The Ya Tep Shrine in Siem Reap

When you travel to Siem Reap you may interested on seeing a beautiful Angkor and their amazing complex. This is the first priority for every travellers and tourist visited Siem Reap.

Perhaps some of the tourist also wishes to go around Siem Reap to see the nightlife, market, daily activities and others.  Many sites may attract you like, the royal palace, royal garden, flying foxes in front of the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, the shrine of Preah Ang Cheek Preah Ang Chhom, Angkor museum, riverside, etc.

About the image above: An elder woman offers flowers before Ya Tep statue

There is one small shrine near the royal palace or between royal palace and the temple of preah ang cheek preah ang chhom; the shrine most of the Siem Reapers come to visit is the shrine of Ye Tep. Located in the middle of the road under trees and the shrine it is also under the banyan tree, on the National Road number 6. People of Siem Reap believe that the shrine or the spirit of the shrine (Ye Tep) will brings protection, gives prosperity for the believers.

The belief of the spirit that came long back from the era of animism that also practices by most of the Cambodian people until today.

About the image above: mostly women pray in front of Ya Tep shrine

About the image above: a man prepares lotus flowers for offering

The story of Ye Tep has been told from generation to generation as:

There was a lady name Lork Ye Tep who lives with her family in the Kingdom to set up their own business of engaging in sexual performing acts in exchange for money. Ye Tep were so beautiful girl and everybody like her. She works for that place somewhere in (now so called) Siem Reap.

When she was young, everybody want to sleep with her and after she grow older and the she decide herself to do and manage her own business as an owner of the same style of business. From that time she getting more to the red light and seems everybody in that town recognize her.

One day there was important guest for her to serve and Excellency from the Kingdom. This important person would love to spend a night with her in his very private chamber. Meanwhile, after the beautiful night passed the wife of the Excellency in the Kingdom come to know that her husband has been sleeping with Ye Tep. The wife of the Excellency then instructed her bodyguards to look for the girl name Ye Tep and kill her.

Long story short; Ye Tep come to know that the Excellency wife would like to kill her and she immediately run to hide in the forest to avoid this execution. She built her house in the middle of the forest and she started getting some spirit power from the forest nature. She still looks very pretty. She again started her own business in the forest. That peoples surround the forest believed Ye Tep has magic power. Whoever slept with her will face big problem and die.

One day the king came to the forest for hunt, the king spent many nights in the forest. He getting bored because has nothing and also the seasonal animals were not appearing on that few nights. The King heard about the beautiful women in the forest named Ye Tep. He asked the guards to look for Ye Tep and the King would like to spend his few nights in the forest with her. Many of his guards advised the king that he should not meet Ye Tep, but the king was so persistent and in the end he spent his few nights with the powerful Ye Tep. On the last night, the king enjoy so much and was there under the royal tend until really morning sun arising. Ye Tep was also start liking the king and would love to go to the palace to serve the king for the rest of her life.

But the story telling differently:  In the morning, when Lork Ye Tep woke up she saw the King was passed away. The king is dead.

Know that the king is dead, then Ye Tep start crying and took the king’s sword and kill herself to follow the kings as a sweet couple.

Since then the story of powerful Ye Tep make the people believe and respect her until now. Noted that the statue of Ye Tep reside under the tree is just to mark the presence of Ye Tep. There was no statue before in that area, only some wood and artifact. Since the statue placed there many people attracted to pray to Ye Tep. Sometime they come with money that believes for the prediction of the lottery ticket numbers that will appear for the next session. Some peoples come with roasted chicken, roasted duck, suckling pig, rwa chicken skin and feathers, fruits and flowers.

Few peoples come with lipstick to make up Ye Tep. The red color mark on the body, cutting hands, feet and other part of her body are to represent the struggle of Ye Tep when she still alive. Or she may cut her fingers, her feet and other part of her body before she actually kill herself.

If you wish to visit this shrine; the best time is in the morning and in the afternoon. Many worshipers will come and pray in that shrine. Be careful when you take picture because of the shrine is in the middle of the road and maybe the traffic especially motorbike is speeding. Have fun and have great day in Siem reap.