Lost Goddesses by Trudy Jacobsen

By Kent Davis

This article is based on research presented by Trudy Jacobsen in her book “Lost Goddesses: The Denial of Female Power in the History of Cambodia“.

“Lost Goddesses” traces the trajectory of female influence in Cambodia from ancient to modern times. Immediately following her Preface, Dr. Jacobsen opened the book with a Glossary. The vocabulary that a society uses is an important indicator of values, priorities and beliefs. It therefore struck me as a practical, original and brilliant idea to first introduce the female-related terms that her investigation would include.

The list below includes Khmer, Pali, French and Sanskrit terms with English meanings. With the author’s kind permission, I extracted this list from the complete glossary that appears in “Lost Goddesses“. I have also augmented her list with a sampling of additional terms from the online Khmer-English dictionary at the Southeast Asian Language Library. I regret any mistakes or errors in my attempts to transliterate some of the additional terms. Note that this list is by no means exhaustive, nor is it a complete list of female related words in Khmer…but the words below are certainly explore some fascinating social, political and spiritual concepts.

Khmer Words About Women

The women of Angkor Wat, frequently called devata and apsaras, are related to many divine, semi-divine and mortal Asian females. While researching flying goddesses (like the apsaras manifesting from the Sea of Milk at Angkor Wat), I began following threads about the Indonesian rice goddess, Dewi Sri.

Dewi Sri, the Indonesian goddess of rice and fertility, is reputed to have pre-Hindu origins.

Sadly, ancient images of Dewi Sri are scarce to the point that I could find none…so we have to settle for this attractive, but modern, reproduction from Wikipedia. Still, it’s interesting to note that her accouterments and demeanor are immediately reminiscent of the devata of Angkor Wat.

Khmer Uma Goddess found at Koh Ker - Cornell Collection

Dewi Sri is associated with rice, water, the moon…and is believed to have dominion over the underworld…domain of the serpent or Naga race…the very same race that are progenitors of the Khmers.

Cambodia’s closest equivalent goddess seems to be Po Ino Nogar, whose name means “great one” in Khmer, and is sometimes associated with the Hindu goddess Uma. Po Ino Nogar is revered because she brings fertility and agricultural bounty to the earth and its people. Like the heavenly apsaras seen at Angkor Wat, she is also associated with the sky, clouds and water, and is sometimes symbolized as a gentle rain.

It is interesting to note that Po Ino Nogar is polyandrous, with 97 husbands. She also has 38 daughters, one of whom, Po Yan Dari, is supposedly a goddess of disease and death who lives in caves and grottos. However, in a Cham version of this tale, the daughter is named Pajau Tan, and she is seen as a divine healer. According to that legend, Pajau Tan was so successful raising the dead that she disrupted normal life and was finally sent to live on the moon. Another daughter of Po Ino Nogar is “the Mouse Queen” (Po Bya Tikuh), perhaps related because of the threat mice pose to the rice crop.

I’ve been unable to locate an image of Po Ino Nogar (please comment to provide info below) but Thailand’s rice goddess is quite popular and quite visible. Known as Mae Posop (แม่โพสพ) she is still honored as the goddess of fertility and abundance as this article from August 9, 2008 explains: Queen Sirikit of Thailand presided over a ceremony.

Since ancient times, Cambodian and Thai royalty have commemorated the beginning of the rice growing season with an annual Royal Plowing Day Ceremony in the month of May.

Mae Posop - แม่โพสพ- Thailand's Rice Goddess. Note that the letters seen top right are Khmer script, not Thai. Can anyone comment as to their significance?

This all seems relevant to our investigation of sacred Khmer women for a few reasons:

1. The iconography of the devata of Angkor Wat is also associated with fertility, growth and abundance.

2. Associations with naga (divine serpents), water, the underworld and the moon also potentially link these sacred females.

