Thai-Cambodian Culture - Relationship through Arts

Thai-Cambodian Culture - Relationship through ArtsMrs Charuwan Phungtian
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Preface
I got the inspiration to take up this thesis “Thai-
Cambodian Culture relationship through arts” at the
time I used to work in the camp with the S.E.A. refugees
to resettle their lives in America. I worked with the
“Consortium” organization under the administrative of
UNHCR. The camp was at Phanat Nikhom, Chonburi,
Thailand. I had good social relationship with all of my
refugee students in the camp with all clans, tribes and
countries. Especially for the Khmers, I learnt Khmer
language and Khmer dance. I was fascinated with their
arts so much. Apart from this, I took my Ph.D. topic from
one part of my previous M.A. thesis “Some aspect of
Buddhist arts in Thailand”. Its chapter “Lopburi art”
helped me very much to make further studies on details
of my present work on this Ph.D. thesis. I am proud of
my work and give very much gratitude and my thanks
to many persons.
I must express my thanks and my gratitude to my re-
spected supervisor Professor Dr. Sahai Sachchidanand,
Head of the Department of Ancient Indian and Asian
Studies, Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya, Bihar (India)
who very kindly allowed me to take up this thesis.
Besides, he with full attention pours out his scholarship
and his knowledge and gave me the benefit of many sug-
gestions for my Ph.D. work. This help has caused me deep
respect and regards towards him. I feel thankful for his
kindness.
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supervisor Professor Dr. P. C. Roy, the Reader and Pro-
fessor Dr. Y. K. Mishra, the Reader in my post graduate,
Department of Ancient Indian & Asian Studies, for his
constant encouragement and assistance towards the
completion of the present work.
Here my good wishes to my respected Professor Dr.
Upenda Tarkul the ex-Head Department of A.I.A.S.,
Magadh University. With his helpful kindness and care to
us he always impress a good remembrance in our heart.
I am humble to pay my respects and gratitude to him.
And the thing that I could not forget to mention right
here is both of my own students, Rev. Wasana
Thuankaew and Rev. Ahnan Ruang-Chacknara, gradu-
ate B.A. students, Faculty of Buddhist Studies, Mahachu-
lalongkornrajavittayalaya University. They worked hard
and helped me so much as my thesis work progressed.
Especially, Rev. Wasana Thuankaew helped me so much
with his help on the thesis in the computerized work area.
I would like to say so many thanks to both of them.
At last, I express my sincere gratitude to my parents, Mr.
Klueng & Chintana Chareonla and Dr. Theerayut Phung-
tian my husband. I feel very deeply indebted for their great
encouragement, affection and loving generosity.
(Ms. Charuwan Phungtian)
Thai-Cambodian Culture Relationship - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10
Chapter I The Rise & Fall of the Khmer & the Arrival of the Thai - - - 17
The Rise of the Khmer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19
The Decline & Fall of Angkor - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 25
The Arrival of the Thais in the
Peninsula & contact with the Khmer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27
Chapter II Religious Background of Thai & Cambodian Arts - - - - - - - - - 30
Khmer Religions & Beliefs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 32
The Introduction & Origin of
Chapter III The Defining of the Contemporary Forms &
Ages of Khmer Art Style in Thailand - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 59
The Contemporary Art of the Khmer in Thailand - - - - - - - - - - - - 72
Chapter IV The Khmer Art in Thailand - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 79
The Art Of The Khmer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 91
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Chapter V The Influence of Khmer Art on Lopburi &
Sukhothai Arts in the Central Plain of Thailand - - - - - - - - - 133
The Art of Lopburi - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 136
The Art of Sukhothai - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 151
Chapter VI Prasat Phimai - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 159
Chapter VII Prasat Phnom Rung - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 188
Prasat Muang Tam - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 205
Chapter VIII Prasat Phra Viharn - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 215
Chapter IX Misc. Temples in Thailand inspired by Khmer Art - - - - - - - 254
The Royal Road to Phimai - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 256
Temples on Royal Road to Phimai of Jayavarman VII - - - - - 260
Prasat Ta Muen Thom - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 260
Prasat Ta Muen Toch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 261
Prasat Ta Muen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 263
Kuti Reussi #2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 266
Prasat Ban Bu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 266
Kuti Reussi #1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 267
Prasat Phnomwan - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 268
Prasat Ban Phluang - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 273
Conclusion - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 293
Bibliography - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 335
Acknowledgement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 350
people, received and adopted some arts and culture from
ancient Cambodia. The pre-Thai scripts and spoken
words were adopted from Khmer native language which
we are using now.
