Between the 4th and 13th centuries a unique culture which owed its spiritual origins to Indian Hinduism developed on the coast of contemporary Viet Nam. This is graphically illustrated by the remains of a series of impressive tower-temples located in a dramatic site that was the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom for most of its existence.
Mỹ Sơn was once the most important intellectual and religious center of the kingdom of Champa and may also have served as a burial place for Cham monarchs. It was rediscovered in the late 19th century by the French, who restored parts of the complex. During the Vietnam War, Mỹ Sơn was used by the Vietcong as a field headquarters. This resulted in a US bombing raid in 1969 that destroyed the most important temple at the site and damaged several others. The surrounding area is still rendered dangerous through the presence of unexploded land mines.
Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary dates from the 4th to the 13th centuries CE. The property is located in the mountainous border of Duy Xuyen District of Quang Nam Province, in central Viet Nam. It is situated within an elevated geological basin surrounded by a ring of mountains, which provides the watershed for the sacred Thu Bon river. The source of the Thu Bon river is here and it flows past the monuments, out of the basin, and through the historic heartland of the Champa Kingdom, draining into the South China Sea at its mouth near the ancient port city of Hội An. The location gives the site its strategic significance as it is also easily defensible.
Mỹ Sơn (pronounced ‘me sun’) became a religious center under King Bhadravarman in the late 4th century and was continuously occupied until the 13th century – the longest period of development of any monument in Southeast Asia. Most of the temples were dedicated to Cham kings associated with divinities, particularly Shiva, who was regarded as the founder and protector of Champa’s dynasties.
Because some of the ornamentation work at Mỹ Sơn was never finished, archaeologists know that the Chams first built their structures and only then carved decorations into the brickwork.
Hoi An (Vietnamese: Hội An) is a beautiful city in Vietnam about 30 km to the south of Da Nang. The Old Town of Hoi An is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hội An, once known as Faifo, with more than 2,000 years of history, was the principal port of the Cham Kingdom, which controlled the strategic spice trade with Indonesia from the 7th-10th centuries and was a major international port in the 16th and 17th centuries. The foreign influences are discernible to this day.
The culture and heritage is mostly from the Cham people whose kingdom originally stretched from Hue south to Phan Thiet (south of Nha Trang). The Champas were most likely originally from Java. The original Cham political capital was Tra Kieu, the commercial capital was Hội An and the spiritual capital was Mỹ Sơn (Hindu). The Cham people were Hindu, and by the 10th century the influence of Arab traders to Hội An resulted in the conversion of some to Islam.
In November 2003, I spent five days in this wonderful town. And of course I had to visit Mỹ Sơn. We set off early in the morning from the suburbs where we stayed in a friendly small hotel.
At such an early hour, we were the only visitors partly due to a true morning tropical storm. All around a jungle shrouded in mysterious mists. Morning calls of birds, cries of monkeys. Moisture in the air, emerald green. And temples. Mostly in ruins, only a few preserved.
From the entrance, we were driven in an old American jeep, a remnant of the Vietnam War. And there are still some memories of the war around here.
The temples were part of a People’s Army of Vietnam and Viet Cong base area and consequently United States aircraft bombed the region in August 1969. The surrounding area is still rendered dangerous through the presence of unexploded land mines. There are also bomb craters filled with rainwater all around. They definitely advise not to stray from the beaten path.
Even today, there are more and more culturocides around the world. As our poet said – how terrible is the blindness of man.
In the afternoon we returned to Hội An. We indulged in the famous Cao lầu noodles. Cao lầu is Hội An’s answer to a rice noodle dish, but it’s as different as can be from relatives like bún or phở. Cao lầu rice noodles are soaked in lye water and wood ash, giving them a distinctly firm and springy texture.
And a local beer in Hội An costs just under one euro.