Maria Guyomar de Pina (; 1664 – 1728) (also known as ''Maria Guiomar de Pina'', ''Dona Maria del Pifia'' or as ''Marie Guimar'' and ''Madame Constance'' in French), Thao Thong Kip Ma (), was a Siamese woman from

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

. She was of mixed Japanese, Portuguese and Bengali Indian ancestry and became the wife of Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon. Maria Guyomar is known in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

for having introduced new

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish (food), 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 r ...

s in Siamese cuisine at the

court. Some of her dishes were influenced by

Portuguese cuisine Portuguese cuisine () consists of the traditions and practices of cooking in Portugal. The oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine, entitled ''Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal'', from the 16th century, describes many popular dish ...

, 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 bec ...

-based sweets such as '' foi thong'', '' sangkhaya fakthong'' and '' sangkhaya''.

Biography

Maria was born in

during the reign of King

Narai King Narai the Great (, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the ...

. Her father was known as Fanique or Phanick, a ''

Mestiço ''Mestiço'' is a Portuguese term that referred to persons of mixed European and Indigenous non-European ancestry in the former Portuguese Empire. Mestiço community in Brazil In Colonial Brazil, it was initially used to refer to , persons b ...

'' from Goa of mixed Portuguese, Bengali Indian and Japanese ancestry, who was described as "half-black, half-Bengali, half-Japanese," a devout Catholic of little means. Her mother was a Japanese Christian, named Ursula Yamada, whose ancestors had migrated to Siam following the repression of Christianity in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. By some accounts, Ursula was not a very faithful wife and Maria, who was of light complexion, may have been fathered by a Sicilian priest. Maria Guyomar was brought up as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1682, Maria married Constantine Phaulkon after he abandoned

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

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 Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

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 language, 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 estim ...

on 4 October, but the Commander of the French fort General Desfarges 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 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 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, Thong muan, Thong yot, Thong yip, Foi thong, Sangkaya and Khanom phing. :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 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 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 ''Fios de ovos'' () is a traditional Portuguese sweet food made out of egg yolks, drawn into thin strands and boiled in sugar syrup. It is used as a garnish on cakes and puddings, as a filling for cakes, or eaten on its own. Through Portugue ...

'', 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, Khanom mo kaeng is a sweet made from flour egg and coconut milk, is similar to Tigelada, a Portuguese traditional sweet that has rolled almond as main ingredient. During King Narai’s period, a version known as ''Khanom kumphamat'' () 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 Thong yip— 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'') and the 2023 historical drama TV series Love Destiny 2. She is portrayed by the Anglo-Thai actress Susira Naenna.

References

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)

External links