The temple of the thousand foreskins

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The temple of the thousand foreskins

When a king became Muslim, his courtiers were compelled to follow

By Trudy Jacobsen

It is a little-known fact that a king of Cambodia converted to Islam in
the seventeenth century, and forced his courtiers to follow suit. But
was it for love - or political power?

According to the Cambodian court chronicles, King Ramadhipati (reigned
1642-1659), whose seat was probably Longvek, was taking a pleasure-trip
on the Tonlé Sap when he saw a young Cham girl on the riverbank and
fell instantly in love with her. He ordered his barge to halt at the
next landing-stage, Khleang Sbek, a village inhabited by Cham and Malay
peoples, and made enquiries as to her name and status.

The girl was neang Hvas, the daughter of a widow. King Ramadhipati then
summoned her mother and requested that neang Hvas remain on his barge
for the remainder of the day and serve him. At the end of the day, the
king was so enamored of neang Hvas that he then asked her mother for
her hand in marriage.

The widow called together the people of the village and consulted with
them. All agreed that neang Hvas should accompany the king to the
palace - and that an entourage from the village would go with her. They
did not, however, insist upon the king converting to Islam before the
marriage as this had led to disaster in the past. An earlier king of
Cambodia had taken steps to ensure that he would not have to convert to
Islam before marrying the Cham princess bau Biy Siy, asking a neak ta
to spirit the princess out of her father's palace at midnight. A battle
ensued in which the Cham king was killed and his lands and clients were
remitted to Cambodia.

Determining that more subtle means were required, the village elders
performed a series of enchantments that would make the king fall
progressively more in love with neang Hvas. So effective were these
that, upon reaching the capital, King Ramadhipati chose neang Hvas to
be his 'queen of the left' and members of her entourage were appointed
officials in charge of all Cham and Malay peoples in the kingdom.

One of the Cham entourage, a kru, then used his magical powers to
convince King Ramadhipati to convert to Islam, after which he was known
as 'Sultan Ibrahim.' He then summoned his courtiers from all corners of
the land and announced that from that day forward, Islam would be the
state religion of Cambodia, and all those who were loyal to him would
convert - and undergo ritual circumcision.

Faced with a choice between conversion or suspicion of treason, the
nobles capitulated, converting en masse in a ceremony facilitated by
Cham and Malay religious officials. Other members of the Islamic
community gathered up the hundreds of fallen foreskins, placing them in
a temple, the location of which has now been forgotten. In this way,
the chronicles explicitly states, power in Cambodia was temporarily
given over to the Cham.

This leads us to the question: What really lay behind Ramadhipati's
decision to convert to Islam? True love? Cham magic? Or perhaps more
concrete, political concerns?

Ramadhipati came to power as a result of the assassination of his
uncle, the ubharaja, and the suppression and execution of the latter's
followers. It would be a politic move, therefore, to seek political and
military support from groups marginalized by previous rulers.
Interestingly, it is around this time that the principal queen (known
as 'queen of the right'), whose position had been compromised by the
advent of neang Hvas, converted to Catholicism. Ramadhipati was
therefore able to draw upon the resources of both the Islamic (Cham and
Malay) and Christian (Portuguese and Spanish mercenaries) for support,
much as Angkorean kings had turned to particular Saivite or Vaishnavite
sects (following the gods Shiva or Vishnu) in order to distance
themselves from their rivals.

Although Ramadhipati was overthrown in 1659, the Islamic community
continued to support members of the royal family. Ang Li Ksatri,
daughter of Ramadhipati and Hvas, became the principal queen of her
half-brother Ang Suor. When he died in 1672, the next king, Padumaraja
II (her nephew), insisted she become his 'right-hand' queen. Displeased
with this arrangement, Ang Li Ksatri set about organizing his
assassination.

Pretending to be afflicted with an illness, she asked the king for
permission for a group of her mother's retainers to be admitted to the
palace so that they might prepare medicines and attend to her during
the night. Once the king had retired to his chambers, Ang Li Ksatri
ordered the contingent of Cham and Malay people to kill him as he
slept.

Despite their potential for mischief where the Cambodian kings were
concerned, Cham and Malay officials remained immured in Cambodian court
affairs throughout the premodern period and into the twentieth century.
Can their sustained presence be explained by recognition on the part of
all subsequent Cambodian kings of Cham efficiency in settling domestic
politics? Or was the thought of the secret temple that imprisoned a
generation of Cambodian manhood a perpetual reminder of Cham power?

Phnom Penh Post, Issue 14/25, December 16 - 29, 2005
© Michael Hayes, 2005. All rights revert to authors and artists on
publication.
For permission to publish any part of this publication, contact Michael
Hayes, Editor-in-Chief
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