Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c44: Chapter XXXVII: Greater India: (2) The Building Art of Siam
Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c44
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Chapter XXXVII: Greater India: (2) The Building Art of Siam
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GREATER INDIA
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FROM a general view of the historical building remains of Siam there is a tendency to assume that its people were not specially distinguished for the character of their architecture, they aspired to erect temples and shrines often of a sumptuous nature, fully emblematic of their faith, but although in all these there are invariably evidences of a notable spiritual content, the genius which produces outstanding examples of the building art was never sufficiently pronounced. This is the more significant because on each side of them, towards the north-west in Burma, and, nearer still, on the east in Cambodia, as at Pagan in the former country, and at Angkor in the latter, the art of building was developed in a very magnificent manner. It is worthy of mention however that whereas these two adjacent and powerful schools of architecture came to a definite end towards the thirteenth century, the less forceful art of Siam, although nominally supposed to have completed its course in the seventeenth century, is still a living form of expression to the present day.
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Essentially Buddhistic, the architecture of Siam, owing to the geographical accessibility of the country, shows perceptibly in its characteristics the influences of the Buddhist countries with which in the course of its history it came into contact A few references may suffice to explain the extent and diversity of these external currents on the Siamese style of building at different periods. For instance in the temple of Maha-Tat, presumably of the twelfth century, at Sawank'alok, the tower, or sikhara, shows an affinity to those erected in the tenth and eleventh centuries by the Palas of Bengal, and in its detailed treatment to those of Angkor in Cambodia, or the Bhubaneswar temples of Orissa in Eastern India. The temple of Na Pra Tat (c. eleventh century ?) " is akin to the Javanese style of the seventh or eighth century", while in the temple of Chat Yot near Chiengmai there is a distinct resemblance to the shrine of Budh Gaya in Behar; it should be explained however that this great Indian monument, owing to its special sanctity on account of its personal associations with the Buddha, has been the original model for a number of buildings in Buddhist Asia. At Lamp'un the temple of P'ra Yun is reminiscent of the That-Byin-Nyu at Pagan, and, from a more distant source, the shrine of the temple at Shri-Sarap'et in Ayudhya there is an approach to that of the Lankatilaka (Jetawanarama) of the twelfth century at Polonnaruwa in Ceylon. The list might be extended, the resemblance of some of these examples being more convincing than others, but they provide evidences that the master-builders of Siam not only received the impact of these external currents but were also sufficiently impressionable, as well as skilful, as to be able to make use of them in giving variety to the style of their own architectural conceptions.
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From these references to examples of the building art in various parts of the country in which influences from a foreign origin are plainly discernible, it will be realized that any attempt at a classification of the several styles of architecture presents difficulties. In support of this it may be mentioned that it has been found expedient to resolve the plastic arts of Siam into as many as nine separate schools or periods each of which exhibits definite characteristics differentiating it from the others.¹ Moreover, although the country measures only a little more than one thousand miles long, and at its greatest part is only half that in width, owing largely to racial movements, and the diverse nature of the people who at certain periods have inhabited its territory, it has been considered useful to divide the entire region into four parts (1) Northern (2) Central (3) North-Eastern and (4) Southern or Malay Peninsula Section. It is not to be inferred however that the various architectural developments coincide with this geographical distribution, but it may help to simplify the subject. As a preliminary the architecture of Siam may be made to fall into three broad periods (1) the Mon-Indian or Dvaravati period up to the tenth century (2) the Khmer period, from the tenth to the thirteenth century when much of the country came under the domination and influence of the adjacent empire of Cambodia, and (3) the Tai or national period from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century, and afterwards to the present day.
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¹ Dr le May, *Buddhist Art in Siam*, p. 15.
