by Maung Htin Aung, she and were just the locals' first models. Then, Golden Face are shown in later wooden these foreign materials were localized in figures in the conventional attitude of some way (in their names, forms, or grief, will right hand on the left breast.35 myths) in order to make them fit with local statements. This corresponds to what 36 4.3 The Little Lady with the Flute Wolters indicates as "local genius." It also seems to indicate that the hypothesis of Coedes is inaccurate. She was the daughter of the Lady Three Times Beautiful. Her story is told by Actually, it doesn't mean that Coedes and Maung Htin Aung as follows: his hypothesis are wrong. Indeed, no man's hypothesis is more exact than that [She] is the third Pyu Goddess, of Coedes, if the issue of Indian the Little Lady, and her name originally meant 'the Little Lady civilization in ancient Southeast Asian states is under discussion. Po Nagar's with the Flute'. However, the 37 image at Pagan and later wooden image and her original name, Bhagavati images do not show her playing a Uma, are the best examples to show that flute. Coedes was exactly right in this aspect. Indeed, the legacy of Indian civilization in Southeast Asia has been outstanding, and the evidence can obviously be seen with our own eyes even today. worshipped at Prome and were later worshipped atPagan. ·

34 Maung Htin Aung. 1959. Folk Elements in 36 Wolter., 1982. History, Culture, and Region Burmese Buddhism, p.87. in Southeast Asian Perspectives, p.45.

35 Ibid, p.88. 37 see ptctur . e 9.

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But it is his hypothesis that "the localized see the extent to which the localization culture, including cultural materials, was carried out on the Indian materials. cannot be far different from its origin", or his other statement "their culture [has] An analysis on the case study: local never lost its family resemblance,"38 that is goddesses quite an exaggeration. Here, it has to be reiterated that as time passed, the Indian The case study shows us the inequality of culture which came to Southeast Asia in the the process of localization on the foreign early centuries, was eroded, undermined, as materials. This might make one doubt the the locals added to it some strange movement of the process. But the ingredients of their own. In other words, it explanation is very easy. could be said that the Indian materials, having been adopted into Southeast Asia, Local people had an ·important role in the had certainly been localized. There is no process of cultural evolution, as they were more exact explanation than that the the arbiters on whether Indian materials Southeast Asian states had indeed adapted could live or should leave. It was not the the exotic materials in order to make them Indians who spread the influence, but the fit with the new environment in Southeast local users who would decide whether any Asia. Indian materials could live in the local society or not. What happened was that the However, as demonstrated in the case of local people chose only the materials that the goddesses, we realize that as Wolters benefited them. The Indian convention notes, the localizing processes have been might not be so completely localized if it unequal: was useful to them. However, that convention was still more or less localized And I suggested that they were so that it could fit in the new environment. "localized" in different ways to become part of the local culture In order to make this point clearer, I would just as Sanskrit loan words were like to divide the four goddesses into two localized, and that Foreign and main groups, according to the users' local statements belonged to what purposes. Let us begin with the first group I called "local cultural which includes Mae Phosop and Po statements", though the pattern of Nagar. localization could not be uniform throughout the region. 39 As I have mentioned, Mae Phosop and Po Nagar were local deities, revered by the The question then is why the localization local Thai and Tai people since long was unequal. To answer this, now let me before the arrival of Indian influence. Mae focus again on the case study in order to phosop was the rice mother of the Thai and T ai, and Po Nagar was the Goddess Mother of the Cham. Similarly, both of them were spirits at the earliest time 38 See also Wolters. 1982. History, Culture, and before the corning of Indian influence. Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives, op. Cit. Coedes. in p.45. One can imagine that it is hard for man to worship something abstract. But the best 39 1bid., p.67.

