The gods and their temoples
In Cambodia and in ancient India there were two distinct types of deiry: the 'autochthonous' or home-grown gods, and those of Brahmanic or Buddhist origin.There is hardly any direct information available about the former, since the inscriptions are virtually silent in this respect, But the existence of these ancestor spirits, called Neak ta by the Khmers, and the worship they attracted is still widely attested up to the present day and there is little doubt that from time immemorial they have been invoked and honoured, Their shines are usually humble and people typically make offerings of a little food, or sometimes a chicken and on special occasions even a pig, together with a few flowers, cigarettes, and liquor, the meat and alcohol ensuring the distinction between these gods and those of Indian origin. In the everyday lives of the Khmers they have a significance which belies appearances. They are the guardians of the earth, ensuring its rich produce, If they are well-treated they will favour the supplicant with benefits. They are neither virtuous nor vicious, but they can be bad-tempered and inflict illness if they consider they have not been properly treated.
There was naturally a hierarchy among these deities. The most important of them is the Devaraja- the muchvaunted 'king of the gods' - who reigns over all the kingdom's local divinities. At the same time as Jayavarman II had himself consecrated 'emperor of the world' in 802, he installed as his divine counterpart a kind of 'super-Devaraja', without iconic features, to remain close to the king as his presence in the spirit world. Significantly, the same deity is still present in the main hall of the throne room of the Thai king's palace in Bangkok, and the Khmer Devaraja doubtless enjoys a corresponding place of honour in Phnom Penh's royal palace.
The gods and their temoples
In Cambodia and in ancient India there were two distinct types of deiry: the 'autochthonous' or home-grown gods, and those of Brahmanic or Buddhist origin.There is hardly any direct information available about the former, since the inscriptions are virtually silent in this respect, But the existence of these ancestor spirits, called Neak ta by the Khmers, and the worship they attracted is still widely attested up to the present day and there is little doubt that from time immemorial they have been invoked and honoured, Their shines are usually humble and people typically make offerings of a little food, or sometimes a chicken and on special occasions even a pig, together with a few flowers, cigarettes, and liquor, the meat and alcohol ensuring the distinction between these gods and those of Indian origin. In the everyday lives of the Khmers they have a significance which belies appearances. They are the guardians of the earth, ensuring its rich produce, If they are well-treated they will favour the supplicant with benefits. They are neither virtuous nor vicious, but they can be bad-tempered and inflict illness if they consider they have not been properly treated.
There was naturally a hierarchy among these deities. The most important of them is the Devaraja- the muchvaunted 'king of the gods' - who reigns over all the kingdom's local divinities. At the same time as Jayavarman II had himself consecrated 'emperor of the world' in 802, he installed as his divine counterpart a kind of 'super-Devaraja', without iconic features, to remain close to the king as his presence in the spirit world. Significantly, the same deity is still present in the main hall of the throne room of the Thai king's palace in Bangkok, and the Khmer Devaraja doubtless enjoys a corresponding place of honour in Phnom Penh's royal palace.
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The gods and their temoples
In Cambodia and in ancient India there were two distinct types of deiry: the 'autochthonous' or home-grown gods, and those of Brahmanic or Buddhist origin.There is hardly any direct information available about the former, since the inscriptions are virtually silent in this respect, But the existence of these ancestor spirits, called Neak ta by the Khmers, and the worship they attracted is still widely attested up to the present day and there is little doubt that from time immemorial they have been invoked and honoured, Their shines are usually humble and people typically make offerings of a little food, or sometimes a chicken and on special occasions even a pig, together with a few flowers, cigarettes, and liquor, the meat and alcohol ensuring the distinction between these gods and those of Indian origin. In the everyday lives of the Khmers they have a significance which belies appearances. They are the guardians of the earth, ensuring its rich produce, If they are well-treated they will favour the supplicant with benefits. They are neither virtuous nor vicious, but they can be bad-tempered and inflict illness if they consider they have not been properly treated.
There was naturally a hierarchy among these deities. The most important of them is the Devaraja- the muchvaunted 'king of the gods' - who reigns over all the kingdom's local divinities. At the same time as Jayavarman II had himself consecrated 'emperor of the world' in 802, he installed as his divine counterpart a kind of 'super-Devaraja', without iconic features, to remain close to the king as his presence in the spirit world. Significantly, the same deity is still present in the main hall of the throne room of the Thai king's palace in Bangkok, and the Khmer Devaraja doubtless enjoys a corresponding place of honour in Phnom Penh's royal palace.
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