History of Buriram Province

Buriram Province

Buriram is one of the north-eastern provinces ( changwat ) of Thailand . Neighboring provinces are (from south clockwise) Sa Kaeo , Nakhon Ratchasima , Khon Kaen , Maha Sarakham and Surin . To the south-east it borders Oddar Meancheay of Cambodia . The name Buri Ram means City of happiness .

Geography

Buriram is located at the southern end of the Khorat Plateau , with several extinct volcanoes around the province.

History

Almost a thousand years ago the present- day Buriram area was evidently subdued to Khmer Empire as many ruins from that time are still visible there. The biggest of them on an extinct volcano is protected in the Phanom Rung historical park . According to the inscription found, her ruler recognized the hegemony of Khmer Empire's king. Before the foundation of Bangkok, little was known about her. From early Bangkok Period, in the early nineteenth century, the town originally called Muang Pae, was renamed 'Buriram'. Then she became under Thai rule. After the administrative reform in the late nineteenth century, Buriram was incorporated into Siam or late Thailand as a province

Demographics

Officially, Thai is widely spoken while 42% of the population still speak northern Khmerdialect (Khmer Language or official language of Cambodia ) in everyday life.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the Phanom Rung sandstone castle, a Hindu shrine of the Shivaite sect. The monument was in use from the 9th till the 12th century when the Khmer Empire was overthrown from Ayutthaya. It is now a historic park.

The provincial flower is the Yellow Cotton Tree Cochlospermum regium .

The provincial tree is the Pink Shower ( Cassia grandis).

The provincial slogan is The city of sandstone sanctuaries, the land of volcanoes, beautiful silk and rich culture

Administrative divisions

The province is subdivided into 23 districts ( Amphoe ). The districts are further subdivided into 188 subdistricts ( tambon ) and 2546 villages ( muban ).

1. Mueang Buriram 2. Khu Mueang 3. Krasang 4. Nang Rong 5. Nong Ki 6. Lahan Sai 7. Prakhon Chai 8. Ban Kruat 9. Phutthaisong 10. Lam Plai Mat 11. Satuek 12. Pakham 13. Na Pho 14. Nong Hong 15. Phlapphla Chai 16. Huai Rat 17. Non Suwan 18. Chamni 19. Ban Mai Chaiyaphot 20. Non Din Daeng 21. Ban Dan 22. Khaen Dong 23. Chaloem Phra Kiat

Architecture (สถาปัตยกรรม)

Architecture (สถาปัตยกรรม) of Phnom Rung

THAILAND RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE PERIODS
Khmer Period
9 th to 13 th century
Stone temple complexes, Prasats, in the northeast of Thailand, were built by the Khmers. Moat have stone-lined staircases or bridges that lead to a central sanctuary. The sanctuaries were usually decorated with carved stone reliefs depicting Hindu myths, which were topped by Prangs (towers).
Prasat Hin Khao Phnom Rung and Prasat Hin Phinai are two of such architecture.

By this time these Cambodians were no longer Hindu, but Buddhists who had lost their Khmer heritage. So it remained until French colonialists re-discovered Angkor's ruins in 1860. The Khmer ruins and art in Thailand and Cambodia are more than a pile of rocks and mortar with unusual art objects. They reflect a belief system, the remains of which are apparent everywhere today in South East Asia and confirm the level of understanding the Khmers had 1000 years ago about astrology and the impact of the planets on daily life, mathematics and mythological concepts.Many Thai architectural forms are adopted from Khmer heritage, such as the Phrang, and many mythological animals are also adopted, the Garuda, the Naga, Kala etc.

Khmer Art In I ‘san, Cosmology And Architecture
Khmer religious Temples were built to demonstrate on earth the divine nature or order of the Universe as proclaimed by the Hindu religion. The monuments were the earthly embodiment of the cosmos, a microcosm of that belief. At Temples such as Phimai and Phnom Rung, the Central sanctuary tower [ prang ] represents in stone and architectural design, Mount Meru, at the center of the Hindu perceived universe.The various decorative and strange figures that ornament the tower represent the various inhabitants of the many levels on Mount Meru. The stone galleries that encircle the tower represent the surrounding ranges. The ponds and moats around and within the complex represent the cosmic ocean on which the universe rests. At Phimai the outer rectangular wall represents the boundary wall that encircles the universe.The temple complex was designed to be seen from above, before man could fly, and for the Gods to view and to so demonstrate that here on earth we replicated in stone the divine order of the cosmos, ensuring harmony between the world of man and the world of Gods.

