Southeast Asia

By Sukhjit Kaur Sidhu

Lecture Outline

RELIGIONS ANCIENT KINGDOMS

VERNACULAR
COLONIAL POWER GLOBALIZATION

SOUTHEAST ASIA
Southeast Asia consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia

ASIAN MAINLAND
Mainland section consists of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam;

ISLAND ARCHIPELAGOES
Maritime section consists of Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines & Singapore.

SOUTH EAST ASIA

Religions

overview
The earliest population of Southeast Asia was animist before Hinduism and Buddhism were exported from the Indian subcontinent.

Islam
while

arrived mostly through Indian Muslims and later dominated much of the

archipelago around the 13th

century 16th

Christianity century.

came along when European colonization started around the

RELIGIONS

Basic History

Two categories of Ancient Kingdoms; Agrarian Kingdoms

Main economic activity agriculture. Location mainland Southeast Asia. Ayutthaya kingdom & Khmer Empire.

Maritime States
Main economic activity sea trade. Location Peninsula & Islands. Malacca & Srivijaya.

EMPIRES

Empires Khmer Empire

Angkorian Period
Culture & Society Angkorian Architecture Architectural Examples

Sriwijayan Empire
History Religious Architecture Borobodur

The Khmer Empire

Basic History
largest empire of Southeast Asia, based is current Cambodia. At times ruled over Laos, Thailand & Vietnam. during empires formation, had close relations with Srivijaya Empire. Greatest legacy Angkor, also the capital. Empires official religions Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism & later on, Theravada Buddhism.

68-627
550-802 802-1431

Funan Empire
Chenla Empire Angkor Empire

KHMER EMPIRE

Culture & Society

Ancient depiction
Much of what we know of the ancient Khmers comes from the many stone murals and also first hand accounts from Zhou Daguan. They offer first hand accounts of the 13th century and earlier.

CULTURE & SOCIETY

 The ancient Khmers relied heavily on rice growing. The farmers planted rice near the banks of the Tonl Sap or in the hills when it was flooded. The farms were irrigated by Barays, or giant water reservoirs and canals.

Sugar palm trees, fruit trees and vegetables were grown in the villages.

Fishing gave the population their main source of protein, and was turned into Prahok or dried or roasted or steamed in banana leaves. Rice was the main staple along with fish.

CULTURE & SOCIETY

vernacular
Houses of farmers were situated near the rice paddies on the edge of the cities, the walls were of woven bamboo, thatched roofs and were on stilts. A house was divided into three by woven bamboo walls. One was the parents bedroom, the other was the daughters bedroom and the largest was the living area. The sons slept wherever they could find space. The kitchen was at the back or a separate room.

CULTURE & SOCIETY

Angkorian Period
Brief History Decline & End of Angkor

Brief History
802-850 Jayavarman II (Hindu) Founder of Angkor 790 set up Kambuja (capital Hariharalaya) Declared independence from Sriwijaya & himself devaraja 850-877 877-889 Jayavarman III Indravarman II Built Preah Ko Set up irrigation work 889-900 Yasovarman I Set up Yasodharapura (first city of Angkor) created East Baray 950 First war with Champa

ANGKORIAN PERIOD

Brief History

968-1001

Jayavarman V peaceful set up Jayenanagari his court had philosophers, scholars & artists constructed Bantaey Srei & Ta Keo (sandstone)

1006-1050

Suryavarman I

constructed West Baray

1113-1150 Suryavarman II Built Angkor Wat

1177-1181

Cham Invasion

ANGKORIAN PERIOD

Brief History
1181-1218 Jayavarman VII (Mahayana Buddhist) Regained Yasodharapura defeated Champa 1203 built Angkor Thom constructed Ta Phrom, Banteay Kdei, Neak Pean did extensive networks of streets connected every town of the empire. built 121 rest houses for traders, officials & travellers. built 102 hospitals. 1218-1243 1238 1243-1295 Indravarman II Siam was created Jayavarman VIII (Hindu) destroyed most of Buddhist statues converted Buddhist Temples to Hindu Temples 1295-1307 1352-1357 Indravarman III (Theravada Buddhist) Siam Invasion

ANGKORIAN PERIOD

Neak Pean

ANGKORIAN PERIOD

Ta Phrom

ANGKORIAN PERIOD

Banteay Kdei

ANGKORIAN PERIOD

Decline & The End of Angkor

Factors to the end of the Angkorian period; Therava Buddhism No more devaraja concept end of large buildings dedicated to kings & their gods.

