is compared to what we see today at the Champa Sculpture Museum in Da Nang.

French version
Vietnamnese version

Unfortunately, for an unknown reason, its distinctive attributes were broken and confiscated by the office of the Bình Định People’s Committee, which currently oversees the Đồng Dương site. They have not been returned to the Cham Museum in Đà Nẵng to this day, despite the piece being exhibited to the public for a long time. This is why the bronze statue continues to be the subject of various iconographic interpretations. Based on the information provided (the photos) at the time he conducted an in-depth study in 1984, Jean Boisselier thought it represented Tara. For this, he tried to rely on the idols of Đại Hữu, the codification of the deity’s gestures (mudra), the rank in the Buddhist pantheon, the ornamentation of the adornments (nànàlankàravati), the importance of the gaze, and the existence of the third eye to successfully identify the deity.

Some Vietnamese researchers see in this statue the wife Lakshmi of Vishnu because one of its two distinctive attributes includes the conch (con ốc). For the Vietnamese researcher Ngô Văn Doanh, there is no doubt about the identity of this deity. It is indeed Laksmindra-Lokesvara because, for him, each distinctive attribute has a particular meaning. The lotus symbolizes beauty and purity. As for the conch, it symbolizes the propagation of Buddha’s teaching and awakening after the sleep of ignorance.

This is also the hypothesis long accepted by Vietnamese researchers. According to the Thai specialist Nanda Chutiwongs, this magnificent bronze is called Prajnàpàramità (Perfection of Wisdom). But this does not diminish the conviction of most specialists who, like Jean Boisselier, continue to see in this exceptional bronze the alluring goddess Tara, whose heavy breasts remain one of the prominent features found in her early youth. She is always the consort of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.

Recently, in the report on archaeology that took place in 2019 in Hanoi, researchers Trần Kỳ Phương and Nguyễn Thị Tú Anh had the opportunity to redefine the name of the bronze statue, Tara, based on the decorative image of the Buddha found in the statue’s hair, the distinctive attributes (the lotus and the conch) in her two hands, as well as the hand gesture. According to these Vietnamese researchers, Tara is the female incarnation of the meditation Buddha Amoghasiddhi, heir of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni in tantric Buddhism (Tibet).

He was often seated under the fan spread by the seven-headed cobra Mucalinda, known as « Effective Success. » In iconography, he often held a sword in his left hand and a significant gesture recognizable under the term « Abhayamudra (or absence of fear) » in his right hand during his meditation.

That is why the decorative image of the small Buddha, corresponding exactly to what is described, is found on the hair of the bronze statue. Moreover, this statue is green in color all over the body. This is also the identity of the dhyani Buddha Amoghasiddhi. If the lotus symbolizes purity, the conch and the gesture of his hand under the conch correspond well to the dharmacakra mudra, setting in motion the wheel of the Dharma law.

According to researchers Trần Kỳ Phương and Nguyễn Thị Tú Anh, the Yunnan region was once a relay zone intended to facilitate the spread of Tibetan religion and art throughout Southeast Asia via the route called the « Tea and Horse Road. » It was also the place where tantric Buddhism was revered by everyone, from the people to the king, and where the production of bronze bodhisattvas Lokesvara and Tara destined for Southeast Asia was extremely important from the 7th or 8th century onward.

That is why the veneration of the bodhisattvas Lokesvara or Tara was not unusual in Chămpa. Until now, no statue of Lokesvara has appeared or been discovered at Đồng Dương, particularly at the Buddhist monastery, because it was here that King Indravarman II erected a temple to venerate his protective Buddha Lokesvara. He even associated his own name with that of the bodhisattva Lokesvara to give this Buddhist site the name Laksmindra-Lokesvara.

That is why there is no doubt about the existence of the statue of Lokesvara. It is an enigma without explanation to this day. According to researcher Trần Kỳ Phương, it is possible that this statue was made of bronze and is the same size as that of Tara. It must have been placed on the altar at the same time as Tara’s when the honor was first given at that time. Perhaps after this glorification in its honor, it was moved elsewhere or buried in the ground because of the war.

In the second enclosure, there is a long waiting hall (or mandapa) (2) that Henri Parmentier called « the hall with windows » in his description. Then, in the third enclosure (3), there is a large pillared hall, about thirty meters long. It is probably the prayer hall of the monks (vihara) where a majestic imposing statue of Buddha sits, to whom the second altar is dedicated, with a base decorated in relief and surrounded by two haloed attendants. This Buddhist site was recognized by the Vietnamese authorities as a national heritage of the country in May 2001. The blinding destruction caused by American bombing during the war years left only one intact gopura tower at this site, which the local population calls « Tháp sáng » (or tower of light) because it is open to the four directions, letting in the light. Despite this, this site continues to revive a glorious past with its great monastery, which was at one time one of the renowned religious intellectual centers in Southeast Asia. It was here that, after his brilliant victory over Champa in 985, the Vietnamese king Lê Đại Hành (or Lê Hoàn) brought back to Vietnam an Indian monk (Thiên Trúc) who was staying at this monastery. In 1069, the great Vietnamese king Lý Thánh Tôn managed to capture a famous Chinese monk, Thảo Đường, here during his victory over Champa. But it was also here in 1301 that the founding king of the Vietnamese Zen school (Phái Trúc Lâm Yên Tử), Trần Nhân Tôn, accompanied by the Vietnamese monk Đại Việt and received by the talented Cham king Jaya Simhavarman III (Chế Mân in Vietnamese), the future husband of Princess Huyền Trân, spent 9 months meditating in this religious center. 

For the French researcher Jean Boisselier, Cham sculpture was always closely linked to history. Notable changes have been observed in the development of Cham sculpture, particularly statuary, in connection with historical events, changes of dynasties, or the relations that Champa had with its neighbors (Vietnam or Cambodia). That is why one cannot ignore that a change of dynasty encourages a creative momentum in the development of Cham sculpture, which is distinguished by a new particular style now known under the name « Đồng Dương. »

Phong cách  Đồng Dương

This one cannot go unnoticed due to its following facial features: prominent eyebrows connected in a continuous, sinuous line rising up to the hairline, thick lips with the corners turned up, a mustache sometimes mistaken for the upper lip, and a flat nose, wide from the front and aquiline in profile, a narrow forehead, and a short chin. The absence of a smile is noteworthy. This style continued to develop alongside Mahayana Buddhism in other regions of Champa under the reigns of the immediate successors of the Buddhist king Indravarman II. They continued to particularly venerate Avalokitesvara and to adopt Buddhism as the state religion. This is known from royal inscriptions. This is the case with the Ratna-Lokesvara sanctuary, which King Jaya Simhavarman I, the nephew of King Indravarman II, patronized. This sanctuary has been located at Đại Hữu in the Quảng Bình region. In this sacred place, a large number of Buddhist sculptures have been unearthed. Then around Mỹ Đức in the same province of Quảng Bình, a Buddhist complex was discovered with architectural and decorative similarities to those found at Đại Hữu and Đồng Dương.

Buddhist faith is not absent either in Phong Nha, where some caves used as places of worship still retain their imprint over the years. Finally, a temple dedicated to the deity Mahïndra-Lokesvarà was erected in 1914 in Kon Klor (Kontum) by a chief named Mahïndravarman. There were even two pilgrimages organized by a high dignitary on the orders of King Yàvadvipapura (Java) with the aim of deepening the siddhayatra (or mystical knowledge), as reported by the inscriptions of Nhan Biểu dating from 911 AD.

Cham dynasty of Indrapura

Bouddha statue, Thăng Bình, Quảng Nam

854-898     Indravarman II (Dịch-lợi Nhân-đà-la-bạt-ma)
898-903     Jaya Simharvarman I (Xà-da Tăng-gia-bạt-ma)
905-910     Bhadravarman III (Xà-da Ha-la-bạt-ma)
910-960     Indravarman III (Xà-da Nhân-đức-man)
960-971     Jaya Indravarman I (Dịch-lợi Nhân-di-bàn)
971-982     Paramesvara Varman I (Dịch-lợi Bế- Mĩ Thuế)
982-986     Indravarman IV (Dịch-lợi Nhân-đà-la-bạt-ma)
986-988     Lưu Kế Tông
989-997     Vijaya shri Harivarman II (Dịch-lợi Băng-vương-la)
997-1007   Yan Pu Ku Vijaya Shri (Thất-ly Bì-xà-da-bạt-ma)
1007-1010  Harivarman III (Dịch-lợi Ha-lê-bạt-ma)
1010-1018  Paramesvara Varman II (Thi Nặc Bài Ma Diệp)
1020-1030  Vikranta Varman II (Thi Nặc Bài Ma Diệp)
1030-1044  Jaya Simhavarman II (Sạ Đẩu)

This Buddhist faith began to seriously falter in the face of the invasion of the people from the North (the Vietnamese) who had just been freed from Chinese oppression. These, led by the new king Lê Đại Hành, did not hesitate to sack the capital Indrapura in 982 after the Cham king Parameçvaravarman I (Ba Mĩ Thuế) had clumsily and for an unknown reason detained two Vietnamese emissaries Từ Mục and Ngô Tử Canh and openly supported Ngô Tiên, son of the liberator king of the Vietnamese nation, Ngô Quyền, in the power struggle.

Mahayana Buddhism did not allow the Cham kings to find everything they needed in their struggle against the Vietnamese enemies. They began to doubt the wisdom of this religion when it failed to attract the local population until then. It remained the personal religion of choice for the elites and their Cham kings. They preferred to seek their salvation in the worship of their destructive god Shiva in order to better protect their victories and to enable them to resist, more or less, the foreign invaders (Chinese, Mon, Khmer, and Vietnamese) in the creation, maintenance, and survival of their nation.

Their perpetual belligerence, probably inspired by Shaivism, became a strong argument and a legitimate justification first for the Chinese and then for the Vietnamese to carry out military interventions and gradually annex their territory in the march southward (Nam Tiến).

[Return to CHAMPA]

Bibliographic references

Avalokitesvara: name of a bodhisattva representing the infinite compassion of the Buddha.
Bodhisattva: being destined for enlightenment (Bồ tát)
Dharma: moral law (Đạo pháp)
Lokesvara: lord of the world. Designation of a Buddha or Avalokitesvara.
Mandapa: religious building with columns within the temple enclosure.
Tara: the one who saves. Female counterpart of Avalokitesvara. Highly revered in India and Tibet.
Vishnu: God who maintains the world between its creation by Brahma and its destruction by Shiva.

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The discovery of a large number of Mahayana elements, particularly statues of the deity Avalokitesvara, the most popular and revered icon of Mahayana Buddhism, undeniably marks the strengthening of its establishment and doctrine in Champa and testifies to the benevolence of the Cham sovereigns. This special royal consideration allowed it to remain a secondary religion, living for several centuries in the shadow of Hinduism, patiently awaiting its time of glory and influence. It was in the 8th and 9th centuries that, after embracing certain countries such as the Khmer Empire and the kingdoms of Srivijaya and Sailendra, Mahayana Buddhism found its full flourishing in accordance with the arrival of the new ruling Bhrgu lineage in the person of Indravarman II. It is also in the Chinese annals (for example, Tân Đường Thư) that the name « Tchan-Tcheng » (or Campapura (Chiêm Thành in Vietnamese)) appeared for the first time, replacing Huanwang (Hoàn Vương), which had until then been linked to the royal lineage of Prathivindravarman of the South (Kauthara) (Nha Trang).
Having transferred the capital to Indrapura (near Hội An) (or Faifo) in the Amaravati region (Quảng Nam and Quảng Ngãi), Indravarman II showed a particular personal inclination towards Mahayana Buddhism despite maintaining Shaivism as the state religion. It cannot be ignored that King Indravarman II had the opportunity to recall in his royal inscriptions that sovereignty over Champa had come to him solely by the favor of destiny and thanks to merits acquired in many previous existences. It seems that through this teaching, he was more or less attached to the doctrine of Buddhism, particularly to the accomplishment of spreading the Dharma, more than any other Cham king who found his salvation in union with Shiva. According to Georges Coedès, he was designated by Vikrântavarman III, who died without offspring, at the request of the great sages of the kingdom. What is remembered about this king is his Buddhist fervor, his extraordinary wisdom, and his unwavering faith in Lokesvara (Lord of the World). In 875, he had an important Buddhist temple erected in his capital Indrapura on the Đồng Dương site, not far from the Mỹ Sơn sanctuary where the national god Shiva Bhadresvara resided, and he entirely dedicated it to his personal god, Laksmindra-Lokesvara.

