Two dancing female deities with spiked crowns carved in low relief at Angkor Wat

Dancing deities

Female deities with spiked crowns dance for the entertainment of the gods. (Learn more)

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The asparas in mirror image stances balance on one bent leg in active positions typical of classical Southeast Asian dances. One hand is held above the head and the other in front of the chest with their wrists and fingers stretched backwards towards the sky. The dancing nymphs’ feet always are positioned sideways with toes bent backwards, and their hair usually hangs in a few braids below their crowns. They wear wrapped skirts and jewelry, but no top garments, which was customary for both women and men in many areas of tropical Southeast Asia prior to European contact.

Angkor Wat is known for hundreds of images of these divine nymphs, who usually are posed alone, but sometimes are clustered in groups. Bas-relief carvings on the central temple walls at Angkor Wat illustrate scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, two epic tales from India that were important to classical kingdoms, philosophy, and art throughout Southeast Asia. Both epics include heroes, such as Rama and Krishna, who are earthly incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu, as well as animal deities such as Garuda (a bird) and Hanuman (a monkey).

In contrast to the intricately carved outer wall, the interiors of the stone temples are usually bare. Small holes on some walls along with inscriptions describing the grandeur of Angkor, suggest the idea that there originally were interior murals, possibly of bronze, which long ago were removed and re-forged.

When the French assumed rule over the Angkor area in the late 1800s, they marvelled at the ruins and debated their origins. Many of the puzzles were solved by translating inscriptions on stone slabs at Angkor, and other stones resting as far away as Laos.

The stone inscriptions, written either in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit or in an old form of Khmer transcribed with a Sanskritic form of writing, describe the accomplishments of Khmer kings during their reigns, royal accounting practices, rice production, and even the amount of medicines used in imperial hospitals. Apparently the human dwellings at Angkor, even those of the kings, were made of wood and they perished long before the remaining stone temples.

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