By Kent Davis

In the 1950s, French artist Maurice Fiévet — well-known for his work in Africa with his talented photographer wife, Jeannette — created a series of dramatic paintings depicting life in ancient Cambodia.

Fiévet’s paintings were extraordinary because he worked with two of the world’s foremost Khmer scholars — Bernard Philippe Groslier and George Cœdès — to achieve the highest degree of visual and historical accuracy possible.

In researching the life of George Groslier — Bernard Philippe’s father — I encountered photos of Fiévet’s images in the Groslier archive. His paintings finally appeared in the April 1960 issue of National Geographic (Vol 117, No 4.) accompanying Robert Moore’s article “Angkor, Jewel of the Jungle” which begins:

“A many-times visitor to Angkor’s ruins and keen student of Khmer culture, the author links his 35 years of research with remarkable paintings by Maurice Fiévet for an unusual National Geographic article — recreating the daily life of this lost civilization. The talented artist’s drawings underwent minute scrutiny for accuracy by Bernard Groslier and George Cœdès, French scholars who have devoted years to unraveling Angkor’s riddles. The contributions of these talented men, teamed on the following pages, provide a vivid portrait of a vanished people.”

Fiévet’s art creates a vivid visual record of the rise, and fall, of the Khmer civilization. The following post shares small images of his important works, with sample quotes from the original 1960 article.

"Jayavarman II sanctified as the first devaraja of Kambuja" by Maurice Fiévet

“That there should be in this country one sole sovereign.”

Royal chaplains reported the deification of the kings on a temple tablet now preserved in the National Museum, Bangkok.

Jayavarman II found his country forced to pay tribute to Java. In the year 802 he called upon a Brahman priest “skilled in magic science” to perform a ceremony that would lodge supreme authority in one divine king and declare Kambuja’s independence.

Artist Fiévet portrays the priest anointing the symbol of the Hindu god Siva in rites sanctifying Jayavarman (right) as a devaraja, or god-king, and making it “impossible for this country of the Kambuja to pay allegiance to Java.” For the next six centuries the Khmers dominated Southeast Asia.

"Yasovarman I atop the sacred mountain" by Maurice Fiévet

“Then His Majesty… established the royal city.”

A temple inscription details the founding of Angkor, the Khmers’ capital.

One of the first acts of Yasovarman I, the monarch who reigned half a century after Jayavarman II and founded Angkor, was the erection of a “mountain” temple atop a 200-foot hill called Phnom Bakheng. Artist Fiévet portrays the helmeted monarch, surrounded by his spearmen, priests, and umbrella bearers, standing atop the shrine and pointing to the site of the future royal palace. A straightened section of the Siem Reap River forms the eastern moat. The rectangular Eastern Baray, a four-mile-long irrigation reservoir, connects with the river; the king completed it in the first year of his reign. Later monarchs transformed Angkor into one of Asia’s grandest cities, home of perhaps a million people. No trace of their wooden homes remains.

"Elephant Teams Drag Heavy Stones for the Building of Angkor Wat" by Maurice Fiévet

Artist Fiévet, copying details sculptured on the Bayon, depicts a generation’s task. Two laborers in foreground drill holes into which they set pegs for handling. Crew at right slides a block back and forth, grinding surfaces until they fit without mortar ; man atop the frame wets a strap to reduce friction. Gang at left uses rope and pulley to lift a stone. Men on distant scaffolds complete the lower gallery.

"Women of the royal palace" by Maurice Fiévet

“Sparkling with the fire thrown by the gems of her jewels”

An inscription in the Temple of Ban Theat describes the brilliance of a royal lady.

“In general, the women, as well as the men, wear a bit of cloth about their loins leaving their breasts, white as milk, uncovered,” wrote Zhou Daguan.  “They wear the chignon and go barefooted. This is so even of the king’s wives.”

Artist Fiévet, basing his painting on Chinese accounts, temple reliefs, and inscriptions, gives us a peep into the palace as a princess prepares her elaborate toilet. Swaying fans cool her while a harpist entertains. Other attendants adorn her with bracelets, arm bands, and jeweled neckpiece. Vials on her dressing table hold perfumes; bowls contain betel nut for chewing. The hand mirror is a polished bronze reflector. Royal ladies in the Khmer courts became astrologers, Sanskrit scholars, and even jurists.

