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my favorite
temple (ta prohm)
--Susan; Dec 29, 2004
What I find most fascinating about these temples
is imagining what it must have been like to be there during their
construction. This entry is a short history about my favorite
temple, Ta Prohm, so if you're not interested in history, then
click away now. I realize that by saying this I may have lost
all readers except my dad. So, Dad, this one's for you...
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spong tree
and strangler figs in doorway |
Ta Prohm looks now like the temples you see
in movies like Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, etc.: huge monuments
of half-crumbled stone covered in exotic jungle overgrowth. (Note:
Ta Prohm actually *is* the temple used in Tomb Raider, for all
you movie buffs out there.) When French explorers discovered Ta
Prohm in 1947 it had been invaded by two kinds of parasitic plants,
200-year-old spong trees and strangler figs (see photo). These
trees can grow on rocks or other trees (and even on top of one
another). The French government cleared out most of the spong
trees, but left a few untouched so that people could see what
condition the temple was in when they found it. Now, on to the
history according to our guide.
Ta Prohm is one of the biggest temples in Cambodia,
measuring 1 kilometer by 750 meters, not including the moat and
surrounding land. Although the temple is credited to Jayavarman
VII, in the late 12th century (1186 A.D.), close inspection of
the temple reveals that it may have been built in 3 stages by
2 different kings (this theory is controversial). The king was
very rich (even for a king) and was able to build his temples
with lava rock surrounded by a layer of intricately carved sandstone.
There is an amazing tomb in the temple that the king built for
his mother – it is surrounded by some kind of bronze or
copper with hundreds of rubys, emeralds and diamonds embedded
in to the sandstone (unfortunately, all the gemstones have already
been stolen or removed). Jayavarman VII was known as "The
Monument Builder" and his goal was to build as many temples
as fast as possible (he built around 15 - 20 in all, more than
any other king). Ta Prohm was one of his highest quality constructions,
but since he was so prolific, the craftsmanship and materials
he used in some of his other temples was not as good.
After building the temple, the king appointed
a community of approximately 80,000 people to support it (temple
maintenance, religious activities, feeding everybody, etc.). This
population included 18 high priests, 2,200 monks, 2,700 officials,
and 615 dancers for entertainment. The monks and dancers had to
be housed separately in the temple during construction since,
as our guide said, "You shouldn’t put the sugar next
to the ants."
Later, during the Hindu resurgence, Jayavarman
VIII commanded carvers to deface (scrape off) any Buddhas that
were carved in to the walls. (This was a common practice for kings
when they came into power.) As a result, all of the once intricately
carved Buddhas in Ta Prohm have been scraped away. In more recent
times, all the iron crossbars once used to hold the large stones
together were dug out of Ta Prohm (and all of Cambodia's other
temples) as an iron source for weapons during the war. This left
many temples, including Ta Prohm, in shambles.
As we toured the various temples, we learned
that much of the restoration is funded by other countries, with
each temple being an independent project. 3 years ago India promised
US$6 million for Ta Prohm’s restoration, but so far, Cambodia
has not yet received any of that money. (I have mixed feelings
about whether I’d like to see this happen. It would be nice
to see it the way the king intended it to be, but I like seeing
it in its current state, too, since it reflects so much of its
history.) [Update: see Sam's
comment below.]
[Thanks again to our
guide, Sam, for helping us with some of the details in this entry.]
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