We also see in the choice of the name of this temple a practice now used by the Cham sovereigns, always associating the name of the protective deity with that of the donor of the establishment. Despite the primary worship of Shiva for his devastating powers and brilliant victories in protecting the kingdom, the veneration of Lokesvara, representing a Buddha or Avalokitesvara (a bodhisattva), symbolizes not only peace and benevolence but also the protection of this deity over the country and its inhabitants, so much so that Hinduism and Buddhism, although different philosophically and religiously, can now coexist in Champa. According to the French archaeologist Henri Parmentier, the Buddhist site Đồng Dương also seems to encompass the king’s residence located at what is today called « ao vuông » (square-shaped pond). It appears that there is a secret water current that can communicate with a well located one kilometer to the east of the site. The construction of this site demonstrates a desire for innovation in grouping many isolated buildings within an imposing architectural achievement where the presence of Chinese and Indian influences is undeniable.
This is what is discovered in the general plan of this site. In its architecture and sculpture, certain aspects of the borrowing from Chinese art can be seen in terms of monumentality and power, while in the composition of the liturgical scenes and narrative panels there is an impeccable fidelity to the decorative conventions found in the temples of western India.

The construction of this site develops along an east-west axis 1300 meters long, with numerous brick buildings spread across three successive enclosures, each controlled by an entrance pavilion guarded by formidable and terrifying stone guardians (dvarapala). According to Henri Parmentier‘s description, it was in the western half of the first enclosure that he found in 1905 the most important sanctuary (1), probably housing the statue of Laksmindra-Lokesvara to whom the site was dedicated in 875 by King Indravarman II. This main sanctuary is preceded by a tower open to the four cardinal points (thap sang) and surrounded by 9 small temples arranged in a well-ordered layout.
For most Vietnamese researchers, the great masterpiece of bronze art that a peasant found by chance in 1978 while looking to collect some bricks in the ruins near the first enclosure, often referred to as Tara (Phật mẫu Tara), is none other than the statue of Laksmindra-Lokesvara (Quan Âm chuẩn đề). It is indeed Avalokitesvara appearing in a feminine form as a Bodhisattva (Bồ tát Quán Thế Âm) because in both hands, at the time of its discovery, a lotus and a conch were found.[Reading more]

[Champa buddhism: Part 3]

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Despite the adoption of Hinduism as the religion by the Cham at the beginning of the creation of their nation, Buddhism did not fail to demonstrate its notable influence among their local elites and leaders. They found in this religion a great number of advantages that allowed them to strengthen not only their legitimacy and power but also an essential touch of divinity in their governance through the notions of dharmaraja (Virtuous King) and cakravartin (Universal Monarch).

Being supposed to embody the power of dharma, they were invested with the sacred mandate to ensure the maintenance of order and religious faith in their kingdom. They were attached to the divine nature that the mission granted them. Similar to the Khmer kings, they gave particular importance to their deification in such a way that their posthumous name included that of the supreme deity with the aim of being equal to Buddha in the form of a Bodhisattva. This is the case of King Indravarman II with his posthumous name « Paramabuddhaloka » (Buddhist title). They thus became « superhumans » among men even if they were not of divine origin. Buddhism soon seduced them and made them adhere to its fundamental aspects: its tolerant spirit, its liberal character, its integration into local culture, and its emphasis on morality.

They brought in religious missionaries via merchant ships because Champa attracted Indian traders very early on. It had long been renowned for its forest products (eaglewood, ivory, spices, etc.). The exact date of the introduction of Buddhism to Champa is not known, but according to Chinese annals, it prospered in 605 AD, when the Chinese army led by General Lieou Fang (Lưu Phương) of the Sui dynasty (nhà Tùy) plundered the Champa capital Điển Xung during the reign of King Cambhuvarman (Phàn Chí in Vietnamese) and took away 1,350 Buddhist texts compiled in 564 volumes after reconquering Tonkin.

The presence of Buddhism should have been noticeable very early in Champa as well as in Vietnam by sea, because according to the Vietnamese scholar Phan Lạc Tuyên, Indian monks came to Vietnam at the beginning of the Christian era based on the story of Chu Đồng Tử, who was initiated into Buddhism during his encounter with an Indian monk. Religious missionaries had to land in Champa before they could reach Giao Chỉ (or Vietnam) and China.

Indrapura dynasty

Under the leadership of its rulers, Champa very early on promoted the establishment of Buddhism, as it was already mentioned by the famous monk Yijing (Nghĩa Tịnh) upon his return from his maritime journey in the Insulinde as one of the countries in Southeast Asia that held the Buddha’s doctrine in high esteem at the end of the 7th century during the reign of Wu Ze Tian (Vũ Tắc Thiên) of the Tang dynasty (Nhà Đường).

Thanks to archaeological remains found in central Vietnam, it is now known that Mahayana Buddhism (Phật giáo Đại Thừa) took root during the second half of the 7th century and gave rise to unprecedented models of Bodhisattva combining local tradition and stylistic elements from abroad, which have since served as a reference throughout the country.

[Champa buddhism: Part 2]

[Champa buddhism: Part 3]

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The main  kalan

French version 

With its height of 22.8 meters, this main kalan is one of the tallest towers in Cham architecture. Its style is considered an intermediate style between the Mỹ Sơn A-1 style and that of Bình Định (11th-12th century). It is distinguished by a square base and a tapered three-tiered roof. This roof is so ornate and well-preserved to this day that it is impossible not to appreciate its beauty and splendor despite the visible absence of the crest (kailasa or the residence of Shiva). One of the characteristics of this roof is the presence of stone animals (vahana) (goats on the first tier, geese (hamsa) on the second tier, and elephants on the top tier).

The South temple

Despite the deterioration of its roof over time, it continues to maintain its charm and is a very original and unique model in Cham art. It was built by Senapati (1) Par of King Harivarman with the purpose of creating a temple for the Sandhakalinga (a hermaphrodite linga) and to present together Shiva and Bhagavarti in the form of a mukhalinga, half-god, half-goddess.

To respond to this fusion form of these two masculine and feminine deities, a new architectural adaptation appears through this temple. The building has two parts: the square body attached to the vestibule and the domed roof whose composition recalls those of Hưng Thạnh and Bằng An.

The body of this temple is relatively low and has three false doors adorned with six superimposed spearheads whose size increases towards the back. At the level of its pedestal, there are borders in the shape of lotus flowers. The entire base of this kalan is decorated with lotus petals engraved in squares.

Its vestibule is quite long and has a raised pediment.

Thanks to Cham inscriptions, it is known that the Southeast and Northwest towers were built by the governor of Panduranga and commander-in-chief Senapati Par or Parraun of King Harivarman, one for the deity Sri Maladakuthara (another form of Bhagavati) and the other for Sri Vinayaka (Ganesa)(2). The deity Maladakuthara, called the little goddess (yan pu aneh), was presented as the daughter of the great goddess of Pô Nagar.
Southeast Temple
This is also one of the reasons explaining why the Southeast tower was placed next to Bhagavarti (main kalan) and the Sivalinga (South temple).

To respond to this fusion form of these two masculine and feminine deities, a new architectural adaptation appears through this temple. The building has two parts: the square body attached to the vestibule and the domed roof whose composition recalls those of Hưng Thạnh and Bằng An.

The body of this temple is relatively low and has three false doors adorned with six superimposed spearheads whose size increases towards the back. At the level of its pedestal, there are borders in the shape of lotus flowers. The entire base of this kalan is decorated with lotus petals engraved in squares.

Its vestibule is quite long and has a raised pediment.

Thanks to Cham inscriptions, it is known that the Southeast and Northwest towers were built by the governor of Panduranga and commander-in-chief Senapati Par or Parraun of King Harivarman, one for the deity Sri Maladakuthara (another form of Bhagavati) and the other for Sri Vinayaka (Ganesa)(2). The deity Maladakuthara, called the little goddess (yan pu aneh), was presented as the daughter of the great goddess of Pô Nagar.

     Southeast Temple

This is also one of the reasons explaining why the Southeast tower was placed next to Bhagavarti (main kalan) and the Sivalinga (South temple).

[Return to CHAMPA]

Bibliographic references.

Les ruines Cham. A la recherche d’une civilisation éteinte. Trần Kỳ Phương. Editeur Thế Giới 1993

Po Nagar de Nha Trang. Anne-Valérie Schweyer. Aséanie 14, Décembre 2004, p. 109-140

Pérégrinations culturelles au Champa. Nguyễn Văn Kự- Ngô Văn Doanh. Editeurs EFEO- Thế Giới Publishers 2005.

Văn Hóa Cổ Chămpa. Ngô Văn Doanh. Editeur Nhà Xuất Bản Văn Hóa Dân Tộc 2002.

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Thánh Địa Po Nagar

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This sanctuary is a must-visit for those who have the opportunity to visit Nha Trang, the most upscale seaside resort in Vietnam. Located on a hill at the mouth of the Cái River, it was built continuously from the 8th to the 13th century according to inscriptions found on site. The appearance of this sanctuary in the Champa kingdom is linked to the turmoil that Champa experienced in the 8th century. The Champa kingdom was actually a federation of several states or rather « city-states, » with the most powerful one playing the role of « leader » (vai trò chủ đạo). Upon the advent of a new dynasty, its pura ascended to the top rank and thus became the capital of the kingdom. Thanks to Chinese historical documents and Cham inscriptions, it is known that until the beginning of the 7th century, the pura (or city-state) of Singhapura (lion citadel) in Trà Kiệu (in the current district of Duy Xuyên, Quảng Nam province) predominated.

At that time, the northern royal lineage was always protected by the male deity Bhadresvara, a linga representing a benevolent form of Shiva honored in the most sacred sanctuary of Mỹ Sơn. A new royal lineage soon made itself recognized in the mid-8th century in the southern part of the Champa kingdom (Kauthara) and needed another deity to protect it.
Po Nagar Shrine

The Trà Kiệu and Mỹ Sơn region, belonging to the current Quảng Nam province (the Cham province of Amaravâti), thus lost its importance in favor of Khánh Hòa (Nha Trang plain) and Ninh Thuận (Phan Rang region). Although its political center of power (Virapura) has not been located to this day, it is claimed to be somewhere around Phan Rang. On the other hand, it is certain that a major political event took place in the south of this kingdom, as this perfectly aligns with the date 758 provided in Chinese annals to mark the beginning of the Huanwang period (or Hoàn Vương in Vietnamese), lasting about 100 years. Lin Yi (or Lâm Ấp in Vietnamese), the former name given to this kingdom, is no longer used and is replaced by Huanwang in Chinese texts. This deity is a one-faced linga and is honored in the sacred Pô Nagar sanctuary located by the sea. She is clearly feminine and presented as the shakti of Shiva, Bhagavati.