Decline of Harvests
water-management apparatus degenerated lack of workers harvest reduced by floods & drought. Conquered by Thais Ayutthaya became too strong after its break from Kambuja Parallel kingdom in Phnom Penh one line of Khmer kings moved to Phnom Penh transfer of economical & political significance. Costly projects & conflicts of power between the royal family.

ANGKORIAN PERIOD

Angkorian Architecture
Materials Structures Elements

Materials
used brick, sandstone, laterite & wood.

Brick
used for earliest Angkorian temples. decorations were carved into a stucco applied to a brick.

Sandstone
only stone used & obtained from the Kulen Mountains. since it was expensive, it gradually came into use at first used for door frames.

Ta Keo first temple to be constructed entirely by sandstone.

Laterite
a clay that is soft in the ground but hardens under the sun. for foundations & other hidden parts of a building. since surface was uneven, not used for decorative carvings unless first dressed in stucco.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Structures

Central Sanctuary
home to the temples primary deity deity was represented by a statue or a linga. not for public but home of deity only a few metres across. Importance conveyed by;
height of the tower (prasat) above location at the centre of the temple. great decorations on its wall.

Represented Mount Meru (home of the Hindu gods)

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Structures

Enclosure
Khmer temples were enclosed by a series of walls, with the central sanctuary in the middle. this arrangement represented the mountain ranges surrounding Mount Meru. numbered from the centre outwards.

Srah & Baray

reservoirs by excavation. not clear on if they were religious or argricultural, or a combination of both. Largest reservoirs were East Baray & West Baray on either side of Angkor Thom.

West Baray

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Structures

Gallery
a passageway running along the wall of an enclosure or along the axis of a temple, often open to one or both sides.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Structures
Gopura
an entrance building Enclosures surrounding a temple are often constructed with a gopura at each of the four cardinal points. if the wall is constructed with an accompanying gallery, the gallery is sometimes connected to the arms of the gopura. Angkorian gopuras have a tower at the centre. The lintels and pendiments are often decorated, and guardian figures (dvarapalas) are often placed or carved on either side of the doorways.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Structures
Hall of Dancers
found in 12th century under Jayavarman VII a rectangular building elongated on the east axis divided into four parts by galleries. pillars decorated with carving designs of apsaras.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Structures

Library
true purpose unknown.
functioned broadly as religious shrines rather than strictly as repositories for manuscripts. Freestanding buildings normally placed in pairs on either side of entrance.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Structures
Temple Mountain
dominant scheme in Angkorian temples. an architectural representation of Mount Meru. style influenced by Indian Temple architecture. took shape as a pyramid of several levels, & the home of the gods represented by the elevated sanctuary at the centre of the temple.

Bakong

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Elements
Bas-relief
are individual figures, groups of figures, or entire scenes cut into stone walls. depicting stories from history & mythology.

The Battle of Kurukshetra is the subject of this basrelief at Angkor Wat..

This scene from the outer gallery at the Bayon shows Chinese expats negotiating with Khmer merchants at an Angkorean market. A bas-relief in a tympanum at Banteay Sreii shows Indra releasing the rains in an attempt to extinguish the fire created by Agni.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Elements
Blind door & window
Angkorian shrines opened only in one direction, typically to the East. The three other sides featured fake or blind doors to maintain symmetry. Blind windows were often used along otherwise blank walls.

Colonette
narrow decorative columns that serves as supports for the beams or lintels above doorways or windows. depending on the period, they were round, rectangular, or octagonal in shape. were circled with molded rings & decorated with carved leaves.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Elements

Corbelling
used to construct rooms, passageways & openings in buildings. corbelled arch is structural weaker than a true arch. prevented from constructing large openings prone to collapse.
Basic principle

Corbelled arch at the South gate Angkor Thom

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Elements

Lintel, pediment & tympanum

Lintel horizontal beam connecting two vertical columns between which runs a door or a passageway. Pediment roughly triangular structure above a lintel. Tympanum decorated surface of a pediment.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Elements

Stairs
steep. reason is both religious & monumental. Religious reason - stairway to heaven Monumental reason - the building rises with a particular thrust.

