It can be a daunting task to try to look back into ancient history and speculate on what our ancestors were like, how they lived, what gods or goddesses they worshipped. It can be especially difficult to decipher the culture of a civilization which existed as far back as 192, according to Chinese texts (Coedes 1968), in an environment that is notorious for quickly erasing almost all traces of human presence. We are fortunate, however, because there are enough buildings and sculptures that have been found to give us a glimpse into the religious practices of the Cham. The Cham civilization was divided geographically into four regions, Quang-nam, where Dong-duong is located, is considered the Champa holy land (Coedes 1968). The other regions are Amaravati, and south was Vijaya, present day Bihn-dinh, and Pandurang. The evolution of the culture of Champa can be traced through the art and architecture of the Cham ruins and artifacts which have been recovered and interpreted.
Much of the early history of Cham is centered around internal conflict between two tribes or clans, so little information has been found regarding this era. In the northern part of the kingdom were the Dua (coconut) clan, and to the south were the Cau (areca) clan. To settle these internal conflicts, the two tribes began to practice intermarriage. The Cham belong to the Austro-Asian race and the Malayo-Polynesian language family (Phuong 1987). Their written language is a variation of the ancient Sanskrit language of India. The Cham, with more than 77,000 members, are currently one of Vietnam's minority groups, struggling for equality. They still maintain their language, culture, and religious beliefs, despite their diminishing population.
Religious temples and statues are one of the most important sources for evaluating the ancient Kingdom of Champa. For example, we know that their most ancient beliefs is that of a "Mother Goddess." In the Chams case, the goddess is called, Uroja (meaning a woman's breast in the Cham language), her images and those of nipples can be found in many temples and on many sculptures (Phuong 1987). The "Earth Mother" image is an ancient one that ties the people to the soil, and is an agriculturally oriented icon in an agriculturally based society. During the late third century and fourth century, we see an appearance of Hinduism, most notably, the Hindu gods Siva, Brahma, and Vishnu. Siva receives a lot of attention in relieves and sculptures up to the 14th century. Gradually, there is also a rise of Mahayana Buddhism, that didn't really come into any popularity until the ninth century, at which time large Buddhist monasteries were built at Dong Duong.
Cham art can be characterized according to several periods of differing styles. Beginning here with the Early Tra Kieu style which dates to the late seventh century. Sculptures are characterized by graceful human poses and decorations reflecting a civilized culture. Animal sculptures are a hallmark of Cham art as is evidenced by the beautiful carvings of elephants, tigers, and other powerful animals (Phuong 1987). The An My style was popular during the early eighth century and is characterized by a heavy Indian influence. The next time period, the eighth and nineth centuries, called the My Son E1 style, was a sort of renaissance age for Cham art. While accepting Indian influence, Cham art managed to maintain its unique character and spirit. And as Phuong notes, from the 8th century forward, Indian art had no influence on Cham art (Phuong 1987).
In the late nineth and early tenth centuries, King Indravaraman II had taken power and commissioned a large Buddhist monastery to be built in the Quang Nam--Da Nang area. This era also reflected a unification in the style of Cham art throughout the empire (Phuong 1987). This is called the Dong Duong style, partly due to the magnificent Buddhist statues and sculptures found from this era. The next several centuries show slight changes in style, while maintaining the basic flowing lines of Cham art. Most notably, we see a move to free standing statues which reflect more sophisticated thought processes behind these sculptures.
The lack of any real written record of the Cham culture makes the task of learning about these ancient people very difficult. Much of what is known has been learned through comparisons with similar cultures and interpretations of the religious temples and statues that have survived the centuries. As one of the few remaining ancient cultures in the world, it is important to try to preserve the history of these people, and to continue to search the jungles of Vietnam for further evidence of the Cham
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