Figures from the terrace of the Leper KingIdentities of the mysterious women carved into the Cambodian temple could finally be revealed. Andrew Buncombe reports
Monday, 6 September 2010
The Independence (UK)
Amid the splendour of the 12th-century temple at Angkor Wat, they stand and stare like silent sentinels, sensuous rather than erotic, carved with elegance and care. But exactly who are these 1,786 mysterious women and why, more than a century after Cambodia's famed Hindu temple was rediscovered byWestern archaeologists, did it take the efforts of an amateur researcher from Florida to push experts into trying to resolve the puzzle?
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 theKhmer 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 to notice 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.
Indeed, the only study of the female carvings he could find had been made in the early 20th century by 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.
After turning for help to computer experts from the University of Michigan, a 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.
"There are almost 1,800 women's faces there," said Mr Davis, who is now trying to use 65 separate characteristics to place the faces in a database. "It's a Facebook of the 12th century, but no one had ever heard of them. This was the biggest temple the Khmer people ever built and it must have been important to them because they threw everything into it. They would have put important things in it; these women must have been 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.
"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."
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."
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."
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.
Monday, 6 September 2010
The Independence (UK)
Amid the splendour of the 12th-century temple at Angkor Wat, they stand and stare like silent sentinels, sensuous rather than erotic, carved with elegance and care. But exactly who are these 1,786 mysterious women and why, more than a century after Cambodia's famed Hindu temple was rediscovered byWestern archaeologists, did it take the efforts of an amateur researcher from Florida to push experts into trying to resolve the puzzle?
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 theKhmer 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 to notice 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.
Indeed, the only study of the female carvings he could find had been made in the early 20th century by 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.
After turning for help to computer experts from the University of Michigan, a 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.
"There are almost 1,800 women's faces there," said Mr Davis, who is now trying to use 65 separate characteristics to place the faces in a database. "It's a Facebook of the 12th century, but no one had ever heard of them. This was the biggest temple the Khmer people ever built and it must have been important to them because they threw everything into it. They would have put important things in it; these women must have been 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.
"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."
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."
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."
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.
22 comments:
The Khmers are fascinated by their glorious past, so much so they refuse to move forward into the 21th century. They don't even realize or acknowledge their present status as poor and backward people in SEA. They go to bed, longing for the prestigious past with a big smile on their face. OK now it's time to wake up the the harsh reality and work hard and smart to emulate the GREAT ANGKORIAN KHMERS.
Wishful thinking,... maybe.
Ugly, period
Angkhor is listed as part of the seven wonders, therefore, it is a good idea if khmer gov't focus on expending more infrastructures, like upgrading roads for easy access and also upgrading the temple to a better look and as well as make it into a secure site so that no one can get hurt from visiting the area. Wisdom
apsara or devata in khmer represent the delegation of god's side of the abstract of thing opposite of the demon or evilness. they are like the representatives of all things good, e.g. the god. to understand this khmer concept better, just study the bas-reliefs of the churning of the ocean of milk on the wall of angkor wat; as the god indra set motion to create more apsara or devatas to overwhelm the demon or evilness. apsara or devatas also represent all things of beauty in khmer culture. the khmer people often praise for devatas to protect and take care of our country of cambodia, our people and everything else khmer. i guess we can call apsara or devatas as the guardian spirits as well. they serve the god in khmer belief. the are sometimes in male form, however, they are often appear as female form. who knows, they could also from aliens or e.t. from outer planets as well . one thing for sure, khmer praise to devatas for good luck, for protection from harm, from bad luck, from evil, from danger, etc. in the case of the ones on the angkor wat walls, they were devatas for the god-kings; thus, they represented beauty, power, or in the layman term the cheerleaders for the god-kings and their religious believes, etc... for one thing, they weren't represent of one god, but many gods.
ps: also a good place or good khmer people to ask about apsara or devatas are the educated buddhist monks of cambodia and perhaps, the khmer royal family as well; they all know and understand more about apsara or devatas in khmer belief, etc... the khmer historians as well e.g. professors of khmer archaeology, khmer religion experts, etc... good luck mr. davis for researching on khmer apsara or devatas.
keep in mind also that ancient khmer liked to mix their religious believes with the real life people. so, there is no doubt that the devatas or apsara bas-reliefs we see on the walls of angkor monuments of those of real khmer people; yes, the real looks or features of the ancient khmer people that ruled the great khmer angkor civilization. i have no doubt about that!