ANGKORIAN ARCHITECTURE

Architectural Examples
Angkor Wat Angkor Thom

ARCHITECTURAL EXAMPLES

Angkor Wat

History
built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suyavarman II. for its construction a large part of Yasodharapura had to be cleared. Vrah Vishulok means Vishus abode influenced by the concurrent rise of Vaisnavism in India, he dedicated the temple to Vishnu rather than to Siva.

Portrays Hindu Cosmology Central Towers Mount Meru

Outer Walls Mountains enclosing the world.

The moat primordial Cosmic Ocean: Infinite, limitless & original.

ANGKOR WAT

History

ANGKOR WAT

History

ANGKOR WAT

History

ANGKOR WAT

Structure

entered from the west (Shiavite from east) Garbha-griha used to house statue of Vishnu.

ANGKOR WAT

Structure

A causeway in the form of a raised path leads to the front of the temple compound. terminates at the bottom of an elevated cruciform altar in front of the entrance to the temple.

ANGKOR WAT

Structure

as far as the common people came into Angkor Wat, & the altar was where they made their sacrifices. causeway & altar edged by a balustrade designed as long serpents, reference to Shesha Naga, the celestial serpent with seven heads.

ANGKOR WAT

Structure

Royalty can access the third enclosure through the threeportaled gate. Bas-relief relates stories where the primary symbolic message of Angkor Wat is made clear, namely that Suyarvarman II is a manifestation of Vishnu.

ANGKOR WAT

Structure

one enters into the building proper through the so-called Cruciform Galleries, which are arranged symmetrically to the right & left of the axis.

ANGKOR WAT

Structure

ANGKOR WAT

Structure

Cetral shrine is 56m high. surrounded by 4 smaller corner towers.

ANGKOR WAT

Structure

ANGKOR WAT

Angkor Thom

Site

most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. established in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII. covers area of 9km that includes several monuments from earlier periods as well as those established by Jayavarman & his successors.

The Bayon is Jayavarmans state temple.

earlier temples include former state temple of Baphuan & Phimeanakas (was converted to the royal palace later on.)

ANGKOR THOM

Baphuan

built in mid 11th century. 3 tiered temple mountain dedicated to Hindu God Shiva. In 15th century converted to a Buddhist temple. By the 20th century, most of the temple had collapsed due to unstable land.

ANGKOR THOM

Phimeanakas
Hindu temple built in the end of the 10th century.

Built during the reign of Rajendravar man, then rebuilt by Suryavarman II in the shape of a three tier pyramid.
At the top of the pyramid was a tower.

ANGKOR THOM

Bayon

built in 12th/13th century as the official state temple of Mahayana Buddhist Javarman VII. after his death, modified by later Hindu & Theravada buddhist kings. Distinctive feature multitude of serene & massive stone faces.
Plan of Bayon

Last state temple to be built in Angkor.

Only Angkorian state temple to be built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist shrine dedicated to Buddha.

ANGKOR THOM

Bayon

ANGKOR THOM

Bayon

ANGKOR THOM

Sriwijayan Empire

Basic History Proof of existance Formation & Growth

Decline
The lost Kingdom

Basic History

ancient Malay Kingdom on the island of Sumatra. influenced much of Malay Archipelago. coastal trading centre.

SRIWIJAYAN EMPIRE

Proof of Existence
Kedudukan Bukit Inscription.
founded by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa

Chinese monk, I-Tsing

travelled to Srivijaya from Nalanda, India. praised high level of Buddhism in Srivijaya.

SRIWIJAYAN EMPIRE

Formation & Growth

Around the year 500, Srivijayan roots began to develop around presentday Palembang, Sumatra. Organized in 3 zones;
capital region centred on Palembang. The Musi River. Rival areas.

Jayanasa
the Melayu Kingdom(Jambi) became the first kingdom to be integrated into the Srivijayan empire. Empire grew to control the trade of the straits of Malacca, the South China Sea.