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Before referring specifically to the buildings illustrating these periods, the various types of structure peculiar to the architecture of Siam may be defined. As with most Buddhist sites, these consist of a group of buildings including the temple (*Vat* or *Wat*), a stupa (*P'ra*), a monastery (*vihara*), a consecration hall (*bot*), and the usual additional edifices for service purposes. Occasionally, and only connected with the imperial places of worship or chapels royal (*prakeo*), there is a *chattamukh* (chaumukh, or shrine of four images), and a *mandob* (*mandapa*) a large open hall. Of these different buildings, the stupa, in its Siamese form, is the most distinctive, and is of two kinds (a) the *p'ra-jedi* and (b) the *p'ra-prang* These are apparently derived from two separate traditions, the p'ra-jedi being circular in plan, and the p'ra-prang being rectangular, and accordingly the former has its origin attributed to the Indian stupa, while the latter has been traced to the spire or sikhara of the Indian temple in the Indo-Aryan style. That the p'ra-jedi is a Siamese development of the stupa is quite clear, as the circular plan, and the bell-shaped element in its superstructure are ample proof, but its tapering elongation and finial have removed it far from the original tumulus or mound. Yet as with the stupa, the p'ra-jedi is a solid structure with no interior compartments, and is venerated, like the Crucifix in Christendom, as the most sacred symbol of the Buddhist faith. The derivation of the p'ra-prang is not so certain, but it has much the same significance and sanctity as the p'ra-jedi, although it differs structurally inasmuch as it may include an alcove or cella within its interior. Of the same tall aspiring shape, yet instead of the tapering finial it terminates at its apex in a rounded or domical form, thus recalling in this respect the amala-sila crowning the sikharas of the Brahmanical temple type.
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Turning to the three historical periods into which it is proposed the architectural development of Siam might be resolved, the first of these, the Dvaravati, is so designated as it was the name of an ancient kingdom situated between the countries corresponding at the present time to Burma on the one hand and Cambodia on the other. Of this kingdom the principal inhabitants were of the Mon race from lower Burma, who having accepted Buddhism from India, brought this and the culture which accompanied it to Dvaravati. Except the few sculptures that have survived of this period and described as "based on Gupta models"¹ the remains of this civilization, particularly in the sphere of the building art, are rare. Those discovered consist of fragmentary remains of buildings, chiefly foundations, which although they may give some idea of the plans of these structures, their architectural style is unknown. Composed of laterite or moulded brick, these plinths evidently supported superstructures of timber, while for the reception of the wooden pillars, granite bases were provided with mortice holes in which they were socketed. A small model found at Kedah recalls the system of roofs reproduced in the group of monolithic temples at Mamallapuram (Madras, 7th cent.), for example those of the rathas of Bhima and of Ganesha Such evidence implies a southern approach by sea through Malaya, which may have brought with it contributions from Southern India, as for instance from Amravati (Andhra, second to seventh centuries), Pallava (seventh century) and also by means of currents of Sinhalese art from Ceylon. Further traces of an early Indian penetration have been found at P'ong Tuk, a site about one hundred miles northwest of Bangkok. Here also only the foundations remain of a rectangular and a circular building, identified as a temple and a stupa respectively, the former having an entrance at one end with projections and recessed chases at the sides, very similar to the plans of ancient shrines in India. Also of interest are the profiles of the laterite stylobates which have mouldings of much the same characteristic section as those in many Buddhist buildings from Ceylon to Kashmir of the first millennium.² There are other remains of the Dvaravati period, as may be seen in a bell-shaped structure or stupa at P'rapatom, presumed to date from the fifth century, as well as in the foundations of the Maha Tat temple at the ancient and historical town of Lavo (Lopburi), possibly of the seventh century. All these records of this early kingdom in Siam serve to confirm either a direct or indirect association with India, chiefly through Buddhist influences.
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¹ *Buddhist Art in Siam*, p 25.
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² Prof. G Coedes in *Indian Art and Letters*, Vol II, 1928 and Vol IV, 1930
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But the real development of the building art in Siam began when the second, or Khmer period was initiated in the tenth century, and the central portion of the country came under the domination of the adjacent Khmer empire of Cambodia. This supremacy lasted for three hundred years, until the thirteenth century, when the Cambodian empire itself began to crumble. In some respects implying a provincial phase of the Khmer style as this flourished at Angkor, none the less the buildings, of this period in Siam display in their character a certain independence of treatment significant of their historical background and earlier traditions. On the other hand some of this variation from the classical type of the Khmers has been traced to the notable infusion into the country of the Mons or Talaings from southern Burma, who brought into Siam the ideals of the Burmese as expressed in the great architectural movement at Pagan which flourished there with such vigour from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries So much so that in the field of the plastic arts this has been referred to as the Mon-Khmer School. Most of the buildings of the Khmer ascription are much ruined, and although examples survive in such old regions as Sawank'alok, Suk'-ot'-ai, and Pitsanulok, two typical temples are to be found in the historical town of Lopburi, the ancient Lavo, eighty miles due north of Bangkok.
