Votive Statues First Batch

 I'm afraid that I like to take pictures of statues because I'm bashful about taking pictures of living human beings, who might object, or be self-conscious, or ask me to pay them for the privilege.  In fact I did take a lot of pictures of people in Vietnam, because when you're so conspicuous in any event, as a Westerner, there's nothing to be self-conscious about if you wander around with a camera.
Still, I think the statues that I saw in Vietnam were interesting, especially the statues in pagodas and temples, like this matron, smelling the incense that has been offered to her and enjoying the sight of the flowers.

This turtle is in the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, a venerable Confucian educational institution, now a tranquil refuge in the center of a noisy city.  The turtle is one of many steles placed in the temple in honor of sons who successfully passed the examinations and became mandarins in the time of Chinese rule over Vietnam.
Now, our guide told us, students come and rub the heads of the turtles before taking examinations.

 I loved these fierce hero-gods, someone you definitely want on your side.

 In the beginning we thought it was strange to see so much junk food offered to the gods (actually to the monks in the temple or pagoda), and, in fact, we never quite got used to seeing it.

 Importantly, the people who come to pray to the forces represented by these statues know precisely who they are and what they stand for.

 Any visitor to Vietnam must bear in mind that these temples and pagodas are not maintained for tourists.  They are living houses of prayer, and even the ones that are historical tourist sites are still the focus of rituals.

 While many of the statues struck me as conventional, several of them, like this one, are of interest as works of art.

 This blue-faced being is the companion of the one above.

 We taught our guide, Buy, an educated and intelligent young man, the word "syncretistic." The temples combine Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Hindu images.

 These bodhisattvas are displayed behind the many-armed goddess above.

Turtles are an important part of Vietnamese iconography, adding what I see as a whimsical element to their ritual space.