"Sword In Hand, the King Holds Audience From His Golden Window" by Maurice Fiévet

“Ministers and common people . .. strike the earth with foreheads”

Zhou Daguan, the Chinese traveler, gives us an account of the salaams for a king.

As religious and secular chief, the Khmer monarch judged his subjects’ disputes at hearings twice a day in Angkor Thom. A Brahman priest, identified by topknot and the white cord about his shoulder, presents a petition while standing beneath a parasol, possibly a gift from the king. Other suppliants, who offer baskets of fruit, prostrate themselves.

“The council chamber,” Zhou Daguan wrote, “has golden window frames.”

"War Canoes Charge In to Battle: Chams Defeat Khmers on the Tonle Sap" by Maurice Fiévet

“The King of Champa assailed Kambuja with a strong fleet”

Ma Tuan-lin, a Chinese historian, related the dramatic fall of Angkor in 1177, climax of a 30-year war.

Which the Khmers and which the Chams? Artist Fiévet does not state, as sculptured bas-reliefs on the Bayon show little difference in their dress. Prows of both fleets bear images of the Garuda, a mythical half-man, half-bird sacred to the god Vishnu. As shouting warriors shake shields and brandish spears. one crew casts grappling lines about the enemy’s bow. Survivors from a sunken boat grasp floating debris. Tusk-like projections from the hulls’ painted fish-mouth figureheads appear to serve as battering rams. Screens along the gunwales protect oarsmen.

"Strings and drums entertain royal women bathing at Angkor" by Maurice Fiévet

“Among women of the noble houses one finds many as light as jade.”

Zhou Daguan, Chinese traveler

Zhou, who wrote the description above seven centuries ago, reported that

“the king has five wives: one for the private apartment. properly speaking, and four for the four cardinal points. As for concubines and palace girls, I have heard it said that they number 3,000 to 5,000.”

Marco Polo, visiting neighboring Champa in the 1280s, wrote:

“In that kingdom no woman is allowed to marry until the king shall have seen her: if the woman pleases him — then he takes her to wife: if she does not. he gives her a dowry to get her a husband.”

"Conchs, Horns, and Gongs Herald a King Riding Through Angkor Atop His Elephant" by Maurice Fiévet

Marching toward one of the city’s four-faced gates. courtiers bear on their shoulders the ark of sacred flame. One attendant carries the royal insigne, a statuette of Vishnu and the Garuda.

Banners, pennants, and mushroom-like parasols dance in the air. The royal elephant wears a golden crown; scarlet brocade veils its companion; gold plate veneers their tusks. Cambodian and Thai courts use similar regalia today.

"The King ascends the belvedere to be present at the festival." by Maurice Fiévet

“The King ascends the belvedere to be present at the festival.”

Zhou Daguan

This brilliant circus emerges almost unchanged from wall carvings on the Bayon. The strong man supporting three dwarfs, the juggler spinning a wheel with his feet, and the tight rope walker all suggest the performers in a variety show today. Swordsmen fence, and acrobatic monkeys swing from a pole. A string-and-drum orchestra entertains the king, who sits on the far dais. Pleasure-loving Khmers also matched fighting wild boars, gamecocks, and elephants on the plaza facing the Royal Palace.

"Sculpting an Image of King Jayavarman VII" by Maurice Fiévet

“His glory went from himself to the four points of space.”

Queen Indradevi, writing in flawless Sanskrit eulogized her lord, Jayavarman VII

The meditative figure taking shape under this sculptor ‘s chisel portrays Jayavarman VII, Angkor’s mightiest king.

Archeologists have found two of his statues, one at Phimai, in eastern Thailand, and the Angkor treasure shown above. The head of a third image was unearthed recently at a town east of Angkor where Jayavarman appears to have dwelt before becoming a king.

The four faces on the numerous towers and gateways built by the king repeal the statue’s facial characteristics. They represent Lokesvara, a holy one who stayed on earth to do good works, but almost surely are stylized portraits of Jayavarman himself, an ardent Buddhist.

When Jayavarman came to the throne in the year of the “moon, sky, and Vedas” — A.D. 1181 — his queen, Indradevi, wrote: “He rose up to save the land heavy with crimes.”

Angkor’s greatest builder, Jayavarman VII reconstructed the capital. He planned new palaces, pavilions, and the splendid Elephant Terrace that stretches for hundreds of yards along the Royal Plaza; he raised a mighty central temple, the Bayon, second in size only to Angkor Wat.

