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.).

Angkor Wat contains 12th century portraits of 1,796 individual women. They were clearly part of a "social network". American researcher Kent Davis asks "Was this temple an ancient Facebook"?

Andrew Buncombe reports from Asia for the UK Independent

Angkor, Cambodia — Amid the splendour of the 12th-century temple of Angkor Wat, they stand and stare like silent sentinels, sensuous rather than erotic, carved with elegance and care. But exactly who are these 1,796 mysterious women and why, more than a century after Cambodia’s famed Hindu temple was rediscovered by Western archaeologists, did it take the efforts of an amateur researcher from Florida to push experts into trying to resolve the puzzle?

Researcher Kent Davis at Angkor Wat.

Though Kent Davis had lived in South-east Asia during the 1990s, he did not have an opportunity to see Angkor Wat until 2005. Like most visitors to the huge complex in the centre of the Cambodia, for many years cut off from the outside world because of the presence of the Khmer Rouge, he was mesmerised by the experience.

But he was also left with a flurry of questions. “I went to Angkor as a tourist and I was startled when I got there and saw these women,” said Mr Davis, 54, a publisher and writer who now lives near Tampa, Florida. “I was not prepared for it. The human element of them struck me and I wanted to know who they were. I asked one of the guides and he said they were there to serve the king after he went to heaven.”

Mr Davis’s interest was tweaked, so he wanted to know more. He vowed he would return to the US and investigate. Yet when he got home he found there was essentially nothing written about these women, who appear throughout the temple complex in full body carvings.

The women of Angkor Wat appear to include different Asian ethnicities.

Indeed, the only study of the female carvings he could find had been made in the early 20th century by Sappho Marchal, the daughter of Frenchman Henri Marchal, then the curator of the temple site. Frustrated but intrigued, he decided he would find out for himself. Five years and several trips to Angkor later, Mr Davis has slowly begun to get some answers.

MSU researchers plotted 130 identification points on each face.

In 2008, he asked for the help of computer experts from the University of Michigan. That team was able to conduct facial mapping experiments on digital photographs of the women, or devatas. The team, whose findings were presented last month at the International Conference on Pattern Recognition, an academic convocation in Istanbul, concluded that there were at least eight different facial types, perhaps reflecting a variety of ethnicities in the Khmer kingdom.

The results are to be examined further by archaeologists and more computer mapping is planned. But for all the effort that went into the mapping, the results of which were published in DatAsia magazine, many questions about the women remain unanswered.

“It’s a 12th century Facebook,
but no one has ever heard of this social network.”

“There are almost 1,800 faces there,” said Mr Davis, who now uses 65 separate characteristics to define the individual women in a devata database. “It’s a 12th century Facebook, but no one has ever heard of this social network. This was the biggest temple the Khmer people ever built. It is still the largest religious structure on Earth! It must have been important to them because they threw everything into it. They would have only put their most important images into it; these women must have been incredibly important to the kingdom.”

Mr Davis wrote to universities, pestered experts, and sought the opinions of people from around the globe who had worked at Angkor. Trude Jacobson, an assistant professor of history at the University of Queensland, Australia, and author of Lost Goddesses: Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History, said: “Kent is an enthusiastic researcher of a question that everyone assumed was settled long ago, or doesn’t matter.

Each of the 1,796 women at Angkor Wat is unique.

“The history of women in Cambodia, until very recently, has been one in which they were relegated to the shadows. His interest is infectious and has made others more interested in questions of gender in an otherwise heavily masculinised historical inquiry.”

What has struck Mr Davis as he has continued his enquiries, is that for all the women at Angkor there are relatively few male carvings.”Could these different women represent the different professions of the Khmer kingdom?” he said. “Could they be scholars, agriculturalists? I think they must represent the most important women in the kingdom.”

Dr Peter Sharrock, an expert on South-east Asia at London’s School of African and Oriental Studies, has studied the temples around Angkor for years. “We understand [the female carvings] little but they play a major role in the architectural sculpture of these temples, which must imply a major role in the beliefs of the ancient Khmers and in the rituals in their temples,” he said.

“Khmer descent was primarily matrilineal, and Khmer women were literate and powerful. Many were queens, and most kings base their genealogies and claims to the throne on their female ancestors. The ancient Khmers venerated the goddess Prajnaparamita in the most elaborate cult to her known anywhere in Asia. So there are fundamental questions here about an exceptional female religious and regal role in ancient Cambodia that remain unanswered.”