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That Lopburi was of importance even in the pre-Khmer times is evident from its records, but as the centre of Khmer sovereignty in Siam from A.D. 1000 it reached its highest state Of the two principal buildings here having Cambodian affinities that of the temple of Wat Mahadhatu, and attributed to the twelfth century, is the most distinctive. Within a walled enclosure, and consisting of a sanctuary tower with its attached portico or mandapa, its general appearance conforms to that of certain mediaeval temples in India. And although the architectural treatment combines elements recalling both the Indo-Aryan and Khmer styles, it is no slavish copy of either of these modes, but a definitely original effort It is true the tower or sikhara, in the main, follows the outlines and also the substance of the Angkor type, and to a lesser degree those of the temples of India, but there any similarity to either of these styles ends. Certainly the massive arch-shaped tympanums rising above the openings have their counterpart in the Cambodian buildings, and the excessively high moulded plinth may have been derived from the same source, but a similarly tall stepped basement was characteristic of the contemporary temples at Khajuraho in Central India. It is, however, when the plastic surface forms, especially those on the tower, are studied, that the self-originated nature of the conception becomes apparent.
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For instance in the design of the sikhara there is no attempt at the ringed zoning which gives its principal effect to the Angkor examples, nor is there the grouping of turrets (*urusringas*), that produces the vertical quality in the Indo-Aryan type. On the contrary the upper part of the tower, although in horizontal stages, these are obtained mainly by the imposition on the central core of a series of alcoves or niches diminishing as they rise, and as the tower tappers to its apex This apex, although ruined, appears to have ended in some form of *amalasila*, thus pre-figuring the domical terminal of the Tai p'ra-prang of the succeeding period. There are other variations in this tower, some of them refinements, such as the concave sections of the moulded corbel tables, which, in the Angkor type, are plainly angular, and, again, the diminishing effect of the Mahadhatu sikhara is obtained by sloping stages, whereas the Cambodian are vertical. One important improvement in constructional technique the Khmers introduced which has a marked effect on the building art of Siam at this period ; this was the use of laterite stone to replace the brick or rubble previously employed. Such a change in the nature of the building material may be an aid in solving the problem of the classification of Khmer architecture within Siamese territory. (Plate CLX).
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[Figure: THE TEMPLE OF ANGKOR-VAT, CAMBODIA, FROM THE N. W. 12TH CENT. A.D.
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LONGITUDINAL ELEVATION]
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[Figure: CAMBODIA SECTION IN PERSPECTIVE OF THE TEMPLE OF ANGKOR VAT 12 TH CENT. A.D. PERCY BROWN]
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[Figure: CAMBODIA. ANGKOR THOM. TOWERS OF THE TEMPLE OF BAYON END OF 12 TH CENT. A.D.]
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[Figure: PLAN OF BAYON]
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[Figure: CAMBODIA. ANGKOR SOUTH SANCTUARY OF THE TEMPLE OF BANTEAY-SREI A.D. 969.
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OCTAGONAL PAGODA AT SUNG SHAN, HONAN (BRICK) 523 A.D.