Nor was the king then content. He built large monastery centers — Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei — adjacent to the capital. He erected other shrines and magnified outlying cities. An inscription records that he constructed more than 100 hospitals and erected rest-houses at frequent intervals along the all-season roads he established throughout the kingdom.

Physically powerful, Jayavarman lived well into his 90s, using his years to expand the Khmer Empire to its broadest extent. Jayavarman thus could well say to his people:

“The good works that I have accomplished you should protect, for they are yours also.”

"Rockets Flare in the Sky: King, Court, and People Celebrate the New Year" by Maurice Fiévet

Flanked by nobles and attendants. the monarch sits on a dais and watches his ballet corps weave a magic pattern of color and movement. As the massive Bayon looms against the purple night, banners and pennons flutter beneath exploding fireworks. Chinese, long users of gunpowder, may have taught the Khmers how to mix nitrate, powdered charcoal and sulphur to propel their bamboo-tube rockets.

"Khmer scholars preparing scripts on palm leaves" by Maurice Fiévet

“Of the qualities acquired, the highest is knowledge.”

A Khmer stone tablet quotes the Code of Manu, the ancient Hindu law book, to emphasize the importance of learning.

Scholars here prepare scripts on sections of palm leaf. Etching the characters with a stylus. they ink the entire strip, wipe the surface clean. and leave the black deposit only in the lettering. Brahman at lower right stacks finished texts for binding with string.

Khmers also wrote on hides, but fire and jungle rot destroyed such fragile books long ago. Only temple inscriptions endure, some written in Khmer, others in Sanskrit, the sacred language of the Brahmans.

“Having drunk the nectar of knowledge,” says one inscription, the king “…gave it to others to drink.”

"Death of Angkor: Victorious Thai loot the city and march away prisoners" by Maurice Fiévet

“The earth is plunged into a sea of ruin wrought by the enemy.”

After 1431 no one left a record of the Thai final conquest of Angkor. Our woeful title is taken from an account of an earlier but less disastrous defeat.

In 1432, a year after the disaster, the Khmers abandoned their capital of Angkor.

***

For Robert Moore’s complete article, “Angkor, Jewel of the Jungle”, please consult the April 1960 issue of National Geographic (Vol 117, No 4.).

Indradevi and Jayarajadevi: Ancient Queens Who Shaped an Asian Empire

The Khmer civilization brought education, health, spirituality and enlightenment to the masses of 12th century Southeast Asia. Two women, both queens of King Jayavarman VII, played critical roles in the kingdom’s expansion and success.

By Phalika Ngin –  © 2010 Copyright Phalika Ngin

Download a PDF of this article (650k)

ANGKOR, CAMBODIA — The temple of Angkor Wat may be Cambodia’s most well-known landmark but the prolific King Jayavarman VII built hundreds of stone monuments, including the complex shrines of the Bayon, Ta Prohm, Angkor Thom, Preah Khan, and Banteay Chhmar.

Fascination with this king’s architectural creations and territorial conquests has justifiably attracted much attention. New research now suggests that two brilliant advisers helped this king change the course of history. The king’s talented co-architects in shaping the Khmer Empire were none other than his two wives, Queen Indradevi and Queen Jayarajadevi.

The Khmer temples of Angkor Thom, the Bayon and Preah Khan.

Together, this royal trio made some of the most important contributions to Khmer heritage:

First, they built unique temples throughout Southeast Asia; Buddhist monuments and public structures that to this day bless Cambodia with cultural heritage that attracts millions of interested tourists from around the world.

Second, the enlightened trio implemented social systems in the 12^th century that we still strive for today. While Europe was in the Dark Ages, these rulers gave their subjects — men and women alike — the right to education, property ownership, political power and public healthcare. While most contemporary social programs come into existence through the struggles or revolutions of the people these changes came from the royals themselves.

Many of their social programs are well-documented by archaeological analysis of public infrastructure built during Jayavarman VII’s reign, including roadways, bridges, small temples, rest stops and hospitals. Little, however, was known about the efforts spearheaded by the two queens to grant and raise women powers to divine heights at that time.

Images that appear to be royal portraits of the two queens reveal additional evidence of female power and participation within the government. Additional evidence from illustrated bas-reliefs, monument pediments and written inscriptions on steles offers insights that document the pro-active approach these women took as unsung pioneers of social values and women’s rights.

