APAD 168: A Buddhist shrine
Somewhere in the thick forest of the Angkor Wat Archaeological Park in Siem Reap stands this Buddhist shrine. Although the shrine is not as old as the Angkor Wat and other temples inside the complex, a lot of visitors come to pray and bring offerings, most especially the locals.
An elderly achar, or a layman, comes to the shrine everyday to keep it maintained, making sure that the place is clean, the offerings and flowers brought by visitors are arranged well, and that incense sticks continuously burn at the altar. When he is not busy doing his chores, or, upon special request, the achar entertains his visitors by reading their palms and telling their future. Pleased visitors leave him some amount as donation.
When I visited the temple again about two years ago, I saw the achar hunched and picking up dead, fallen leaves. I lingered for a bit and engaged him in a chat. He is not usually alone, he told me. Every afternoon, the elders – his neighbours – that live in the area come by after their siesta to keep him company. Sometimes his young grandchildren also come by, bring him snacks and hangout with him, too. I wanted to ask him some more, about why he continues to do this unpaid work despite his age… about what he thinks about the changes that the ancient temples had undergone… but a new batch of visitors came and he was on his merry way to greet them. I didn’t even get the chance to take his photo. Maybe next time.
If you happen to visit Angkor Wat, please try and visit the shrine. The achar would love to meet a new friend.
More Mellow Yellow Monday entries here (please click logo):
APAD 145: Alluring Apsaras
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| These are some of the better preserved carvings inside Angkor Wat. |
APAD 114: Details of passageways at Angkor Wat
APAD 113: Devotion
There are a lot of yellow and yellow-gold stuffs going on here – yellow incense sticks, candles, umbrella, and the spiral tree – all represent good luck, good karma, happiness and abundance. Local people who visit Angkor Wat never fail to light candles and incense sticks here and pray and give tribute to their great ancestors who built the majestic temples. Visitors also offer lotus flowers and fruits to the Lord Buddha and to their ancestors that they watch over them the whole year.
The smell of the incense and the smoke it gave off provided an ethereal feel, at least to me, when I visited Angkor Wat. It’s as if I stepped into another world… a mysterious, celestial place.
APAD 093: Apsara
New apsaras and devatas come down to earth once a year, every Khmer New Year, to replace the ones that are already here. Images of these celestial beings are prominently found in Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, and Ta Prohm temples and most of them are of the apsaras. Archaeologists are still trying to uncover one of the mysteries surrounding Angkor Wat – why do women dominate the largest religious structure on earth and who were these ancient Khmer women depicted in the temples?
APAD 067: Light and shadow
One of the windows in Angkor Wat temple. Love the light and shadow play going on here. The sunlight illuminated the carvings on the wall while the decorative stone window bars casts a dramatic shadow on it.
For more Shadow Shot Sunday entries, please click here.
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