3. Java, the home of Dewi Sri, has proven ties to the Khmer civilization in ancient times (10th to 13th century).

To conclude,  let’s read a bit more about rice and tradition with our guest writer, and food aficionado, Vipp Rongsit from Thailand…

Thai Rice and the Ceremony of the Rice Goddess: Mae Posop

By Vipp Rongsit

Mae Posop - แม่โพสพ - Thailand's Rice Goddess

Rice is the mainstay of the Siamese diet and economy. It is always served with salads, meats, poultry, fish, and sea food. Two-thirds of the Thai people earn a living from rice farming. They produce enough not only to feed themselves, but also to be one of the world’s largest rice exporters. Rice farming is the greatest single contributor to national income, providing almost half of Thailand’s export earnings, and major support of government revenues. When one hires a servant in Siam, it is customary to supply rice in addition to salary.

Besides its economic importance, rice has a deep psychological and cultural meaning for the Thai, according to Phya Anuman Rajadhon, distinguished Thai historian and scholar of the customs and traditions of his country. When a Siamese wishes to say he is hungry, he says, “Hiu khao“ or “I’m hungry for rice.” When he is eating, he says, “Tan khao” or “I’m eating rice.” Even when he refers to food in general he uses the word khao, meaning rice.

Thai Rice Goddess - Mae Posop

There are many rituals and ceremonies that accompany rice farming, and, while some are losing their vitality with the passing of the older generation, others are practiced today. These observances are founded on the belief that there is a Rice Goddess or Rice Mother, Mae Posop (แม่โพสพ), who, if properly worshiped and propitiated, will reward the farmer with prosperity and good health. For those who deny her, only poverty and sickness will be their end.

It is said that she first came to reside in the land of the rice fields from Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu-Buddhist gods. Her journey over the Seven Seas and the Seven Mountain Ranges was long and tortuous. And on her heels came the many fish which today are still so plentiful in Siamese waters.

Mae Posop statue at a Thai temple.

When rice plants begin to seed, the Thai expression is that the rice becomes pregnant. This is a crisis in the life of the plant, and therefore its khwan (spirit or soul) must be strengthened. It is believed that every living thing has a khwan, man, animal, and plant. When a person is ill, the khwan flees the body. Death means that the khwan does not return.

During every crisis of life–birth, puberty, marriage–a ceremony is performed to strengthen this spirit. So for the pregnant Rice Mother an offering is made of banana, citrus fruit, and sugar cane for her morning sickness. The farmer puts these foods in a bamboo basket which he hangs on a flag pole in the fields. This also serves as a warning to trespassers to keep their animals from treading on the rice plants. The farmer then takes a comb, toilet powder, and perfumed ointment and symbolically combs a rice plant, dabbing it with powder and ointment as though it were the Rice Mother herself. He prays that through his offerings the Rice Mother will thrive and not come to harm.

After the harvest, the rice missed in the reaping, representing the spirit of the Rice Mother, is gathered, with an entreaty to her to leave the field, where she may be in danger of prowling mice and birds, and to come and live in the barn instead. When the threshing is done, an offering of boiled duck eggs, sweets, and fruit is made to the Rice Mother. What rice paddy remains on the threshing floor is then put into a basket and called Mae Posop’s rice. This is the spirit or essence of rice. Next a doll is made from rice straw and mixed with some of this paddy–as an image of the Rice Mother–and is kept in the barn with the paddy essence. When the sowing of rice begins in the rainy season, the Rice Mother’s essence is taken out of the barn and mixed with the paddy to be sown, to insure fertility. The doll is then ceremoniously destroyed.

Amulet with Mae Posop

Even when not directly concerned with the cultivation of rice, the Rice Mother must be propitiated. At the end of a meal children often raise their hands palm to palm in thanksgiving to the Rice Mother.

It is said that her ire is incurred if, when eating, one allows grains of rice to fall to the floor, or if these grains are stepped on, or leftover rice is discarded. If one wishes to criticize the way rice has been cooked, one must beg the Rice Mother’s pardon first and then politely make one’s complaint.

