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STUDY ON THE PREAH NEANG DEVÍ


As stated earlier, the Preag Neang Deví are representations of the female ancestors, in the form of goddesses embodied in portrait-statues and, at the same time, works of art.

These two notions form the beasis of our study on the evolution and the value of the Preah Neang Deví sculptures.


The essence of the Preah Neang Deví statue

The plurality of the Indian Brahmanism and Buddhism figures can be found also in ancient Cambodia’s religious history. However, they diverge in terms of religious practice as the ancient Khmers viewed their ancestors as supreme gods.

The Khmers, who fully mastered the Sanskrit language – as evidenced by the inscriptions found on steles, piers, small columns and even objects-expressed this divergence through the production of portrait-statues.

If, forgetting their previous role, we consider the Preah Neang Deví only as goddesses and if we reduce them to simple museum pieces – something they never were in the past since they were the owners of temples, which in turn were considered to be the gods’ palaces – we alter their role and their function.

Some temples, made of brick or stone, were built at the top of mountains; others are large sides. All took many years to decorate. The temples are dedicated to the ancestors’ spirits, represented by statues of the deities. Religious architecture therefore complements these statues.

Temple building becomes a respected tradition, which the kings use to express their gratitude to their ancestors.

We know that the temples are surrounded by moats; Angkor Vat, Banteay Kdei and Bakong are some of the finest examples. The moats no only mark the boundary of the sacred space, they are also a main source of water for local residents and an aquatic environment where fish, shrimps, frogs, eels, turtles and many other species thrive and a natural habitat for aquatic plants such as water – lilies, bindweeds and many more. The moats are essential both to the daily lives of the people and, as a sacred place, to protect the natural environment.

Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian era inscriptions teach us that a great many servants were appointed to care for the temples, each being assigned a specific task; there are cloth weaves, palm leaf weavers, dancers and ‘vina’ players. The temple is viewed as a small community serving religion and society.

Such activity reflects temple life and the monumental statue placed inside the building is considered to be a living state closely connected to its environment and the inhabitants. We can therefore assume that the Preah Neang Deví, under the appearance of goddesses and as representations of the ancestors, are important contributing factors to social development and the safeguarding of cultural properties.
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