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The other temple of Khmer attribution at Lopburi is that of P'ra Prang Sam Yot, so different in character from the preceding example that it is difficult to connect it with the same phase of development. This difference may however be due to two factors, on the one hand it is presumed to be considerably later in date, possibly built during the end of the Khmer supremacy in Siam, and on the other it displays certain elements, which associate it not with the prevailing Buddhism but with the Brahmanical faith. A triple temple the Sam Yot consists of three detached shrines each surmounted by its tower, and these superstructures which are the most distinctive features appear to be more closely affiliated in style to the later Cambodian type Broader and even more suggestive of the fir-cone *simile*, the *sikharas*, although basically in zones are so overlaid with decorative details, in which the "acroteria" or *kudu* form predominates, that they recall the embellishment so profusely encrusted in strata on the gopurams of Southern India. Yet, unlike the Khmer examples, these too terminate in the "amalasıla" as in the blunted finial of the p'ra-prang. Another temple not in Lopburi, but in old Suk'ot'ai an ancient site considerably further north on the Yom river, is that of Wat Sisawai, also composed of triple towers and presumably of Khmer extraction. Built of laterite below and brick above, with ornamentation in stucco liberally applied between the massive string-courses of its upper dımınishing portion the entire treatment implies no little originality of pattern. The diversity of style in these provincialized Khmer buildings is remarkable, being traceable either to strong indigenous local influences, or to the importation of artisans from a Cambodian source working in a specialized regional mode. Several other significant examples of the effect of the Khmer domination may be referred to, such as a temple at Pimai, built towards the end of the tenth century, another at Panom Wan possibly dating from the eleventh century, and that at Panom Rung of the twelfth, which, if these dates are confirmed, will give a series of examples showing the progressive development of the style The temple at Pimai, the earliest, is richly decorated with carving in bas-relief, some of the border patterns, both in design and modelling, being almost exact replicas of similar ornamentation on the remains of the Pala structures at Gaur in Bengal of the ninth century At Panom Rung the ruins include a range of buildings which may be identified as a palace, with corrugated roofs over the corridors of that distinctive type seen at Angkor. The list might be extended with references to the temple of Culamani at Pitsanulok of the twelfth century, built of laterite having additions in stucco, the temple of Wat P'ra Pai Luang at Suk'ot'ai, and "a truly magnificent temple at P'ra Vihara on the summit of the Dangrek range"¹, to mention only a few. Finally there is the temple of Maha-Tat at old Suk'ot'ai comprising a complex of structures, some of which are of Khmer ascription, while others belong to the succeeding phase of Siamese architecture, that referred to as Tai, the third division of the style.
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¹ Indian Art and Letters, Vol. VIII, 1935.
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The Tai period of the building art in Siam began to make its appearance during the thirteenth century, when a Mongoloid race of that name, whose original habitat is believed to have been southern China, gradually overran the country eventually becoming the paramount power throughout almost the entire peninsula of Indo-China. Of the varied influences which had been finding their way into the country during the course of centuries, that from the Far East was now strengthened, and the subsequent art of Siam shows evidences of an attenuated but persistent current from this source. Further, owing to intermittent intercourse with the islands of Java and Ceylon, the buildings of the Tai period display to an extent the effects of both of these contacts. Out of this diverse amalgamation of architectural styles there is however one development of the building art which although on the one hand may have been indirectly inspired by Sinhalese conceptions, and on the other by those of Pagan, has a distinctive national character. All the examples of this phase of the Tai movement are in a ruined condition, being marked by colonnades of dismantled pillars, for they appear to have been not only inspiring structures when entire but to imply an original approach in the ritual of Buddha worship. Skilled in the fashioning of statues of the Great Teacher, notably in bronze and some of great size, the central feature of these temple complexes, for they resembled a group of connected structures rather than a co-ordinated scheme, was a colossal statue of the Buddha, screened by a high and massively built wall, not unlike a roodscreen, through which the sacred image could be viewed, and therefore worshipped, by means of a tall narrow lancet-shaped aperture. Leading up to this shrine, altar, and divinity combined, was a pillared hall, corresponding in its intentions to the Indian temple mandapa, while in the rear rose a tapering sanctuary tower or *pra-prang*. Other edifices utilized in the ritual are grouped around, but the foregoing are the main and central elements of the composition Such are the temples of Maha-Tat at Sawank'alok, and another having the same dedication at old Suk'-ot'-ai, where also is situated that of Cri Chum of a similar type, all found in the more northerly region of the country, while at Ayudhya towards the south, nearer Bangkok, is the temple of Cri Sarap'et (cir. 1490) This class of temple appears to have emerged during the earlier centuries of the Tai period, and in their architectural character as well as in their ritualistic aspect, they recall in some respects the planning and perceptions of the Sinhalese in their temple of Lankatilaka at Polonnaruwa. In the construction of most of these temples, brick, with a surfacing of stucco took the place of the more substantial laterite masonry introduced during the previous period by the Khmers, thus no doubt partly accounting for their dilapidation, to which also the climate has contributed its share.
