Interpreting Southeast Asia's Past: Monument, Image and Text

Chapter 7: Recasting the Sacred Heroes: A New Discovery of Sculptural Epic Narration from Ancient Champa

85 Chapter 7 Recasting the Sacred Heroes: A New Discovery of Sculptural Epic Narration from Ancient Champa Cecelia Levin Abstract The relief sculpture programs adorning the Hindu and Buddhist temples of Southeast Asia were an integral element of these monuments’ schema. In addition to enhancing religious credos and defining spiritual cosmologies, they often served as multivalent metaphors to express principles of worldly authority and aesthetic ideals. In the Spring of 2001 the foundation bases of three previously excavated temples were discovered at the early tenth-century Cham site of Khuong My in Quang Nam Province of Central Vietnam (Figure 7.1). The southern temple foundation revealed the remains of an extraordinary Fig 7.1 View of the three kalans at Khuong My. (Photograph by Tran Ky Phuong) series of sculptural narratives of the renowned Hindu epic, the Rāmāyan .a. Among them was a significant episode from the Sundarakān .d .a — the confrontation between Rāvana and Sītā in the Aśoka Garden — that had previously defied any visual interpretation within the known sculptural relief repertory in both South and Southeast Asia. Through an analysis of this novel example of Cham visual narration — one that employs comparisons with contemporaneous material from Classical Java and South India — the previously held contention citing evident links between Cham and Javanese artistic traditions dissolves; it is replaced by the belief that connections with those of the early Cōl .as of South India 07 ISEA.indd 85 6/6/08 9:41:21 AM 86 CECELIA LEVIN were even stronger. Moreover, a study of the Vāl .mīki text associated with this episode, combined with a recognition of its literary significance and that of its characters, reveals that its undercurrents may have particularly resonated with Cham traditional culture. As a result of this compelling new discovery, light may now be shed on other works of art, and one ascertains that the era of Khuong My marks the beginning of especial Southeast Asian conventions and preferences that were unique to the region’s cultural traditions. In the Spring of 2001 the archaeological service of Quang Nam Province in Central Vietnam commenced its restoration of the three baked brick kalans (sanctuary towers) of the Khuong My Temple Group, a site located 40 km southeast of Mỹ Sơn. These kalans are arranged in a north-south alignment, diminishing in size from the southernmost to the northernmost structure. While this orientation suggests a lack of adherence to the standards set for Hindu temple complexes, it is not an unusual order for Cham religious shrines. At the base of the southern kalan, along its south side and at a depth of approximately 100 cm under the ground’s surface, the archaeologists unearthed a number of sculptural reliefs executed in sandstone that belonged to a foundation originally measuring roughly 90 cm in height (Figure 7.2). Formerly unknown and possibly hidden from view for centuries, these sculptural friezes were carved with images of human figures, monkeys, deer, arboreal forms, and architectural motifs, forming compositions that incontestably suggest their narrative nature (Nguyen 2001: 41–2) (Figure 7.3). Fig 7.3 Detail of the newly-discovered foundation reliefs from the southern kalan of Khuong My. (Photograph by Nguyen Hong Kien) Fig 7.2 The three kalans of Khuong My. (After Tran 2004: 66) 07 ISEA.indd 86 6/6/08 9:41:22 AM 87 A NEW DISCOVERY OF SCULPTURAL EPIC NARRATION FROM ANCIENT CHAMPA The inclusion of a multi-headed male figure as well as the depiction of a noble warrior in pursuit of a deer are clear cues that these stones told the story of the great and sacred epic, the Rāmāyan .a. Moreover, they relate some of the high points of the story, including ‘The Sighting and Pursuit of the Golden Deer’; ‘The Abduction of Sītā, and ‘The Intervention of Jat .āyu’ (Figures 7.4, 7.5). The series also recreates the search of Rāma and Laks .man .a for the kidnapped princess. Fig 7.4 ‘The Sighting of the Golden Deer’ from the Rāmāyan .a reliefs of Khuong My. (Photograph by Nguyen Hong Kien) Fig 7.5 ‘The Pursuit of the Golden Deer’ and ‘The Abduction of Sītā’ from the Rāmāyan .a reliefs of Khuong My. (Photograph by Nguyen Hong Kien) 07 ISEA.indd 87 6/6...