Despite the sidelining of the Prathivindravarman lineage of the South reported in Chinese annals in 859 and the seizure of supreme power by the Bhrgu lineage in the northern kingdom at Indrapura (near Hội An) in 875 with the new king Indravarman II, the deity of Nha Trang in Kauthara continued to be honored as the protective goddess of the kingdom.

This shows the willingness of the Bhrgu lineage to integrate it into a coherent religious system which, until then based on the veneration of Bhadresvara (Mỹ Sơn sanctuary), recognizes a complementary position for Bhagavarti. The religious bipolarity around the god Bhadresvara at Mỹ Sơn and the goddess Bhagavati at Nha Trang would henceforth dominate the entire kingdom. The veneration of Bhagavarti aligns not only with the importance given to the matrilineal system adopted by the Chams but also with the unity the Chams needed at that time in the face of their enemies (Vietnamese, Khmers, and Javanese).

In order to acclimate to an unfamiliar natural environment where the stupas and religious constructions of the Chams, bearing the deep mark of Indian culture, were visibly strange, frightening, and mysterious with statues of Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, and Pô Nagar, these new Vietnamese arrivals were forced to develop a lifestyle adapted to their new cultural environment. They did not hesitate to use the remnants of Cham culture to transpose them into their own religious universe and places of worship. They attempted to establish harmony between the supernatural and temporal powers of the territories they had managed to conquer. Fearing to disturb local spirits capable of bringing them harm, they sometimes appropriated the places of worship of the defeated or local people. This is the case of the Pô Nagar sanctuary where the Champa goddess Uma was appropriated by the Vietnamese. They did not hesitate to assimilate the legend of Po Nagar into a mythology arranged in their own way without managing to erase the Cham substrate of the myth. The Champa goddess thus became Thiên Y A Na (Thiên Y Thánh Mẫu) of the Vietnamese. This appropriation is renewed in other places in Vietnam during the southward march: the Black Lady in Tây Ninh or the goddess Chúa Xứ on Mount Sam (Châu Đốc).

In his inventory of Cham towers located on the Pô Nagar site, the French archaeologist Henri Parmentier recorded about a dozen worship buildings grouped in an area of 500 m2 at the top of a hill. Due to weathering and war, only 5 buildings remain spread over two construction levels. At the top, there are two rows of towers, the first consisting of three towers from north to south: the main tower dedicated to the goddess Yan Pu Nagara (or Thiên Y A Na in Vietnamese), the southern temple, and the southeastern kalan. As for the second row, only one tower with a curved saddle-shaped roof remains, dedicated to the children of Thiên Y A Na.

Facing the main tower of the first row, at the lower level, stands an open mandapa consisting of two rows of ten octagonal brick columns, each measuring three meters in height and more than one meter in diameter, surrounded by fourteen similar columns of smaller size. These columns were intended to support a roof shaped like an inverted boat hull, whose structure was made of wood.

This mandapa was built by Senapati Par and mentioned in the steles erected by this general of King Harivarman in 817. It was connected to the main tower by a brick staircase. This type of building is found at other Cham sites: Mỹ Sơn (Đà Nẵng), Po Kloong Garai (Phan Rang), or Bánh Ít (Bình Định). According to Henri Parmentier, next to these brick buildings, there was a wooden temple (or bimong in Cham) which was somewhat a resting place for offerings.
Thanks to Cham inscriptions, we learn that in 774, the wooden religious sanctuary of Pô Nagar was pillaged and destroyed by the Javanese (Chà Và in Vietnamese). This term refers to the populations of the South Seas, i.e., the archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. It was rebuilt in 784 in brick and stone by King Satyavarman. Then, around the middle of the 10th century, the site of Nha Trang was sacked by the Khmers, whose inscriptions spoke of the loot (a gold statue) taken from the goddess Bhagavati.

It was reinstalled in 965 by replacing a stone statue by King Indravarman. The 10th-century statue under the reign of King Jaya Paramesvaravarman could be the one still seen today in the main tower, but its head was restored in the Vietnamese style.

[Reading more]

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Part 1

Until today, the exact ethnic origin of the Chams is not known. Some believe that they came from continental Asia and were pushed back along with other populations living in southern China (the Bai Yue) by the Chinese, while others (ethnologists, anthropologists, and linguists) highlighted their island origin through their research work.

Carving a statue is a religious act.

For the latter, the Chams were probably populations from the South Seas (the countries of the archipelagos or those of the Malay Peninsula). Cham oral traditions mentioning connections linking, in legendary times, Champa and Java support this latter hypothesis.
Nicknamed the Vikings of Southeast Asia, the Chams lived along the coasts of central and southern present-day Vietnam. Their main activities were essentially based on trade. They were in contact very early with China and territories as far away as the Malay Peninsula, possibly the coasts of South India.

Being dedicated to religious purposes, Cham sculpture was thus not immune to political repercussions and influences from outside, particularly those from India, Cambodia, and Java. These became the main forces of creation, development, and evolution of styles in their art. According to the French researcher Jean Boisselier, Cham sculpture was closely linked to history. Significant changes were noted in the development of Cham sculpture, especially statuary, with historical events, changes of dynasties, or the relations that Champa had with its neighbors (Vietnam or Cambodia). According to the Vietnamese researcher Ngô Văn Doanh, whenever there was a significant external impact, a new style in Cham sculpture soon appeared.

To illustrate this, it is enough to cite an example: in the 11th-12th centuries, the intensification of violent contacts especially with Vietnam and Cambodia, and the emergence of new concepts related to the foundations of royal power can explain the originality and richness found in the style of Tháp Mắm.

Hình ảnh điêu khắc cổ Chămpa

Being the expression of the Indian pantheon (Brahmanist but especially Shaivist and Buddhist), Cham sculpture rather resorts to the local interpretation of concepts and norms coming from outside with elegance than to servile imitation. It is above all a support for meditation and a proof of devotion. Sculpting a statue is a religious act. Subject to religious norms, the Cham sculptor, with his skillful hands, succeeded in fervently giving the inert stone a soul, a divine representation allowing the conveyance of the religious concept he wished to transmit with faith. Cham sculpture is peaceful. No scenes of horror are depicted. There are only somewhat fanciful animal creatures (lions, dragons, birds, elephants, etc.). No violent or indecent forms are found in the deities. Despite the evolution of styles over history, Cham sculpture continues to maintain the same divine and animal creatures within a constant theme.

Makara
Cham art has succeeded in maintaining its specificity, its own facial expression, and its particular beauty without it being said that it is a servile copy of external models, thus preserving its uniqueness in Hindu sculpture found in India and Southeast Asia. Despite the lack of animation and realism, Cham works were mostly carved from sandstone and much more rarely from terracotta and other alloys (gold, silver, bronze, etc.).

Generally modest in size, they depict religious beliefs and worldviews. They cannot leave us indifferent because they always give us a strong strange impression. This is one of the characteristics of the beauty of Cham art. In Cham sculpture, one finds free-standing sculptures (round-bosses), high reliefs, and low reliefs. A free-standing sculpture is one that can be viewed from all sides to see the sculptor’s work. A high relief is a sculpture with a very prominent relief that does not detach from the background. As for the low relief, it is a sculpture with slight projection on a uniform background. In Cham sculpture, there is a tendency to emphasize the roundness of creatures in the reliefs. Few scenes are depicted in this sculpture. There is a noted lack of connection or coherence in the assembly when otherwise.

The creatures found in Cham sculpture tend to always emerge brilliantly from the space surrounding them. They have something monumental about them. Even when they are grouped together in the works of Mỹ Sơn, Trà Kiệu depicting the daily life of the Chams, they give us the impression that each one remains independent from the others.

One can say that the Cham sculptor focuses solely on the creature he wants to show and deify without ever thinking about excessively unrealistic details and imperfections (such as the too-large hand or the overly bent arm of the dancer from Trà Kiệu, for example) and without closely imitating the original Indian models, which gives this Cham sculpture the « monumental » character not found in other sculptures. This is another particularity found in this Cham sculpture.

The works are not numerous but they testify to a beautiful plastic quality and the expression of various religions. It is difficult to attribute them to a single style. On the other hand, some traits close to the tradition of Indian art from Amaravati can be noted. It was only in the second half of the 7th century, under the reign of King Prakasadharma Vikrantavarman I, that Cham sculpture began to take shape and reveal its originality.

[Sculpture of Champa (Part 2)]
[ Sculpture of Champa (Part 3)]

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The whale cult

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Version anglaise

Ai đến miền trung và miền nam Việt Nam sẽ  khám phá một tập quán mà theo nhà nghiên cứu Charles J.C. MacDonald  (CNRS Marseille) là một đặc tính của người Việt ở vùng biến  chớ ở miền Bắc thì không có, đó là tục lệ thờ cá Ông (hay cá voi (poisson éléphant) ).  Cho đến giờ nầy  các nhà học giả Việt như Thái Văn Kiểm, Trần văn Phước hay Trần Hàm Tấn thì nghĩ rằng đây là một tập quán cũa người Chàm mà người Việt tiếp nhận  cũng như ở Nha Trang với thánh mẫu Po Nagar nhưng cho đến giờ không có sách vỡ nào chứng minh là tập quán nầy  thuộc về dân tộc Chàm. Theo cố cả Léopold Cadière thì đúng hơn là người dân Việt  theo thuyết duy linh và đa thần nên chuyện thờ cá Ông cũng không ngoại lệ. Ở  đảo Cù lao chàm có hẵn hòi luôn  một đền thờ cá Ông. 

 Người dân Việt ở miền Trung và miền Nam kính nể cá Ông như  cha mẹ  và thần thánh. Còn gọi cá Ông với các tên như sau : ông Chung, ông Khơi, ông Lớn  vân vân…Mỗi khi gặp cá Ông « lụy (chết) » dạt vào bờ, ngư dân đầu tiên thấy được thì  dân làng cử làm trưởng tang, phải chịu tang như là con của cá Ông dù  được cả làng đứng ra tổ chức mai táng và xây mộ.

Theo lời nhà học giả Thái văn Kiểm, dưới thời vua Gia Long, cá Ông được chứng chỉ sắc phong làm thống chế của các biển phía nam vì cá Ông đã giúp vua Gia Long thoát chết đuối. Dưới thời vua Tự Đức (1848-1883) cá voi được tôn xưng là Đức Ngư có nghĩa là cá có đức độ. Theo sách « Gia Định thành thông chí » của Trịnh Hoài Đức thì  thấy chép như sau : Những khi tàu bè găp sóng gió lớn thường thấy cá Ông dìu đỡ mạn thuyền và bảo vệ người dân được yên ổn. Cũng thường đưa người vào bờ khi thuỳền bị chìm đắm hay lúc có sóng gió thần.

Chỉ có từ Linh Giang đến Hà Tiên ở nứớc Nam ta mới có hiện tượng nầy mà thôi chớ ở các biển  khác thì không có sự  giúp đỡ  kỳ diệu nầy. Cũng có phần đúng với sự nhận xét của học giả Anh Quốc  Ruddle Kenneth như sau: chuyện thờ cúng cá Ông cũng là một thể thức nhẳm cố liên kết chặt chẻ các ngư dân Việt sống ở vủng biển.

