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Showing posts with the label The Preah Neang Deví as the guardian deity of the house

The Preah Neang Deví as the guardian deity of the house

The role of the Preah Neang Deví as guardian of the house is almost identical to the role of the Preah Neang Deví protector of the country. But the role of the former does not extend beyond the scope of inhabited places. We know that the god and the goddess have no physical from, no ‘rúpa’. In some instances, they are represented by deified object. Ang Choulean wrote that, “the guardian of the house, in Khmer ‘mnán phdah’, is a supernatural being that plays a rather minor role. It is associated with purity, cleanliness and domestic tidiness”. Present-day Khmers honors two deities, ‘Preah Phúm’, the guardian of the land, and ‘Mneang Phteah’ or ‘Neak Chumneang Phteah’, the guardian of the house, who grants prosperity and worldly possessions. In both cases, the deities are not symbolized by any objects. We know that Visnu’s wife has two names, Bhúdeví – from the Sanskrit word ‘Bhú’, which means land – symbolizes the guardian of the land (of the house), and Laksmí the g...