At the south gate entrance of Angkor Thom, the royal trio greets all visitors.

Public Health Care and Education in Ancient Cambodia

The reign of Jayavarman VII saw 102 new hospitals built throughout the kingdom. In her 1976 book, Angkor Un Peuple-Un Art, Madeleine Giteau, former director of the National Museum of Cambodia, documents royal dedications from steles at hospital sites that spell out the open door policy to all four castes. For instance, the stele of Say-fong outlines the administration staff of 98 members, their duties, their pay and the inventory of the hospital’s pharmacy.

While Hindu civilizations often limit education to men only — and elite men at that — Jayavarman VII’s monasteries were open schools and training centers that welcomed men and women, girls and boys, alike.  In two illustrations in the Bayon, it appears that Queen Indradevi and Queen Jayarajadevi are portrayed as professors teaching groups of students (see photo below). While my evidence strongly suggests that these images are the queens themselves, the idea of female professors is revolutionary in and of itself.

To perpetuate these social systems, the inscriptions encouraged future kings and aristocrats to follow their charitable example of supporting public works by promising merit and heavenly rewards.

Education in Bayon bas-relief. In the top register, the two queens lecture before crowds of girls and boys. The lower register depicts military arts training. Men are briefed in the classrooms.

These important Khmer beliefs were not only expressed on steles, as previously thought. Every visitor to the Bayon, Angkor Thom and Banteay Chhmar, to cite three examples, sees illustrated stories that communicated these ideals to the illiterate, disparate population. These permanent carved illustrations appear in bas-relief and on monument pediments.

Clear Public Respect for King and Queens

On the second floor’s inner gallery bas reliefs of the Bayon, the lifestyle of this enterprising royal trio appears to be illustrated with details about their familial, social, political, and civil activities. The two queens most frequently appear sitting directly behind the king, tending to affairs of state in their palaces.

In a bas-relief depicting their romantic and personal lives, the king followed the lead of Queen Jayarajadevi (see photo below). On exterior reliefs at the Bayon, the two queens followed the king’s processions. In one particular bas-relief, one queen sits before the king, with both figures praying for the safety of their soldiers and victory in an upcoming battle.

The queens lead the way in these illusrations.

Seeing a queen sitting before this great Khmer conqueror (above right) implies that Jayavarman VII recognized Indradevi as a worthy military strategist. Many bas-relief depictions emphasize the important roles the two queens played in Jayavarman VII’s life. The implication is that this great Khmer king could not have realized his ambitions without Queen Indradevi and Queen Jayarajadevi by his side, organizing and managing his vast empire. Together they formed a royal trinity that changed the world from their capital of Angkor Thom, a metropolis of one million inhabitants in the 12th century.

The Dynamic Power of the Royal Trinity

Observing this dynamic, active profile of the royal trio challenges many historical stereotypes that cast Jayavarman VII and his queens as placid, aging ascetics. Some historians portray them as devout Buddhists absorbed by meditation in search of enlightenment. Based on my research, this misinterpretation appears to confuse passive Theravada Buddhism with the active Mahayana Buddhism that they practiced. The Mahayana Buddhist dharma called upon these three royals not only to enlighten themselves, but to actively take its message to the entire population.

The royal Mahayana trinity included Avalokiteshvara, Buddha, and Prajnaparamita.

The royal trinity’s brand of Mahayana Buddhism was infused with respect for women through the goddess Prajnaparamita, the Mother of all Buddhas. The trinity included the Lord Buddha; Lord Avalokiteshvara, the compassion of all Buddhas; and the goddess Prajnaparamita, the perfection of transcendent wisdom. During their reign, the empowerment of this trimurti or trinity, was represented in bronze statues (above) and extensively carved on the royal trio’s monuments (below).

Each alcove originally held the Mahayana trinity in relief, but religious conflict caused them to be removed later.

Particularly in the Rajavihara, the royal monastery, now known as Ta Prohm, this trinity was carved every two meters in the inner galleries. During the iconoclasm that followed Jayavarman VII’s reign Hindu successors painstakingly chiseled out thousands of royal Mahayana trinities from the walls (see photo above). In Ta Som, Shivaists removed pediments featuring Avalokiteshvara at the main temple entries along with the entire façades. On pediments, where the king and the queen worshiped Prajnaparamita, the images of the Prajnaparamita and the royals were later defaced, and then, demolished. (see photos below).

