CHAM HOLYSEE OF MY SON
 

The Chams were a people and a culture which flourished for 13 centuries until the 15^th century, after which they were absorbed by the Vietnamese.

My Son Holysee is right in the valley surrounded by mountains. That makes it more holy and mysterious.

This place is the religious and mystic region of the Champa kingdom. The site perhaps can be considered as the Cham Angkor in Cambodia, Pagan in Burma, and Borobudur in Indonesia. All mark the Indian influence. Vestiges are of 68 architectures and different temples. It was first established as a holy site under King Bhadravarman in the 4^th century and continued to be busy until the 13^th century. Most of the temples have been consecrated to God Shiva, who was regarded as the founder and protector of Champa's dynasties.

Because some of the ornamentation work at My Son was never finished, archaeologists know that the Chams first built their structures and only then carved decorations into the brickwork. Researchers have yet to figure out for certain how the Chams managed to get the baked bricks to stick together. According to one theory, they used a paste prepared with a botanical oil indigenous to Central Viet Nam. At one time in their history, the tops of some of the towers were covered with a layer of gold.

Buddist symbolism is also evident at My Son, because by the tenth century Mahayan Buddism had taken over as the main Cham religion. While many of the images of deities and the intricate stone carvings on the temple walls have decayed, here and there, remnants hint at the compound's former splendour. The Chams built their temples of clay bricks, then engraved the bricks with intricate patterns of animals, gods and goddesses, and flowers.