Version française

Quiconque débarque  dans le centre et le sud du Vietnam va découvrir  une coutume que le chercheur Charles J.C. MacDonald (CNRS Marseille) a considérée comme une caractéristique typique trouvée chez les Vietnamiens vivant le long de la côte  vietnamienne  car les gens du Nord ne l’ont pas eue. C’est le culte de la baleine. Selon certains érudits vietnamiens tels que Thái Văn Kiểm, Trần văn Phước ou Trần Hàm Tấn, ce culte appartenait aux Chams. Lors de l’occupation de leur territoire par les Vietnamiens, ceux-ci n’hésitaient pas à l’adopter comme la déesse Po Nagar à Nha Trang. Mais cette hypothèse n’est pas très convaincante dans la mesure où aucun document n’apporte jusqu’aujourd’hui la certitude à propos de cette appartenance  chame.

Selon le père Léopold Cadière, cette coutume n’est pas une exception car les Vietnamiens étaient animistes et polythéistes. C’est dans l’île Poulo Cham qu’on découvre un temple dédié carrément au culte de la baleine. Ce mammifère marin est vénéré comme  les parents ou un génie. On l’appelle parfois avec les noms suivants : Monsieur Chung, Monsieur Khơi, Monsieur Lớn etc. Chaque fois que  le pêcheur  découvre en premier  une baleine échouée morte  sur le rivage, il sera nommé d’office par les villageois comme l’organisateur des funérailles car il est considéré comme le fils du cétacé malgré les frais des funérailles et de la construction de sa tombe à la charge de tous les  gens du village.  

Selon l’érudit Thái văn Kiểm, sous le règne de l’empereur Gia Long, la baleine reçut un brevet de génie et le titre d’amiral des mers du Sud car l’empereur Gia Long dut sa vie à ce mammifère marin lors d’une noyade. Sous le règne du roi Tự  Đức (1848-1883), les baleines étaient honorées sous le nom de Đức Ngư, ce qui signifie  « poisson vertueux ». Selon le livre «Gia Định thành thông chí» de Trịnh Hoài Đức, il est écrit ce qui suit: Lorsque le bateau  rencontre  de grosses vagues et le vent violent, on voit souvent la baleine soutenir le bateau et protéger les gens. Elle les ramène souvent  sur terre sains et saufs  lors du naufrage du bateau ou durant la tempête.  Dans notre pays, ce phénomène  se produit uniquement de Linh Giang jusqu’à Hà Tiên, mais dans d’autres mers, cette aide miraculeuse n’existe pas. 

Rien ne contredit pas ce que le chercheur anglais Ruddle Kenneth a remarqué dans son livre: le culte de la baleine renforce la cohésion de la communauté des pêcheurs vietnamiens vivant le long de la côte du centre et du Sud Vietnam.

Version anglaise

Anyone arriving in central and southern Vietnam will discover a custom that researcher Charles J.C. MacDonald (CNRS Marseille) considered a typical feature found among Vietnamese living along the Vietnamese coast. MacDonald (CNRS Marseille) considered a typical characteristic found among Vietnamese living along the Vietnamese coast, because the people of the North didn’t have it. It’s the cult of the whale. According to some Vietnamese scholars such as Thái Văn Kiểm, Trần văn Phước or Trần Hàm Tấn, this cult belonged to the Chams. When the Vietnamese occupied their territory, they didn’t hesitate to adopt it as the goddess Po Nagar in Nha Trang. But this hypothesis is not very convincing, as no document to date provides any certainty about this Chame affiliation.

According to Father Léopold Cadière, this custom is no exception, as the Vietnamese were animists and polytheists. On the island of Poulo Cham, we discovered a temple dedicated to the cult of the whale. This marine mammal is revered as a parent or a genie. It is sometimes called by the following names: Monsieur Chung, Monsieur Khơi, Monsieur Lớn etc. Whenever a fisherman is the first to discover a whale washed up dead on the shore, he is automatically appointed by the villagers as the organizer of the funeral, as he is considered the son of the cetacean, despite the fact that the costs of the funeral and the construction of its grave are borne by all the people of the village

According to scholar Thái văn Kiểm, during the reign of Emperor Gia Long, the whale was awarded a patent of genius and the title of Admiral of the South Seas, as Emperor Gia Long owed his life to this marine mammal during a drowning incident. During the reign of King Tự Đức (1848-1883), whales were honored as Đức Ngư, meaning “virtuous fish”. According to the book “Gia Định thành thông chí” by Trịnh Hoài Đức, it says the following: When the boat encounters big waves and strong wind, the whale is often seen supporting the boat and protecting the people. It often brings them safely ashore when the boat sinks or during a storm.  In our country, this phenomenon only occurs from Linh Giang to Hà Tiên, but in other seas, this miraculous help does not exist.

Nothing contradicts what English researcher Ruddle Kenneth noted in his book: whale worship strengthens the cohesion of the Vietnamese fishing community living along the coast of central and southern Vietnam.

[Return TRADITIONS]

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Vietnamese version

Version française

According to scholar Thái Văn Kiểm, our people’s long march towards the South is an obvious historical fact that veritable foreign historians must recognize, and it is also a source of great pride for our nation. For over a thousand years, the Vietnamese people have crossed more than five thousand kilometers, or 1,700 meters a year or 5 meters a day. This speed is even less than that of a snail. This proves that our people have encountered many obstacles and have sometimes had to stop and take a step back on this long march. In a way, this folk song evokes the anxiety and fear of the Vietnamese people on this journey strewn with pitfalls:

Đến đây đất nước lạ lùng
Con chim kêu cũng sợ, con cá vẫy vùng cũng lo.

This land seems very strange to them
The chirping of birds also frightens them, as does the restlessness of fish.

Despite the fact that our population stood at around one million against a giant China estimated at the time at over 56 million subjects, we were led to discover the incredible talent of Ngô Quyền, who succeeded in freeing our people from Chinese domination for almost a thousand years. Unfortunately, he reigned for only 5 years. Then came the period of national unrest with the twelve warlords. Fortunately, the hero Đinh Bộ Lĩnh from Ninh Bình province emerged. He succeeded in eliminating them, unifying the country under his banner and founding a new dynasty, the Đinh dynasty. During this period, our country had just become an independent nation, but was confined only to the Red River delta and the small plains along the central coast of North Viet Nam (Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An).

 In the North, it is difficult to begin territorial expansion because of the presence of China. This country had a large population and always caressed  the intention of annexing our country at the opportune moment, whatever the reigning dynasty. At the West stand the rugged Trường Sơn mountain range, which is difficult to cross, and at the East is located  the East Sea, which Nguyễn Trãi had occasion to mention in the “Proclamation on the Pacification of the Ngô (Bình Ngô Đại Cáo)” as follows:

Độc ác thay, trúc Nam Sơn không ghi hết tội,
Dơ bẩn thay, nước Đông Hải không rửa sạch mùi.

What cruelty! The bamboo of the southern mountains can’t record all their crimes,
What filth! The water of the Eastern Sea can’t wash away their stench.

to allude to the cruelty of the Ming (Chinese) that the East Sea failed to erase during the ten years of their aggression against the Great Yue (Đại Việt). This is a pressure that our people always had to endure during the course of our nation’s formation. Only in the South lies the only way for our nation to expand its borders, avoid extermination and maintain national independence, especially as our ancestors remain the only tribe of the Bai Yue who have not been assimilated by the Chinese since the time of Qin Shi Huang Di (Tần Thủy Hoàng).

However, at this moment in time, in this march  towrds the South,  our people have two undeniable advantages, one of which is to have a brilliant strategist to defend against  Chinese invaders in the North, and the other is to succeed in involving the mass popular movement in this expedition for legitimate reasons. In the South, there is a kingdom called Lin Yi (later Champa), which succeeded in gaining independence from China in Nhật Nam in 192 A.D., and used to provoke unrest on our country’s border. This kingdom occupies an important position on the trans-Asian sea route coveted by the envious (Manguin 1979: 269). The capture of Champa can be considered a major success in the control of the East Sea and passing ships (Manguin 1981: 259). Today, it’s still a burning issue that attracts the attention of world powers.

The Great Yue (Đai Việt) was a country that had just had its first king when it was caught in a pincer movement between China and Champa. These two countries initially acted in concert to destroy our country. Considered a warrior king and a strategic visionary, King Lê Đại Hành (or Lê Hoàn) had both of these advantages. He succeeded in defeating Hầu Nhân Bảo‘s Song army in 981 at Chi Lăng (Lạng Sơn) and in punishing Champa during an expedition mounted within a year to drive the Chams out of Amaravati province (Quảng Ngãi) after their clumsy king Bề Mi Thuế had imprisoned Đại Việt’s messengers, Từ Mục and Ngô Tử Canh sent to Champa in an attempt to smooth over disagreements. He destroyed the capital Indrapura (Quảng Nam) and the shrine in 982 and killed its king Paramec Varavarman (Bề Mi Thuế).

He then handed over control of operations in the capital Indrapura and northern Linyi to his subordinate Lưu Kế Tông before returning to his capital. Through this disguised power of attorney, we can see more or less clearly Lê Đại Hành’s intentions to expand the territory, but he was afraid of perhaps receiving reprimand from the Song dynasty at this time. That’s why he didn’t want to reveal them.

According to “Les Mémoires historiques du Grand Viet au complet (Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư)”, Lưu Kế Tông went into hiding in Champa. That’s why King Lê Đại Hành had to send his unnamed adopted son to capture and kill him in the year 983. But in Song history, it’s worth noting that Lưu Kế Tông became king of Champa three years later, from 986 to 989, and he even sent an ambassador to the Song dynasty to ask the latter to recognize him as ruler of Champa. This shows that there is something at odds with what has been written in our history. It can be explained that Lưu Kế Tông was initially tasked with fulfilling a mission that King Lê Đại Hành had entrusted to him. As Lưu Kế Tông managed to gain fairly strong local support, he attempted to pose as king and gave up honoring his mission.

But thanks to the restoration of the Cham people’s growing military strength in Vijaya (Chà Bàn, Bịnh Định), King Harivarman II succeeded in defeating Lưu Kế Tông, then retaking the whole province of Amaravati and once again settling in the capital Indrapura. As for Lưu Kế Tông, according to French researcher Georges Cœdès, he had passed away. He is no longer mentioned in history. Despite intensified looting along the northern frontier, Champa was now under constant and increasing pressure from our Annam. According to the scholar Trần Trọng Kim’s “History of Vietnam”, China always granted our king the title “Prince of Jiaozhi Province (Giao Chỉ quận vương)” because it continued to regard our country, Jiaozhi (or Giao Chỉ) as a Chinese province at the time of its rule. It was only under King Lý Anh Tôn that our king officially received the title of King of Annam. Since then, our country has been called Annam.

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canard siamois

canard tuile

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tuile canard

Under the Lý dynasty, on the pretext that Champa had not paid tribute to the Annam kingdom for 16 years, King Lý Thái Tông was forced to go and fight Champa in 1044. The Chams suffered many casualties. Cham general Quách Gia Di decided to slash his king Sạ Đẩu (Jaya Simhavarman II), the last king of Champa’s Indrapura dynasty, and cut off his head to demand surrender. In 1069, based on the reason of not honoring the payment of tribute by Champa for 4 years, King Lý Thánh Tông decided to personally take 100,000 soldiers to fight Champa, succeeded in capturing Chế Củ (or Jaya Rudravarman III) in Cambodia where he sought refuge at that time and brought him back to the capital Thăng Long. To redeem his freedom and return to his homeland, Chế Củ offered in exchange the three northern provinces of Champa roughly equivalent to two provinces of Quảng Binh and Quảng Tri (Georges Cœdès: 248).

