Words
- by Roberto Rocha
- published from Cambodia
- on 2010.08.21
The strange statues of Koh Kong (PHOTOS)
In the town of Koh Kong, near the border with Thailand, there’s a Buddhist spiritual retreat with a bizarre collection of sculptures by its riverfront.
In the photos below you’ll see sadistic-looking sculptures killing people with the heads of animals. You’ll see a man being sawed in half while being pecked by a garuda, a bird of Buddhist mythology.
Ask different people about them and you’ll get different answers: it was made by the Khmer Rouge to turn people away from religion. No, it was meant to scare people to tell the truth.
This article says it’s a depiction of Buddhist hell – what happens when people stray from the moral path.
It’s difficult to get a straight answer, since the Khmer Rouge abolished so much knowledge and culture during its four-year reign of terror. So we are left with our imaginations, to which these statues leave plenty of space.
Click thumbnails to see full pictures. Click on arrows below photos to advance.
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Comments
Beto:
Bizarre pictures. They are similar in appearance to those we see in Hindu and Tibetan temples, but the context and the themes are grotesque. Reminded me of that famous statue of children playing in a Stalingrad fountain in the middle of WWII rubble.
No wonder the population is confused about their interpretation.
These pictures would merit a good newspaper article. Why don’t you try?
Yes, indeed they are depictions of “narok” (Buddhist Hell), and there are similar depictions in Thailand (my home country). I am trying to remember one of the temples not too far outside of Bangkok, but it has been years since I was there and I can’t remember it off the top of my head (sorry).
One thing to note is that the figures show more of a Western influence in their facial features – maybe combined with an Indian influence. The faces certainly don’t look Khmer.
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