Fifty Photographs: selections from SCUA collections

Buddhist temple in Lowell

by George Chigas, June 1984

From a series of photographs documenting Cambodian life and culture in Lowell, Massachusetts. The festive golden umbrella appears unassuming, at the edge of a clearing, set up behind folding chairs. Chigas shows us this one part of the consecration, with notes on its symbolism and the wider community ceremony: burning of incense, preparation of food, and gathering at the temple.