South East Asian Trips

My Son Sanctuary, Vietnam is located in the Quang Nam province which is 69 Km south-west of Danang. It was an imperial city during the Champa dynasty, a centre for spirituality and worship between (Myson) the 4th and the 12th centuries. My Son Sanctuary, Vietnam has been listed in the World Heritage site as well, for its exemplification of the heights of Cham architectural achievement and hence is one of the top Vietnam tourist attractions.

My Son Sanctuary, Vietnam is a large complex of religious monuments comprised of more than 70 architectural works built by the nobility of the Champa kingdom deriving their cultural and spiritual influences from Indian Hinduism. Only 25 vestiges remain today as a standing witness to the reign of Champa Dynasty. These are temples and towers connected to each other through complicated red brick design to reflect the divinity of the king.

One of the most recognized of the Vietnam popular destinations, all temple towers in My Son Sanctuary,Myson Holly Land Vietnam were built on quadrate foundations each comprising three parts representing different aspect of religion. The solid tower base represents the world of human being, the sacred and mysterious tower body represents the world of spirit and the tower top built in the shape of a man offering flowers or of trees and animals representing things close to spirits and human beings.

My Son Sanctuary, Vietnam is a popular place for sightseeing in Vietnam. It is considered to be Champa's counterpart to the grand cities of South-East Asia's other Indian Influenced civilization like Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Lo Pagan in Myanmar among others.

Architecture of the monuments in My Son

The monuments in My Son were built into groups that basically followed the same model. Each group was comprised of a main sanctuary (kalan), surrounded by towers and auxiliary monuments. The kalan, which is a symbol of Meru Mountain (centre of the universe, where the gods live) is dedicated to Shiva. The small temples are devoted to the spirits of the eight compass points. In the towers, topped with tiled, curved roofs, were stocked the offerings and sacred objects of the pilgrims.

Cham temples do not have windows, so they are very dark inside. Windows are only found on the towers. Cham towers and temples are built of bricks associated with sandstone decorations. It is quite noteworthy that no adhesive can be seen in between the bricks, which is amazing since some of the works have survived thousands of years. The technique they used to get the bricks to adhere to each other is still a mystery. Despite the passage of time, the action of the rain, sun and wind, they erode but they stick together. The Chinese gave the Chams the title of "Masters of brickwork". The bricks were baked in order to be not too hard and not too soft. The smallest dimensions of the brick were 12 x 8 x 4cm and the biggest dimensions were 40 x 22 x 8crn. The structures were built, and only then did the sculptors carve the decorations of floral patterns, human figures or animals. This technique is unique in Asia.

Every kalan in My Son is comprised of three parts: the bhurloka (foundations), the bhurvaloka (body of the tower) and the svarloka (roof). The bhurloka represents the terrestrial world (like temple B1). It is decorated all the way round by engravings of patterns, animals, human characters praying under small vaults, masks of Kala or Makara (monsters), dancers, musicians, etc. The bhurvaloka symbolises the spiritual world where, after being purified, men could meet the ancestors and the gods. It is built with very thick bricks (about 1 m thick), but its height can vary from one monument to the next. The outside is decorated with pilasters, false doors or windows. The false doors, topped with elegant vaults, are finely engraved with representations of praying men.

The doors generally open to the east (direction of the God of Thunder), but some of them are oriented to the west (direction to enter the spiritual world of the Cham kings after leaving the terrestrial world). Inside the bhurvaloka, the space is quite small. The walls are plain and bear no decorations. The altar of the linga, symbol of the god Shiva, occupies most of the space and there is only a small corridor around it for use during ceremonies. The svarloka usually has three storeys in the same style as the base, and features a main door and other, false, ones. The svarloka is decorated with small sandstone or brick statues representing mythical animals, which are mounts ridden by gods in the Indian tradition: birds, swans, buffaloes, elephants or lions. There are small decorative towers at the corners of the 1st and 2nd storey. This roof, made of sandstone or brick, can be either pyramidal or boat-shaped.