Kalan (temple)

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Kalan in Mỹ Sơn

The Kalan is a tower-like main shrine of the Hindu temple complex in the Kingdom of Champa , which once spread over large parts of what is now Vietnam and was under the cultural influence of India . The Kalan is dedicated to the cult of kings and their holy protectors. In most cases, the kalan was used by priests for ritual ceremonies.

history

The Kingdom of Champa ruled central and southern Vietnam until the 15th century, leaving behind notable towers serving as sanctuaries as well as large, powerful stone statues.

Many temples were damaged in the US bombing during the Vietnam War , and individual structures were destroyed.

The temples of the seven architectural ensembles that can still be visited today are Unesco World Heritage Sites and tourist attractions.

architecture

Wall of a kalan with blind doors

The Kalan is the main building of a Cham temple complex. It is located within an enclosure wall and is surrounded by towers and outbuildings. The Kalan, like other structures in the temple complex, was built from bricks, the quality of which is unsurpassed to this day. The bricks are light, somewhat porous and have a special strength, the stones sit almost seamlessly on one another. Presumably the outer stones of the wall were laid first. The builders used very little binding agent for this. However, more binder was used inside the wall. In the end, the walls were about 80-160 cm thick. In order to permanently seal the joints, the entire structure was burned again. The binder consisted of the resin from the Yang tree. This was heated and mixed with brick dust and ground clams. Sandstone was used for lintels, reliefs and sculptures.

The kalan is square and has no windows. There is one open real door and three blind doors. The outer wall of the Kalan is usually richly decorated and the roof is said to have been covered with gold in the past. The main temple is divided into three parts : The platform, bhurloka , stands for the human world. The square central building bhurvaloka is considered a place of spiritual union between God and man. The three-step tip, called svarloka , is a symbol of the seat of the gods.

Kalan and other buildings in a temple complex

The entrance mostly faces east towards the rising sun. Certain kalans face west or both east and west (e.g. the kalans in Mỹ Sơn ). Inside the Kalan is the main statue or the linga itself. They rest on the Snanadroni, a north-facing shallow basin with a spout, the Somasutra. During the washing of the statue or the linga, the various liquids are caught in the Snanadroni (in the case of a Linga it is called Yoni ) and flow out of the Kalan via the Somasutra, where they are accepted by the believers as holy liquids.

When you leave the actual Kalan, you come to a forecourt in which the bull Nandin is to the left, always lying down and with his head facing the deity-Snanadroni or Linga-Yoni.

The way to the Kalan leads through the Gopura, the entrance pavilion with a west-east orientation, which is usually built in the form of a tower. This is followed by the mandapa , the meditation hall, which is usually designed as an elongated columned hall. The mandapa is a brick building with multiple windows and two doors to the east and west. It was used for meditation and prayers before the ritual ceremony in the Kalan.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Jean-François Hubert: The art of Champa . Parkstone International, 2012, pp. 232 .
  2. ^ A b Catherine Noppe, Jean-François Hubert: Die Kunst Vietnams . Parkstone International, 2018, pp. 272 .
  3. Jump up ↑ The Ruins of My Son . In: Acanthus . May 1, 2016 ( acanthusmagazine.com [accessed November 19, 2018]).
  4. ↑ a b c Stefan Loose: Travel Guide Vietnam: with travel atlas . Dumont Reiseverlag, 2014, p. 728 .