Mannikka, Article Review Example

“One of the main attractions of Angkor Wat is that it is set apart from our world- apart from the daily routines, the work demands, the sometimes heavy burden of social and business interactions” (Mannikka, 27). Mannikka understates the isolationism of Angkor Wat at first. After several pages and countless measurements, this fact is readily apparent. Despite an admirable attempt at respecting the art and the science of the bridge’s architecture, the chapter is choppy and disjointed in a way that the bridge itself is not. On pages 28 through 32, there are many mentions of the repetitive use of cubic measurements in multiples of fifty-four, but the explanation of the churning milk passage would have proven an easier (and more interesting) transition into the less auspicious elements of the Khmer mind.

If the author’s thesis is that Angkor Wat was set away from daily routines, then it seems contradictory that Mannikka (on page 36) poses the question of the connection of the multiples of 54 to the solar and lunar movements. “The churning of the milk” story should be told first and then analyzed through the examples. Important details, such as the coordination of the spring equinox with the churning pivot, get lost in back-tracking as a result. Did they use the positioned objects as a gauge of time? If so, then they were still bound to the ins and outs of everyday life, as the gods were in the third gallery. One “milk churning” relief depicts the gods as lean and cooperative. However, this aspect of their theology was largely ignored in the formulation of a holy site meant to refine and isolate.

All in all, the analyses of the west bridge and its subtleties were excellent; however, Mannikka’s recitation destroys the very wonderment of this great architectural creation and of the people who built it. It was easy to become lost in a sea of questions: Why break with tradition and place Brahma not on Mount Mandara? Why are only certain devas flying? Is there any symbolic connection between these select devas and the birds or air? Is there a connection to the theology in it? It is not until almost the end of the paper that the time-space-kingship connection mentioned in the title is brought together. It is an excellent resource- but poorly worded and organized.