Astro-archaeological Phenomenon at Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung Astrologers have also predicted that an extraordinary astro-archaeological phenomenon will occur at sunrise during the April 3-5 period this year. The doors of the temple sanctuary are so perfectly aligned that during this period, at sunrise on a cloudless day with clear blue skies, the sun’s rays will shine through all fifteen doorways of the sanctuary in a single shaft of light. (Plan to arrive between sunrise and no later than 06.00 a.m.)

The location and travel to Prasat Phanom Rung

Map

Prasat Phanom Rung is situated on the top of an extinct volcano. Phnom Rung at tapek Sub district,chalerm Phra Khiat District, Buriram Province. It is one of the most beautiful and important Khmer ancient mounment in Thailand.

This religious monument was devoted to Shiva, one of the supreme divinities of Hindu religion. Therefore, Phanom Rung hill and its sanctuary are symbols of the mountain Kailasa with Shiva's patheon, and symbolizes the centre of the universe. The mounments on Phanom Rung were built between the 10th and 13th centuries A.D.

Travel to Prasat Phanom Rung

From Korat take the highway no. 224 to the south to Chok Chai district (about 30 km). Then take to the left turn and continue on the road no. 24. It is approximately 77 km from Chok Chai to the intersection (in Nang Rong district) with signed road to Prasat Phanom Rung. Follow the concrete road for 12 km to get to the ancient hill top Khmer temple. The temple on the hill could be seen from a distance.

Traditional dance of Prasat Phanom Rung

Of traditional festivities the oldest take place every year at full moon in the 5th lunar month, April. Every year one the full day the locals ascend the mountain from all the nearby villages and perform Hinayana Buddhist rites followed by musical shows and dance.

This kind of 5th-month-lunar-ceremonies has been described by the first foreign explorers visiting the area in the late 19th century and probably goes much further back. The participants are the local ethnic Khmer and Lao farmers and this festival is still the ngan the elder people care the most for.

It does not coincide with the days when the rising sun is visible through the temple. Descending mountains or making ngan at the full moon in April is not a phenomenon limited to Phanom Rung. At many other ancient sites in Isan the locals chose the same day for performing their traditional ceremonies. Other rituals of more private are conducted throughout the year, mostly in connection with full moons. The author has often met traces of nightly ceremonies, when arriving early morning for solar observations.

The second ngan is preformed by members of the Thai Hindu population and most of the participants come from Central Thailand, particularly from Bangkok. The author is not aware of how long time back the Hindu rites have been preformed. The Brahmins choose the occasions when the rays of the rising or setting sun penetrates the doorways of the sanctuary and the author has met them on several occasions since the late nineties.

Right: Bangkok people preforming Bramin rites before sunrise at the western gate of Prasat Phanom Rung in October 2000. Since Prasat Phanom Rung in the beginning of the nineties became Phanom Rung Historical Park, a new annual festival was introduced: The annual ascending of the mountain on the day of the solar event. The festival probably has its inspiration in the traditional full moon festival in April, and was fixed to a date in the beginning of April. The date did not coincide with the solar event because of incorrect dating. Neither did it coincide with the full moon, which does not fall on a fixed date, due to the difference of the length of the solar and the lunar year. And only one solar event was taken into consideration.

Authorities like Thai Tourism refused to recognize that there actually are four annual solar events: Two sunrises and two sunsets. An article by the author in Bangkok Post, March 2000, did not change their view.

Only after that the author invited the director of Phanom Rung Historical Park, achan Nongkram Suksom, to watch the sunset in March 2003, things changed. Next day the governor of Buriram province was present and happily the sun broke through the clouds just before reaching the horizon. This impressed the governor to an extend that the month from the sunset in March 2004 to the sunrise in April was declared for ''The Holy month of Prasat Phanom Rung'' and ritual were preformed on both occasions.