SRIWIJAYAN EMPIRE

Formation & Growth

Dharmasetu
In the 7th century, Cham ports started to attract traders diverted flow of trade from Srivijaya. The Srivijians continued to dominate areas around present-day Cambodia until the Khmer King Jayavarman II severed links.

Samaratungga

did not indulge in military expansion oversaw the construction of Borobodur.

By the twelth century, the kingdom included parts of Sumatra, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, Western Java, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, Borneo & the Philippines.

SRIWIJAYAN EMPIRE

Decline
Chola raids
In 1025, conquered Kedah from Srivijaya. Continued raids for 20 years. gravely weakened the Srivijian hegemony.

Shift of Powers
frequently shifted between Jambi & Palembang. The Chola expedition as well as changing trade routes weakened Palembang, allowing Jambi to take the leadership of Srivijaya from the 11th century on.

Majapahit attack on Srivijaya. Musi River

sedimentation on the Musi river cut the kingdoms capital off from direct sea access.

By 1402 Parameswara (the great-great grandson of Raden Wijaya, the first king of Majapahit), the last prince of Srivijaya founded the Sultanate of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula.

SRIWIJAYAN EMPIRE

The Lost Kingdom

After Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten, historians did not know of its existance. No modern Indonesian, not even of the Palembang area around which the kingdom was based had heard of Srivijaya until the 1920s. Around 1992 & 1993, Pierre-yves Manguin proved that the centre of Srivijaya was along the Musi River.

SRIWIJAYAN EMPIRE

Religious Architecture

Basic History

most significant buildings developed in Java. Javanese style fostered with Hindu & Buddhist architecture. Candi temple/stupa. mostly used bricks. Dieng Plateau (Abode of the Gods)
originally numbered as many as 400, only 8 remain today.
small & relatively plain.

Prambanan
largest & finest example of Hindu architecture in Java.

Characterized by its tall & pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture.

Borobodur

SRIWIJAYAN EMPIRE

Borobodur

Basic History

ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Borobudur was built on a bedrock hill, area known as Kedu Plain. a shrine to the Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. a theory that Kedu Plain was once a lake & Borobodur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake.

BOROBODUR

Construction

Borobudur was likely founded around 800 AD. construction estimated to have taken 75 years. Approximately 55,000m of stones were taken from neighbouring rivers to build the monument. The stone was cut to size, transported to the site & laid without mortar. relief's were created in-situ after the building had been completed.

BOROBODUR

Structure
built as a single large stupa. It has nine platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform features seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa.

BOROBODUR

Structure
Each stupa is bell-shaped & pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures.

BOROBODUR

Structure

The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology. During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways & corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall & the balustrades.

BOROBODUR

Structure

equipped with a good drainage system to cater for the area's high storm water run-off. to avoid inundation, 100 spouts are provided at each corner with a unique carved gargoyles in the shape of giants or makaras.

BOROBODUR

Structure
In 1885, a hidden structure under the base was accidentally discovered. The hidden foot contains reliefs, 160 of which are narrative describing the real Kamadhatu (the world of desire) It was first thought that the real base had to be covered to prevent a disastrous subsidence of the monument through the hill. Another theory that the encasement base was added because the original hidden foot was incorrectly designed, according to Vastu Shastra.

BOROBODUR

Abandonment

lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash & jungle growth. The facts behind its abandonment remain a mystery. popular belief that the temples were disbanded when the population converted to Islam in the fifteenth century.

BOROBODUR

Rediscovery
Following the Anglo-Dutch Java War, Java was under British administration from 1811 to 1816. The appointed governor was Lieutenant Governor-General Thomas Stamford Raffles, who took great interest in the history of Java. On an inspection tour to Semarang in 1814, he was informed about a big monument deep in a jungle near the village of Bumisegoro. sent H.C Cornelius, a Dutch engineer, to investigate. In two months, Cornelius & his 200 men cut down trees, burned down vegetation & dug away the earth to reveal the monument.

The first photograph of Borobodur by Isidore van Kinsbergen (1873) after the monument was cleared up.

BOROBODUR

The End