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that Southeast Asians could do at that time On the contrary, what happened to was to suppose that their deities abided in Wathodaye and Mae Thauranii is nature; the Thai and Tai believed that their different. This group actually underwent deity, as a soul (Khwan), resided in rice or the same process of reification. However, rice shafts, while the Cham believed that here this process served a more special their deity resided in earth or trees. When purpose. the Indian cultural influence came, the locals made use of it. What they did was to In Thailand and Burma, the national or adopt the elaborate Indian materials, main religion is Buddhism. When which, in this case, were myths, forms, Buddhism first spread into these two and names to modify their deities. In the states, both adopted the model of this other words, they used the Indian materials religion (and surely then localized it). As and conventions as models for developing Buddhists, the people believed in the their deities into more elaborate forms. Buddha's teachings and revered his conduct. Wathoudaye and Mae Thauranii, "In sum, the local adopters' main purpose were introduced in order to boost the was to reify their shapeless deities as it . Buddha's honor. Moreover, it might be was better to worship something interpreted that, the main purpose of the tangible." 40 Moreover, it might help local adopters, probably the elite rulers, ip. comfort the local people whose main introducing them into the societies, was to occupation was farming. By making the teach the local subjects good morals. The deity who protected their rice and · thus earth goddess' wringing her hair to protect their lives visible, they could be more the Buddha from Mara can teach that the secure. Thus, they adopted the Indian good, moral person cannot be destroyed by forms and images and applied these to the evil one as there is some divine, their deities. After the purposes were supernatural being protecting him. achieved, it seems that the local people no longer realized the importance of Indian Therefore, the old typical Indian materials. These first Indian models were conventions of the two goddesses were not then thrown out of the local cultural orbit. changed, as they were still useful to the This case corresponds to Wolters' local population; their myths helped keep observation: the peace in both countries. When the local people heard or saw the images and In some statement [sic], the legends of the two goddesses, they would foreign conventions have refrain from doing something bad, out of retreated so completely that they fear of being destroyed as Mara was. have come, in a literal sense, However, each state still adapted these 41 · decorative. deities' names in order to make them harmonious with their society. In Burma, the original Indian name, Vasudhara, was adapted into Wathoudaye; in Thailand, though retammg the Indic name 40 Mus. 2001. Religious Ceremonies and 'Thauranii', the Thais added the Thai Superstitions of Champa, p.83. word 'Mae', in order to make her more 'Thai'. 41 Wolters. 1982. History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives, p.63.

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This means that though these goddesses can be perfectly illustrated in the c ase of were pure Indian materials, the local Mae Phosop, whose image can frequently people adopted them and then added some be found in Thailand. local ingredients. The two correspond to the case described by Mus, as cited in Often, we see various differences in Mae Mabbett: "(Mus) sees two levels of culture Phosop 's images. In a mural in the Throne that lived in each other and were not Hall at the Royal Palace, Phaisan-Thaksin, consciously distinguished." her image is drawn in the traditional Thai style as a deva who wears a Thai-style Things seem to be more complicated in the headdress and a Thai royal golden sash, case of the other three Burmese deities, the but is bare-breasted like an Indian deva Golden Face, the Lady Three Times (Pictures6-7). Meanwhile, some images of Beautiful, and the Little Lady. In one Mae Phosop, seen in some posters or way, these three goddesses are similar to pictures in rural areas, are not at all similar the first group discussed earlier and in to an Indian goddess, but show a pretty another they are similar to the second. On Thai woman in a Thai style costume. Here, the one hand, their cases are like those of Mae Phosop bears no resemblance at all to Po Nagar of the Cham, and of Mae Phosop the old form of an Indian goddess. Phraya of the Thais. Not only were their origins Anumanrajadhon even observed that, purely local, not Indian, but the three of "Mae Phosop (in Thai society today) is not them were also actually the spirits oft he an Indian goddess at all, for she is dead, believed to abide in nature. The represented as a woman in a Thai costume Golden Face, for instance, was supposed with a Thai hair style and rice shafts in her to reside in the Saga tree. This really hand. "42 (Picture8) differentiated then from Wathoudaya and Mae Phosop, who were actually the same The reason for these variations is that in deity, and adapted forms of the Indian earlier times, the local people in each Goddess, Vasundhara. Southeast Asian state could be roughly divided into two main classes: the elite and Nevertheless, on the other hand, these the commoners. Each class had its own three goddesses are similar to Wathoudaye purpose in adopting Indian materials as and Mae Phosop as they were also affected their own. This then, explains why cultural by King Anawratha's attempt to make materials adopted from India have retained Theravada Buddhism the new religion of different degrees of Indian influence. his state. As Animism was so influential and had deep roots in the people's mind, The elite may have adopted exotic, sacred• the king in his attempt to convert his looking materials in order to differentiate people, adapted the influential themselves from the masses. They wanted supernatural beings to the new exotic to make themselves better than the religion. Thus, their cases also correspond common people, and they were probably to that of Wathoudaye and Mae Thauranii able to do this as their knowledge of and thus the theory of Mus and Mabbett.