of the Indo-Chinese peninsula and East Indies, popularly
called Suvarna-bhumi which, to be more precise, com-
prised the territories now know as Myanmar, Siam (Thai-
land), the Malay Peninsula, Cambodia (Kambujadesa),
Laos, Vietnam on the main land and the Island of
Sumatra, Java, Madura, Bali and Borneo. (Fig. 1)
The Brahmanical religion that flourished in South-
East Asia was not the Vedic religion of old. It evolved and
developed in India almost at the same time when Bud-
dhism and Jainism flourished. The essential character of
this new religion was sectarian which recognised Brahma
[the Creator], Visnu [the Nourisher], and Siva [the
Destroyer], the three great gods of Brahmanical trinity.
As we know, it is the names of these three gods that later
gave birth to the three renowned Brahmanical sects such
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nated as the most popular religious force, evident from
the hundreds of inscriptions found in different parts of
South-East Asia. 1
The arrival of the Hindu and Buddhist religions as
part of the process of Indianisation had profound conse-
quences for the development of Imperial Khmer art. By
the time it is first noted in Cambodia during the first cen-
turies of our era, Hinduism had become a devotional
religious centre of a pantheon of gods (such as Shiva,
Vishnu and Krishna) and goddesses (such as Uma, Par-
vati and Lakshmi) who were all recognised as manifesta-
tions of the same formless universal essence. Of special
importance to Khmer kings were Shiva and Vishnu who,
along with the god Brahma, form a trinity encompassing
the cyclical cosmic functions of creation, preservation
and destruction. Harihara, a combined form of Shiva
and Vishnu, was also especially popular. Hinduism was
the state religion of the kings of Angkor. Until the thir-
teenth century when it was permanently eclipsed by
Buddhism, which had played a lesser role in Cambodia
since the pre-Angkorian period.
country of Cambodia (formerly Kambuja) but the origi-
nal heartland of the Khmer was associated with an area
of the middle Mekhong river in Laos and the southern
part of Northeast Thailand. Thus the remains of Khmer
temples at Angkor are justly famous and rulers from at
least the 9 th
centuries concentrated their temples
1. Upendra Thakur: Some aspects of Asian history and culture, p. 83.
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within the urban area of Angkor, throughout this period,
if not far before, the Khmer also inhabited parts of Thai-
land, Laos and Cambodia. (Fig. 2)
Use of the Khmer language in early Southeast Asia
probably extended far beyond the limits of present-day
Cambodia, into the Mekhong delta, the Khorat plateau of
Northeast Thailand, and central Thailand’s lower Chao
Phraya valley. It is possible that a proto-Khmer language was
spoken by the people of Funan, a (1 st to 5
th century A.D.)
land and Cambodia by the beginning of the Christian era
suggest a shared heritage originating at a much earlier
date.
aspects of Indian civilization had a profound effect on the
nature of Khmer urban settlement. Indian imports in-
cluded concepts of kingship and law, the use of Sanskrit
in the recording of inscriptions on stone, (Fig. 3) and most
especially, the Hindu and Buddhist religions with their
distinctive styles of art and architecture. For example, the
word for ‘brick’ in Thailand developed from the Sanskrit,
and the erection of brick and stone structures to honor
deities may date to the advent of Indian religious influ-
ence. Previously shrines were made of wood, a custom
which still survives in rural areas of Thailand where small
wooden shelters house the spirits of the land. The build-
ing of these shrines would be undertaken by the whole
community, and like Hindu and Buddhist temples were
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part of a ritual complex designed to ensure the continued
prosperity of the society.
resented not only the founding of a religious shrine, but
the incorporation of a community to serve the gods and
rulers to whom the centre was dedicated. The building of
stone temples with small inner cells to house a cult image
is clearly modelled on Indian prototypes. However, the
tradition of ancestor veneration is deeply ingrained in the
culture of the Khmer peoples. Thus the temples of the
Khmer represented an amalgamation of established cus-
toms of ancestor and spirit veneration with imported
ideas which continued from the 8 th
to the 12 th
century, Jayavarman VII erected
two massive temples honoring his parents: Ta Prohm was
dedicated to his mother in 1186 A.D. and five years later,
Preah Khan was dedicated to his father.
