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"Khmer Costumes & Ornaments: After the Devata of Angkor Wat" by Sappho Marchal. Plate XXX.

Book Review of Costumes of the Devata of Angkor Wat by Sappho Marchal

A mystery. How is it that in 1927, a 23-year-old woman understood more about the diversity of the 1,800 devata goddesses at the Khmer temple of Angkor Wat than mainstream scholars would see for the 80 years?

Equipped with nothing but a pad of paper and a pencil, Sappho Marchal was the first person to begin a quantitative analysis of the symbolism encoded in the royal female portraits immortalized in Angkor Wat. Who are these women? What hierarchy do they represent? Chances are the answers to these questions are portrayed in Sappho’s clear drawings.

Khmer Words for Women-Sacred Terms from Cambodian History

This article is based on research presented by Trudy Jacobsen in her book “Lost Goddesses: The Denial of Female Power in the History of Cambodia”.

Rice Goddesses of Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand

The women of Angkor Wat, frequently called devata and apsaras, are related to many divine, semi-divine and mortal Asian females.

Bayon Devata Goddesses of King Jayavarman VII

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.

Khmer Devata Goddesses at Thommanon Temple the Gate of Victory

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.

Ta Som Temple Devata Goddesses Depict Sacred Khmer Women in Cambodia

Like most Khmer temples, Ta Som is filled with standing female images called devata (or tevoda, tevada), and flying or dancing female divinities called apsara (or apsarases, apsaras). Ta Som temple devata goddesses depict Sacred Khmer women in Cambodia

Khmer Devata Goddesses in the Heart of Preah Khan Temple

Cambodia’s great kings filled entire temples with sanctified images of women. Why do female images at Preah Khan dominate this extraordinary ancient temple? Khmer devata goddesses in the heart of Preah Khan temple

Preah Khan Khmer Temple Devata Goddesses of the Shadows

Sacred images of Khmer women still dominate and protect the temple with their auspicious presence. Many stand hidden in shadowed alcoves, seen by few visitors. Preah Khan Khmer temple devata goddesses

Preah Khan Temple Khmer Devata Goddesses of Darkness

These photos reveal a few of the “Devata of Darkness”: images of Cambodia’s sacred women called devata — sometimes inaccurately referred to as apsaras — hidden from the light of day in passages beneath the collapsed structure. Preah Khan temple Khmer devata goddesses of darkness

Mysterious Khmer Devata Goddesses-Who were the Women of Angkor Wat?

Researcher Kent Davis theorizes that the many carved images of women found throughout the temple complex hold the key to the origins and purpose of the ancient monuments. Mysterious Khmer Devata Goddesses-Who were the Women of Angkor Wat?

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