Interestingly, each goddess in her 42 Wanna Nawigamoon. 2001. "Trace back Mae numerous different images, points to the Phosop ", o p. cit. P hraya Anuman Rajadhon. i n inequality of the localizing process. This p.36.

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Indian conventions and arts was so much The Indian materials that did not originate better than that of the uneducated masses. in Southeast Asia, but were adopted in Thus, the Indian materials they adopted order to serve some purpose of local users were usually changed less than, this those might be localized in different ways. adopted by the common people. This can Wathoudaye and Mae Ihauranii were be seen is the case of Po Nagar. In Picture adopted to serve a Buddhist purpose, so 9, we can see that there is a strong Indian their main functions and postures are influence in her image. This was probably unchanged; they have to be sculpted in the because she was sculpted by order of the hair-wringing pose. Even so, there are still elite rulers who considered her and warlted changes in them. In Mae Thauranii' s to be considered themselves as divine. case, though local Thai farmers adopted Therefore, she had to appear divine and her image and used it in their agricultural sacred. lives, as in Yantra, or cabalistic writing, and ancient books about agricultural The local people, in contrast, may have rituals and traditions, the local Thai artists adopted the exotic materials for less adapted her typical image by depicting her complex purposes. This can be seen in the as riding a turtle (Picture 13). case of Mae Phosop. The Tai people already believed in supernatural beings, Interestingly, it is not only m the but the Khwan or spirit was, as Mus says, goddesses' image that we can see the "by nature inconsistent and difficult to localization process work, one can also see grasp."43 it in the rituals the local people perform to them. The Indian materials and conventions, such as the idea of reification, became In Mae Thauranii's case, the ritual the tools serving the peasants' purpose. The local people perform· to her today cannot peasants, whose crops, especially rice, be seen in India. In Thai society, Thai were essential for their survival, might Buddhists have a special ceremony for have felt comforted by deities whose Mae Ihauranii. "In the temple, she existence they can perceive. receives support in one or more sudra-type sermons that the Buddhist villagers are For the local common people, the goddess likely to hear. Moreover, they tend to means only the deity who protects them extend their merit to her during the water and their crops from changeable and Examination. They believe that they can unpredictable nature. In this case, the entrust some of their merit to Mae luxurious -fudian-style costumes and Ihauranii for safe-keeping, and then draw embellishments, while were too subtle for on this stock of merit later on. This belief them to understand, and while also seemed might come from the legend associated too extravagant, were irrelevant to their with her." 44 Meanwhile, in their modest purposes. agricultural rituals, she is associated with the peasants. ·When they perform the various rites at the start of the annual rice

43 Mus. 200 L Religious Ceremonies and Superstitions of Champa, p.84. 44 Textor. 1960. An Inventory ofNon-Buddhist objects in a central Thai village. p.480.