French conservators reconstructed a fallen pediment at Ta Som's entrance. The king, on the left, worshiped Avalokiteshvara.

On the left was a restored pediment showed traces of a standing Prajnaparamita, who the defaced royals worshiped. On the right, a pediment is now missing Prajnaparamita.

Enduring Evidence of Enlightened Rulers

Despite attempts to destroy their legacy, the royal trinity left a clear record of their beliefs for the ages. Throughout the empire the royals repeated their messages, consistently using religious iconography showing respect for women, with Prajnaparamita, a female Mahayana Buddhist divinity, standing on equal footing with Lord Avalokiteshvara. This hierarchy is unseen in prior eras yet, here, as Buddhism supplanted Shivaism, the roles of women were raised to divine heights. Here, the dominant forces became subservient to ideals of equality that infuriated them.

In the end, Shivaism briefly dominated the country one last time, desperate to show that it had no place for the importance of women either in religious or civil representations. Enraged Shivites proceeded to obliterate all the representations of  Prajnaparamita that they had the energy to destroy (See above). Despite their misguided efforts the message survived.

All visitors to the great walled city of Angkor Thom still receive additional confirmation of this ideology.  For more than 800 years, every visitor has had to enter and exit through one of five gateways into the Angkorian city-fortress that the royal trio built. At each gate, they created clear and subtle messages of their spiritual and personal beliefs.

As one approaches the gates, one sees three giant faces of the king forming three distinct peaks (see photo below), resembling the tri-conical crowns that Jayavarman VII wore to military functions, his branded signature, logo, and symbol of the king’s personal trinity – Queen Indradevi, Jayavarman VII  and Queen Jayarajadevi. This formidable royal trio had shared visions; by combining their feminine and masculine forces and intelligence they achieved milestones of social evolution by giving equal rights and opportunities to pave the road to a civilized nation.

As mentioned above,  enemies of this philosophy tried to obliterate these enlightened views, demolishing the façades of each gateway that, in my theory, previously showed the royal trinity. Following the obliteration of Buddhist symbols they renamed the faces to represent the Hindu god Shiva (or Brahma) (see below). But enough evidence still remains to see the original intent, especially when taken in context with the rest of the iconography of this reign.

North gate of Angkor Thom, note the paired 3-headed elephants and missing pediments with the facades, thus exposing the roofing’s frame into the king’s giant faces.

At ground level on both sides of each gate appear the special three-headed elephants of Indra, the Hindu God of Gods. Here, the king fitted the symbolic elephants with three conic crowns of lotus petals. This subtle but powerful change implied to all that these were no longer Indra’s elephants, but Jayavarman VII’s royal elephants. The king was proudly accompanied by his two queens smiling always, one on each side of him.  All three royal benefactors sat astride the elephants welcoming every visitor (see below).

Elephants wearing conic crowns remain below the defaced royal trio.

Above the king and the two queens, seven devata (sacred females in Khmer iconography) with both hands joined at heart level in the anjali prayer gesture greet and bless all visitors. Above, on both sides of the king’s giant face, a special devata appears draping two long flower garlands from her waist down, one by each side of his ear (see below). The concept of the trinity — two queens and one king — is frequently seen. Each city visitor therefore learned the personal, spiritual, and civil beliefs of its rulers, with clear messages regarding the rights and importance of women in this kingdom.

Each gate revealed the beliefs of the royal Khmer trio.

Queen Indradevi, King Jayavarman VII and Queen Jayarajadevi.

The time has come to understand this king and his two queens by the clear records they left for future generations. Their monuments, inscriptions and bas-relief illustrations show us magnanimous rulers who cared for their citizens.

These three great leaders shared a magnificent vision for their people. They worked together weaving wisdom, common sense, and humanitarian principles to create their own blend of Buddhism, a tripod of strength that embraced their national heritage, religious and civil ethics, and personal beliefs.

Like all true leaders, this royal trio led by example. Eight hundred years, later their legacy in stone still broadcasts their beliefs in humanity. While Angkor Wat impresses visitors with grandiose architecture the Bayon inspires visitors with heartfelt awe, beneath the king’s giant caring faces that peacefully smile upon them from above and surrounded by the queens’ gentle smiles at ground level.  In the Bayon today, King Jayavarman VII, Queen Jayarajadevi and Queen Indradevi still bless us with smiles recognizing the humanity in all of us.

