Playing dead
At Ravana's behest, his niece transforms herself into a perfect likeness of Sita, then pretends to be dead. She floats down a river and across the sea all the way to a river bank where Rama and his younger brother Laksman are camping. (Learn more)
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Floating on her back extended in the water, Ravana’s niece pretends to be the dead Sita, as seen in a painted mural detail at the Emerald Buddha Temple. The niece is dressed in royal Siamese clothes and a tall crown, all painted in gold leaf paint. Tall rocks are visible at the left of the calm water in which the “fake” Sita floats.
Learn more about Bangkok, Emerald Buddha Temple, Ramayana, Sita, Thailand, art, demons, impersonation, murals, paintings, and royal clothing.
Photographs by Margery Freeman · Text by Lorraine Aragon
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