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.

This article is reprinted with permission from Touchstone magazine.

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.