The Pixie Dust Chronicle: Stumbling in on sacred ceremonies: with photos

It just so happened that today, of all the days I might have chosen to check out the School of Fine Arts here in Siem Reap, they had invited a couple old masters to work with the kids and to honor their presence, decided to do a whole ceremony, honoring the spirits of the dance.

The set up is quite extravagant: at the head a table with the mask for the giant role and a bunch of apsara headresses, then a line of candles on either side, in descending height - but not ordinary candles, towers of greens and wax, with cones at the top, an egg, and then the smaller candle - and then the offerings, mostly bananas and other fruit. One plate -- all gold and ornately carved -- held a cooked chicken. In between the line and by the table, a bowl of water and a coconut. Finally, a giant pot of incense sticks, and a plate with many candles stuck on it.

They were in the process of setting this all up when I arrived. Sitting and waiting were the students, in their uniforms. There were perhaps fifty in total, though my estimating skills are a bit iffy. The boys - maybe the music students? - in yellow. All the girls in the traditional tightly buttoned top and wrapped pants -- the very young in light blue shirts and green pants, the mid age in red pants and white tops, and the older in the colors of their choosing.

Bustling around the offerings, lighting candles, were the older girls, the teachers watching with a close eye. At last, with everything lit and the room filling with incense smoke, the orchestra took their places, a mix of young students and older masters.

The first song, everyone in the room began to bow, the traditional hands to head and then to floor three times, then bent over. After that, they just remained sitting, hands in the 'sompiah' or namaste position. After a few songs, six girls got up, each taking one offering, and then performing the basic apsara gestures (which, happily, I've learned to recognize) -- and in fact, as I've been told, this is what apsara was created for, rituals and ceremonies only, not shows.

They put the offerings back after that, and -- my goodness, I thought, this is a LONG ceremony -- five other girls got up and performed a full apsara dance, five or ten minutes long. I don't know what it was about, though I assume it is to pay homage to the ancestors.

With that, the incense almost burnt out and the candles dripping wax everywhere, the fruits of the offerings were broken open, a banana or two unpeeled, the eggs opened, and the orchestra played a final song, everyone repeating the bowing sequence from earlier (including me, I was doing my best to follow).

The ceremony at last closed, everyone began to split up the offerings, happily eating them. I guess the ancestors had had their fill, and food does not go to waste here. One of the old masters offered me a bunch of longan, one of my favorite fruits here. I took it with both hands -- I'm learning the gestures of respect -- and ate them, thinking to have fruit touched by the spirits of the dance is pretty darn cool.

I had some time to kill after that and made friends with a kitten, who kept trying to attack my hands, but adorably sat on my lap for awhile -- cats always seem to understand I love them. The rest of the day was just a nice lunch with a couple of friendly elder British guys who are apparently launching a theater company in town, teaching, and dinner at a off-the-beaten-path falafel place, which may or may not have been a bad idea on a still tender stomach. But I wanted to, so that's just me thumbing my nose at whatever bacteria I picked up...

Here are some pictures of the past days' adventures...