When fed to animals – and it is, by the way, the main source of food for cats, dogs, pigs, chickens, ducks, cows, and buffalo – rice must be offered in a container, not scattered on the ground, for the Rice Mother’s wrath may be incurred. The threatening danger is that she will leave the offender, and only bad luck will surround him without her.

About the Author

Vipp Rongsit is an author and editor specializing in Thai food & Thai recipes.

Thai Recipes | Thai Soup Recipes | Thai Restaurants

Source: http://www.articopia.com

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

As early as the 9th century, Khmer people respected women, giving them the right to own property, the right to conduct business, and honoring female images in their temples. Devata.org is dedicated to understanding the role of ancient women in Southeast Asia, and to sharing that knowledge with the modern world to inspire equality, education and advancement for women.

A new book presents compelling evidence that  unleashing women’s full potential is the key to economic progress in the world.  “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” offers practical, effective ways to empower women and to improve the world we live in.

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn are the husband-and-wife Pulitzer Prize winning team that wrote the book, and they practice what they preach. The great news is that it’s easy to do something good; there are plenty of quality organizations that maximize the influence of your contributions, no matter how modest.

Here are three ways you can help today:

1. Help girls go to school.

Srei Devata Middle School has no electricity so students learn on a battery powered computer charged by solar panels.

Girls who get an education have fewer children, earn more money, and are able to help younger siblings. American Assistance for Cambodia enables individuals and organizations to revolutionize life in a village forever by actually building a new school for as little as $13,000.

In 2005, DatAsia, the publishing firm that supports Devata.org, funded construction of  Srei Devata Middle School in Kampong Thom Province, as well as an initial operating budget, through AAfC. While Nick Kristof doesn’t flaunt the fact, he and his family also funded a school with this efficient foundation in 2008.

Another excellent program AAfC operates to help girls in Cambodia is Girls Be Ambitious, where uneducated girls are at great risk of being trafficked into brothels or exploitative labor situations in factories. For $10 a month, you can keep a girl in school and help her build a better future.

2. Support woman’s business and education.

A microloan of $50 can help a woman start a business, producing income she can use to feed her children and send them to school. Two great groups helping women around the world are Mercy Corps and BRAC.

"an illiterate woman who used compensation money after being gang-raped to build a small school in which she herself enrolled." Story & photo by Nicolas Kristof

Have you read about Mukhtar Mai’s courageous efforts to bring educational equality to girls and women in one of Pakistan’s poorest regions? Her story and other accounts from Pakistan were so shocking that we immediately donated to her cause on behalf of the students of Srei Devata School. Cambodia is slowly recovering from its time of genocidal horror, but many others still live in the agony and ignorance of human cruelty. Anyone can help with the click of a mouse and PayPal.

3. Make girls smarter.

Child receiving a Vitamin A capsule in Cambodia.

How can a few pennies per person change lives? Many pregnant women living in poverty don’t get enough iodine, so their fetuses’ brains do not develop properly. Their children routinely lose ten to 15 IQ points—particularly girls, for reasons not fully understood. The solution: Iodize salt, at the cost of a couple of pennies per person per year.

Helen Keller International provides technical assistance to establish nutrition and eye health programs in partnership with host countries throughout the world. Did you know that 80% of blindness worldwide is preventable? Neither did I.

For details go to Helen Keller International.

There you have it. Three ways and multiple efficient foundations that enable you to improve the lives of women now. Do you have $10? $100? Pick one and see how it feels.

Article by Kent Davis

"Khmer Women on the Move" By Annuska Derks

By Kent Davis

Personal, engaging accounts of Cambodian women in transition

Less than 1,000 years ago, the Khmer civilization raised some of the world’s most astounding temples to their Hindu gods…and as we still see today, images of ancient women dominate these temples. In A Record of Cambodia: The Land and Its People 13th century Chinese traveler Zhou Daguan confirmed that women virtually controlled Cambodian commerce.

