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Soma
1st Monarch of Cambodia
Queen of Funan
Reign	1st century CE
Coronation	68 CE
Predecessor	Inaugural holder
Successor	Kaundinya I
Born	Funan
Spouse	Kaundinya I
House	Kaundinya
Religion	Animism (previously) Hinduism (converted after marriage with Kaundinya)

Soma (Khmer: សោមា, ALA-LC: Somā) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Funan and widely claimed as the first monarch of Cambodia (reigned c. 1st century). She was also the first female leader of Cambodia. Her consort was Kaundinya I (also known as "Huntien" and "Preah Thong"). She is known as Soma (Sanskrit), Liǔyè (Chinese: 柳葉), Liễu Diệp (Vietnamese: 柳葉) and Neang Neak (Khmer: នាងនាគ, UNGEGN: Néang Néak; lit. 'Dragon Woman').

Khmer legend

Queen Soma and her husband, Kaundinya I, are known in Khmer legend as "Preah Thong (Kaundinya) and Neang Neak (Soma)". According to reports by two Chinese envoys, Kang Tai and Zhu Ying, the state of Funan was established by an Indian merchant from ancient Kalinga named Kaundinya.

According to the Chinese history book Book of Liang, the people of Funan made a woman, named Liǔyè (柳葉), their monarch, and then she surrendered to a foreign man, named Hùntián (混塡), and was married to him.

Account

As per the legends, an Indian merchant ship was attacked by the pirates led by Soma, daughter of the chieftain of the local Nāga clan. The merchants led by Kaundinya fought back and fended off the attackers but the ship had been damaged and was beached for repairs. The Indians were wary of a second attack but Princess Soma was impressed by Kaundinya's bravery and proposed marriage which was accepted. The union led to the foundation of the House that became the royal dynasty of Funan which would rule the region for many generations and the royal legitimacy was also acquired through the female line in the kingdom. This also explains the reason why the serpent (Nāga) became an important part of Khmer iconography as is seen a thousand years later when this historic mystical union remained an important part of the court ceremonies at Angkor during the era of the Khmer Empire.

Modern theories

Newly discovered DNA evidence, suggest there is some truth to the Khmer creation mythology. DNA sample taken from a protohistoric individual from the Wat Komnou cemetery at the Angkor Borei site in Cambodia contains substantial level of South Asian admixture (ca. 40–50%). Radiocarbon dating result on the human bone (95% confidence interval is 78–234 calCE) indicate that this individual lived during the early period of Funan.

References

1. "SEAlang Dictionary". www.sealang.net. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
2. "SEAlang Dictionary". www.sealang.net. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
3. "The women who made Cambodia". The Phnom Penh Post. 19 May 2010.
4. "C. 87 Stela from Mỹ Sơn B6". Corpus of the Inscriptions of Campā.
5. Pelliot, Paul (1903). "Le Fou-nan". Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient (in French). 3: 248–303. doi:10.3406/befeo.1903.1216. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
6. Coedès, George (1968). Walter F. Vella (ed.). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. trans.Susan Brown Cowing. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
7. Chad Raymond (2005), "Regional Geographic Influence on Two Khmer Polities", Journal of Third World Studies, 22 (1), University Press of Florida: 135–150, JSTOR 45194224, retrieved 31 March 2021
8. Book of Liang, vol. 54; "扶南國俗本裸體，文身被髮，不制衣裳。以女人爲王，號曰柳葉。年少壯健，有似男子。其南有徼國，有事鬼神者字混填，夢神賜之弓，乘賈人舶入海。混填晨起卽詣廟，於神樹下得弓，便依夢乘船入海，遂入扶南外邑。柳葉人衆見舶至，欲取之，混填卽張弓射其舶，穿度一面，矢及侍者，柳葉大懼，舉衆降混填。混填乃教柳葉穿布貫頭，形不復露，遂治其國，納柳葉爲妻，生子分王七邑。其後王混盤況以詐力間諸邑，令相疑阻，因舉兵攻幷之，乃遣子孫中分治諸邑，號曰小王。"
9. Sanyal, Sanjeev (2016-08-10). The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History. Penguin UK. pp. 82–84. ISBN 978-93-86057-61-7.
10. Tarling, Nicholas (March 2008). The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139055482.
11. Hall, DGE (14 May 1981). History of South East Asia. Macmillan Education UK. ISBN 9780333241646.
12. Changmai, Piya; Pinhasi, Ron; Pietrusewsky, Michael; Stark, Miriam T.; Ikehara-Quebral, Rona Michi; Reich, David; Flegontov, Pavel (2022-12-29). "Ancient DNA from Protohistoric Period Cambodia indicates that South Asians admixed with local populations as early as 1st–3rd centuries CE". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 22507. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-26799-3. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 9800559.

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