The Big God and the Small God

Prea Ang Check

One night in the twilight of the Angkor empire, the two chief monks of Angkor Wat bad the  same dream: in just days an invading Siamese army would attack Angkor: Two powerful sister-gods warned the monks, and asked that their statues be moved from the second floor of the great temple and bidden. But the monks ignored them. A second night came and Preah Ang Chek and Preah Ang Chorm appeared again in a dream. Again they warned the monks. Again they were ignored. When a third night brought the same dream, the monks finally paid heed and moved the statues to a secret corner of the wat.

Just as the gods predicted, a Siamese army arrived in days, looting and pillaging. The invaders swept away taking with them valuable treasures, but the statues stayed safe in their hiding place. Thus began and odyssey of centuries, during which the figures were moved again and again, protected by monks - who took the secret of their hiding places to their death - and once by tigers who chased away searchers looking for them. In the legend, the power of the statues has protected and empowered those who believe.
The legend of the shiny black statues continues today. Preah Ang Chek and Preah Ang Chorm stand in a small temple in the Royal Crusade for Independence Garden in Siemreap, with offerings of flowers and candles at their feet. They are visited by daily processions of monks, pilgrims, ordinary Khmers - sometimes bearing unusual offerings - and foreign visitors who come to share their power, peace and serenity. A third statue, Preah Ang Chom, is believed by some to be a third sister. She was separated from her siblings in the 1950- protected by a series of monks-and only recovered in 1995. 

She is now protected inside the walls of Conservation d'Angkor in Siemreap. The three are believed to be the daughters of an Angkorean King. from one reign to another, during war and peace, the most revered idols in Cambodia have provided a strong spiritual inspiration for their believers, especially the people of Siemreap, who have their own affectionate names for the tow: Preah Ang Thom and Preah Ang Toch _ the Big God and the Small God.
The tow bronze-and-brass statues stand in an unusual gesture with an ancient Sanskrit inscription and drawing on their extended palm as a symbol of protection.

"Over many generations, the people of Siemreap say they would rather lose the whole province -   they won't let anyone take the statues away, "says Governor Toan Chay, who is a strong believer in the power of the statues. He says the gods are so powerful that "the good will be rewarded with good things; the bad will be rewarded with bad things."
San Sip, a 73-year-old caretaker of the statues, relates their story.
In a long-standing tradition whereby the monarch is considered a God-King, the Princesses bear the face of a Buddha. The idols were originally located in the Gallery of A Thousand Buddha in Angkor Wat. They survived the invasion by the Siamese army - only to become the objects, centuries later, of determined search.