The fact is that women have always played important roles in Southeast Asian societies, yet their roles are frequently misinterpreted or even escape the notice of historians. Annuska Derks does a fascinating job reporting on the transition of women’s roles in the complex landscape of modern Cambodia.

“Khmer Women on the Move” is quite readable. While academic books of this caliber can be obtuse, the author’s excellent scholarship doesn’t get in the way. One aspect that I found especially engaging is the way the author includes many Khmer language terms in her text — this not only adds authenticity and precision, it also gives readers an enjoyable lesson in useful Khmer vocabulary!

The author made her study quite personal by profiling a number of women, their families and the conflicts they experienced in the dichotomy of modern Cambodia. There, women face cultural crossroads that present challenging dilemmas: Rural vs. Urban; Traditional vs. Modern; Moral vs. Immoral. The author carefully, clearly examines these conflicts (and others) through the personal experiences of Khmer women who are determining their individual futures.

In reading the Acknowledgements, one discovers, perhaps not surprisingly, that the author consulted with three of the world’s foremost Cambodian scholars in preparing this work: Judy Ledgerwood At the Edge of the Forest: Essays on Cambodia, History, and Narrative in Honor of David Chandler (Studies on Southeast Asia); Penny Edwards Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860-1945 (Southeast Asia: Politics, Meaning, and Memory) and Trudy Jacobsen Lost Goddesses: Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History, whose works I hold in high regard and also recommend.

“Khmer Women on the Move” is a readable, interesting, personal account of Cambodian women seizing the opportunity to decide their futures, and the future of their country. But I recommend this book to a much broader group of readers. Anyone interested in learning more about the social fabric of this fascinating land will enjoy it.

Imagine hosting a dinner party for 1,038 of the most extraordinary women in history, 39 of whom are honored by individual place settings at a dinner table nearly 150 feet long.

“The Dinner Party” makes this vision into a reality at the Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. Feminist icon Judy Chicago created this monumental work of art comprised of a triangular table divided by three wings, each 48 feet long.

Click the photo for “The Dinner Party” Virtual Tour

The 39 Place Settings

Wing One: Prehistory to Classical Rome

Primordial Goddess
Fertile Goddess
Ishtar
Kali
Snake Goddess
Sophia
Amazon
Hatshepsut
Judith
Sappho
Aspasia
Boadaceia
Hypatia

Wing Two: Christianity to the Reformation

Marcella
Saint Bridget
Theodora
Hrosvitha
Trotula
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Hildegarde of Bingen
Petronilla de Meath
Christine de Pisan
Isabella d’Este
Elizabeth R.
Artemisia Gentileschi
Anna van Schurman

Wing Three: American Revolution to the Women’s Revolution

Anne Hutchinson
Sacajawea
Caroline Herschel
Mary Wollstonecraft
Sojourner Truth
Susan B. Anthony
Elizabeth Blackwell
Emily Dickinson
Ethel Smyth
Margaret Sanger
Natalie Barney
Virginia Woolf
Georgia O’Keeffe

Browse the Place Settings of “The Dinner Party” here

Visit artist Judy Chicago’s website here

By Kent Davis – All details and images from the Brooklyn Museum website. Devata.org respects the intellectual property rights of others and is displaying a non-commercial sampling of text and images here under the terms and conditions of a Creative Commons License.

By Kent Davis   Buy this book on Amazon

Duvdutt Pattana has created a truly enjoyable overview of this topic, an “introduction” as the cover states, made especially valuable by the breadth of his inquiry. I have studied Asian history, particularly Indian philosophy, for more than 30 years. My focus is understanding the portrayal of feminine forces in the Khmer Hindu universe. This accessible primer has given me new perspectives that “more scholarly” volumes have not.

Devi: The Mother Goddess by Devdutt Pattanaik

Dr. Pattanaik writes in a simple style. There are no footnotes and few true photo credits. This is not a formal treatise built upon a foundation of multiple documented sources; indeed that is its appeal.