It can be said that from this transaction, Đại Viêt began to expand to new lands and encouraged people to live there under the reign of King Lý Nhân Tôn after Lý Giác‘s revolt in the Nghệ An region. On the advice of this rebel, King Chế Ma Na (Jaya Indravarman II) attempted to retake the three exchanged provinces, but was subsequently defeated by the famous general Lý Thường Kiệt, and this time had to definitively retrocede these three retaken provinces.

According to scholar Henri Maspero, during the reign of Lý Thần Tông, our country was invaded by the warrior king Sûryavarman II of Chenla (Chân Lạp). The latter used to often drag Champa into war by constantly inciting or coercing it against our country in the Nghệ An and Thanh Hóa regions. Then, as the two countries became hostile, there was a war lasting almost a hundred years. This was to weaken them in the face of the Annam country, which became powerful at the beginning of the 13th century with a new dynasty, the Trần dynasty. It was also a time when the entire Eurasian region was being invaded by the Mongols. But it was also a time when neighboring Annam and Champa enjoyed good relations, and Champa regained peace and stability under King Indravarman V (1265-1285).

It was thanks to this rapprochement that the Vietnamese and the Chams, united in the same struggle and acting together against a common enemy, the Yuan empire of Kubilai Khan (Đế Chế nhà Nguyên của Hốt Tất Liệt), together achieved military feats of great historical significance not only for our people but also for Southeast Asia. Thanks to this union, the two peoples defeated the Mongol empire. In order to strengthen the hitherto non-existent good understanding between the two peoples, King Trần Nhân Tông visited the Kingdom of Champa for nine months as spiritual leader of the Đại Việt Zen sect on May 11, 1301.

Thanks to this visit, he promised to grant the hand of his daughter, Princess Huyền Trân (Jet Pearl), to King Chế Mân (Jaya Simhavarman III), even though Huyền Trân was only 14 and Chế Mân was quite old. Despite his monk’s cassock, he was still the king-father of the Đại Việt kingdom. He therefore always had a long-term vision for the country and had realized that the Đại Việt kingdom needed territory as a rear base in case of need in the south when he was well aware of the malevolent intentions of the Northerners and he managed to win the war of resistance against the Yuan army twice (1285 and 1287-1288). On the contrary, why did the hero of the Cham people, Chế Mân (Jaya Simhavarman III), cede the two Ô-Lý districts at this time to become a traitor to his people? Is Champa too disadvantaged and Đại Việt too advantageous in this transaction, isn’t it?

It was perhaps because of the aridity of the ceded area that Chế Mân felt it was impossible for him to control it, as Quảng Trị was an area of sandy soil and Thừa Thiên Huế surrounded by hills was also a region devoid of any significant plain (Hồ Trung Tú:283). Moreover, it was a matter of legalizing a territory that Champa no longer had the capacity to govern since Chế Củ (or Jaya Rudravarman III) had ceded it in exchange for his release 236 years ago. The fact that Princess Perle de Jais (Huyền Trân) married Chế Mân five years later (1306) with the dowry of two thousand square meters of the Ô and Lý districts (today’s Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên Huế provinces) should be a well-considered political calculation with the aim of perpetuating peace and carrying the strategic character for both Đai Việt and Champa dynasties. Thanks to this marriage, Đai Việt’s territory had extended as far north as the Thu Bồn River, and Champa could preserve the remaining territory for future generations.

In the eyes of the people, Princess Huyền Trân is a woman deeply admired in the minds of several generations of Vietnamese, and she is evoked repeatedly in this long march south through her history and destiny. After a year of marriage, King Chế Mân died in 1307. Only the latter and Trúc Lâm đại sĩ (the nickname given to king-father Trần Nhân Tông) managed to know just why, but they had both died within a year of each other. Since then, this wedding gift became a bone of contention between the two countries, leading to continuous wars in which Đai Việt was always the country with the most victories.

Thanks to demographic pressure and immigration policy under the Hồ dynasty, the territories ceded by Champa had become independent, autonomous regions thanks to the Vietnamese village organization (the king’s authority stops in front of the village bamboo hedges). This made it more difficult for Champa to reclaim these territories in the future. Once again, after the 14th century, Champa became a major military power, engaging in battles as far afield as Thanh Hóa. This was the time of the appearance of a character described in the history of the Ming dynasty as Ngo-ta-ngo-tcho, but in the history of the Cham people he became known as Binasuor (or Chế Bồng Nga). Having taken advantage of the weakening of the Trần dynasty and at the same time received the title of King of Champa from the Ming dynasty in China, Chế Bồng Nga attacked North Vietnam 5 times in succession during the period from 1361 to 1390, but 4 times he took his troops directly to the capital Thăng Long.

Due to the treachery of one of Chế Bồng Nga’s subordinates, named Ba-lậu-kê, general Trần Khắc Chân of the Trần dynasty managed to spot the junk carrying Chế Bồng Nga and asked his soldiers to fire on it. Chế Bồng Nga was hit head-on. According to G. Maspero, Chế Bồng Nga’s period was at its peak, but according to G. Cœdès, this sentence is completely incorrect, but Chế Bồng Nga’s military victories should be compared with the blue light at sunset (Ngô Văn Doanh: 126 or G. Cœdès: 405).

A Cham general with the Vietnamese name La Khải, whom the Chams recorded as Jaya Simhavarman in their history, ascended the throne after eliminating the children of Chế Bồng Nga. La Khải decided to abandon all Cham territories north of the Hải Vân Pass (the present-day provinces of Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên Huế).

To avoid another war with the Đai Việt, he ceded Champa’s province of Indrapura in 1402, corresponding to the present-day province of Quảng Nam, where the Mỹ Sơn shrine was located, but reclaimed it later in 1407 when the Ming took the pretext of eliminating the Hồ dynasty for the usurpation of the Trần throne. These Ming thus annexed Annam, sought out all men of talent and virtue and brought them back to China for employment. These included the young Nguyễn An (Ruan An), who later became a Vietnamese eunuch architect responsible for building the Forbidden City in Beijing according to the theory of Yin and Yang and the 5 elements, and Nguyễn Phi Khanh, father of Nguyễn Trãi. After ten years of resistance against the Ming army, Lê Lợi ascended the throne in 1428 and founded the later Lê dynasty. He re-established peaceful relations with the Ming and Champa, whose king was the son of La Khải, named Virabhadravarman and known in Vietnamese chronicles as Ba Dich Lai (Indravarman VI).

According to George Cœdès, Champa rapidly fell into a state of political recession at the end of this dynasty, with up to five successive kings in 30 years due to civil wars for power. At that time, in Annam, there was a great king known as Lê Thánh Tôn, renowned for the literary and martial arts in the history of Việt Nam. It was he who asked the historian Ngô Sĩ Liên to compile all the information relating all the historical events into a collection of articles known as “Đại Việt sử ký (The Historical Memoirs of the Great Viet)”. He ordered his subordinate to trace the geographical map of our country, but secretly sent someone to Champa at the same time to draw a map of Champa with all the strategic nooks and crannies, which enabled his army to take the capital Đồ Bàn(Vijaya) from Chà Bàn (Bình Định) in the year 1471 and capture King Trà Toàn (Maha Sajan) brought back to Đại Việt with 30000 prisoners.

The capture of the Vijaya capital could be compared to the fall of Constantinople (1453) at the same time by the Turks (Nepote 1993:12). After this, the Ming emperor sent an emissary to ask him to return the territory of Binh Định to Champa. But faced with his categorical refusal, the Ming emperor had to give up all action, as our country’s prestige was great in view of the tributes paid by neighboring countries such as Laos (Ai Lao) and the Mường of the West. Champa had now shrunk to just the territories south of Cape Varella (Đại Lãnh, Phú Yên) and no longer posed major obstacles to the southward advance of the Vietnamese people.

As for the Chams, they were dispersed into numerous groups and evacuated by sea and land: one group fled to Cambodia and was sheltered by the Cambodian king Jayajettha III (Ang Sur) in Oudong, Chrui Changvar and Prêk Pra near the capital Phnom Penh and in the province of Kompong Cham, another group went as far as the island of Hainan (Thurgood 1999: 227) and Malacca, and the remaining population had to hide in the Panduranga region still belonging to Champa or accepted to live with the Vietnamese in the annexed territory.

By now, Vietnamese and Cham villages had been established side by side for several hundred years. Nor was it known who was really assimilated when there was the clash and peaceful cultural exchange between humanity’s two great civilizations, India and China. How many times has human history demonstrated that a superior civilization has a transformative effect on an inferior one? The more powerful ancient Rome, at the time of its conquest, was under the influence of Greek civilization. Similarly, when the Mongols or Manchus conquered China, they were assimilated by the latter.

Our Đại Việt kingdom was no exception either. Being accustomed to denigrating and despising the Chams (or Mans), could our Đại Việt have had anything to do with this conquest? He received many things, including many elements from Champa found in royal music such as the Chiêm Thành Âm (Champa Resonances) or the well-cooked rice-plated tambourine (trống cơm)(Thái Văn Kiểm 1964: 65) or later with the “Danses du Sud (Airs des Méridionaux)” through the endless painful laments of the Cham people such as Hà Giang Nam (Descent to the South of the River), Ai Giang Nam (Lamentation of the South of the River), Nam Thương (Compassion of the South) etc. and in sculptural art under both the Lý and Trần dynasties.

There was a time when the Vietnamese lived under the southern influence of the South to create artifacts such as the head of a Lý-Trần dynasty dragon resembling that of a Makara dragon or the Siamese duck (vịt siêm) to the Hamsa goose of Champa for example, all found in the imperial citadel Thăng Long on tile roofs and building gables right down to the decorated motifs on bowls (Hồ Trung Tú: 264).

As for the Chams, they weren’t completely assimilated right away, as they were abandoning their language to speak Vietnamese in their homeland. Henceforth, they were to have a surname like the Vietnamese under King Minh Mạng. The names they had had in their history were the surnames of kings or those of the royal family according to author Phú Trạm in the newspaper Tia Sáng (October 2, 2006). They used Ja (man) or Mu (woman) They also created an accent tone for themselves that hadn’t existed before, by speaking the Vietnamese language with the intonation of a native Cham. They spoke, they listened, they corrected themselves, they understood each other with the Vietnamese community on the spot to produce a distinct accent tone that no longer resembled the original tone (Quảng Nam’s intonation for example) when they had contact with the Vietnamese people before (as their Vietnamese wife and children) or when they were appointed notables in territories belonging to the Đai Việt kingdom. They didn’t necessarily lose their roots immediately, as they still retained the habits and customs of the Cham people.

More specifically, in regions such as Đà Nẵng, Hội An, we continued to see people still wearing Cham clothing at the end of the 18th century through the photographs of Cristoforo Borri or John Barrow. The men wore kama or bottomless pants (the sarong) with a fairly wide turban, and the women long skirts with several multicolored pleats or bare torsos (Hồ Trung Tú: 177).in front of the names like the words văn or Thị among the Vietnamese. When they became old and occupied an important role or rank in society, they were called from then on by that function or title (Hồ Trung Tú: 57).

The Vietnamese who migrated to areas where the Cham population was dense were obliged to adapt and accept the Chams’ way of speaking the Vietnamese language, from Quảng Nam to Phú Yên. As for the territories where the number of Chams was low and that of Vietnamese migrants was high, the intonation practiced in these territories remained that of the Vietnamese migrants. The latter managed to retain their intonation entirely in territories stretching from the Ngang Pass to Huế. They frequently used the dialects of Nghệ An-Hà Tịnh (Hồ Trung Tú:154) or Thanh Hóa later with Lord Nguyễn Hoàng.