Despite 150 years of experts purporting that the women of Angkor Wat are imaginary, Davis contends that they are realistic, accurate portraits of actual women who were members of the royal Khmer court.

Professor Jacobson believes the images were part of a broader iconography relating to the supernatural world. “The devatas, placed either side of doorways, were guards who monitored who was permitted access from the mundane world to the supernatural,” she said.

“[Those] represented as flying or dancing, were responsible for leading the souls of the dead to the supernatural world from the battlefield. The models for the images at Angkor were doubtless members of the royal family.”

Despite the abundance of women at Angkor Wat, not a single man is honored with the same type of portrait carving.

Mr Davis said he was dedicated to trying to throw greater light on the mystery of the carvings by working with the team of researchers he has cultivated. At this point, he said, starting to analyse the images was like “being the first person to get a map to the British Museum and the keys to the front door”.

He added: “Once we define facial types more thoroughly, an incredibly exciting prospect appears. If these images are portraits of actual people, it’s logical to assume that they had children within this region, and that creates the possibility of using facial pattern recognition on people living in this area to see if facial shapes and types seen at Angkor still live here. We could actually find the descendants of some of the sacred women in the temple.”

Angkor Wat, the icon of Cambodia's Khmer Empire reflects in a sacred pond.

Angkor Wat – Symbol of a nation

• The sprawling temple complex of Angkor Wat, located amid dense jungle and close to the city of Siem Reap, was built in the early 12th century and is one of a series of stunning palaces and temples that were built over a 400-year period by the Khmer Kingdom.
• Today, the temples attract up to a million tourists a year, but for many years the remarkable buildings were unknown to the West, which only “rediscovered” them in the 19th century. During the 1970s and 1980s they were off-limits as a result of the presence of the Khmer Rouge, the Maoist-inspired rebels who ruled Cambodia from 1975-79 and who then engaged in a bitter civil war for the next two decades.
• Angkor Wat itself, the most impressive and best-preserved of the complexes, was built for King Suryavarman II in the early part of the 12th century and is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It has since become a symbol of Cambodia, even appearing on its national flag.

Angkor Wat at dawn.

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.

Angkor Wat's builder, King Suryavarman II built Athvea temple in the 12th century.

The Buddhist wat next to the temple features scenes from the Reamker.

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Wat Athvea is an active Buddhist temple about 6 km. south of Siem Reap that, like many others, is built next to an ancient Hindu temple. It’s on the west side of the road to the Tonle Sap and it’s well worth a short detour to see this peaceful and relatively un-touristed Khmer monument.

The temple’s design and distinctive style of the devata (sacred female images) inside indicate that it was built in the 12th century, during the reign of King Suryavarman II (circa 1,115-1,150 AD), who also built Angkor Wat.

The temple is unusual because it lacks all but the most basic decorative carvings…with the exception of some exceptional Angkor Wat style devata. Originally at least six women were planned to preside over the west interior chamber of the main structure but only four were completed and of those only three remain in good condition.

Upon entering from the west, devata #1 stands south of the door in fine condition. To the left is #2, however she has deteriorated to the point that only her headless torso with parts of both arms and a section of her sampot (a traditional Khmer wrap worn around the waist) remain.

Directly ahead two more completed devata stand at the far left and far right (#3 and 6) of the facing opening to the central sanctuary. There are also two uncompleted devata outlines etched onto this wall (#4 and 5). As a final note, this chamber does feature inscriptions on the columns, but these may have been added at a later date.

All three remaining devata are exquisitely adorned with lotus crowns, heavy necklaces and belts, armbands, finger rings and rich sampots (Khmer style waist wrap) made with floral patterned fabric.

Their attributes are comparable to the most sacred women found at the highest level of Angkor Wat, implying that this temple was founded for an important reason.

The Buddhist wat next door is quite charming, with hand carved gilded wood window panels featuring scenes from the Reamker. There are also a number of colorful and well maintained burial stupas on the wat grounds.

Wat Athvea Photo Album

By Cindy Lane – The Anna Maria Island Sun

HOLMES BEACH, FL – Anna Maria Island is home to one of the world’s few researchers working exclusively on Angkor Wat, a Buddhist temple half a world and nine centuries away.

Kent Davis, former owner of Anna Maria’s Siam Garden Resort with his wife Sophaphan, is captivated by the women of Angkor Wat, a temple in Cambodia that he says is the largest religious structure in the world.