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cycle, such as Plowing ritual, the Thais are people, they adapted them to serve their likely to inform Mae Thauranii, along modest purposes. Such a process happened with several other supernatural beings. so many times that the Indian influence left on the materials become less and less. From all that I have shown we can see that Mabbeth's view and Wolters' view can be Even objects where the Indian influence used in different cases and under different was particularly strong, were localized and conditions. Wolters' view applies in the retreated into the local statement. Though case of Mae Phosop and Po Nagar, while the process was not so complete, the Mabbeth's view is relevant to object had to be changed so that it could Wathoundaye and Mae Thauranii. From live in harmony with the local society these, we clearly see that there are without inconsistency or contradiction. differences among the Indian cultural characteristics left in the local goddesses Thus, one can see that the Southeast Asian and, thus, inequality in the localizing states possessed their own cultural processes at work. As I have stated, all this identities. Even within the region, states depends on the local adopters only. were different, and though they all adopted culture from India, their individual genius Conclusion caused them to localize the foreign culture in their own way, creating, as Wolters put 5 In light of all information I have it, a "cultural mosaic.'"' presented, it is not fair to equate the civilizations of Southeast Asia with Illustrations "Indianization". The fact is that, in the whole process, Indianization is just the first step of a long journey. The Indian materials were changed by local people, day by day, little by little. First, they were selected by the local adopters. While some materials were adopted, the others were eradicated from the local scene.

The remaining Indian materials continued along the path of localization. During the journey, they were kneaded and molded till they suited the local users' purposes. Luckily, their voyage didn't occur only among the elite, but also expanded to the Picture 1: Mae Phosop is sitting between common people. Their route among the Laksrni and Srasrati. The picture comes royal elite was likely smooth and easy, as from Wat Sam Kaew in Chum-porn these people wanted to adopt exotic province. materials only to differentiate themselves from the common people.

However, when those Indian materials 45 Wolters. 1982. History, Culture, and Region in came into the hand of the common local Southeast Asian Perspectives, p.55.

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Pictures 2-3: The images ofMae Phosop in capalistic writing, Yantra. In these two pictures, we can see the difference in detail between the two images. In the left picture, Mae Phosop is riding a fish, while in the right picture, Mae Phosop is pouring water from a conch.

Pictures 6-7: The image of Mae Phosop in a mural at the Throne Hall, Phiasan Thaksin, in the Royal Palace in Thailand. The picture Pictures 4-5: These two images of rice was drawn the royal artist in the reign of deity are Pra Phosop. The difference King Rama ill. Mae Phosop is drawn as a between the two picture is Po Phosop (male), brest-naked devi. while the forth picture is Mae Phosop (female).

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Pictures 9-10: The most distinguished image of Mae Phosop. The statue shows the complete change in The image of Mae Phosop. She doesn't hold rice shafts, but hold a scythe instead.Moreover, her hair style showed the Thai woman's popular hair style in the earlier Chalai Dynasty.

Picture 8 : This image is published in the book collecting chants in agricultural rites for farmers. The picture was drawn by well-lmown local artist, Ard Aud-Umphao in 1932.

Picture 11: Po Nagar of the trang

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References

Coedes, George. 1968. The lndianized states of Southeast Asia. Honolulu: East-West Center Press. Mabbeth, I.W. 1978. Kingship at Angkor, Journal of the Siam Society 66, no.2. Mabbeth, I.W. "The lndianization of Southeast Asia: Reflections on Historical Sources". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Maung Htin Aung. 1959. Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism. White Lotus. Mus, Paul. and Aymonier, Etienne. 2001. Religious Ceremonies and Superstitions of Champa. Bangkok: White Lotus Press. Nguyen The Anh. 1995. "The Picture 12: Wathoudaye, earth goddess, in Vietnamization ofthe Cham Deity Po a mural in Buddhist temple, Burma. Like Nagar". Essays into Vietnamese Mae Thauranii, she is wringing her hair in Parts, Cornell Southeast Asia. purpose to prevent Buddha from Mara. Spiro, M.E. 1967. Burmese Supernaturalism: A Study in the Explanation and Reduction of suffering. New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs. Textor, Robert B. 1960. An Inventory of Non-Buddhist Objects in a Central Thai Village. Ann Arbor: Cornell University. Wanna Nawigamoon. 2001. "Trace back Mae Phosop ", in Rice in Thai arts and Cultures. Bangkok: Thai Rice Foundation. Wolters, O.W. 1982. History, Culture, and Region in Southeast Asian Perspectives. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asia Studies.

Picture13: Mae Thauranii's image in Thai Yantra." Such a Y antra was founded in farmer's house in Thailand. The Yantra is believed by the local farmers that it help reserving their rice.

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