As for the cultural characteristics of the Cham people, they have all disappeared since the 9th month of the Year of the Tiger, under the reign of Minh Mạng (1828). This was the time of the royal edict designed to prohibit southern men from wearing kamas. Since the Chams claimed not to know how long ago or when they had a link of Northern origin like hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese families cohabiting in this territory, they no longer wondered who they were exactly, because after a few generations they had become “pure Vietnamese” and thus joined their people in the long march to the tip of Cà Mau. From then on, the end of Champa could be announced.

[Return to CHAMPA]

Bibliography

Thái Văn Kiểm: Việt Nam quang hoa Editeur Xuân Thu, USA
Georges Cœdès: Cổ sử các quốc gia Ấn Độ Hóa ở Viễn Đông. NXB Thế Giới năm 2011
Pierre-Yves Manguin: L’introduction de l’islam au Champa. Études chames II. BEFEO. Vol 66 pp 255-287. 1979
Pierre-Yves Manguin: Une relation ibérique du Champa en 1595. Études chames IV. BEFEO  vol 70 pp. 253-269
Ngô văn Doanh: Văn hóa cổ Chămpa. NXB Dân tộc 2002.
Hồ Trung Tú: Có 500 năm như thế. NXB Đà Nẵng 2017.
Agnès de Féo: Les Chams, l’islam et la revendication identitaire. EPHE IVème section.2004
Thái Văn Kiểm: Panorama de la musique classique vietnamienne. Des origines à nos jours.  BSEI, Nouvelle Série, Tome 39, N° 1, 1964.
Thurgood Graham: From Ancient Cham to modern dialects . Two thousand years of langage contact and change. University of Hawai Press, Honolulu. 1999
Trần Trọng Kim: Việtnam sử lược, Hànội, Imprimerie Vĩnh Thanh 1928.
Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư. Nhà xuất bản Thời Đại. Năm 2013.

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Trong dân gian, khi nói đến Huyền Trân công chúa, con của vua Trần Nhân Tôn thì người dân Việt không những xót xa cho số phận mà còn chỉ trích thậm tệ qua câu ca dao sau khi vua hứa gã Huyền Trân cho vua Chế Mân (Jaya Simhavarman III)  trong chuyến công du đặc biệt ở  thành Đồ Bàn (Vijaya, Bình Định ngày nay) của Chiêm Thành:

Tiếc thay cây quế giữa rừng, 
để cho thằng Mán, thằng Mường nó leo.

chớ  nào đâu biết  tổ sư của phái Trúc Lâm có cái nhìn sâu xa của nhà chính trị đa tài muốn mở mang bờ cõi ở phía nam và cố giữ mối quan hệ láng giềng trọng yếu trong việc đấu tranh chống họa phương Bắc. Nhờ sự yểm trợ của Đại Việt ngăn chặn đường bộ  mà quân Nguyên thua lần thứ hai khi tấn công nước Chiêm Thành trước sự chỉ huy dũng cảm  của vua Chế Mân với 20.000 quân lính. Còn về Chế Mân thì Châu Ô Châu Rí khó mà kiểm soát được nữa vì cư dân Chàm bỏ trốn vào rừng hay chạy về các nơi mà chính quyền người Chàm còn cai quản  khi ba châu như Bố Chính, Mã Linh và Địa Lý của Thuận Hóa  đã bị vua chàm Chế Củ (Rudravarman III)  dưng cho vua Lý Thánh Tôn  từ lâu rồi để chuộc tội và cầu hoà. Nay mà dưng thêm hai châu nữa thì khó mà «ăn nói với dân» nhất là ngài là anh hùng dân tộc Chàm đem thắng lợi trong việc chống quân Nguyên.

Chỉ có cách xin cưới Huyền Trân là phương kế tuyệt vời  cho một tình thế chính trị lúc bấy giờ. Sự kiện này cũng  minh chứng cho việc sử dụng thuyết “bất bạo động” của sư tổ Trúc Lâm  để giải quyết xung đột trong lý thuyết nhà Phật theo báo Giác Ngộ của Phật Giáo Việt Nam nhưng không ai ngờ với cái chết đột ngột của vua Chế Mân, Huyền Trân phải lên giàn hỏa để tuẩn tiết theo vua theo tập tục người Chàm. Còn theo nhà nghiên cứu Po Dharma thì đây chỉ là việc dàn dựng câu chuyện nhầm giải cứu Huyền Trân và bội ước của nhà Trần  khiến  từ đó sự việc nầy nó trở thành mối bất hòa giữa hai dân tộc dẫn đến suy vong vương quốc Chămpa qua nhiều thế kỷ về sau nầy với sự chiến thắng rực rở của vua Lê Thánh Tông ở thành Đồ Bàn (Vijaya) 

Câu ca dao mĩa mai  nầy, không biết  có đúng hay không? Văn hoá của họ  có kém không để dân gian phải miệt thị như vậy? Chúng ta  cũng cần phải biết họ là ai, họ  từ đâu đến nhất là họ có những tập tục của một nền văn hóa khác biệt mang  những yếu tố văn hóa truyền thống của Ấn Độ. Những đền tháp được thấy mà họ sở hữu trên vùng duyên hải miền trung dài hơn có 1000 cây số với những tượng thần của một tín ngưỡng xa lạ và dị biệt dù đã đổ nát hay còn nguyên vẹn nhưng lúc nào vẫn còn là những mối đe dọa vô hình ăn sâu trong tâm trí của dân tộc ta tựa  như các  tượng thờ  Brahma, Shiva, Visnu khiến tạo ra ít nhiều  sự lo ngại, hoang mang và sợ sệt  cũng như lúc chúa Tiên (Nguyễn Hoàng)  vào trấn thủ đất Thuận Hóa (Bình Trị Thiên) ở Đàng Trong, một  vùng đất đai cằn cỗi, nguy hiểm và xa xôi.

Tới đây đất nước lạ lùng
Con chim kêu cũng sợ, con cá vẫy vùng cũng lo.

Chính vì vậy theo linh mục Léopold  Cadière, để trấn an tâm hồn và có được sự an bình, dân ta không ngần ngại đưa những nơi di tích văn hoá Chàm vào thế giới tôn giáo tín ngưỡng của mình  và biến chúng thành  những nơi thờ cúng của mình cũng như  chùa Thiên Mụ, điện Hòn Chén, đền Po Nagar vân vân…

Suốt thời gian hành trình đến Thuận Hóa, nhóm tùy tùng thân tín  theo Nguyễn Hoàng  toàn bộ  gốc Thanh Hóa và hòa nhập với người Nghệ An đến từ  cuộc di dân  lần đầu ở  thế  kỷ 14 lúc Châu Ô, Châu Rí thuộc về Đại Việt. Vì vậy người ở Thuận Hóa bấy giờ gọi là người  Thanh Nghệ (Thanh Hóa Nghệ An). Biết ra đi không hẹn ngày về, khổ cực gian nan  cũng phải chịu từ  đây nhưng  đôi khi cũng  tự  an ủi mình  để  nung đốt ý chí  của kẻ phiêu lưu ở đất lạ nên  mới  có câu  ca dao dồi dào triết lý như sau: 

Măn giang nấu cá ngạnh nguồn,
Tới đây nên phải bán buồn mua vui.

Những cư dân Thanh Nghệ  tới lúc đầu không có đông ở vùng Quảng Trị ngày nay. Họ  buộc phải hòa đồng sống chung  với những người  Chàm ở lại. Lúc đầu Nguyễn Hoàng còn nói giọng Bắc nhưng chỉ cần vài thế hệ, những người  thừa kế của ngài  cùng cư  dân chịu  ảnh hưởng của môi trường xã hội từ sự sống gần gũi của hai dân tộc nhất là ở thời kỳ không còn quan hệ và giao dịch, lấy sông Gianh làm biên giới giữa Đàng Trong và Đàng Ngoài, nhất là sau khi có lũy Thầy (Trường Dục) của Đào Duy Từ  nên khiến cư dân có một âm điệu đặc biệt,  có thể nhận ra được ở cư dân Quảng Bình và Quảng Trị. Theo  học giả  Thái văn Kiểm , giọng Huế được thành hình về sau từ khi chúa Nguyễn Phúc Nguyện tức là Chúa Sãi quyết định dời đô về làng Phước Yên, huyện Quảng Điền và chúa Thượng (Nguyễn Phước Lan) về làng Kim Long vào năm 1636. Chính nhờ sự giao thoa của hai văn hóa  cổ Việt Mường  (Thanh Hóa và Nghệ An) và Chàm khiến tạo ra một lối  sống  ăn uống (thích ăn cay, ăn mắm tôm, mắm ruốc vân vân..), cách trị bệnh bằng các cây thuốc phương nam, cách trồng lúa chiêm, cách đóng thuyền (thuyền bầu) đi buôn  trên biển, cách trị thủy đắp đê dọc các dòng sông, cách dùng trong mỹ thuật, ngũ sắc riêng biệt nhất là màu tím, một màu không gây cảm xúc buồn mà cũng là màu mà các phụ nữ  Chàm ưa thích và còn trọng dụng ngày nay. Đấy là những đặc trưng mới của cộng động Việt Chàm mà chúng ta thường thấy ở Bình Trị Thiên và thường được gọi là bản sắc Huế.

Theo sử gia người Mỹ Michael Vickery, dựa trên  sự phân tích ngôn ngữ so sánh  thì biết rằng người Chăm đến từ đão Bornéo bằng đường biển vào cuối thiên niên kỷ thứ nhất trước Công nguyên. Ngôn ngữ của họ  thuộc về ngôn ngữ Nam Đảo. Họ hay thường đinh cư  ở những nơi nào thuận tiện cho việc vận chuyển hàng hóa trên sông. Được mênh danh là người Vikings của Đông Nam Á, họ có thói quen khuấy rối trên biển và hay cướp giật ở vùng cực nam của  quận Nhật Nam trực tiếp thuộc quyền cai trị của Giao Châu thời kỳ nước ta còn bị đô hộ bởi người Hoa. Theo sự nhận xét của nhà khảo cổ học  Việt, Ngô văn Doanh,  họ hay thường ở các vùng đồng bằng ven biển  nằm giữa ba bên là núi cao và một bên còn lại đưa ra biển đều có một hoặc vài thành.

Dựa trên các sử liệu của Trung Hoa và các bi ký cồ người ta mới biết nước Lâm Ấp chuyển thành vương quốc Champa (Champapura)  từ đầu thế kỷ VII với thủ phủ là Simhapura (Trà Kiệu). Chính  nhờ cái tên Champapura mà người ta mới đoán ra được  Champa là một quốc gia được cấu thành từ các thị quốc, có thể gọi là một liên bang  của nhiều thị quốc (pura). Pura nào mạnh nhất  thì được  chọn đóng vai trò làm « thủ lĩnh » (vai trò chủ đạo) và trở thành  là Champapura (Thành của người Chiêm hay Chiêm Thành).  Vương triều của pura đó làm chủ đất nước của dân Chàm. Như vậy Simhapura (Trà Kiệu) là pura mạnh  nhất của thời kỳ đầu sau đó đến pura Vijaya (Đồ Bàn, Bình Định). Có những thời gian ngắn khác trong  niên đại lịch sử Chàm thì thấy có Hoàn Vương ở vùng phiá nam (758 – 659) hay Đồng Dương (Quảng Nam  từ năm 875 đến 983).