On the latter there is a 2-3 days festival with a colourful ascending of the mountain and in the evenings there are concerts and Light and Sound Show with the performance of a historical show. It can be questioned to what degree these shows are authentic, as we have no written evidence of ancient rites or mountain-ascending. But amazing is it...

Right: Ascending Phanom Rung in April 2003.
Below: Brahmin rites performed mostly by employees of Phanom Rung Historical Park in April 2003.

Ngan Shiva Ratree, March 5, 2004:

Above: Apsaras (celestial nymphs) at Prasat Phanom Rung.

Right: Dancing apsaras below Shiva Nataraya, the 'King of Dancers'.

Left: new and old...
Right: Waiting...

First day of the annual Light and Show Festival at Prasat Phanom Rung, April 2, 2004:

Phnom rung sun-rises

The astronomical aspects can be observed at Prasat Phanom Rung nowadays as well as when the temple was constructed. The aspects are embedded in the orientation of the 15 doorways penetrating the sanctuary. But we do not know whether the lay-out was intended to have astronomical significance or whether the orientation is a coincidence.

The astronomical knowledge was available in the last part of the 1st millennium; but the ancient Khmer master-builders did not leave us any written evidence of their intensions. Nearly all Khmer temples are orientated so that the sun rises twice a' year aligned with the centre-line of the sanctuary. If the lay-out of Prasat Phanom Rung was intended to have astronomical significance then we have to look for more than just sunrises and sunsets. The genius of Prasat Phanom Rung could be that the period from the sunset to the sunrise is equal to one lunar month. The solar events in March and April cannot therefore not be separated; they are coupled.

At the first visit to Phanom Rung in 1991 the author was puzzled by the question: Why is the temple not orientated straight east-west allowing the rays of the sun to penetrate the sanctuary at sunrise and sunset on the equinox days? A travel-compass indicated that the days must be close to equinox. Nobody knew the exact days and information about the sun-rise to happen on 'the 15 ascending lunar day in April' was obviously in-correct, because the date of full moon is different from year to year. The sun rises nearly on the same spot on the same date in consecutive years.

The first time the writer observed the sun setting visible through all 15 door-ways of Prasat Phanom Rung was 7 March 2000 (top). The resulting calculation of the dates of the 4 annual solar events and the calculation of the orientation of the structure was published in the Bangkok Post, 23 March 2000: New Light On An Ancient Site: Phanom Rung Has spectacular sunrises and sunsets if you know the right dates. Officially only one of the four solar event was taken into consideration: The sunrise in April, which was announced to coincide with the annual Light and Sound Festival the 1st and 2nd of April - a few days before the visibility of the sunrise.

In 2001 and 2002 the April sunrises were announced with a similar minor errors and the three other annual solar events were still ignored. In 2003 this situation improved: On March 6 the writer invited the director of Prasat Phanom Rung Hin Historical Park, Miss Nongkhran Suksom, to join the observation of the expected sunset through the doorways of the temple.

The encounter with the sun impressed the director to an extend so that she invited the Governor of Buriram Province to join the celestial show the following evening.
In the late afternoon on the 7th the horizon was cloudy and it seemed like that the sun would not be visible. A few minutes before sunset the sun became visible and everybody were excited, as the picture to the right indicates. The first public show was a success.

General information of Prasat Phanom Rung

Prasat Phanom Rung is dedicated Shiva of the Hindu pantheon Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu and is build on the top of an extinct volcano 200 metres above the Buriram plain in Southern Isan (North East Thailand). Most of the present structure is build by a local Khmer lord, Narendraditya, in the 12th century AD, when Suryavarman II ruled in Angkor Wat.

Unique for Phanom Rung is the 15 doorways spanning 75 metres through the temple complex allowing the rays of the rising sun to penetrate the temple casting its light on the lingam in the central sanctuary four times a year.