Queen Indradevi, King Jayavarman VII and Queen Jayarajadevi at the Bayon.

About the Author

Phalika Ngin is a Khmer-American photographer and independent researcher living in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Her website, PhalikaN.com, presents her historical research, focuses on Neo-Classic Cambodian arts and crafts, and includes galleries of her original photography.

Cambodia Insight Magazine featured Ms Ngin’s research on Queen Indradevi and Queen Jayarajadevi in this cover article: “The Resurrection of Indradevi and Jayarajadevi-Queens of the 12th Century Khmer Kingdom“.

The restored temple of Chau Say Tevoda. Note the new stone sections in lighter color.

Between 1,120-1,150AD, Angkor Wat’s sponsor, King Suryavarman II, also began building the elegant Hindu temple of Chau Say Tevoda. Yasovarman II is credited with additional work during his brief reign (1,160-1,166AD). Finally, Jayavarman VII (ruling 1,181-1,215 AD) added new decorative elements to harmonize with the religious transformation he initiated converting the state from Hinduism to Buddhism.

The central shrine is encircled by sacred female images called devata.

Two of the Khmer civilization’s greatest kings, Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII, also installed the greatest number of sacred female images, or devata, in their temples. The style and unique qualities of the devata at Chao Say Tevoda make this small temple well worth a detour on any visit to Angkor.

The Khmer kings Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII enshrined images of more than 4,000 sacred women in their temples. No one knows exactly why.

Chau Say Tevoda includes a central sanctuary, two libraries and four gopura (gateway) structures, one for each cardinal point. Directly to its north sits Thommanon temple, which was also built by King Suryavarman II based on a similar design.

Thommanon also features prominent devata in fine condition (see Devata.org’s Thommanon photo gallery here) but there are significant stylistic differences in the women populating the two temples. For years, Thommanon was in far better condition thanks to extensive restoration done by the EFEO in the 1960’s under the direction of Bernard Philippe Groslier.

Many of the women at Chao Say Tevoda express strength in their beauty.

Unfortunately, Chao Say Tevoda had been devastated by centuries of natural erosion, and all that remained were 4,000 pieces of stone masonry, many of which had tumbled down an embankment into the Siem Reap River.

On March 29, 2000, H.R.H. Princess Buppha Devi with APSARA Authority and other Cambodian dignitaries welcomed H.E. Yang Tin Ai, Ambassador for the People’s Republic of China as his government initiated a massive restoration project of the temple that included both Chinese and Cambodian workers. Tim Tye’s Asia Explorers website offers a few excellent photos taken while the restoration.

The Chinese restoration project was controversial because they chose to totally reconstruct the temple buildings by including newly fabricated stones. While American and Japanese teams rejected this approach it conformed to UNESCO and ICOMOS guidelines allowing for their use of 2-9% of modern replica stones in heritage reconstruction.

The Chinese restoration team included replicas of missing stone sections (seen above in lighter colors).)

The results are dramatic. The new sections are easy to identify and, while the replicas do not equal the artistic quality of the original Khmer sections, they do help visitors experience the temple in a condition closer to what was originally built.

The Chinese team completed their work in 2009, when the improved temple again began receiving visitors.

May the devata of Chao Say Tevoda bestow blessings on the Chinese for their important contribution of restoring this Khmer cultural treasure.

NOTE: A complete photo gallery of all the unique Chau Say Tevoda devata is in preparation. The link will be posted here in the future. In the meantime a trinity of devata appears below:

This devata's crown, with central element, is unusual. None of the symbolic attributes that devata display have yet been interpreted.

This alert looking devata is crowned by her long, thick, braided hair dressed in coils.

This graceful crowned devata is similar to her sisters at Angkor Wat. Note that she holds a "rooted bud" (Devata.org terminology) exactly like the sacred women surrounding the central sanctuary on the top level of Angkor Wat.

Siem Reap, Cambodia - After Angkor Wat’s unforgettable profile, the face towers of the Bayon temple are the Khmer civilization’s most recognizable architectural icons. In the late 12th and early 13th century King Jayavarman VII built the Bayon as his state temple in the center of his capital city of Angkor Thom. Over the years, the Bayon was modified to accommodate both Hindu and Buddhist rites, according to changing religious preferences.

