Goddess Lok Yeay Mao of Cambodia
The Goddess Lok Yeay Mao is a deity that is worshipped mainly in the coastal provinces of Cambodia such as Kampot, Kep and Sihanoukville. A large outdoor statue of the goddess was built on the top of Mount Bokor in Bokor National Park which overlooks the sea coast. Visitors to the mountain usually pay their respects to her as she is believed to bestow blessings, especially on those who make offerings to her. She is well known for maintaining peace in the surrounding forests and coastal provinces, as well as fostering a feeling of calmness within the environment.
The statue was built by Neak Oknha Sok Kong, the chairman of the Sokimex Investment Group to honour the Goddess Lok Yeay Mao. It is one of the most prominent attractions within Bokor National Park and it attracts both local and overseas visitors. The statue is not only a remarkable architectural achievement, but it is also one of the most outstanding religious buildings in recent time. There is no doubt that this monument will be priceless for the future generations of mankind.
The statue is 29 metres (95 feet) tall and 8 metres (26 feet) in width. Lok Yeay Mao is being depicted in a meditation posture with a calm and peaceful demeanour. She sits on top of a three-platform altar and wears a black skirt, a white shirt and a yellow scarf.
Located on top of a 1,075-metre (3,526 feet) high mountain, visitors can also feast their eyes on the breathtaking views of the vast blue seas, coastal line, offshore islands and also a panoramic view of the Kampot province. One can also observe the magical sunset over the sea in the evening.
The construction of the Lok Yeay Mao monument started on February 27, 2010 and completed on May 3, 2012, costing around USD 210,000 (MYR 853,545). The most daunting part of the statue design was the face, especially the shape and size of it.
The project was estimated to be completed within a year but it took two years due to weather conditions and transportation difficulties. Part of the road towards the location of the monument is not completed and hence manual labour was required to carry the construction materials to the site. Some of the building materials also took some time to arrive from the mainland due to the remote location of Mount Bokor.
Mount Bokor is known for its cooling weather all year round. However, it’s only conducive for construction during a certain period of time in a year as it has a dry and rainy season. During the dry season, which is from October to April, the weather is optimum for construction. However, during the rainy season, which is from May to September, the construction process was hindered due to heavy rains and strong winds. On top of that, thick fog is also one of the challenges that they faced in building the monument.
This statue requires frequent maintenance because it is located on top of a mountain and subjected to harsh weather, as well as sea winds, which causes the colour to change faster than normal. Painting of the statue and removing of moss is done every two to three years to maintain the statue’s optimum condition.
Legend
Lok Yeay Mao was a Supreme Commander who succeeded Commander Kry, from the southwestern region of Khmer territory, covering land and maritime borders (sea zones), including Koh Kong, Kampot and Sihanoukville, as well as parts of the northwestern region. She was a young woman with a dusky complexion, was not married and was appointed by Commander Kry as his Deputy Commander.
During a battle, Commander Kry was killed by the Siamese army on the front-line in Koh Kong, demoralising the soldiers. Lok Yeay Mao as the Deputy Commander decided to fight her way out and retreat with her soldiers to Sre Ambel. She continued to gather forces at Pech Nil as it was a strategic place where they could contain the Siamese forces and stop them from advancing.
The Khmer King eventually appointed Lok Yeay Mao as the commander in charge of the southwestern region. She started to amass a large army and designed strategies to launch attacks on land and water against the Siamese forces in the Koh Kong area. In the end, she regained complete control over the territory.
Lok Yeay Mao also used her powerful magic to create armies of grass or tamarind leaves to invade every Siamese garrison. The Siamese soldiers were in a state of utter panic and chaos when the armies of grass and tamarind leaves invaded them. They eventually lost the will to fight.
After Lok Yeay Mao passed away, Siamese forces tried to take over Koh Kong but they failed as the Khmer forces were very skilled at fighting, something that was taught to them by their late commander. Before the Khmer forces went into battle, they prayed for Lok Yeay Mao’s soul to enter their bodies to make them stronger during battle. Until today, her magical power pervades every part of the coastal provinces, granting protection to those who pay their respect to her.
More Pictures
Yeay Mao statue at Sihanoukville in Cambodia
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Learned something new today, thanks for the sharing on The Goddess Lok Yeay Mao.
It is definitely challenging to build a huge statue but I believe each and everyone who took part in this project received abundant blessings from the Goddess.
I could feel the tranquility in this surrounding just by looking at these pictures.
Bokor Mountain is a must visit place when visiting Cambodia 🙏
This statue is really beautiful and magnificent, it’s facing the road and located on top of a mountain. I really enjoy to visit National Park in South East Asia, like Thailand, they have so many huge statues around, and the Goddess Lok Yeay Mao, it is within Bokor National Park in Cambodia.
The project was supposed to completed in 1 year but it took 2 years due to weather conditions and transportation difficulties. I can related to this because in Kechara, Rinpoche’s stupa project is on going and there are many obstacles for the members to overcome.
Building a huge statue takes a lot efforts from group of people, also there are outer factors that human not able to control. Seeing people have faith to involve in the project touches me a lot. Look at the pictures, can you imagine the road was incomplete and the manual labour was required to carry the construction materials to the site? And the cooling weather in Mount Bokor makes the people even harder to do it. Besides that, this statue requires frequent maintenance. The harsh weather, sea winds causes the colour fade faster.
All the works are important and matter because the statue bring peace to our heart when we look at it. I feel grateful, thank you.
The beautiful big statue of Goddess Lok Yeay Mao stands tall on the top of Mount Bokor in Bokor National Park at the coastal provinces of Cambodia.It is one of the most prominent attractions within Bokor National Park.
Visitor usually pay their respects to her as she is believed to bestow blessings,especially on those who make offerings to her.Thank you so much for sharing this nice article with lovely pictures.
Interesting article of this Goddess Lok Yeay Mao of Cambodia. Cambodia is famous for the Angkor Wat temple and now there is another tourist attraction which is new and have not heard of it before. Buddhism is the official religion of Cambodia. The beautiful big statue of Goddess Lok Yeay Mao stands tall on the top of Mount Bokor in Bokor National Park at the coastal provinces of Cambodia. It seem to be one of the most outstanding religious buildings since having endured civil war and the murderous rule of the Khmer Rouge. Building such a huge statues is indeed a challenging project for them. Some how they did it. Wow….. there is a legend behind this huge statue. As Rinpoche always said this….the bigger the statues the better it is to bless the surrounding area and the people there and by merely seeing it. Interesting read and beautiful pictures. Wish I could visit this stunning Goddess Lok Yeay Mao statue in the near future.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
A very inspiring story of a brave lady like Goddess Lok Yeay Mao who fought and won the battle to protect her country. It’s wonderful to know that beautiful Goddess Lok Yeay Mao grants blessings and protection to those who pay their respect to her. Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for this truly inspiring story of Goddess Lok Yeay Mao. May everyone be blessed by her and have a very productive week ahead?????
Very interesting short article on Goddess Lok Yeay Mao of Cambodia. It’s nice to know you can get some protection from her when you pay proper respect in the region.
This blog site always has the most interesting posts on varied subject matters. I’ve been a big fan of this site for the last three years. Thanks Tsem Rinpoche and your students.