Originally a Hindu shrine, now a Buddhist temple, Angkor Wat is five times the size of the Vatican in Rome, he told about 40 members of the Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island meeting at the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation.

But while most women portrayed in Vatican art can be identified by contemporaneous writings, the “Daughters of Angkor Wat,” as he calls them, remain unknown.

Angkor Wat devata in the central tower facing north.

The 1,780 very different women are portrayed in stone, scantily dressed and heavily decorated with different jewelry, headdresses, flowers, fruits and other distinctions that have been the subject of his research since his first visit in 2005.

“I was not prepared for the temple’s human side,” said Davis, who coincidentally gave the presentation on the night of a full moon, four years to the day after his first visit to the temple.

Group of devata (sacred women) on Angkor Wat's second level.

With his photographs of each woman to guide him, he is on an Indiana Jones-style quest to track down who the women were, what they represent and why they were so important to the Khmer Empire, which built the moat-enclosed monument between 1116 and 1150 AD. The empire, which disappeared into the remote Cambodian jungle, was not a precursor to the Khmer Rouge, the “red” regime responsible for the genocides of 1.7 million people in the late 1970s, Davis said.

Built to represent the home of the gods in Hindu mythology, Angkor Wat’s architecture contains information on the seasons, the calendar and astronomical events, he said, but the overwhelming presence of the women’s images, with little having been written about them, is a mystery demanding investigation.

Three devata facing east on the top level of Angkor Wat.

Davis says their importance is evident, especially considering that the image of King Suryavarman II who commissioned the building of the temple is in a location far more inconspicuous than most of the women. But few have studied the subject, with only a handful of books written on the women, who may represent goddesses, priestesses or members of the royal court.

Davis is compiling a database tracking the characteristics of every woman portrayed at the temple, and plans to publish it his initial finding in the book, Daughters of Angkor Wat, due in early 2010…but the ending of what he calls “the world’s greatest archaeological mystery” has not yet been written.

His research can be found at www.devata.org.

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

Thommanon Devata

By Kent Davis

Siem Reap, Cambodia - The small, elegant Khmer temple of Thommanon is located just outside the Gate of Victory that gives access to the ancient walled city of Angkor Thom from the east. Directly to its south is the small temple of Chau Say Tevoda, currently under restoration.

Thommanon was likely built by the Hindu King Suryavarman II, who also built the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat and Beng Melea between 1,113-1,150 A.D. While some suggest that Thommanon may have been initiated under the reign of Jayavarman VI (1,080-1,113 A.D.) the distinctive artistic subtleties of the devata (sacred female) images suggest a direct link to Suryarvarman II.

As in other Khmer temples, the female devata of Thommanon dominate the structure. Of special interest here is seeing how these devata exhibit attributes quite similar to their sisters at Angkor Wat: flower crowns, sampots (the wrapped skirt of Cambodia) and necklaces, armbands, belts and ankle bands are all familiar.

The distinctive "devata mudra" position of the hands.

Note the distinctive way their hands grip flower stems using the ring and middle fingers while the index and small finger are extended. I call this the “devata mudra” because it is so prominent at Angkor Wat.

Yet, in 150 years of study why has no one recognized that nearly all of the devata exhibit clear and complex mudras? Google some keywords now to see…mudras, apsaras, angkor wat, devata…yet there is nothing of substance.  How is it possible that all the learned scholars have missed the symbols these thousands of women clearly display?

I propose this is because Khmer experts have not yet acknowledged that the women (who dominate the most important monuments) are significant! Now that is changing.

Here is another intriguing clue at Thommanon…

Thommanon devata sampot variations: ancient (left) and 12th century Angkor Wat style (right)

The devata portrayed wear two distinct types of sampot (the Khmer skirt wrapped around the waist): the ancient pleated style, seen in the Bakheng period at Lolei and Phnom Bok (900AD) and the patterned fabric style with folds and “tail” that is seen at Angkor Wat.

It is interesting to note that the devata wearing the pleated style at Thommanon are all elevated to higher positions, implying that  these ancestors are perhaps being honored above the “contemporary” devata.

There are most mysteries and clues where these came from. What do you see?

The angel of Beng Melea on March 5, 2006.

By Kent Davis — © 2008 Touchstone magazine – This article is reprinted with permission.

Her exquisite features expressed her Khmer heritage so perfectly she was chosen to become immortal.

