Apsara ~ Celestial Maiden of Heaven and Earth

Click image to see larger version

The King and I was the first musical my mother took me to see. The year was 1980 and I was 10.

Yul Brynner as King Mongkut in The King and I

Yul Brynner, the man who made the character of King Mongkut of Siam in the play famous, starred in this lavish production that headlined at the opulent Pantages Theater in Hollywood. I had no clue who he was at the time other than some bald guy who talked funny. I now realize how fortunate I was to have had the chance to see him in a role that anyone who is familiar with the play knows only he can play best. Mr. Brynner passed away from lung cancer in 1985 and to this day I've yet to see anyone fill the monarchs curly tipped slippers quite the way he did.

June Angela and Alex Winter

Also featured in the cast was a very young Alex Winter, whom you may recall as Bill in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, et al, as Louis Leonowens and June Angela, a regular on The Electric Company (for those of you as old as I am who remember this PBS show that also starred other memorable names such as Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby and Irene Cara), as Tuptim. I was actually more excited to see June Angela than I was Yul Brynner because, to my 10 year old self, she was a real star on a show I'd watched religiously in my childhood. Alex Winter was years away from his role as Bill and therefore a virtual unknown to most people at the time.

The real King Mongkut of Siam and the real Anna Leonowens

For those of you who aren't familiar with The King and I, it's a lavish musical play by Rogers and Hammerstein based on the published real-life memoirs of Anna Harriette Leonowens. The English Governess at the Siamese Court was published in 1870 and recounts the six years Leonowens spent serving as the royal governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam (which was renamed Thailand in 1939, renamed Siam again in 1945 before settling on the name Thailand a second and final time in 1949).

Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr in the 1956 movie version of Rogers and Hammerstein's The King and I

Although King Mongkut was considered to be a forward thinking ruler, the memoir Anna published two years after his death tended to focus on what she viewed to be the subjugated status of Siamese women, especially those within his household. In the play, she attempts to enlighten his wives and concubines by reading them anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Dressed in the elaborate costumes in the tradition of the royal Khmer court dancers, the wives in turn perform a gorgeous but amusing ballet version of the story within the play as a means to relay a message to the king to spare the life of his concubine, Tuptim, who has disobeyed him by attempting to run away with her lover. 

This is where I first learned about and became fascinated with the Apsaras.

The style of dance is one that was practiced in the courts of the Angkorian monarchs of Siam for centuries. It's delicate hand movements and gestures, impossible looking contortions of the feet and legs, are interwoven into dances that tell stories of Hindu mythology. Today the traditional dances are still performed and are often referred to as "the Apsara Dances". The Apsara Art Association (Art School) in Phnom Penh offers access to education and training in these performing arts for orphans and children from poor families. Learning such graceful skills allows these children the means to eventually earn money to aid their families by performing for tourists visiting Angkor.

Small House of Uncle Thomas, Part 1

Small House of Uncle Thomas, Part 2

As you can see from the above video clips from the 1956 movie version of The King and I (starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr), there is an actual Apsara featured in Small House of Uncle Thomas, Part 2. She is the "angel" that Buddha sends to aid Eliza - because that's exactly what Apsaras are - celestial maidens who govern the various elements of nature upon the earth.

The Temple at Angkor Wat

The mythological Apsaras are supernatural beings that were said to appear in the form of young women of profound grace, beauty and elegance. According to the great epic, Mahabharata, and the ancient collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, the Rig Veda, there were a total of 26 Apsaras - each governing a specific performing art. They were said to be the wives of the Gandharvas - male nature spirits who usually were part animal and who possessed excellence in the art of music. The Apsaras were said to dance to the music made by their husbands, usually within the palaces of the gods or grand temples upon the earth such as the amazing temple of Angkor Wat, the largest ancient Angkorian temple located in Cambodia. In fact, the Apsaras were said to frequent this temple so much that the entire temple is adorned with bas relief Apsaras and Devatas carved into the stonework there.

Apsaras in bas relief carved into the walls of the temple at Angkor Wat

Apsaras are most commonly associated with water and are often compared to the nymphs of ancient Greece. They are also akin to the nine muses of Greek mythology who governed the various aspects of the performing arts.

The gorgeously exotic Miss Shannon!

The Apsara depicted in the illustration for The Goddess Coloring Book is based on my friend, Shannon. Shannon is one of the best friends of my best friend Tawana's daughter, Kamille. She is of Malaysian and Hawaiian descent but is American born and resides in the Las Vegas, Nevada, area. Shannon just celebrated her 18th birthday and is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to music of all kinds. Sometimes the music she's familiar with blows me away because I wouldn't expect one as young as she is to be familiar with some of the songs, bands, musicians and genres she's obviously been exposed to. She also plays the guitar. I felt that Shannon would be a perfect conduit for the Apsara energy because of her heritage, her inclination toward music, song and dance and the fact that she does have such an otherworldly and exotic beauty tinged with mystery, elegance and grace.

She is depicted dressed in one of the many forms of the classical Apsara costumes, complete with "wings" - although these "wings" can also serve as fish tails as well, similar to that of a mermaid. She is in one of the traditional poses of the Khmer dancers, kneeling upon an embankment near a pond full of water lilies.

Her companions are a turtle and a small tree frog. In the far east, Turtle is considered a feminine energy and one of the four divine animals, along with the Dragon, Phoenix and Chimera. They are often worshipped in temples in many Asian countries. The markings and sections on some turtles total thirteen. In the lunar calendar, there are either thirteen full moons or thirteen new moons alternating each year. Many believe this is where the association with the female energies originated. The turtle symbolizes the primal mother and Mother Earth. There are also many legends about how those who killed turtles eventually met with misfortune. Common Buddhist restraints against the killing of animals evolved into the Buddhist ceremony of releasing turtles.

Turtles remind us that the way to heaven is through the earth. In Mother Earth is all that we need. She will care for us, protect us, and nurture us, as long as we do the same for her. For that to happen, we must slow down and heighten our sensibilities. We must see the connection to all things - which is, in part, the point and purpose of the celestial but earth bound Apsaras. Just as the turtle cannot separate itself from its shell, neither can we separate ourselves from what we do to and do upon the earth.

The frog is also nearby because frogs undergo incredible transformations to reach the destination of full adulthood, and so do we as humans. The frog understands what it is like to experience serious growing pains – and so it is a fantastic animal totem for teenagers as they sometimes struggle to find their place (between youth and adulthood) in society.

Miss Shannon happened to be quite excited about "becoming legal" on her last birthday back in April and yet those of us who have made it into adulthood know that exciting as this transition may be, the process of becoming a fully actualized adult is fraught with many ups and downs and lots of floundering around as we make our way - but eventually we get it and life becomes smoother and more even... much in the same way choppy waters become still and calm in the way the Angel/Apsara made the waters for Eliza after she'd endured many trials.

Ultimately, the energy of the Apsaras imparts the beauty of the bridge between heaven and earth and teaches us to hold the lessons of nature as sacred and powerful on our earthly path in life.

May you always walk in beauty, Miss Shannon!! And thank you so much for the gift of your unique energy that allowed me to bring this illustration through.