The high esteem accorded at royal courts to religious
figures was crucial in the blending of Hinduism and Bud-
dhism with pre-existing ancestor cults. The many Indian
concepts of state and kingship adopted by the Khmer also
reflect the political power of priests. A mutually beneficial
liaison existed between the king and his religious advisors,
the first of whom may have reached the Khmer courts in
the early 1 st millennium A.D. Some scholars argue that the
earliest Indian advisors to Southeast Asia were Buddhist
missionaries who arrived in the wake of Indian traders. As
one of the characteriststics of the absorption of Indian
religions in Southeast Asia has been toleration, Bud-
dhism, Hinduism, and earlier beliefs appear to have co-
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existed peaceably, a rare state of affairs in the face of
priestly activity limited to religious conversion. This im-
plies that religious advisors and rulers were equally con-
cerned with earthly and immortal existence, a concept
whose essence is expressed in the term ‘devaraja’, a San-
skrit word meaning ‘god who is king’. A Khmer ruler
would be consecrated as devaraja by the court priest and
would take a Sanskrit-based name, such as Jaya (victori-
ous) or Surya — (from the sun god Surya). To this he
would add the suffix -varman, meaning ‘protector’. The
ruler would commemorate the event with inscriptions,
and the foundation of a temple. For the most part, the
temples of the Khmer rulers were dedicated to Hindu
gods, principally Shiva and Vishnu. However this did not
exclude incorporation of other religious elements, and
traces of a variety of Buddhist doctrines may be seen in
many Khmer temples. In the late 12 th
century, Jayavar-
his state religion. Thus during this period, architecture and
sculpture show their greatest development in Buddhist
rather than Hindu iconography.
–15 th
century A.D.)
It was occupied by the Khmers or Cambodians and as
such the art of this period is known locally as Khmer art
which deals with Mahayana elements, just like the Sri-Vi-
jaya school of art. This school of Buddhist art marks the
last stage of the growth of Buddhist art in Thailand before
the rise of the Thai people to power in the land which is
now called Thailand.
the Arrival of the Thai
The Rise of the Khmer
To study Khmer arts and their influence, it is first neces-
sary to know who are the Cambodians, where they lived
originally, how they came to hold sway in this part of the
world, and who were the peoples enslaved by them. Old
Cambodians, or Khmers, acted as forerunners of Western
colonizing powers, and when they lost the territory once
they conquered, their ruler now began to fear whether
the people whom they once continually harassed, would
not now harass them in turn, since they have become
more powerful, and also to moan the loss of her past
glory.
Cambodians, lived around the Great Lake at the early
period of the Christian Era. The region must have been
rich and prosperous for it enticed the Indians to come
and find fortune in this land of gold, known as “Suvarna-
bhumi” in Sanskrit.
called Kaundinya, came to this land. He married a local
princess, Soma, the daughter of a local chieftain who
worshiped a Naga (Snake god). This Naga was the
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daily re-enactment of this mystic union between the king
and a Naga princess was still an essential part of the court
ceremony at Angkor over thousand years later. He
taught her Indian civilization and belief. Thus Kaundinya
and his successors built the country into a strong Indian-
ized State, known as Funan. It seems that the descend-
ents of this union followed a religion mixing elements of
both Brahmanism and Animism, and were commonly
known as Adhiraja “King of the Mountain”. They had
gained this title because the king was thought to have a
direct link with the god Shiva, who continuously mani-
fested himself through a stone alter placed on a mountain
top at the kingdom’s center. The very name Funan is a
direct Chinese transliteration of the ancient Khmer word
“Bnam” meaning mountain.
supreme king. Towards the fifth century two states in the
north of Funan were united and formed themselves into
the State of Chenla around the middle of the Mekhong…