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Although the Tai kingdom was founded in the thirteenth century, and has continued until recent times during this long period of some six hundred years, it has naturally experienced several decisive political and other changes, which have reacted on the course of the building art. The earlier examples of the movement are to be found in the northern region, where the first advancing tide of the Tai race swept into the country soon to become prominent in North-Central Siam in the areas of Suk'-ot'-ai, Sawank'alok and Pitsanulok, as the remains of the buildings already referred to bear witness. Progressing still further southwards in 1350 the city of Ayudhya became the capital, situated, some forty-five miles north of Bangkok, thus bringing the Tai ascendency into the southern region and so completing the domination of the entire country Ayudhya was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and is now a scene of desolation and ruin, but in the seventeenth century according to writers of the date, it was a city of great size and importance. The principal record of its one time greatness are the extensive remains, now a vast array of disintegrated buildings holding the imagination, but implying the decay of a significant yet all too transient phase. Among these are the ruins of the temple of Cri Sarap'et of which sufficient is still standing to show that in the fifteenth century, in spite of indications of an approaching decadence, it was a notable work of architecture In the mode of the more northerly group of temples, as at Suk'-ot'-ai, to which class it obviously belongs, the columns of its pillared hall, the stupas, including two of considerable size fully representative of the style at this period, and above all the colossal seated Buddha, fifty feet high, from these remains some idea of the magnitude, if not the sumptuousness of this temple composition may be surmised.
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With the establishment of the capital at Bangkok in 1782, shortly after the destruction of Ayudhya, Siam entered on its modern phase of the Tai period, when the arts of all kinds received encouragement from the throne Many important buildings have been erected in Bangkok within the last century, comprising palaces, temples, stupas and shrines, which although they maintain the general character of the historical examples, such as the p'ra-jedi and the p'ra-prang, it has become the custom to overlay these traditional forms with so much ornamentation that the simple dignity of the originals is obscured by a superfluity of mouldings and stringcourses, rich in themselves, but made more so by each being embellished with lesser patterns until the whole presents an appearance of meretriciousness significant of a decline in taste. Steps are being taken to correct this departure from true expressive architecture, so as to bring back the art more into proper relation with the simpler understanding of the people
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To sum up, it will appear from the foregoing that although there are buildings in Siam, and also groups of buildings, which display considerable architectural qualities, yet there is little evidence of any combined effort on the part of the people to materialize their ideals in structural form on anything like an adequate scale or in an inspired manner. When they were moved to create large buildings they found themselves with only limited perceptions and capacities for such undertakings and accordingly they were compelled to borrow extensively from the self-activities of others with whom they were brought into contact. The result is that there emerges at no period a definite national style, their buildings are largely the effect of "influences," and their architecture is therefore not exactly a logical development or a natural growth Diverse elements from external sources enter freely into its character, often indeed to its improvement, but it appears to be rarely a genuine expression of the people themselves, probably because they were never sufficiently coalesced to formulate a unified ideal. On the other hand the sculpture of Siam shows marked indigenous ability, as may be seen in the metal and stone statuary which attained a very high standard during most of the country's historical periods. Architecture, therefore, may have been largely regarded as subordinate to the plastic art, and more as a background on which to display their great skill as sculptors and workers in bronze.
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Le May, Reginald, *A Concise History of Buddhist Art in Siam*, Cambridge, 1938 (The standard work on this subject, and to which the author is greatly indebted) Majumdar, R C., *Hindu Colonies in the Far East*, Calcutta 1944 Nag, Kalidas, *India and the Pacific World*, Calcutta 1941. Beylie, L de, *L'Architecture Hindoue en Extreme-Orient*, Paris 1907.