Thai town celebrates its ancient Khmer heritage

CHALOEM PHRA KIAT, Thailand - On the scorching on Saturday afternoon, dozens of local Thai students dressed like apsaras were dancing together on the stairway in front of the main sanctuary of Phanom Rung, an ancient Khmer temple in northeastern Thailand. This is a part of an annual festival promoting culture and attract tourists.

The female students, all in red with apsara crowns, danced to local music in front of the temple's seven-headed naga sculptures.

"I feel so proud to dance here as I am the child of Buriram province," said Kanchana Kanchana, a local female university student. "I hope foreign tourists could come to get to know Phanom Rung and Buriram as well as our culture."

The apsara dancing was the climax of a three-hour parade, Kheun Khao Phanom Rung ("up into the Phanom Rung mountain").

Buriram, a northeastern province of Thailand bordering Cambodia, was under the rule of the Khmer Empire for centuries. It is home to many ancient Khmer temples and ruins. Many people in the area speak Khmer.

Among these ancient Khmer structures, Phanom Rung temple is the most famous one.

Nestled at the top of an extinct volcano, Phanom Rung temple is believed to date from the 10th century and was dedicated to Hindu deity Shiva.

The name Phanom Rung, a Khmer word referring to "great mountain", can be found in ancient inscriptions in the temple.

The main tower of the temple was built during the reign of a local lord, Narendraditya, son of the Angkor princess, Bhupatindra Lakshmi Devi.

According to the Thai official history, Narendraditya was a smart and powerful 12th-century leader who fought for Suryavarman II, one of Khmer Empire's greatest kings.

The Saturday's event set up a scene that Narendraditya's mother goes to the ancient temple on Phanom Rung to worship gods on a palanquin with parades.

Narendraditya's mother this year was played by Orn-anong Panyawong, who is the Miss Thailand 1992.

Many Burriram students and local residents dressed in traditional attire participated in the parades with hundreds of local people watching it along the ancient pathway leading to the sanctuary.

Besides the Saturday's parade, there was also rounds of apsara dancing in front of the sanctuary. A light-and-sound show displayed the history of the temple.

The exhibition described how like the Angkor temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Phanom Rung was virtually lost in the forest until it was "discovered" by the Frenchman Etienne Aymonier in 1885.

The festival date is chosen for the few days every year when the rays of the rising sun pass through the 15 doorways of the ancient Khmer temple, creating a magnificent light in the center of the ancient sanctuary.

This year, though, the clouds were too thick for the sun's ray to penetrate.

Although open to the public for 31 years, the ancient site is most popular among local tourists. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, or TAT, believes it may attract more foreign tourists in the near future.

The TAT is one of the organizers of the two-day events and its deputy governor for domestic market Noppadon Pakprot told Xinhua that they contributed to the event, starting with inheriting local traditions and second promoting tourism.

According to the TAT, Buriram is one of 55 secondary tourism destinations in Thailand and the number of tourists and income have grown rapidly in recent years.

"I believe the new generation of tourists, especially Chinese tourists, would look for new travel experience besides shopping," Noppadon said, adding that Buriram, with its historical sites such as Phanom Rung, abundant culture and original community may be a competitive tourist destination.

There are more ancient Khmer sites nearby. Just 7.2 km from Phanom Rung lies a large baray, or ancient Khmer reservoir, and the delicate temple Muang Tam. With its original name lost to history, the Thai name Muang Tam means "lowland town" as it sits on the plain, much lower than Phanom Rung.

The earliest stages of construction of the smaller temple, with four ponds surrounding the main sanctuary, date from the 10th to 11th centuries.

Muang Tam, a name called by locals, means lowland town as it sits on the plain, a lower place compared with Phanom Rung on the extinct volcano.

The small temple, with four ponds surrounding the main sanctuary, dates back its primary phases of construction to 10th to 11th centuries.

According to local media, the Thai government is preparing to nominate Phanom Rung and its surrounding Khmer temples and structures, including Muang Tam, to be listed in UNESCO's world heritage.

Xinhua

(China Daily 04/08/2019 page11)