History of construction:

The first phase: Koh Ker style

Colonette

The ruined brick-towers seen from east

The first building was the base of the two brick buildings north-east of the main prasat. The pattern on the colonettes are by art-historians dated to Bakheng to early Koh Ker style (early 10th century AD). ''Phanom Rung Inscription No. 3 mentions King Rajendravarman II (rule: 944-968 AD) as ''dedicating the red roof to the temple for decoration. He built ponds. He made piles of bricks...

'' This last sentence could mean that he restored a brick temple already in existence'' (F.A.D.)



The second phase: Khleang - Bapoun style




Above: The Prang Noi or ''little tower'' was constructed in the second phase. The lintels are
regarded by F.A.D. to belong to Khleang (c. 968 – c. 1050 AD) and Baphoun style (1050 – 1080

AD). The heads of the nagas are without any ornaments (crowns) and therefore regarded as belonging to Baphoun style

The third phase: Angkor Wat style

Central sanctuary seen from SE

The central sanctuary, the surrounding galleries with gopuras (entrance pavilions), the staircases, the naga bridges, and the causeway were al built in early 12th century preceding Prasat Phimai and Angkor Wat a few decades.

''The Phanom Rung Inscriptions Nos. 7 and 9 from 1150 AD are from the end of the reign of Suriyavarman II (rule: 1113-1150) and refer to the families that were connected with Phanom Rung, especially Narendraditya who constructed the main temple and his son Hiranya who continued with the construction and also made the inscription in honour of his father. Narendraditya was of the Mahidharapura dynasty and played an important role in the campaigns of Suryavarman II and was rewarded with the governorships of cities under the power of the Mahidharapura dynasty. After his rise to power he built the main temple of Prasat Phanom Rung.'' (F.A.D.)

above:The antarala and mandapa seen from south

The central sanctuary is set on a square base with redenting corners. The superstructure has 5 tiers, each smaller then the one below. On the sides and at the corners of each tier there are carvings on pediments and antefixes of the guardians of the cardinal directions, hermits, female deities and nagas.

An antarala (vestibule) is connecting the central sanctury to the mandapa (front pavilion).




The eastern gopura (entrance pavilion)



above Eastern gopura (entrance pavilion)



(above)Meditating Shiva, the Supreme Ascetic (pediment above the lintel)



(above)Indra on Kala demon (lintel above eastern doorway)



The mandapa (antechamber)



Above: Shiva Nataraja above Vishnu Anantasayin on the eastern front of the mandapa.

(above)Sunset through 11 of the 15 doorways, October 5, 2004.

Shiva Nataraya

Shiva Nataraya is the term for the dancing Shiva. It was believed that the dancing of Shiva symbolized both the creation and destruction of the universe. If he danced in a balanced manner, there would be peace and happiness in the world, but if he danced furiously in anger, the world would meet with disasters to the point of complete destruction. It was necessary for people to worship, praise, plead and make sacrifices to his satisfaction, so that he would bestow blessing and happiness.

Shiva's Dancing occurs several times. On one occasion, he dances in the Taragam forest to punish the heretical hermits. On the other occasions he dances in the Chidambaram district in the middle of the universe at the request of Ananta nagaraja, the serpent king, and on Mount Kailasa for the deities who want to see it. The Shiva Nataraya at Prasat Phanom Rung carved on the pediment in front of the mandapa (front porch) is the scene of the dance on Mount Kailasa. Shiva with ten arms wearing a crown is dancing on a throne. Although the section with the deities is damaged, Ganesha, Brahma and Vishnu are visible. One of the two female figures on the right is probably Kareikalammeyar, a Shiva's devotee (F.A.D.)

Vishnu Anantasayin

On the bas-relief above Vishnu is depicted reclining on the Ananta serpent on the Ocean of Milk. The posture is known as the Vishnu Anantasayin posture. Lakshmi, his consort, is seated at his feet and Brahma springs from his navel. The variation of the Ananda serpent shown here is called a gajasimha (gaja for elephant and simha for lion).