Theo nhà khảo cổ học Việt Nam Trần Quốc Vượng, người Chàm hay  sử dụng mô hình văn hóa sau đây gồm có 3 phần: thánh đường (núi), thành cổ (thủ đô) và cảng sông (trung tâm kinh tế) khi được  thành lập. Chính kiểu mẫu này mà chúng ta đã thấy lặp đi lặp lại ở mỗi pura  của người Chàm từ Quảng Trị đến Bình Thuận. Theo sự nhận xét của nhà khảo cổ Trần Kỳ Phương, pura nào  xây dựng đươc những công trình tôn giáo đồ sộ  phải là pura có khả năng trưng tập một  nguồn nhân lực cần thiết mà pura nầy có thể nuôi dưởng được  với  một tiềm năng kinh tế khả dĩ  chớ thông thường người Chàm sống thiên về  thương mại  trên biển nhiều vì đất trồng trọt rất hạn hẹp với những cánh đồng nhỏ của các thung lũng ven sông ở miền trung Việt Nam.

Lịch sử loài người đã bao lần chứng minh một nền văn minh cao hơn hay thường có ít nhiều tác động làm biến đổi nền văn minh kém hơn. Cũng như La Mã mạnh  đến đâu khi xâm lược phải chịu ảnh hưởng của nền văn minh Hy Lạp hay Mông Cổ, Mãn Thanh cũng vậy khi chiếm được Trung Hoa cũng bị đồng hóa bởi nước nầy. Nứớc Đại Cồ Việt của ta cũng không ngoài lệ. Hay thường khinh khi miệt thị người Chàm hay Man,  Đại Việt chúng ta có được tiếp thu cái gì không?. Đại Việt được tiếp thu nhiều thứ lắm nhất là sau khi  cuộc viễn chinh trừng phạt của vua Lê Đại Hành ở Chiêm Thành  vào năm 982. Để nâng cao uy tín và chiến thắng vẽ vang, ngài dắt về không những một tu sĩ Ấn Độ  (Thiên Trúc) đang ở lúc đó trong tu viện Đồng Dương (Quảng Nam ngày nay) mà cả trăm người nhạc công và vũ nữ  chàm (Thái văn Kiểm:64). Có thể nói là từ đó âm nhạc cung đình có mang nhiều yếu tố Chiêm Thành.

Năm 1069, vua Lý Thánh Tông truyền lệnh cho các nhạc công ở  triều đình soạn  ra  một  loại âm điệu  chậm đẩy đưa  và than khóc buồn bã theo lối người  Chàm gọi là Chiêm Thành Âm. Sau đó  dưới  thời Lý Cao Tôn về sau thì có các «Điệu Nam (Airs des Méridionaux) »  như  Hà Giang Nam,  Ai Giang Nam, Nam Thương vân vân.. Còn có một nhạc cụ thường gọi  là «Trống Cơm » hay « Phạn sĩ »  mà dân ta dùng  theo An Nam chí lược của Lê Tắc thì cũng của dân tộc Chàm. Còn phần nghệ thuật  điêu khắc thì  dưới hai triều Lý và Trần, dân Việt ta  sống chịu ảnh hưởng phương nam rất nhiều để tạo ra những hiện vật như đầu rồng thời  Lý Trần  tựa như đầu rồng makara  hay  con vịt xiêm (con ngan), ngỗng thần Hamsa  của Champa chẳng hạn được tìm thấy trong hoàng thành Thăng Long từ mái ngói, đầu hồi đến hoa văn trên chén bát (Hồ Trung Tú:264). 

Một yếu tố Chàm khác  thời nhà Lý  được trông thấy trong lãnh vực kiến trúc mà ít ai để ý là các chùa thời đó hay thường có bình đồ hình vuông, tựa như khuôn mẫu của các tháp Chàm (kalan). Chùa Diên Hựu (tức là chùa Một Cột)  ban đầu gồm có vỏn vẹn  một gian chính điện vuông vức 3 thước  và một cửa duy nhất  ra vào như tháp chàm, được dựng trên một cột có chiều cao 4  thước  tính từ măt nước.  Còn  các khúc đò đưa ở vùng ven biển như hò mái nhì hay hò máy đẩy tất cả đều có ảnh hưởng của người  Chàm cả. Cố giáo sư Trần Văn Khê  nhận thấy các  bài hát đò đưa của người Huế và các bài hát Pelog của người Chà Và (Nam Dương)  có cùng môt giai điệu. Ông kết luận rằng sau nhiều thế kỷ giao lưu, nhạc Việt đã nhuộm màu chàm.Theo nhà nghiên cứu Charles J.C. MacDonald (CNRS Marseille) tục lệ thờ cá ông là một đặc tính của người Việt ở vùng ven biến miền Trung  chớ ở miền Bắc thì không có tục lệ  nầy nhưng cho đến giờ các nhà học giả Việt như Thái Văn Kiểm, Trần văn Phước hay Trần Hàm Tấn thì nghĩ rằng đây là một tập quán của người Chàm mà người Việt tiếp nhận đấy.

Nhờ các yếu tố chàm nầy, văn hóa Việt trở nên phong phú và đa dạng vì ngoài văn hóa Việt-Mường (Bách Việt), nó còn được thừa hưởng ít nhiều, từ  thời kỳ dựng nước, các tâp tục  đến từ hai nền văn hoá cổ đại: Ấn Độ và Trung Hoa.

Dans le folklore vietnamien, en parlant de la princesse Huyền Trân (jaïs de jade), le peuple vietnamien  déplore non seulement le  sort qui lui a été réservé mais aussi la promesse du roi Trần Nhân Tôn  d’accorder la main de sa fille au roi cham Chế Mân (Jaya Simhavarman III) durant son voyage spécial à la capitale  Vijaya (Bình Định) à travers la chanson populaire suivante :

Tiếc thay cây quế giữa rừng, 
để cho thằng Mán, thằng Mường nó leo.

C’est regrettable de laisser un Mán ou un Mừờng  grimper  sur le cannelier au milieu de la forêt.

Pourtant nous ne savons pas que le fondateur de la secte « Forêt de bambous » était un homme politique talentueux d’une grande perspicacité voulant  étendre son territoire dans le sud et entretenir de bonnes relations de voisinage dans la lutte contre le danger venant du Nord. Grâce au soutien apporté par le royaume  Đại Việt dans le blocage du passage terrestre, l’armée des Yuan perdait la bataille pour la deuxième fois en attaquant le Champa sous le commandement du vaillant roi Chế Mân avec 20 000 soldats. Quant à Chế Mân, les deux provinces Châu Ô et Châu Ri  n’étaient pas entièrement sous son contrôle  car leurs habitants avaient fui vers la forêt ou  vers des endroits où le gouvernement cham exerçait pleinement encore son autorité, les trois autres  provinces  Bố Chinh, Ma Linh et Địa Lý étant cédées depuis longtemps au roi Lý Thánh Tôn par le roi cham Chế Củ (Rudravarman III)  en échange de la paix et de sa libération. Maintenant, en cédant encore deux autres provinces Châu Ô et Châu Ri, il  lui parut difficile de parler à son peuple, d’autant plus qu’il était le héros de la nation chame ayant eu réussi à gagner la victoire contre l’armée des Yuan.

Le mariage de Huyền Trân était une excellente solution pour la situation politique de l’époque. Cet événement démontre également le recours à la méthode de la « non-violence » du fondateur de « Forêt de bambou » pour résoudre les conflits dans le bouddhisme selon le journal  vietnamien Giác Ngộ, mais personne ne s’attend à la mort subite du roi  obligeant Huyền Trân à l’accompagner et à mourir avec lui au bûcher funéraire selon la coutume chame. Selon le chercheur Po Dharma, il s’agit bien d’une mise en scène de l’histoire du sauvetage organisé de Huyền Trân et de la promesse non tenue de la dynastie  des Trần, ce qui a transformé cet incident en une profonde discorde entre les deux peuples, menant ainsi au déclin du royaume de Champa quelques  siècles plus tard avec la victoire  fulgurante du roi Lê Thánh Tông dans la citadelle Đồ Bàn (Vijaya).

Cette chanson populaire  ironique est-elle  vraie ou non? La  culture chame est-elle suffisamment médiocre pour que les gens la méprisent ainsi? Nous devons également savoir qui ils sont, d’où ils viennent avec les pratiques d’une culture différente portant des éléments culturels et  traditionnels propres à l’Inde. Les temples et les tours qu’ils possédaient sur la côte centrale actuelle  s’étalaient sur  plus de 1000 kilomètres avec des statues de dieux d’une religion étrange et différente. Bien  qu’ils fussent  en ruine ou intacts, ils  étaient toujours  des menaces invisibles profondément ancrées dans l’esprit de notre peuple comme les statues de Brahma, Shiva, Visnu, ce qui a crée plus ou moins d’anxiété, de confusion et de peur comme  c’est le cas du Seigneur Tiên (Nguyễn Hoàng) qui était  chargé de gouverner le territoire  de Thuận Hóa (Binh Trị Thiên) à Đàng Trong, une région lointaine, aride et dangereuse.

Tới đây đất nước lạ lùng   
Con chim kêu cũng sợ, con cá vẫy vùng cũng lo.

Voici un lieu bien étrange
Un cri d’oiseau m ‘effraie autant que le frétillement d’un poisson dans le ruisseau.

C’est pourquoi, selon l’abbé Léopold Cadière, afin de pouvoir  rassurer l’âme et gagner la paix, notre peuple n’hésite pas à introduire les sites culturels chams dans son monde de croyance religieuse et à les transformer en lieux de culte comme la Pagode de la Dame céleste (Thiên Mụ), le palais Hòn Chén, le temple Po Nagar etc.

Tout au long du voyage jusqu’à Thuận Hóa, le groupe des fidèles et des hommes de confiance  de Nguyễn Hoàng était tous originaires de Thanh Hóa et intégrés à celui de  Nghệ An lors de la première migration au 14ème siècle lorsque les provinces  Châu Ô et Châu Rí appartenaient au  royaume Đai Việt. Les habitants de Thuận Hóa étaient appelés à cette époque sous le nom « peuple Thanh Nghệ » (Thanh Hóa-Nghệ An). Étant partis sans connaître la date de retour, ils  devaient endurer dès lors toutes les épreuves et les souffrances. Mais,  ayant raffermi la volonté d’un aventurier dans un pays étranger, parfois, ils pouvaient se consoler.  C’est pourquoi il y a donc une chanson populaire teintée de  philosophie comme suit:

Măn giang nấu cá ngạnh nguồn,
Tới đây nên phải bán buồn mua vui.

Rien, ne vaut les pousses de bambou sauvage cuites avec la petite silure,
Une fois qu’on est sur les lieux, il faut bien vendre la tristesse en échange d’un peu d’espérance.

Étant arrivés les premiers, les habitants de Thanh Nghệ n’étaient pas nombreux dans la région actuelle de Quảng Tri. Ils étaient contraints de vivre en harmonie avec les Chams restés sur place. Au début, Nguyễn Hoàng parlait encore avec un accent du Nord, mais au fil de quelques générations seulement, ses héritiers et résidents étaient influencés  par l’environnement social issu de la  mixité des deux peuples, surtout à l’époque de la rupture des relations et des échanges commerciaux en prenant la rivière Gianh comme frontière entre Đàng Trong et Đàng Ngoài et  surtout après la construction du rempart Thầy (Trường Dục) de Đào Duy Từ, ce qui  leur a donné un ton particulier, reconnaissable  aux habitants de Quảng Bình et Quảng Trị.

