Throughout Cambodia 's
history, religious principles guided and inspired its arts. A unique Khmer
style emerged from the combination of indigenous animistic beliefs and the
originally Indian religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. These two religions, along
with the Sanskrit language and other elements of Indian civilization, arrived
in mainland Southeast Asia during the first
few centuries ad.
Seafaring merchants following the coast from India to China
brought them to the port cities along the Gulf
of Thailand , which were then
controlled by the state of Funan in Cambodia . At varying times, Cambodian
culture also absorbed Javanese, Chinese, and Thai influences.
Between the 9th and 15th centuries, a prosperous and
powerful empire flourished in northwestern Cambodia . The Khmer kingdom of Angkor ,
named for its capital city, dominated much of what is now Laos , Vietnam ,
and Thailand .
The kingdom drew its religious and political inspiration from India . The
literary language of the court was Sanskrit; the spoken language was Khmer. Massive
temples from this period, including Angkor Wat and the Bayon at Angkor Thum, testify
to the power of Angkor and the grandeur of its
architecture and decorative art. The unparalleled achievements in art, architecture,
music, and dance during this period served as models for later cultural
development in Cambodia .
Angkor faded into obscurity after the capital moved south to
Phnom Penh in
the 15th century, probably due in part to frequent invasions by the neighboring
Thais. The jungle rapidly grew over the monuments. In the centuries that
followed, frequent wars reduced the territory, wealth, and power of Cambodian
monarchs. However, an independent state with its capital near Phnom Penh survived until the 19th century. The
most important work of Cambodian literature, the Reamker (a Khmer-language
version of the Indian myth of the Ramayana), was composed during this time.
Bayon Carving
1. Sculpture
The stone carving skill of the ancient Khmer was basically
inherited from the Indian civilization, however, it was later evolved into its
own unique Khmer style. The Khmer sculptures were carved from stone with great
craftsmanship and many of them represent the Hindu deities such as Shiva, Vishnu,
Brahmans, the elephant god Ganesha and many other gods and goddesses, as well
as Hindu mythical monsters such as the serpent naga, the demon kala, the giant
makara, and the mythical lions. Some large sculptures even portray the epics of
the Hindu myths such as Mahabharata and Ramayana.
In later centuries, the Buddha statues appeared and
enshrined in many temples. The most astounding Buddha statues are found in
Angkor Thom (Bayon) where the magnificent statues of four-faced Bodhisattava
Avalokiteshvara, the lord Buddha, were sculptured on fifty towers. Although
each sculpture bears the common characteristics of the supernatural being it
represents as described in the epics or myths, its details reveal the personal
imagination of its sculptor. In addition, some sculptures depict the important
events such as the war against its foreign invaders while some reveal the
everyday life of the Khmer people such as the relief carvings of Angkor Thom.
2. Architecture
The house of the local people in ancient Khmer was more or
less similar to those found today in villages of modern Cambodia. It was
elevated about two and a half meters above the ground with the wooden ladder
and was built by wooden piles which supported the floor, the walls and the roof.
The wall was made up of either the straws or the bamboo with the roof covered
with the thatched leaves of dry coconut palms.
The architecture of the dignitaries' houses and the palaces
was somewhat different from those of the laymen, and differed in sizes, layouts
and dimensions. The materials used to built the house consisted of stronger
wooden planks, generally made up of teakwood, and the roof was covered with
tiles for the inner rooms and with thatched leaves for the outer corners. These
differences clearly identified the classes of the people by which the laymen
were not even dare to put up a single tile on their roof.
According to Hinduism, the gods reside in the five sacred
mountains with central Mount
Meru and these mountains
are surrounded by the cosmic ocean. The structure of the Khmer temples mostly
symbolizes the heavenly residence of the gods with five towers, called Prasats.
The central dominant tower or Prasat represents the Mount Meru
with four smaller ones, each at its corners, to represent the other four sacred
mountains of the heaven. In some temples, there are galleries connecting the
towers. The moat surrounding the temple symbolizes the cosmic ocean.
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