The Apsaras of Angkor Wat

[khiemtran]

Okay, so first of all, I'm not even going to attempt to cover all the temples we saw, and especially not Angkor Wat, one of the great wonders of the world. There are so many layers of history and so much miraculous artwork and architecture that I'd only be scratching the surface. Instead, I'm going to do a series of posts on a narrow set of aspects, starting off with the ubiquitous asparas, and even then, I'm barely going to be able to do them justice.



So, apsaras, roughly translated as "celestial dancers"... You'll see them again and again around the Khmer temple sites, although they seem to be especially fine in Angkor Wat itself.



You can see the story of their creation in epic depiction of The Churning of the Sea of Milk in Angkor Wat's eastern gallery. Here, the gods (devas) and demons (asuras), after millennia of conflict, have united to work together to churn the ocean to produce the elixir of immortality. One of the side effects is the creation of the apsaras, who you can see flying at the top of the picture.



Asuras pulling in unison, while apsaras fly above. The devas and asuras are pulling on a giant naga, using Mt Mandara as an pivot, supporting by Vishnu in the form of a turtle.



Underneath, all manner of aquatic creatures fill the sea. On the right, you can see a yali, part horse, part lion, part elephant. In the upper middle, you can see a three-headed naga.



Back to the apsaras. They are everywhere and every one is supposedly unique.



Fashion seems to be a big thing if you are an apsara. As is hair.



Almost all the carvings are done in pink sandstone, sometimes covered with stucco. The detail is amazing.



I'm not sure if this is where the outer stucco has come off or if it is simply a restoration in progress.



There is exactly one apsara with her teeth showing in all of Angkor Wat (not shown). The rest all have similar, close mouthed smiles.







You might ask what all these celestial dancers are doing in a Buddhist temple. Well, Angkor Wat started out as a Hindu temple, dedicated to Vishnu. As the Khmer kings changed from Hindu to Buddhist and back again, carvings were replaced, statues moved, but the beloved apsaras and the Hindu stories remained. Even in a modern Buddhist wihara in Siem Reap, we saw ornate depictions of the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana.



Apsaras dancing. Classical Khmer dances still exist which use the same poses and hand movements - one of the few remaining links to the ancient Khmer culture.

Comments

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

WOW.

Thank you so much!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I'm going to be posting about the temples for the next little while. It's been a real challenge trying to find ways to pare things down to manageable chunks because everything is so interconnected.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad that I'll get to see a bit more through your mind and lens!

[soon_lee]

Looks like you had good weather for it. It is one of the wonders of the world isn't it?

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Indeed it was. Although I have to say we probably did things the wrong way around. We entered via the East Gate and then started working our way around the galleries. We avoided the bulk of the crowds that way, but it was hard to appreciate the full scale and grandeur until we reached the top level. I think it would have been better to take the classic route via the Western Gate to get a better sense of scale.

[soon_lee]

We came through the East Gate too. I don't think you lose much that way though I did a lot of looking backwards as we headed out the West Gate.

We did come back the next morning to try to catch the sunrise but it was cloudy, so we missed out. But we did get another look at Angkor Wat. I wouldn't mind going back and spending a few days in Siem Reap just visiting temples.

[zyzyly.livejournal.com]

Fantastic images! I loved wandering through the temples. As you noted, there are all sorts of things to focus on.

One thing I found interesting was the bullet holes in some of the walls, a reminder of Cambodia's history.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, we saw those too. It was certainly very interesting to be able to stand in the same place and see different layers of stories - starting in ancient India, then the Khmer empire, then the French restorers, then the Khmer Rouge and finally the work of UNESCO and the ongoing restoration.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Oh, those are stunning - so full of elegance and movement! And such hats!

If I were more of a traveller, I think Angkor Wat is the one place on earth I'd most like to visit.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It's certainly one of those must-see places. But Angkor Wat itself is only one of a vast number of temples in the area, plus there are the remains of the giant reservoirs. We spent four days there and were completely templed-out by the end of it, but there were still lots of amazing sites we either never saw or else just glimpsed out of the window...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

There's something so amazing about the portrayal of transparent, gossamer-like garments in stone. So cool. And the way the drapery is thrown back, you can feel their dancing.

I like their hairstyles and crowns.

When I was in Japan long ago, my boyfriend at the time introduced me to a Japanese new-age-ish, reggae-ish band called Apsaras. He put earphones on my ears and played me this piece first. (It's instrumental; others have words and are more reggae-ish)

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Interesting, thanks! At many of the larger temples, there were bands made up of landline victims playing Cambodian music, both poignant and evocative.