Cham temple sites fall into two basic categories - the central tower on the hill and the three-tower sanctuary. The former is far more common, but the other is reasonably well attested. The former consists of one main temple-tower, far larger than any of the other buildings within the sanctuary. Sometimes the sanctuary contains no more than this tower, though often subsidary buildings or even occasionally secondary towers are also found within the sanctuary.
The sanctuary of Pô Klaung Garai is an excellent example of this type. It is a reasonably wealthy sanctuary, having a number of subsidary buildings, but not excessively wealthy, lacking both the detail of carving and size of richer sanctuaries such as Bánh Ít. It is also very well preserved, and provides an excellent starting point for our tour.
As the overall picture shows, the sanctuary is located on top of a hill. To get to the temple, one first passes through an archway located to the South of the sanctuary. The actual sanctuary itself is higher up the mountain, and walled off. It is entered through a specific gate-tower, called a gopura, which resembles a temple-tower (kalan), except that it is open in two directions. The gopura is on the East side of the sanctuary and has one door on each side of the sanctuary wall. By walking through it one enters the sanctuary, in this case passing directly into the foundations of the purifying-hall (known as a mandapa). The walls and roof of the mandapa were of wood and tile, and have not survived. It opens in four directions - its East door joins the gopura, its West door leads to the temple-tower (kalan), its North door leads to an open space and the South door leads to the treasury (kosha griha). The kosha griha is typical, having two chambers with corbelled ceilings, and a boat-shaped roof on top.
The actual temple-tower (kalan) itself is the largest building in the sanctuary. It has only one entrance, facing towards the East, with a small vestibule. Inside this vestibule is a statue of the divine bull Nandin, who is often found in this position. Above the entrance is a sculpture of Shiva, and the actual entrance itself flanked by stone columns and a stone lintel. These columns include inscriptions in Cham glorifying King Jaya Simhaverman III, who restored this temple c. 1300. The other three sides of the kalan have false doors, which similarly have sculptures in the tympanum above them. In these cases the sculpture is of an unknown god or saint. He also occurs in the niches on the roof. These sculptures, and the stone surrounds of the entrance, are the only stone elements of the building (with the exception of a stone lotus on the very top), the rest being baked brick.
All of the buildings are decorated with ceramic flames around the rooves, and lotus-petals decorate the capitals. The roof is three-tiered, each tier being a smaller representation of the main body of the temple.
At the very centre of the temple is the cult-image - a phallus (mukha-linga) with the image Shiva, in the form of a local king, painted on the side.
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There are a number of sites which follow the same basic pattern. Bánh Ít is most notable in this respect, though much larger and more heavily detailed. The sanctuary is similarly entered through a gorupa is located to the East of the kalan, a kosha graha to the South of just in front of it, and the scanty remains of a mandapa have been identified. This site also contains the only remaining stele-tower, a building much like a gorupa except that it has a doorway in each of the four cardinal directions.
The decorations here are well worth looking at. Above the entrance and false doors of the kalan are several decorated arches, with Kala's face at the apex. The entablature also contains some interesting motifs - one floral and one containing small human figures. The kosha graha is similarly decorated. The roof has archways on the ends, which are heavily-decorated and with winged garudas at the apices. The body is also carved, containing an intricate floral pattern. The entablature contains a pattern very similar to the floral pattern on the kalan. It is finally worth noting the series of small men at the base of the building, appearing to support the higher structure.
At Cánh Tiên only the kalan is preserved. It is notable for its decorated sandstone pilasters.
Pô Nagar is one of the densest Cham sanctuaries. At the entrance to the sanctuary, one passes through a large pillared building, which is thought to have been either a mandapa (purifying hall) or a meditation hall. Passing through the hall, one ascended a staircase to the main kalan, in which one can still see several cult-statues. Like Pô Klaung Garai, it contains a dancing Shiva in the tympanum above the entrance. Two secondary temples sit next to the kalan - one with a pyramidal roof, one very small and decayed - and one kosha graha to the West. The kosha graha is quite unusual in design, and also has a beautiful lion carved on the side.
My Son also contains a number of sanctuaries with similar buildings an similar arangements, as will be dealt with on page 3 of the Guided Tour.
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| On to Page 2 of the Guided Tour (coming soon) |
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