Selon l’érudit Thái Văn Kiểm, l’accent de Huế  s’est formé plus tard lorsque le seigneur Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên (seigneur Sãi), a décidé de transférer la capitale au village de Phước Yên, district de Quang Điền et le seigneur Thượng (Nguyễn Phước Lan) au village de Kim Long en 1636. Grâce à l’interaction de deux cultures anciennes, Việt Mường (Thanh Hóa et Nghệ An) et Chàm, on voit apparaître  un nouveau mode de vie axé sur l’alimentation (manger épicé, pâte de crevette, pissalat etc. ), le traitement des maladies avec des plantes médicinales du sud, la cultivation du riz cham, la construction des bateaux  avec le modèle  cham (thuyền bầu) pour faire du commerce en mer, la gestion de l’eau et la  construction des digues le long des rivières et  l’utilisation dans les beaux-arts,  des cinq couleurs les plus distinctives parmi lesquelles  figure  le violet, une couleur qui ne provoque pas d’émotions tristes  et que les femmes cham  aiment et utilisent encore aujourd’hui. Ce sont les nouvelles caractéristiques de la communauté Việt-Chàm que l’on voit souvent à Binh Trị Thiên et que l’on appelle désormais l’identité de Huế.

Selon l’historien américain Michael Vickery, en se basant sur l’analyse linguistique comparée, on sait que les Cham étaient venus de l’île de Bornéo par voie maritime à la fin du premier millénaire avant J.C. Leur langue appartenait aux langues austronésiennes. Ils s’installaient souvent dans des endroits propices au transport de marchandises sur le fleuve. Connus sous le nom de Vikings de l’Asie du Sud-Est, ils avaient l’habitude de semer le trouble en mer  en pillant les bateaux dans la région côtière la plus méridionale du district de Nhật Nam dépendant directement de  l’administration de Giao Châu (pays des Vietnamiens)  lorsque ce dernier était encore annexé par les Chinois. Selon l’observation de l’archéologue vietnamien Ngô Văn Doanh, ils préféraient vivre souvent dans des plaines côtières situées entre trois versants de hautes montagnes et un versant menant à la mer, le tout doté d’une ou plusieurs forteresses.

En s’appuyant sur les documents historiques chinois et des inscriptions épigraphiques, on sait que le pays Lâm Ấp (Lin Yi)  s’est transformé en royaume de Champa (Champapura) dès le début du VIIème  siècle avec Simhapura (Trà Kiệu) comme capitale. C’est grâce au nom Champapura que l’on peut deviner que le Champa est un royaume composé de plusieurs cités-états (pura). Il est en quelque sorte une fédération de nombreuses cités-états. La cité-état  la plus puissante est choisie pour assumer  le rôle de « leader » (rôle principal) et devient ainsi Champapura (la capitale du Champa).  La dynastie de cette cité-état  contrôle ainsi  tout le royaume  du Champa.

Selon l’archéologue Trần Quốc Vượng, les Chams avaient l’habitude de se servir du modèle culturel suivant constitué toujours de 3 parties: sanctuaire (montagne), citadelle (capitale) et port ( centre économique ) dans leur cité. C’est ce type de modèle qu’on a vu se répéter dans chaque cité-état cham de Quảng Trị jusqu’à Bình Thuận. D’après l’observation de l’archéologue Trần Kỳ Phương, les cités-états  qui ont édifié des sites religieux grandioses doivent être capables de mobiliser  une ressource humaine nécessaire qu’elles peuvent nourrir  avec un potentiel économique possible. Les Chams sont orientés généralement vers le commerce maritime car leurs terres arables  trouvées   dans les vallées du littoral du centre du Vietnam sont très limitées.

Combien de fois l’histoire de l’humanité a-t-elle démontré qu’une civilisation supérieure a un effet transformateur sur une civilisation inférieure? La Rome ancienne plus puissante, au moment de sa conquête, était soumise à l’influence de la civilisation grecque. De même, les Mongols ou les Mandchous, au moment de leur conquête en Chine étaient assimilés ensuite par cette dernière. Notre royaume Đại Việt ne faisait pas exception non plus. Étant habitué à dénigrer et à mépriser les Chams (ou les Mans), notre Đại Việt pouvait-il avoir quelque chose dans cette conquête?  Il recevait beaucoup de choses lors de l’expédition  militaire punitive du roi Lê Đại Hành au Champa en 982. Pour rehausser son prestige et célébrer sa victoire, il fit revenir non seulement un moine indien (Thiên Trúc) qui se trouvait au monastère de Đồng Dương (Quảng Nam actuel ) mais aussi une centaine de musiciens et danseuses (Thai Van. Kiem:64). On peut dire que depuis lors, la musique royale comportait de nombreux éléments du Champa. En 1069, le roi Lý Thánh Tông ordonna aux musiciens de la cour de composer une sorte de mélodie lente et triste, dans le style du peuple cham appelé Chiêm Thành Âm. Puis, sous le règne de Ly Cao Ton, il y eut des « Rimes du Sud (Airs des Méridionaux) » comme Ha Giang Nam, Ai Giang Nam, Nam Thuong etc. Il y avait aussi un instrument de musique  cham appelé «Tambour de riz » ou « Phạn sĩ » que notre peuple utilise  fréquemment, selon le livre intitulé « Annam chí lược (Archives abrégées de Lê Tắc).  

Quant à la sculpture,  les Vietnamiens vivaient sous l’influence méridionale du Sud pour créer des artefacts tels que la tête d’un dragon de la dynastie Lý-Trần ressemblant à celle d’un dragon makara ou le canard siamois (vịt siêm) à l’oie Hamsa du Champa par exemple, le tout étant retrouvé dans la citadelle impériale Thăng Long sur les toits de tuiles et les pignons des bâtiments jusqu’aux motifs décorés sur les bols (Hồ Trung Tú:264).  Un autre élément cham de la dynastie des Lý que l’on observe dans le domaine de l’architecture et auquel peu de gens prêtent attention c’est que les pagodes de cette époque avaient souvent des plans carrés, semblables au modèle  des tours chams (kalan). La pagode Diên Hựu (la pagode au pilier unique) se composait à l’origine d’un  hall principal carré de 3 mètres seulement et d’une seule entrée semblable à celle d’une tour chame, érigée sur une colonne de 4 mètres de haut au-dessus de la surface de l’eau.Quant aux barcarolles de la région côtière comme le chant de la deuxième rame (hò mái nhì) ou chant de la rame propulsive (hò mái đẩy), elles ont tous reçu l’influence chame. Selon le professeur musicologue Trân Văn Khê, les chants des bateliers de Huế (ou barcarolles) et les chants de Pelog  de Java (Indonésie) présentent tous deux la même ligne mélodique. Il a conclu qu’après des siècles d’échanges, la musique vietnamienne était teintée de la couleur cham. Selon  le chercheur Charles J.C. MacDonald (CNRS Marseille), le culte de la baleine est considérée comme une caractéristique typique trouvée chez les Vietnamiens vivant le long de la côte du Centre et du Sud Vietnam car les gens du Nord ne l’ont pas eu. Certains érudits vietnamiens tels que Thái Văn Kiểm, Trần văn Phước ou Trần Hàm Tấn ont confirmé que ce culte appartient aux Chams.

Grâce  ces éléments chams,  la culture vietnamienne est devenue riche et diversifiée car outre  la culture Việt-Mường (Bai Yue), elle a hérité aussi plus ou moins, depuis la fondation du pays,  des traditions issues des  deux anciennes cultures:  l’Inde et la Chine.

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Bibliographie

Thái Văn Kiểm: Việt Nam quang hoa Editeur Xuân Thu, USA
Georges Cœdès: Cổ sử các quốc gia Ấn Độ Hóa ở Viễn Đông. NXB Thế Giới năm 2011
Pierre-Yves Manguin: L’introduction de l’islam au Champa. Études chames II. BEFEO. Vol 66 pp 255-287. 1979
Pierre-Yves Manguin: Une relation ibérique du Champa en 1595. Études chames IV. BEFEO  vol 70 pp. 253-269
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Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư. Nhà xuất bản Thời Đại. Năm 2013.
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Nguyễn văn Kự- Ngô văn Doanh: Du khảo văn hóa Chăm.  Viện nghiên cứu Đông Nam Á. 2004

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Hoa này có ý nghĩa tượng trưng mạnh mẽ đối với người Hindu và Phật giáo, vì thế nó được gọi là hoa ở các đền thờ. Có lẽ đó là lý do tại sao người Chàm yêu mến loài hoa này và xem nó là biểu tượng của đất nước họ vào thời nước Chiêm Thành còn là một quốc gia chịu nhiều ảnh hưởng  Ấn Độ độc lập ở miền trung Việt Nam ngày nay. Khi người dân Việt  và vua Lê Thánh Tôn chiếm đất nước này, người Chàm buộc  lòng phải  phân tán ở Đông Dương, đặc biệt là ở Lào và Cao Mên, mang theo cây này. Hoa này được người Lào gọi là Dork Champa để tượng trưng cho hoa bị người Chàm bỏ rơi. Người Lào sau đó đã sử dụng nó cho quốc gia của họ khi  họ  thành lập được nước cùng Thái Lan và từ đó trở thành hoa biểu tượng của đất nước họ. Ban đầu được gọi là Plumeria để vinh danh nhà thực vật học người Pháp thế kỷ 17 Charles Plumier, hoa này được gọi sau đó hoa Frangipani, được đặt theo tên của một  hầu tước người Ý Đại Lợi  Frangipani, người đã tạo ra một loại nước hoa từ  quả hạnh nhân.

Hoa Sứ

Version française

La fleur de frangipanier a une symbolique forte chez les hindous et bouddhistes d’où son nom de fleur des temples. C’est peut-être  pour cette raison que les gens du Champa adorent cette fleur et la prennent  comme le symbole de leur pays à l’époque où le Champa était encore un pays indianisé indépendant dans le centre du Vietnam d’aujourd’hui. Lors de l’annexion de ce pays par les Vietnamiens avec le roi Lê Thánh Tôn, les Chams furent dispersés en Indochine en particulier au Laos et au Cambodge en emmenant avec eux cette plante. Cette fleur  était appelée Dork Champa par les Laotiens pour signifier la fleur abandonnée par les Chams.   Les Laotiens la reprennent  plus tard  pour leur compte lors de la formation de leur pays avec la Thaïlande  et  la font devenir désormais  la fleur emblématique de leur pays. Connue au départ  sous le nom de Plumeria  en l’honneur du botaniste français du 17^ème siècle Charles Plumier,  cette fleur devient après, la fleur du frangipanier en prenant le nom d’un marquis italien Frangipani  qui a crée un parfum  à base d’amande.

English version

The frangipani flower has a strong symbolism among Hindus and Buddhists, hence its name as the temple flower. It is perhaps for this reason that the people of Champa adore this flower and take it as the symbol of their country at the time when Champa was still an independent Indianized country in what is now central Vietnam. During the annexation of this country by the Vietnamese under King Lê Thánh Tôn, the Chams were dispersed throughout Indochina, particularly to Laos and Cambodia, bringing this plant with them. This flower was called Dork Champa by the Laotians to signify the flower abandoned by the Chams. The Laotians later adopted it for themselves during the formation of their country with Thailand, making it now the emblematic flower of their country. Originally known as Plumeria in honor of the 17th-century French botanist Charles Plumier, this flower later became known as the frangipani flower, taking the name of an Italian marquis, Frangipani, who created an almond-based perfume.

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