The author gives a comprehensive view of the diversity of Hindu beliefs relating to the Mother Goddess and her myriad daughters. Note that the author’s worldly view includes goddesses from Japan, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Oceania, Scandinavia, Gnosticism and Christianity.

His love and respect for the subject of his investigation is clear. This book inspired me to seek knowledge in many new places, as well as recognize things that I already knew but was unsure of.

Students of feminist philosophy will be both shocked and enlightened. The evidence presented suggests a time in the distant past of our planet when female domination, not male, was the rule in society and religion. The implication is that aspects of that world are superior to the one we now inhabit.

If you are a visual person (as I am) you will enjoy the large 8 ¼ X 11 format, filled with large pictures printed on coated stock in color and black and white. Indeed, being printed in India, this book is a bargain for what it delivers.

To summarize, the real benefit here is having all of these feminine myths simplified and placed in a single small volume with well chosen visual evidence.

I discovered Devdutt Pattanaik through his website, which contains a wealth of information and free articles on the topic of “understanding sacred stories, symbols, rituals, and their relevance in modern times.”

There, he describes himself as “medical doctor by education, a marketing manager by profession and a mythologist by passion.” I admit that I found this description irresistible and had no choice but to seek out his books. This was his first that I have read and I was not at all disappointed.

In closing I note that a reviewer of “The Goddess in India: The Five Faces of the Eternal Feminine” critiques that as a watered down version of this book. I have ordered that edition to do a side-by-side comparison but if you consider his comments and mine relevant it seems you will be well served to read “Devi, the Mother Goddess” first.

• Paperback: 126 pages
• Publisher: Vakils Feffer & Simons Ltd; 1 edition (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8187111453
• ISBN-13: 978-8187111450
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds

Devi, the Mother Goddess

Mother Durga, the Goddess Beyond Reach, is shown above, in her 10 armed form.

Below her, from Left to Right, are Three Local forms of the Goddess:

First is Kali Maa from the Kalighat Temple, in Kolkata. This is one of the Shakti Peethas, where part of Sati’s body fell to Earth. This Kali Temple is several hundred years old, and lends it name to the city of Kolkata.

Central is Tara Maa, from Tarapeeth Temple in West Bengal. Also one of the Shakti Peethas, it is said that Sati’s Mouth fell the ground in this blessed spot.

And finally, Bhavatarini Maa, from the Dakhineswar Temple in Kolkata. This temple gained fame as the home to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886), a Saint and Mystic who revolutionized worship of the Mother throughout all of India.

The 3 Goddesses appear in midst of Red Hibiscus flowers, favored by the Goddess Kali.
by Santo Sengupta for www.ExoticIndiaArt.com

I confess my research focus is quite specialized: I am dedicated to establishing the meaning and significance of the 12th century Khmer women portrayed at Angkor Wat. I believe that once these extraordinary women are understood they will once again inspire and empower many people, men and women, in our modern world today.

My research is multidisciplinary and multifaceted; I’m pursuing many sources to understand the diverse roles these women may have held in the Khmer Empire. As I look at new information I weigh it in relation to who these women may have been, what they may have thought and how they may have fit into their society, state and religion.

With that in mind I’ve collected a number of quotes by and about women. Perhaps these modern perspectives can give us a few more clues as to what was in the hearts, minds and souls of the women of Angkor Wat.

WOMEN’S VISION

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
Maya Angelou

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation.”
Pearl S. Buck

If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.”
Margaret Fuller

“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.”
Mother Theresa

“The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything… or nothing.”
Nancy Astor

“We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons… but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.”
Gloria Steinem

“Old age is no place for sissies.”
Bette Davis

Private Writings by Mother Teresa

“Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness.
It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Helen Keller

“We are all pencils in the hand of God writing love letters to the world.”
Mother Theresa

“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations
I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty,
believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
Louisa May Alcott

WOMEN IN HISTORY

“History is herstory too.”
Author Unknown

Failure is Impossible by Susan B Anthony

“It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.”
Susan B. Anthony

“Resolved, that the women of this nation in 1876, have greater cause for discontent, rebellion and revolution than the men of 1776.”
Susan B. Anthony