In Cambodia, we have Ministry of Women Affairs to help protect women's rights in the society. The current Khmer society, there are a lot of violent against women and children...so why the current Khmer's culture is so opposite from the Angkor period? And the Khmer women still a lot of violent and the BS from Khmer men? Anybody want to give to cents of their opinion? Thanks
actually, khmer men love their wife and children and are very loyal, very caring towards their family. i think since the destruction of the KR on khmer society, men became depressed and resort to drinking, thus led to violence in that sense. plus, the choatic situation of the lawlessness from the result of the KR destruction of law and order and so forth seemed to fuel violence in men toward their family, e.g. wife and children, etc... however, when law and order on back on track in khmer society again, i'm sure khmer men and khmer people will resort back to civility again in no time, ok! be patient and by all means, do encourage education for every khmer person, ok!
10:48 am - thanks for your two cents opinion...I have to assume that you are Khmer man...whoever going to Marry you - must be lucky. But one thing that I have notice is that Khmer men had been violence toward their children and wife before the KR period...than how do you explain on that...I am sure that all these violence are not causes by KR period. Furthermore, event the Khmer men of youger generation which are born after the KR period -they are still seem to have a violent attitute toward women? How can you explain on that?...
just a Khmer women want to understand more about Khmer men...How women qualify to be Khmer's women...other word - how does one define Khmer women? Who is Khmer women?
10:48 AM,
You have no clue what on earth you are talking about. Don't blame the violence on Cambodian women, especially and children in the family by their own husbands on the Khmer Rouges.
It had happened even before the KR leader whose name is Pol Pot was even born!
A lot of Khmer husbands, when they get drunk, they usually come home and cause problems to their families.
It begins from the top-down. First of all, look at the king Sihanock. What did he do? his women are countless and look at the khmer culture in general. Women were expected to be virgin until they got married but isn't it contradited with the role model of the king?. He slept with anyone he wanted without question asked? and on top of that he called his daughter a "slut" on a radio and what did people in general do? they copy cated the king didn't they. They began to devalue their own wife and children too, by saying if the king could do it, so can I!. You see, most women were trained to be loyaled and whereas men were trained to be dishonest to themselves and to whole of the society. Now, you can say why i blamed on the king. Research has shown that people like to imetate just like student at school. They watch, listen and they learn. This is what went wrong. That is why we need an educated person to be a leader because intelligent people have morality and they think before they speak and all by using a diplomatic dialogue. You see, this is where we came from, one word a mad king who ruled the nation to ruin. Hah! So, 11am I hope can understand it now, to why khmer women sufferred so much until these present day. Shame on you Sihanock! Wisdom
11:23 am, this is 11:00 am, thanks for your two cents as well. It like the person earlier that blaim all the Khmer men problems on the KR regime while you blaim all on the King (why the king have so much power...isn't that the people who want power, do not have any to offer to the king - the men would offer their daughter and event their wife to please the king so that he himself would get the power?. I remember in one of these special occassion, the man that have a young wife push his wife to move forward so that Mr. Hun Sen could see her. Event though the young wife was really side, she has to push herself forward. Thus, isn't this not just for the king, but it just for any men that have power????
Beside one has to accept that King is also a man...if one keep on push all these pretty women in exchange for power...he has to get something in return...isn't it? Thus,Does one should blaim the giver or the reciever? Or both equally to blaim?
12:15Pm This is wisdom, you are right but if you come back to the meaning of being a leader, you can see where they should stand, like the principles of it, the ethical code, the code of conduct which also include morality, integrety and professionalism that is never to take advantage of the poor or the vulnerable people. if they do they will bring themselves to ruin, simple as that.
