Historical Events

The best relief giving us an idea of what the army of King  Suryavarman II  might have looked like is that of the Southern Gallery, West wing of Angkor Wat , Known as the ‘Historic procession’ However , it is  not clear if this was intended to represent an ordinary parade of the royal forces, or a particular ceremony.

It shows the entourage of the King , including Brahmin  priests, recognizable by their high chignons, and the main state minister. The queens, princesses and ladies of the court are also represented. The sculptors have indicated the rank of  the King by depicting the 14 parasols required by protocol, together with the complementary fly-whisks.

Then follows the parade of infantry, escorting the generals and high  dignitaries mounted on elephants. A short inscription indicates the name and rank of each important personage, and the number of parasols conforms with it.

The relief gives an indication of the style of dress and the weapons of the army. The generals, as well as the infantry, have the lower body draped by a sampot whose long tails descend from the belt to drop on the side. The soldiers have helmets decorated with the head of an animal and carry a round shield. The horses of some chiefs are sculpted in great detail. In many cases, the king and the generals were conspicuously holding the phkak, the long-handled club ending at an angle in which two blades were inserted. This instrument is still used nowadays in Cambodia. It derives from Indonesia and is unknown in India.

The parade includes various groups of Brahmins, ringing small bells: the Rajahota, or royal priest, is carried in an hammock, just as in recent times, The propitious ark follows, containing the sacred fire escorting the army to sanctify the battle and attract the attention of the gods. The numerous porters are preceded by trumpets, drums, conch players, and an enormous gong beaten with a large mallet. Two dancing clowns are also depicted. And some banner-carriers juggling with their insignia (often a statuette of Hanuman). At the head of the procession, a group of unusual people appear: the Siamese, with extravagant costumes, long vests with pendants, bizarre hair-styles with three or four plumes and five rows of superimposed beads; their general is covered with bracelets and necklaces, plus many other decorative elements.

.Angkor Wat, S gallery, W wing (89, a Khmer general), (90, youths), (91, soldiers and insignia), (92, a captain)

Battles between Khmers and Chams  Most of the early scholars have suggested that the battle scenes on the Outer gallery of Bayon represent real historical battles between Khmers and Chams. Boisselier (1993), was of the opinion that this may be only in part correct, as it was more likely that contemporary events were equated with scenes from ancient history and mythology, in particular battles between the devas and asuras. This would be a further reference to Indra’s victorious battle against the asuras, so important for the symbolism of the gates of Angkor Thom. It was certainly more important to identify the career of Jayavarman VII, king of the Khmers. With that of Indra, king of the gods, than merely to commemorate contemporary events.

.Bayon, Outer gallery (93, pages 68-69), (95, page 70)
.Bayon, Outer gallery Naval Battles (94, page 70)

Scenes of daily life In the small narrative panels of Bapuon temple, legends, epic stories and scenes of daily life are mixed together, seemingly at random, without any definite order, Amongst them,a few mock the lives and weaknesses of ascetics, who are shown being pursued by a faun, churning mild, stripping a girl from her sarong, attempting to molest her, and practising some acrobatic yoga positions to gain merit, Other scenes are more dramatic: the ascetics are seen holding on their knees a decapitated head pierced by an arrow near a woman sitting between two executioners who are about to chop her head off. The outer gallery of Bayou is rich in reliefs illustrating stories and events of daily life with great verve. Some scenes depict the bank of a river (or lake) with boars in the bushes, together with flamingo, deer and does, Intently watched by a hidden hunter. Not far away, Khmer warriors with straps crossed over their chests, prepare for battle and brandish their pikes.

Using the shore of the river bank to assure narrative continuity, the Bayon artists portray, in a lively and graphic way, open-air scenes – market stalls with buyers and sellers, cockfighting with the various purters in animated discussion, cooking, tending the sick, mothers and children, and so on.

Behind the market, fish swim close to boats in the river, along which there are houses and palaces, examples of the civil and rural architecture of the time, and inside which one can observe scenes of domestic life.

The reliefs depict boats and fishing equipment, including a curious anchor with a pulley, identical to those of Chinese junks. The fish themselves are the same as those found nowadays in the Great Lake and have all been identified.

For a better understanding of some of the scenes described in the reliefs of Bayon one can read the memoirs of Zhou Daguan, and recorded a wealth of interesting facts.

“Every time I was admitted to the palace for an audience with the King, he came forward with his chief queen, and took his seat in the embrasure of the golden window in the main audience hall. The ladies of the court were drawn up on both sides of the veranda below the window, changing places now and then to get a better look at us, and thus giving me a good chance to see them”.

“Finally the sovereign appeared, standing erect on an elephant and holding in his hand the  sacred sword. This elephant, his tusks sheathed in gold, was accompanied by bearers of twenty white parasols with golden shafts. All around was a bodyguard of elephants, drawn together, and still more soldiers for complete protection, inarching in close ranks”

“Every day the King holds two audiences for consideration of affairs of state. No list of agenda is provided. Functionaries and ordinary people who wish to see the sovereign seat themselves on the ground to await his arrival. In the course of time, distant music is heard in the palace, while from the outside blasts on conch shells sound forth as though to welcome the ruler.” When the king enters the hall “ All present, ministers and commoners, join their hands and touch the hearth with their foreheads, lifting up their heads only when the sound of conches has ceased. The sovereign seats himself at once on a lion’s skin, which is a hereditary royal treasure, when the affairs of state have been dealt with the king turns back to the palace, everyone rises”.