New Museum Planned for Vietnam Vedic Site

08-11-2005, 07:52 AM

Vietnam News Service
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Cham museum set for Quang Nam

The central province of Quang Nam has plans to build a Cham museum at
the My Son Complex in Duy Xuyen District later this year.

The museum, which aims to showcase and preserve documents, images and
artefacts relating to the Cham ethnic minority and the My Son World
Heritage Site, will be built with funding from the Japanese
government.
http://www.vietnam-
tourism.com/vietnam_gov/e_pages/Tintuc/dulich/t6_tindl02b_04.htm#05Cha
m museum set for Quang Nam

MY SON, VIETNAM

AN ANCIENT VEDIC HOLY LAND
http://www.vedicempire.com/vedicviet1.htm
My Son houses several temples built by the Hindu Chams in Central
Vietnam. Built with bricks a thousand years ago, these temples stand
in ruins, having even suffered bombardment by American airplanes
during the Vietnam War. My Son is one of the major sites of a Hindu
kingdom called the Kingdom of Champa that flourished in Vietnam up to
the 15th century. Hinduism was apparently brought to the region by
Javanese traders, but the Indian influence is obvious. Much of the
site was badly damaged during the wars (both French and American), so
there are bomb craters and one is advised not to wander off the
marked paths as there could still be landmines. Despite which, there
is still a lot to see. The temples are divided into several groups
and we started with Group F. Basically, these are 8th century temples
to Shiva.

ANCIENT VIETNAMESE MANY ARMED VISHNU ANCIENT
VITNAMESE VEDIC TEMPLE DEVAS ON
ANCIENT VIETNAMESE TEMPLE

We also visited Group G, which was more recent (12th century) but
smaller and less interesting. The most impressive part was groups B,
C and D, (8th through 11th century) where you can actually go into a
few of the temples. The ornamentation is remarkably detailed. If you
had no exposure to Hindu mythology, you might have learned something,
but wandering on your own would be entirely adequate.
http://www.xenophilia.net/vietnam/hue.html

My Son, Vietnam

Library Tower, there s a Polynesian,

Javan influence in the shape of the inverted boat

Carved sentinels on the walls of the temple

Shiva carvings

Vishnu

SOURCE: http://www.esamskriti.com/html/new_p...sp?subcatid=52

My Son, located 69 km southwest of Danang, was an imperial city
during the Cham dynasty, between the 4th and 12th centuries. My Son
Sanctuary is a large complex of religious relics that comprises more
than 70 architectural works.

They include temples and towers that connect to each other with
complicated red brick designs. The main component of the Cham
architectural design is the tower, built to reflect the divinity of
the king

According to records on the stone stele, the prime foundation of the
ancient My Son architectural complex was a wooden temple to worship
the Siva Bhadresvera genie. In the late 16th century, a big fire
destroyed the temple. Step by step, historical mysteries were
unveiled by scientists. Through stone stele and royal dynasties, they
proved My Son to be the most important Holy Land of the Cham people
from the late 4th to the 15th centuries. For many centuries, the Cham
built Lip, a mutually linked architectural complex, with baked bricks
and sandstone. The main temple worships the Linga-Yoni, who
represents the capability of invention. Beside the main tower (Kalan)
are several sub-towers worshipping Genies or deceased kings. Although
time and the wars have destroyed some towers, the remaining
sculptural and architectural remnants still reflect the style and
history of the art of the Cham people. Their masterpieces mark a
glorious time for the architecture and culture of the Cham, as well
as of Southeast Asia.

Each historical period has its own identity, so that each temple
worshipping a genie or a king of a different dynasty has its own
architectural style full of different impression. All of the Cham
towers were built on a quadrate foundations and each comprises three
parts: a solid tower base, representing the world of human beings,
the mysterious and sacred tower body, representing the world of
spirits, and the tower top built in the shape of a man offering
flowers and fruits or of trees, birds, animals, etc., representing
things that are close to the spirits and human beings.

According to many researchers of the ancient Cham towers, the
architectural art of the Cham towers at My Son Sanctuary is the
convergence of different styles, including the continuity of the
ancient style in the 7th-8th centuries, the Hoa Lai style of the 8th-
9th centuries, the Dong Duong style from the mid-9th century, the My
Son and My Son-Binh Dinh styles, etc. Among the remnants of many
architectural sites excavated in 1898, a 24 metres high tower was
found in the Thap Chua area and coded A I by archaeologists and
researchers on My Son. This tower is a masterpiece of ancient Cham
architecture. It has two doors, one in the east and the other in the
west. The tower body is high and delicate with a system of paved
pillars; six sub-towers surround the tower. This two storey tower
looks like a lotus flower. The top of the upper layer is made of
sandstone and carved with elephant and I ion designs. In the lower
layer, the walls are carved with fairies and water evils and men
riding elephants. Unfortunately, the tower was destroyed by US bombs
in 1969

After the My Son ancient tower complex was discovered, many of its
artifacts, especially statues of female dancers and genies worshipped
by the Cham people, worship animals and artifacts of the daily
communal activities, were collected and displayed at the Cham
Architecture Museum in Danang city. Although there are not many
remnants left, those that remain display the typical sculptural works
of cultural value of the Cham nationality. Furthermore, they are
vivid proof, confirming the history of a nationality living within
the Vietnamese community boasting of a rich cultural tradition.
http://www.footprintsvietnam.com/destination_my_son.htm