No one had spoken her name for nearly 900 years but certainly thousands had admired her beauty; her almond eyes, the gentle cleft in her chin, her benevolent gaze, her full lips and deep smile conveyed warmth that set her apart from other women. Once adorned with a golden crown, jewelry and accoutrements this flower of the Khmers became divine. She answered her king’s highest calling in the temple of Beng Melea.

The Khmer race created some of history’s most fantastic and innovative art. Their civilization emerged at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, clearly influenced by ancient Indian culture, yet the Khmer vision of religion, kingship, sculpture and architecture set them apart from any other ethnic group.

Khmer temples, their holiest of places, were actual models of heaven on Earth, ensuring balance, prosperity and fertility for their land. In the first half of the 12th century, King Suryavarman II built Cambodia’s most famous monument, Angkor Wat, still featured as the central image of the country’s flag.

To the southeast another magnificent structure rose from the jungle, Beng Melea temple, incorporating many of Angkor Wat’s features on a smaller scale. Experts date it to the same period, yet its builder, architect and precise purpose remain unknown.

Like Angkor Wat, Beng Melea’s designers and sponsors prominently included female deities, now referred to as devata (when standing) or apsara (when dancing). Balancing masculine and feminine forces in the universe was a key component of Khmer religion. Ancient accounts confirm that women held important positions in Khmer society so it isn’t surprising to see women represented in temples as well.

What is surprising is the unique style of these portrayals at the peak of the Khmer culture in the 12th-13th centuries. Rather than generic images of impersonal goddesses, many devatas appear to be portrait carvings of actual women in divine context. These stone images show facial features, poses and personalities that imply individual women were the source of their inspiration.

The angel of Beng Melea was one such woman.

I found her on a sweltering hot day in March 2006 while working on my quantitative analysis of Angkor Wat’s devata. When I heard about Beng Melea’s similar style I took a daytrip there to investigate. Despite the collapse of most of its structures, Beng Melea is majestic in its jungle setting and well worth exploring. Sadly, most of its devatas were weathered beyond recognition, but when I climbed the pile of stones previously forming the northwest corner tower I had a surprising encounter.

Sophaphan Davis approaches the hidden alcove at Beng Melea temple that protected one devata for nearly 1,000 years.

She was hidden by vines beneath a stone overhang. Decades or even centuries ago, the tower’s collapse formed a protective alcove around her. While all her sisters suffered erosion from exposure to the elements she alone remained preserved, still fulfilling the divine duties she was charged with so long ago.

My inexpensive camera didn’t focus well in her compact hiding place so I already planned to return to see her again. Back in Siem Reap I saw my friend Jaro Poncar, a professor from the University of Cologne who has been photographing Khmer structures for more than ten years. Jaro was surprised that he himself had never seen this devata before, making her discovery even more special to me.

It took me nearly a year to mount my next research trip. In February 2007 I returned to Cambodia with my wife Sophaphan and a new camera. After three days of shooting at Angkor Wat we headed to Beng Melea and I anticipated introducing my wife to my hidden friend.

We arrived at the northwest tower and I sent Sophaphan up to look first, awaiting her shout of delight. Instead, she said, “What am I supposed to see?”

“The devata! The only one here that’s well preserved,” I said. “Look, down in the alcove!”

“She’s not there,” came her reply.

I clambered up the rocks to find a faceless section of white rock. Clearly, someone had recently attempted to steal her head but the stone’s stress cracks (visible in my earlier photo) caused her to break unevenly.

Beng Melea Devata - 2006-2007

She, who had survived the collapse of her temple, the weather and the wars of nearly a thousand years, had been destroyed in a moment by a thief’s chisel. For a few dollars, the Khmer race lost a piece of its soul. Cambodia lost an irreplaceable part of its heritage. And Beng Melea became a bit less attractive, and less financially viable, to the Cambodian economy as a tourist destination.

I don’t write these words to fault anyone. The company administrating Beng Melea built the road that enables visitors to easily access this remote site. Apsara Authority is charged with protecting a vast area and countless treasures on a limited budget. And whoever destroyed this angel did so out of ignorance and possibly out of economic necessity.

The only solution is education. With the help of Heritage Watch and other organizations Cambodian leaders can teach Khmer people that their heritage is their most priceless possession. With care and preservation the Khmer legacy will support this land and its people far into the future.

But now this angel will not be there to see it. Her time has passed.