Vishnu is the god of preservation and one of the Hindu trinity of deities (trimurthi): Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva). In the Vaishnavite sect, Vishnu is worshiped as the highest god. Lakshmi is his consort, and Garuda is his vehicle. At the end of the cosmic era (kalpa), he rests in meditative sleep on a serpent known as Ananta on the Ocean of Milk, waiting for Brahma to recreate the cosmos. At that moment a lotus springs forth from his navel, with Brahma seated on it (see picture above). Brahma would be responsible for the re-creation of the world and in a new cosmic era.

The Puranatanyaka Ceremony

At the base of a pilaster at the eastern doorway of the mandapa, there is ''a carving of a lady
standing hanging onto a branch of a tree with one hand and lifting an object from a receptacle
given to her by a man with the other hand. This probably represents a ceremony in connection
with agriculture and abundance. It is called Puranatanyaka'' (F.A.D.).

The Defloration Ceremony

Above: The Defloration Ceremony

''The carving on the half-pediment on the southern part of the gable of the mandapa in front of the main temple shows a female figure reclining on her back and a person in front holding one of her legs with one hand and a cylindrical object with the other. They are surrounded by four other persons. It is surmised that this is the scene of a deflowering ceremony.'' (F.A.D.).

This ceremony is described by Zhou Daguan who lived at Angkor in the beginning of the 14th century: The ceremony ''is called zhentan [tchen-t’an]. Each year the authorities select one day in the month, which corresponds to the fourth Chinese moon, and announce this throughout the country. Every family where a girl has to submit to the zhentan is warned in advance by the authorities, and they give the household a candle on which a mark has been made.

Above:Miniature lingams found at Phanom Rung

On the chosen day, when night has fallen, the candle is 1it and, when it has burned down to the mark, the moment of the zhentan has come'' ... ''I have heard that, when the moment comes the priest enters the girl’s pavilion; he deflowers her with his hand and receives the blood in some wine.

It is also said that the father and mother, the family and neighbours place some on their foreheads or taste it. Others maintain that the priest really couples with the girl; while others deny this. As Chinese are not allowed to witness these things, the exact truth is hard to come by. (5). When day is about to break, the priest is led back with palanquins, parasols, and music. The girl must then be bought from the priest with presents of cloth and silks; otherwise she will be his property forever and could marry no one else.''

(5) This is an important admission by the Chinese author; the whole section is somewhat suspect.'' ... ''This account raises many questions; however, it should be pointed out that there existed a Buddhist sect, the Ari (whom many considered non-Buddhists) who are known to have participated in such ceremonies.'' (p.35)

Zhou Daguan, The customs of Cambodia. Bangkok, 1992

Above: Five rishis (hermits) in the inner chamber (garbhagrha) of the antarala sitting in a meditative posture known as yogasana. The rishi in the middle should represent Shiva reincarnated as Nakhulisa, the founder of Pasupata sect, and also representing Narendraditya, the builder of Prasat Phanom Rung. (F.A.D.)

Above (left): A Nandin replica in the mandapa facing the 5 rishi, the lingam and the setting sun.

Above (Right): The original Nandin at Phimai Museum

(above)Umamahesvara is a depiction of Shiva and Uma seated on the bull Nandin, Shiva holding the trident in one hand and embracing Uma sitting on his knees with the other.

The Umamahesvara scene at Prasat Phanom Rung is one of the first pediment of the front porch (mandapa). This carving is damaged, but the figure of the bull Nandin is still clearly visible. On the bull are Shiva and Uma, with followers carrying regalia.
Rihgt: Umamahesvara scene.

The central sanctuary

Above: The richness of depictions on the southern side of the central sanctuary

Above: Indra on Airavata facing east

Above: Kubera on Gajasimha facing north

Above: Naga and pond at the upper terrace

Above: Crowned 5-headed naga and makara

Above: Naga bridge and causeway. March 9, 2004

The fourth phase: Bayon style

(above)'Library' in the SE part of the compound seen from west.

The final construction phase was in the reign of Jayavarman VII (rule: 1181 - ca. 1220 AD), who was a fervent Mahayana Buddhist and as so many other Hindu temples he added 'libraries' to the existing structure and turned the sanctuary into a place of Buddhist worship. The 'libraries' are in typical Bayon style, built of laterite with only door and window frames made of sandstone.

" Thank you"