Maria Guyomar de Pina ( th, มารีอา กียูมาร์ ดึ ปีญา; 1664 – 1728) (also known as ''Maria Guiomar de Pina'', ''Dona Maria del Pifia'' or as ''Marie Guimar'' and ''Madame Constance'' in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

), Thao Thong Kip Ma ( th, ท้าวทองกีบม้า), was a Siamese woman of mixed Japanese- Portuguese-

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

ancestry who lived in Ayutthaya in the 17th century. She became the wife of Greek adventurer

Constantine Phaulkon Constantine Phaulkon (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Γεράκης, ''Konstantinos Gerakis''; γεράκι is the Greek word for "falcon"; 1647 – 5 June 1688, also known as Costantin Gerachi, ''Capitão Falcão'' in Portuguese and simply as ' ...

. Maria Guyomar is known in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

for having introduced new

dessert Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and most parts o ...

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. His ...

s in Siamese cuisine at the Ayutthaya court. Some of her dishes were influenced by

Portuguese cuisine The oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine, entitled ''Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal'', from the 16th century, describes many popular dishes of meat, fish, poultry and others. ''Culinária Portuguesa'', by António-Maria De O ...

, especially

egg yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example be ...

-based sweets such as '' foi thong'' ("golden threads") and '' sangkhaya''.

Biography

Maria was born in Ayutthaya during the reign of King

Narai King Narai the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( th, รามาธิบดีที่ ๓ ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the P ...

. Her mother was a Japanese woman, named Ursula Yamada, whose family had emigrated to Thailand following the repression of Christianity in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Her father Fanik Guyomar (also Phanik Guimar), from the

Portuguese colony The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

of Goa, was a Bengali Christian of mixed Portuguese and Bengali descent. Maria Guyomar was brought up as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1682, Maria married

after he abandoned

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

for Catholicism. They had two sons, George "Jorge" Phaulkon and Constantin "João" Phaulkon, and lived a life of affluence as Phaulkon rose to become highly influential at the royal court of king Narai. During the period of rapprochement between France and the Siamese court Maria Guyomar de Pinha, together with her husband Phaulkon, was promised French protection by being ennobled a countess of France. During the 1688 Siamese revolution, after the execution of her husband on 5 June, she managed to flee Ayutthaya with the help of a French officer named Sieur de Sainte-Marie and took refuge with the French troops in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

on 4 October, but the Commander of the French fort

General Desfarges Marshal Desfarges, also spelled Des Farges (died 1690), was a French general of the 17th century who took an important role in French efforts at establishing a presence in Siam (modern Thailand). Desfarges led two battalions (636 soldiers) on board ...

returned her to the Siamese under pressure from the new ruler, usurper Phetracha, for the exchange of hostages on 18 October. Despite the promises that had been made regarding her safety, she was condemned to perpetual slavery in the kitchens of Phetracha until his death in 1703, but remained and became the head of the royal kitchen staff. One of her sons, Jorge, became a minor official at the Siamese court. Her second son, João, was known to have been put in charge by Prince Phon of building a German

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

for the royal palace.Smithies 2002, p.180 According to French missionary sources he was called ''Racha Mantri'' and was at the same time a supervisor of the Christians in Ayutthaya and the official in charge of the royal storehouses. In her later life, Maria, together with her daughter-in-law Louisa Passagna (widow of João), continued to sue the

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...

to recoup money which her husband Phaulkon had lent to the company. She was vindicated in 1717 through a decree from the Council of State in France, which provided her with a maintenance allowance. Maria died in 1728.

Thai desserts

Maria Guyomar took the position of cook in the palace in the period of King Narai and introduced many new desserts into the Siamese cuisine such as curry puff,

Khanom mo kaeng ''Khanom mo kaeng'' ( th, ขนมหม้อแกง, ) is a traditional Thai dessert. It is similar to an egg custard or a kind of flan. ''Khanom mo kaeng'' is made with coconut milk, eggs (either chicken or duck), palm sugar, white sugar, s ...

Thong muan ''Thong muan'' ( th, ทองม้วน, ; ) is a Thai snack, similar to the American pirouline. It is a crispy wafer that comes in a cigar-shaped form. Its origins was influenced by the Portuguese. Due to its name, Thai people present thong mu ...

Thong yot Thong yot ( th, ทองหยอด, ), also known as "gold egg-yolks drops", is an ancient Thai dessert and one of the nine auspicious traditional Thai desserts. Thong Yot originated in Aveiro District, Portugal. Thong Yot was adapted from ...

Thong yip Thong yip ( th, ทองหยิบ, ), also known as "pinched gold egg yolks" in English, is one of the nine auspicious traditional Thai desserts. It is usually made for important occasions and ceremonies such as weddings, ordinations, and hou ...