The Bayon is best known for its mystical face towers.

On the towers above, serene faces gaze out over the jungle. But below, Jayavarman VII followed the example of King Suryavarman II by filling his monument with female energy. The portraits of sacred women, now called devata or apsaras depending on their style, surround the Bayon. No one knows exactly what the ancient Khmers called these women who are represented so prominently in their temples.

The Bayon temple's main sacred female types are: dancing (left) & devata (right)

The Bayon primarily features two types of sacred Khmer women: celestial goddesses dancing on lotus flowers, generally located on pillars; and devata, who stand gracefully in niches surrounding the structure.

Bayon New Perspectives edited by Joyce Clark

Dr. Peter Sharrock, School of Oriental and African Studies, has done considerable research on the Bayon, Jayavarman VII’s reign and Khmer religious practices. Sharrock distinguishes the standing devata with the term “courtly devata” because of their elaborate hair and jewelry, as well as their non-dancing stance.

In addition to the courtly devata, Sharrock estimates that the original Bayon structure displayed 6,250 of the celestial dancers; an incredible manifestation of female energy that Jayavarman VII also included in temples such as Preah Khan, Banteay Kdei and Ta Som.

To read more of Sharrock’s work, please see his chapter “The mystery of the face towers,” in Bayon New Perspectives, a compendium of the latest research on this temple.

A second expert, Robert McCarthy, is now cataloging the 377 courtly devata at the Bayon while consulting with the JAPAN-APSARA Safeguarding Angkor project.

For comparison with Angkor Wat, Devata.org has cataloged 1,780 standing devata. The dancing goddesses remain uncounted (but we estimate fewer than Dr. Sharrock has calculated at the Bayon).

Stylistically, the Bayon and Angkor Wat styles have many similarities and differences that will be dealt with in future articles. For convenience, a chart and a few photo examples follow so readers can make immediate comparisons.

Links to detailed photo galleries follow.

Bayon and Angkor Wat Devata

Bayon devata (left) and Angkor Wat devata (right) have many similarities and differences. Note that varying camera angles in the two photos affect perceived proportions.

Bayon devata (left) and Angkor Wat devata (right) have many similarities and differences. Note that varying camera angles in the two photos affect perceived proportions.

Bayon Dancing Goddess Trio

Archeologist Peter Sharrock estimates that the Bayon had 6,250 of these celestial goddesses dancing on lotus flowers.

Bayon Dancer Pair

These Bayon dancers are seen on a bas-relief. They dance on the ground, not lotus flowers, and are actually accompanied by musicians implying that they may represent real women participating in religious rites.

Angkor Wat Dancing Apsara

Angkor Wat dancing apsara - West Gopura NW gallery. The lotus base that she dances upon implies her celestial nature and thereby earns her the designation of "apsara"

Bayon Photo Gallery of Courtly Devata

Endangered goddess in Preah Khan's central shrine

Why do female images at Preah Khan dominate this extraordinary ancient temple?

Scholars speculate that as many as 100,000 people once lived, worshiped and learned at this ancient Buddhist university. Today, jungle trees have reclaimed the walls and structures but still, wherever you walk, you see images of women.

Cambodia’s great kings Suryavarman II and Jayavarman VII filled entire temples with sanctified images of women; more prominent than mythological creatures, portraits of themselves and their families and even more numerous than images of their gods.

While flying “apsaras” depict heavenly women, most female images in Khmer carvings are termed “devata“: sacred women who seem to wield power here in our earthly realms. But among these beautiful women, some perhaps are divine.

This album focuses on four of these powerful women, enshrined in the heart of Preah Khan temple. Among thousands of Cambodian devata, these artistic masterpieces represent some of the finest examples of Khmer art respecting feminine power in the universe.

As offerings show, they are still worshiped, but now these irreplaceable images are increasingly endangered by vandalism and the slow collapse of the temple around them. Hopefully, Cambodian authorities and foundations dedicated to preserving this priceless heritage will be able to protect them before it is too late.

Evidence presented by independent researcher Phalika Ngin suggests that the primary statues represent the two wives if Jayavarman VII: Queen Indradevi and Queen Jayarajadevi.

Note: These sanctuaries are dim so my photos are hand held time exposures. The blue tint grew as light changed throughout the day.

© 2010 Kent Davis – High resolution images are available to educational and non-profit organizations at no charge.