These paintings are murals on one of the walls outside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. They contain exquisite color and detail, which I'm afraid my pictures don't quite do justice to. Nonetheless, I think they give a sense of the beauty and finery we experienced at the site.

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Painting 1: A walled temple compound with the temples and people highlighted in touches of gold against the dark background.

Painting 2: Detail from top left side of Painting 1. It is interesting in all these paintings that the god-divine-spiritual being is always in the company of skimpily clad, and at times topless, women. The only appearance that men figures make in these paintings is as soldiers, but not worshippers.

Painting 3: Getting to know your god!

Painting 4: Another temple compound, but in lighter colours than the first. Notice again, the gold added to the temple to make it stand out. Also particularly noticeable is the tiered roof of the temple, a feature that is common to all the temples we saw in Thailand.

Painting 5: Detail from centre right of Painting 4. This adherent is being a little more coy.

Painting 6: Another temple compound, smaller than the others, but my favorite because of the magnificent colours and contrasts. Notice the soldiers outside the compound wall on the elephant.

Painting 7: Detail from centre right of Painting 6. A particularly pleased looking god.

Painting 8: A battle scene with a difference. From what I can understand, the god figure is harboring the soldiers in his mouth. Either that or the soldiers think they are hiding in a cave and are about to be incredibly surprised.

Dion Marc Delport

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