“Consider the alternative…Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote. The relative positions to be assumed by man and woman in the working out of our civilization were assigned long ago by a higher intelligence than ours.”
Grover Cleveland, 1905

“[Feminism is] a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”
Pat Robertson

“I asked a Burmese why women, after centuries of following their men, now walk ahead. He said there were many unexploded land mines since the war.”
Robert Mueller

WOMEN CHALLENGED

“Women are the only exploited group in history to have been idealized into powerlessness.”
Erica Jong

The Women by Clare Boothe Luce

“Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths.”
Lois Wyse

“Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, ‘She doesn’t have what it takes.’  They will say, ‘Women don’t have what it takes.’ ”
Clare Boothe Luce

“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, “It’s a girl.”
Shirley Chisholm

“There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women.”
Madeleine K. Albright

THE CONCEPT OF FEMINISM

The Young Rebecca

“You don’t have to be anti-man to be pro-woman.”
Jane Galvin Lewis

“I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a door mat or a prostitute.”
Rebecca West
“Mr Chesterton in Hysterics: A Study in Prejudice”
The Clarion, 14 Nov 1913, reprinted in The Young Rebecca

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”
Cheris Kramarae & Paula Treichler

WOMEN EMPOWERED

Alanis Morisette - Jagged Little Pill (CD)

“I see my body as an instrument, rather than an ornament.”
Alanis Morissette, quoted in Reader’s Digest, March 2000

“Women belong in the house… and the Senate.”
Author Unknown

“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.”
Roseanne Barr

“A charming woman doesn’t follow the crowd. She is herself.”
Loretta Young

“Men weren’t really the enemy – they were fellow victims suffering from an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily inadequate when there were no bears to kill.”
Betty Friedan

“Sometimes the best man for the job isn’t.”
Author Unknown

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”
Maya Angelou
“Moms and Whoopi: Pioneers of Black Theater,”
Plexus, November 1983

Every year, during the month of March, hundreds of thousands of events are held throughout the country to acknowledge and recognize the amazing accomplishments of women.

National Woman's History Month - 2009

This national celebration and recognition of women’s historic achievements began in 1980 when National Women’s History Week was proclaimed by Presidential Proclamation. In 1987, this national celebration was expanded by Congressional Resolution to an entire month by declaring March as National Women’s History Month.

National Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to educate the general public about the significant role of women in American history and contemporary society. Establishing this focal celebration has encouraged schools to introduce new curriculum, and communities to recognize women who have been pivotal in their own communities.

The knowledge of women’s history provides a more expansive vision of what a woman can do. This perspective can encourage girls and women to think larger and bolder and can give boys and men a fuller understanding of the female experience.

Each March, to unify the observance of National Women’s History Month, a special theme is created. Women whose lives and extraordinary work exemplify the theme are selected as Honorees.

The theme for 2009 is “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet.” This theme is timely in a year when the world is discussing the problems and repercussions of dramatic climate change s and the recognition of diminishing natural resources. If you think these ecological problems may be insurmountable, you will be encouraged and inspired by the dramatic actions of the 2009 Honorees.

The 2009 Honorees are women whose courageous, pioneering, and innovative leadership are helping to save our planet. There are over one hundred Honorees and their achievements and accomplishments span three centuries and seven generations. For each acknowledged NWHM Honoree, there are tens of thousands of other women who are equally committed and currently working in their own communities, states, and countries.

For more information about National Women’s History Month or for full list of the 2009 National Women’s History Month Honorees, visit www.nwhp.org.

Researcher Kent Davis theorizes that the many carved images of women found throughout the temple complex hold the key to the origins and purpose of the ancient monuments.

Written by Jessie Beard – February 12, 2009

© 2009 The Phnom Penh Post – This article appears with the kind permission of the copyright holder. No further reproduction is permitted.

