Lok Yeay Mao

Yeay Mao or Lok Yeay Mao (in Khmer យាយម៉ៅ - លោកយាយម៉ៅ, Grandma Mao) is an ancient mythical heroine and a divinity in the local popular form of Buddhism and Brahmanism in Cambodia. She is venerated mainly is in the coastal provinces of the country, especially along the road from Phnom Penh to the sea port of Sihanoukville, as well as in Kampot and Kep. At the Bokor Mountain in Kampot there is a 29 meters tall monument to Yeay Mao inaugurated in 2012, while there is a young version of Yeay Mao in the Kep Beach called Beautiful Lady (ស្រីស្អាត) or Sela waits for her husband (សិលាចាំប្តី), but that belongs to the legend of Mao looking to the west for her lost husband. She is considered the protector of travelers and hunters. Drivers still stop at her shrine along National Road 4 near Phnom Pech Nil to pay their respects and wash their cars with water from the stream nearby, as well as the monument at Bokor.

The history of Yeay Mao is unclear, being composed of several legends and interpretations. There are many popular stories surrounding her. It is said that she was a beautiful lady married to a powerful warrior. When he died, she took control of the armies against the Thai and became a celebrity. The story is placed sometime before the French Colony (1863–1953).

Another version says that Yeay Mao was the wife of Ta Krohom-Koh (តាក្រហមក) - literally "Grandpa Red Neck". They lived in the forest near Pech Nil Mountain (ភ្នំពេជ្រនិល). Once they went around and they met a tiger. Ta Krohom-Koh abandoned his wife and the tiger devoured her.

Since then, any traveller who passed by the place of the accident, paid respect to her spirit to avoid a similar fate.

When they built the highway between Phnom Penh and the sea in what is today Sihanoukville, a small temple was built at the spot. The road was finished by the French in 1876, a fact that increased the pilgrimage to the temple. It included Vietnamese and Chinese believers.

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Wikipedia