Vietnam's Champa Towers
Hindu Architecture at My Son Sanctuary Near Da Nang City
On the high hills under the brilliant tropical sun proudly yet sadly stand the ornate towers which are the vestiges of the once glorious Champa Kingdom.
The Champa Kingdom emerged around late 2nd century BC, reached the peak of its glory between the 6th and 8th century, and declined and collapsed in the 16th century. The Champa civilization possessed high technical and artistic advancements which crystallized in the delicate yet enduring temple towers (called kalan in Champa language). Those architectural masterpieces have beauties and mysteries that charm both scholars and visitors.
The temple towers of the Champa Kingdom are found along the coast of Central Vietnam in groups or standing alone. All of them were built from brick and sandstone with wooden or stone columns inside to support the heavy roofs. As no trace of any fixative can be found in those exquisite buildings, how the Champa artisans treated the materials and put them together is still a mystery.
One theory is that the bricks were rubbed together until they fitted perfectly. It is also possible that the surface of the construction was covered in a resin made from the sap of a local tree and brick powder with which the local cover their buildings to make them stable and waterproof. The decoration of the towers was made from sandstone or carved directly into the walls and roof after the construction finished.
Most of the Champa temple towers were dedicated to the God-King who was believed to be the ancestor of the Champa kings and the principal deity of Hinduism, especially the Shiva sect. Hinduism is the national religion of the Champa Kingdom.
A kalan always faces east where the universal cycle is believed to start (except at My Son sanctuary) and has a three-level pyramid-shaped roof, which represents the summit of the holy Mount Meru, home of the Hindu gods. The kalans are gracefully slender, delicate and relatively small, not large like the temples in India or Cambodia. The human figures have the features of the local people, are highly realistic and expressive, and display their talent for sculpture.
Champa towers can be seen at My Son Sanctuary, a World Cultural Heritage Site in Duy Phu village, about 70 kilometers southwest of Da Nang City. In the valley a temple complex built by many generations of kings is classified into 8 groups based on styles and dates. My Son valley was chosen by King Bhadravarman to be the place to worship the guardian of the kingdom Bhadresvara and the god Shiva in the 4th century when Hinduism was introduced to the kingdom.
Most of the surviving My Son towers were built between the 7th and 13th century. In the 14th century, the sanctuary was abandoned due to the decline of the north of the kingdom. Now it is a paradise for those who wish to study the Champa history and art.
Reference:Tran, Ky Phuong, Vestiges of the Champa Civilization, The Gioi Publishers, 2004.
