Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c45: Chapter XXXVIII: Greater India: (3) The Buildings of the Chams
Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c45
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Chapter XXXVIII: Greater India: (3) The Buildings of the Chams
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(Annam, French Indo-China)
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A portion of the Indo-China Peninsula, where the inhabitants appear to have made at an early date contact with India, is that now known as Annam. Originally, however, this eastern seaboard of the peninsula was occupied by the Chams, a race of Austronesian extraction, who derived their name from Champa, by which the country was known to India. First coming into notice towards the beginning of the Christian era the kingdom of the Chams remained in power until it was overrun by the Chinese Annamites in the 14th century, who thus shared with the Indo-Khmer dynasties of Cambodia the domination of the entire region now known as Siam and French Indo-China. In the architectural remains of the Chams there are definite evidences that their civilization was fundamentally Brahmanical, although in the tenth century there was a short interval when Buddhism was favoured. The principal groups of buildings are at Mi-Son, a Hindu "temple-city," and at Dong-Duong, a Buddhist site, both seventy-five miles south of Hue, the present capital of Annam Much further south is a large collection of remains at Po Nagar, near the seaport of Nha Trang, and there is also a group near Kwi Nhon known historically as the "Towers of Gold, Silver, and Copper." All these structures indicate by their architectural treatment that the building art of the Chams was an independent regional movement, but obviously of Indian ancestry.
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In working out their temple scheme it was the custom of the Cham builders to plan these in groups of three, the principal shrine being in the centre with its subsidiary shrines placed on either side These were arranged on a square terrace, and each of the buildings was square in plan with a square cella forming the interior. Above this ground plan in each instance arose a tall tower, and the design of this triad of towers, called *kalan*, is the chief feature of the style. The *kalan* is usually an isolated structure corresponding to the sikhara, vimana, or deul, of the Indian examples, and is constructed of brick with elaborate ornamentations. Access to the cells within is obtained by a doorway projected from the east or west sides, but some have porticos connected with the cella by a vaulted passage. The interiors are all vaulted structures, with plain walls, and the arches and vaults are formed, not by the "true" method, but by means of oversailing courses of bricks gradually reducing the space until these meet at the apex.
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Contrasting with the severe simplicity of the interior, the exterior of these towers, and also any supplementary buildings, are loaded with elegant relief decoration or architectural motifs of a special order. The proportions of these towers are approximately the same as those of the Indian sikhara, the width at the base being about one-third of the height, although this may vary according to the period in which they were built. Moreover they are not crowned by a flat member, such as the Indian *amalasila*, but finish with a pointed finial or small spire. In their architectural design these towers display two methods of treatment, the lower half being emphasized by means of a scheme of vertical lines, while the upper portion consists of an arrangement of horizontal mouldings and other lateral features, the two systems in juxtaposition presenting as a whole a very harmonious contrast. It will be observed that the vertical appearance of the lower portion is obtained by means of a series of tall shallow pilasters grouped on each side of the central space, and also forming the quoins. These are continued up to the cornice, above which the lateral treatment predominates by means of a composition of diminishing stories, generally three or four in number, each defined by a plain coping.
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Such are the broad outlines of these Cham towers, but over and above this structural basis, additional features have been superimposed of a sufficiently distinctive nature as to add very considerably to their character. Below, on the vertical portion, in the centre and between the ranges of pilasters on each side, an ornamental offset is projected, rising from pediment to cornice and completely filling this otherwise vacant space. In its design it resembles a tabernacle and alter combined, having a foliated and arched canopy supported on pillars, very often with the apex of the lower arched feature penetrating into the base of the same motif above. Over all are carried low relief arabesque patterns enriching the entire edifice like a finely woven fabric On the portion above, the same elaborate treatment is followed, but in this instance in the centre of each story the ornamental offset breaks the lateral lines by being in more pronounced relief, the line of vertical projections continuing until they join the pinnacle rising spire-like over all. (Plate CLXI)
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It is not uncommon to find in certain styles of art a motif used so persistently that it identifies that art at once. Such is the rampant steed in the mediaeval sculpture of Southern India, the chaitya element, "kudu" in Buddhist rock architecture, and the trefoil with the angular pediment in the temples of Kashmir, to mention only a few instances. But probably in no country has this system of reiteration of a particular form been carried to such an excess as a certain flame-like form, used both architecturally as well as decoratively in the art of Indo-China, and specially in that of the Chams. Introduced, as referred to above, in the manner of an offset, or repeated in miniature in countless numbers on the towers, it is so invariably employed that the eye is wearied by its unrestricted frequency. A distant derivative of the chaitya arch, through the "kudu", it has now become a kind of "acroteria" on the shrines of the Chams. But although this motif is so universal in the design of these kalans, it does not conceal the fact that in appearance, shape, proportions, and technical treatment, these shrines bear a textural resemblance to that almost isolated example at Bhitagaon, in the United Provinces of India, a brick temple of the sixth century. Not that there is any noticeable structural likeness, for as previously stated, the building art of the Chams shows considerable evidence of being an independent phase of Hindu architecture, approximating only to the parent art of India in some of its details, implications and general trends, but at the same time an affinity is apparent.
