Curse of Angkor Wat 2025

So, what is the curse? Well, Some quick history is necessary. The Indianized Khmer empire of Angkor Wat once stretched throughout Southeast Asia, much of Vietnam excepted due to the Annamite range. It truly was one of the world’s great empires, leaving temples over many areas including inside Thailand, with several today on the Thai/Cambodian border which is a source of current fighting. A great gift the French bestowed upon the peninsula before dee dee maoing.

Here is the legend. Suryavarman I (Khmer: សូរ្យវរ្ម័នទី១; posthumously Nirvanapada) was king of the Khmer Empire from 1006 to 1050, and he greatly expanded the empire, putting it on the road to expansion and glory. The legend is that he cast a curse that if his bloodline was ever overthrown, great calamity would come upon those responsible. Currently, Social media folk are posting all kinds of info defining what the curse exactly is, such as this gentlemen who listed 7 consequences of the curse. Spoiler alert – none are good. Well, as luck would have it, around 1290, a Cambodian melon farmer named Taeng Whan overthrew King Jayavarman IX, the last descendant of the great Suryavarman I. After seizing power, he crowned himself king of the Angkor Kingdom, ruling from 1290 to 1314. (a detail not necessary to understand this story by the way) So, the kingship bloodline now broke, the curse appeared, and great calamity came to the people and the territory. Many believe that this curse is the reason Cambodia – once a great empire – has suffered numerous historical tragedies, including Western colonization, a genocidal regime, civil wars, and territorial losses. According to the 2020 Global climate index, Cambodia ranks number 12 for natural disasters.

The resurgence of this legend follows an unusual event in May of this year. On 14 May, a group of Cambodian mystics were caught on camera doing a ceremony to lift the curse at Angkor. Here they are. It may have been a several day affair because two days later, on 16 May, during a traditional spiritual ceremony held by locals on top of the temple while it was raining, a lightning strike occurred around 5 PM, killing three people and injuring dozens, according to the press. The public connected this event to the legends, viewing it as a supernatural sign. Social media posters proffered all kinds of reasons for the calamity, some saying those performing the ceremony were punished for wearing Thai clothing rather than Khmer. Now, as a Christian I certainly believe in spirits and such, but as an Occam’s razor kind of guy, I suspect dancing on top of a temple during a rainstorm may also have contributed. And with that, let’s hope, pray, and ask for peace. God bless, thank you for watching.

‪@CarterOnConflict‬

https://www.doctorpaulcarter.com/