Kent Davis has spent years researching and photographing what he calls the devatas, or carved female images, that appear throughout the Angkor Wat temple complex. His theory is that the ancient religious site was actually conceived and wrought to glorify women and the "feminine principles they represent".

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA – A TEAM of researchers, led by US educational program and marketing executive Kent Davis, is analysing 7,000 digital photos taken in November 2008 for a database that will attempt to unveil a mystery that’s been bugging Davis since he first visited Angkor Wat in November 2005.

He wants to determine why there are so many images of women in the temples, and he’s postulating a theory that Angkor wasn’t built to honour kings or gods, but to glorify women.

When Davis first came to Angkor, he immediately became fascinated by the carvings of women and instinctively felt they had been historically trivialised as decorations.

“I wasn’t prepared for the temple’s human side as realistic carvings of women greeted me. Quite clearly, the images of these women were a major part of the monument’s design and purpose,” he said.

“These women who are so extraordinary and so filled with significance that it’s incomprehensible they have remained unstudied and unappreciated in modern times. The fact that they have been hidden in plain sight during 150 years of intense Khmer scholarship is truly amazing.

“But a quantitative analysis could unlock the secrets these complex women have guarded for so long.”

Using a computer database, the project involves recording the diverse features of the women, enabling detailed analysis of them for the first time since they were carved.

Davis also departs from convention by referring to the women shown in temple carvings as devatas, not Apsaras.

“No one knows what the ancient Khmers called the women at Angkor Wat. I generally choose to use devata for historical and semantic reasons. About a hundred years ago, some scholars began using the Hindu term apsara, and that became more common over time.”

Davis’s use of the term devata and his quest to comprehensively analyse the collection of female carvings was also inspired by the work of a young French woman, Sappho Marchal, who began classifying the women by their attributes in her own personal drawings.

Marchal lived at Angkor Wat and was the daughter of the second curator of the Angkor Wat conservation program. She published a book, Costumes et parures Khmers d’apres les devata d’Angkor-Wat, in 1927, and when Davis discovered her writings, he became even more determined to finish what Marchal had started all those years ago.

Davis has already evaluated 259 carvings of women and expects to include over 1,800 carvings in his study. He said that once he amassed about 25,000 digital photos of the carvings he was studying, the sheer complexity required that a computer database be used.

But on April 17 last year, Davis’s project received a major setback – fire gutted his house and studio, destroying a collection of more than 2,000 books on the history of Southeast Asia. This included the manuscript he was preparing to republish, Angkor the Magnificent, originally written in 1924 by American socialite and Titanic survivor Helen Churchill Candee. [NOTE - Davis completed Angkor the Magnificent and it is now available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk ]

The book is credited with introducing the concept of Cambodian tourism to Americans and Britons, and Davis’s revised version was scheduled to go to the publisher the day after the fire.

But the biggest setback was the destruction of Davis’s original notes and manuscripts on female statues at Angkor Wat, including 6 digital back ups of his 25,000 photos of the female carvings.

Not to be deterred, Davis returned to Angkor Wat last November to redo some photography.

“I had logistical help from three Cambodians and three European scientists in Cambodia. But due to the independent nature of the study, their contributions are unofficial.

“Now, the only limitations to progress are time and money. I have most of the photo data again and have built the database program. The process of preparing the images and inputting the data will be quite time-consuming.

“The first paper published will be a technical study I just completed with Michigan State University researchers using computer technology to analyse the faces of the 259 devata on the West Gopura.

“Beyond the database, I have an enormous amount of research data about the images in relation to Cambodian, Southeast Asian and South Asian culture. The introduction to this body of work will be published in the anthology to be called Daughters of Angkor Wat, through my publishing company DatAsia.

“Ultimately, my goal is to work with Cambodian researchers and the Apsara Authority.

“But the onus is on me to prepare substantial evidence before approaching them with my paradigm, which is that the primary reason Angkor Wat was built was to protect, honour and glorify these women, as well as the feminine principles that they represent.

“My view is that Angkor Wat is there because of the women.”