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At Mi-Son there is the most representative series of these towers, where some eight groups of temples remain, as here was a "temple-city", and from these examples, together with those at other sites, some idea of the progress of the building art from the seventh to the tenth century may be gained. It is tolerably clear that previous to this period, in the third and fourth centuries A.D., a wooden style of architecture existed, very similar to that which was afterwards copied in brick, but no examples of this have survived. Then ensued the phase as illustrated at Mi-Son, which shows the art of the Chams at its most mature period. Later, the design of the towers became more stylized, detached turrets became a feature of the upper portions, corresponding in some respect to the *uruśringa* of the Indian śikhara, and the buildings lose some of their original ingenuousness. Although the tall shrine is the outstanding characteristic of the style, occasionally long rectangular halls were introduced in front of the main tower, but detached from it. Sometimes these contained columns, and usually there were doorways at both the short sides, evidently for the entrance and exit of ceremonial processions. Window openings of a graceful design find a place in the Mi-Son structures, square apertures sunk between pilasters, and with elaborate entablatures having carved friezes of figures The openings themselves have baluster-shaped mullions, not unlike a similar device seen in the Rajarani temple (cir. 1000) at Bhubaneswar in Orissa On the other hand contact with the architecture of China is shown in several features of the Cham buildings, as illustrated by the treatment of some of the "kalan" roofs. These are of the keel-shaped kind with an arched chaitya gable, but curving upwards at each end after the pagoda style of the Far East, examples of which may be seen in the shrines at Po Nagar.
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In the tenth century a departure took place, when the king Indra-Varman, an ardent Buddhist, built a temple to that faith at Dong-Duong, which although following the same general principles of the prevailing style, was designed to accommodate, in its much enlarged interior, figures and symbols of the Buddha These consist of a stupa in the centre on a high and decorative plinth and approached by elegantly designed steps, with an enthroned figure of the Buddha on a tall pediment attended by his disciples The pedestals and thrones, platforms and steps within this interior hall are all profusely embellished with high relief figure-subjects relating to the Buddha cult, and it is evident that the people rejoiced in richly ornamented shrines. Part of the exterior scheme consists of tall fluted pilar-like structures grouped on each side, the Cham interpretation of a stupa, but very far removed in appearance from the original tumulus mound.
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Parmentier, H, Inventaire descriptif des monuments Cams de l'Annam (1909-1918).
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SIAM
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THE WAT MAHADHATU (RESTORED) LOPBURI CIR. 9TH CENT. A.D.
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PLAN OF THE WAT MAHADHATU
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DETAIL FROM A TEMPLE AT PITSANULOK
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DETAIL FROM A TEMPLE AT PITSANULOK
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TYPES OF TEMPLE PORCHES
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BANGKOK
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VAT RAJABOPHIT
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VAT CHETUPHON
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VAT ANONG
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VAT PRA KEO
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[Figure: MI SON B3. MI SON B6. DONG DUONG 11. MI SON B14. PO KLAUN GARAI. MI SON B3 BUILDINGS OF THE CHAMS (ANNAM, INDO-CHINA) C. 9TH CENT SCALE OF FEET BINH LAM.