Yes, 1:52pm - I agreed with your point that leader should have all the quality that you have mention and the one that your are not mention as well. Event the president of the United States (Mr. Clinton), he is the rightest men, but he cannot stop his human nature by having an affairs with an intern. How about John Edword - while running for president and his wife on dead bed...he still manage to have an affair and have children with the person. And these happen under a strong law as such in the US - an men nature still do that! Thus, how about men in Cambodia, King, Priminister, etc...they are just men, furthermore, they are the one who make the law! 1:52 pm, you must be the men without any power what-soever...event power over your wife (if your wife happen to stay home), don't you ever want to try that power? It is not "simple as that" as you put it. Don't you ever heard "power is corrupt, and absolute power is corrupt absolutely"! Corruption is not in just the paremeter of monitary...but corruption include the mental, and physical corruption (take others' wife or daughter to feet the pleasure of one's human nature).....
Mr. Davis, you gave yourself an out of this world project and research. it is the very first that I know of and very unique. Plus you have access to resources and tools. It is excellent. Can't wait to read more of your discovery or even buy your printed book. Why nobody thought of that before? I know reseachers did works on Bayon faces and King V. VII.
11:17 AM
You compare now to 70 years ago ? You have been out of your mind.
Most Khmer men are very loyal and loving to their wives. They support her from the time she had his children all the way until when ever or death due them a part. Make no mistake that many men in Cambodia were also having mixed race, especially with the chineese. This is when the culture of violence came into picture. Also after pol pot, there were few men left in the country. Men can move on to whomever he think would give him best opportunity. Most Khmer women would put up with it, because of the economic reason, but again not all. She will be close to cut his balls off just like the good old day:) Say it the new culture of Cambodia, but in the past, Khmer women had most powerful role in steering her children. Men had no choice, but be by her side and support her to the fullest extend, because Khmer women know, her children will be their true extention and must able to preserve the Khmer culture forever. Virgin for both boys and girls before they get married. Especially girl and that must stay in place. It seems to change for about 4 or 5 hundred years ago. See Tum & Teav's love story and Donne Phan or Grandma/ mother Phan of Neang Teav. You just don't cross your mother in Khmer culture. She is the God of the House. You treat your mother bad you go to hell or you get pull in by the Earth. " Preah ToNie Srobe , remember? :) or the earth will pull your as.into the ground alive.
Battambang
I get really scare when hearing that preah tonie srobe phrase when I was young and still is or now 53 years of age. In Khmer Culture is Mother first then Monk and God.
Sorry...in Khmer culture, it's mother and father first then monk and God, but because mother is the strongest and most discipline enforcement person in the family, she gets the first honor.
I got a simple answer: they were the best builders of the temple. That is why they got their images carved into the rocks for a memorial as long as the temple stands.
That may be true KhmerIsrael :)
shut up, gender is not important here, what's important is the idea or the concept, etc to open some sleepy eyes, ok!
Always great discussions on KI-Media. But why does "Anonymous" dominate the discussions? (-: I'm proud to take 100% responsibility for my words. I think I'm right. If you prove me wrong I'll admit it.
I can't comment on modern politics because I know nothing about them. But I would like to address the comment about how "Khmers are fascinated by their glorious past".
What people on Earth are not fascinated by their own "glorious past"?
In the case of the Khmer, many great minds have observed that they have more right to be fascinated than most! As Auguste Rodin said
"The Cambodians have shown us all that antiquity can contain... It is impossible to see human nature brought to a higher state of perfection. We have only the Cambodians and the Greeks."
The Khmer race perfected systems of art, architecture, science and spirituality that stand tall among the greatest races of humankind. They can be compared to the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Indians, Mayans and Chinese. Yet they are unique.
And Khmer genius still colors all of Southeast Asia. It always will, without regard for modern borders.
Regarding the women of Angkor Wat, I believe that the ancient Khmer hierarchy portrayed there will soon have important lessons for our modern world. But the Khmer can only teach us what we are willing to see and understand.
In the case of the women of Angkor Wat, we have been entirely blind to their significance in modern times. I'm working to change that.
Also, the article posted above ran with none of my images and the photos that the paper ran were, in fact, entirely wrong for the story.
An article with relevant images is here
http://www.devata.org/2010/09/is-angkor-wat-a-12th-century-facebook/
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