, Foi thong, Sangkaya and

Khanom phing Khanom phing ( th, ขนมผิง, ) is a round Thai cookie consisting of tapioca flour, coconut milk, and egg yolk. History ''Khanom phing'' is believed to have been introduced to Thailand by the Portuguese in the 17th century. Evolution ...

. :th:ท้าวทองกีบม้า (มารี กีมาร์ เดอ ปีนา) Wikipedia: "ท้าวทองกีบม้า"(March 9, 2013) Retrieved October 22, 2013 Such desserts were presented and served to King Narai and his daughter Princess

Sudawadi Princess Sudawadi, the Princess Yothathep ( th, สุดาวดี; 1656–1735) was the only child of Narai and Princess Suriyong Ratsami, one of his concubines. She lived through five reigns and died in the reign of King Borommakot. Biograph ...

who appreciated them and promoted them. Khun Luang Ha Wat or King Uthumphon said that the desserts were distributed and sold in the market in area of Pa-Khanom.พิทยะ ศ., "สยาม-โปรตุเกสศึกษา:บทบาทในการเผยแพร่วัฒนธรรมการกินอยู่ของชุมชนชาวโปรตุเกสในประวัติศาสตร์ไทย"
February 5, 2011) Retrieved October 22, 2013 Following the success of the new desserts in the palace, some nobles requested to be taught the recipes. Many of her desserts were yellow like gold, a colour that was considered auspicious and pleasant in Siamese tradition. Thus, the desserts that Maria had introduced were widely popularized. The Historical Archives of the

Archdiocese of Bangkok The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok ( la, Archidiœcesis Bangkokensis, th, อัครสังฆมณฑลกรุงเทพฯ) is a Latin archdiocese in Thailand. The bishop's seat is the is the Assumption Cathedral, Bangkok. ...

mention that, although she introduced some local Siamese ingredients in them, Maria's sweets were largely based on traditional Portuguese desserts. The original Thai desserts had had flour, sugar or palm sugar and coconut as the main ingredients and Maria is credited with having introduced egg or yolk, refined sugar, soybean starch or cassava starch, as well as nuts, in her desserts.Historical Archives Archdiocese of Bangkok "แรกทองหยิบ ฝอยทอง...มา สยาม"
Retrieved October 22, 2013 Angel hair or '' Fios de ovos'', also known in Thai as Foi Thong, are egg threads where yolks were drawn into thin strands and boiled in sugar syrup. Next, Thong Yip, which is a sweet made from egg, was developed from ''Trouxa de ovos''. They have a different external look, Thong Yip is pleated but Trouxa de ovos are rolled. Also,

is a sweet made from flour egg and coconut milk, is similar to

Tigelada Tigelada or Tigelada de Abrantes is a typical Portuguese dessert made in a wood-fired oven. Its cooking is done in a pre-heated glazed clay bowl. In Peral, a parish in the municipality of Proença-a-Nova, these bowls give rise to a festival th ...

, a Portuguese traditional sweet that has rolled almond as main ingredient. During King Narai’s period, a version known as ''Khanom kumphamat'' ( th, ขนมกุมภมาศ) was served to the king in a pot which was made from precious metal.“Maitri Thai-Portuguese” MThai"ประวัติความเป็นมาของขนมไทย ที่ไม่ใช่ของคนไทย!!"
(May 30, 2013) Retrieved October 22, 2013 There is, however, some disagreement over Maria’s role in popularizing the desserts, Pridi Phitphumwithi claimed that some of the kinds of dessert attributed to Maria had been previously known by Siamese people. They had been named “Convent sweet” because they were cooked by the nuns in Portuguese convents.Matichon Online""ฝอยทอง"ไม่ใช่คำตอบ"ไทย-โปรตุเกส"เปิดลึกสายสัมพันธ์ 500ปี และงานสัมมนาที่ว่างเปล่า..."
(September 21, 2011) Retrieved October 22, 2013 Other critics claim that even though a large array of Siamese desserts are claimed to have been invented by Maria, only two kinds of dessert — Foi thong and

— can be fully said to be the fruit of her own skill.

Popular culture

The role of Maria Guyomar is featured in the 2018 historical drama TV series '' Love Destiny'' (original title ''Bupphesanniwat''). She is portrayed by the Anglo-Thai actress Susira "Susi" Naenna.

Bibliography

* Reid, Anthony (Editor), ''Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era'', Cornell University Press, 1993, *Smithies, Michael (2002), ''Three military accounts of the 1688 "Revolution" in Siam'', Itineria Asiatica, Orchid Press, Bangkok, คึกเดช, ก. (2002).ท้าวทองกีบม้า. Bangkok Thailand: สำนักพิมพ์แห่งจุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย
Thao Thong Kip Ma - Her life in comic (in Thai)

References

External links