The Bayon temple
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The Bayon temple at Angkor, Cambodia, is a monument to the last great flowering of the Khmer culture. Built in the late 12th century AD, it is perhaps the best-known historic site in Cambodia, as it features the famous "face towers" that have been immortalized in countless picture books and postcards. The Bayon is a symbol of the Khmer Empire's reunification after foreign occupation, but it also is a snapshot of its times, showing the religious duality of ancient Khmer culture and the changing political realities of this vital and turbulent society.
The Bayon was built by the last great king of the Khmer Empire, Jayavarman VII. It was the central temple complex of his new capital, Angkor Thom, literally "Great City," and it was intended to be a new beginning. For many years, the empire had been under the domination of their old enemies, the nation of Champa (modern Vietnam), who had taken control of the Khmer Empire in 1177 after a fierce naval battle on the Tonle Sap. Since then, the capital, Yasodharapura, had been under their occupation, and the Khmer kings had been mere figureheads.
Jayavarman VII was a heroic figure who emerged as the champion of his people against the invaders. He was a Khmer prince who was able to unite his country and fight successfully against the Chams, recapturing Yasodharapura in 1181and finally conquering Champa in 1203. He undertook an extensive building campaign, liberized the country and built a new system of roads to bring all corners of his land together. Along these roads he commanded the building of numerous rest houses and hospitals, and his compassion for his subjects is legendary.
He also was a Buddhist, which was rather rare among Khmer kings. The ancient peoples who inhabited the land we now call Cambodia had encountered Indian culture early through trade routes, and had readily adopted all aspects of Indian culture. Historians often refer to this as the "Indianization" of the cultures of Southeast Asia, in which the written language and artistic styles of India were enthusiastically embraced by local peoples. Along with other aspects of Indian culture, the people of Southeast Asia adopted the two main Indian religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. When the Khmer Empire came into being in the 9th century, both of these religions existed side by side, but the Khmer kings were usually Hindu, and their religion was the state religion.
Everything changed when Jayavarman came to power. He was a devout Mahayana Buddhist, and he proclaimed that faith to be the new state religion. When he had the Bayon built, he conceived it as a Buddhist temple.
This brings us back to that famous Khmer architectural feature, the face towers of the Bayon. Anyone who has seen these serene, mysterious faces has been compelled to wonder, who are they? There are two theories to answer this, both of which may be true. One is that the face towers represent Avilokiteshvara, the Boddhisatva of Compassion. This makes sense, as Jayavarman was Buddhist and would certainly revere such a figure. However, it has been pointed out that the great faces of the Bayon towers bear a suspicious resemblance to protrait statues of Jayavarman VII himself, and might be protraits of him. Since the Khmer kings saw themselves as divine figures who got their legitimacy from heaven, it is possible that both theories are right: the face towers may represent Jayavarman portrayed as the Boddhisatva.
In any case, the great faces of the Bayon are still a magnificent spectacle today, and remain more emblematic of the Khmer culture than any other feature of this history-soaked land.
But if you look closer, you will see that this is not the whole story. Jayavarman VII died in about 1215. Some of the later kings were Hindus, and the Bayon was converted to that faith. If you go to the site today, you will find that there are inner and outer galleries. In contrast to the undeniably Buddhist faces on the great towers, the bas-reliefs in the inner gallery are taken from Hindu mythology. That much is certain, but the interpretation of the scenes is controversial, and even experts have given widely differing explanations of what they represent.
The bas-reliefs on the walls of the outer gallery are markedly different from those of the inner one, as they depict scenes from Khmer history or from everyday life. Here we can see common people engaged in their daily activities, as well as pictures of military campaigns and other important events, including the naval battle between the Khmer and the Chams mentioned earlier.
It's like looking through a picture album of the Khmer people. Their culture, their victories and even their daily occupations are right here, frozen in time for us to see. For those with a deep interest in the history of this land, the Bayon is a fascinating and essential place to visit.
In the first part of the 20th century, the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient did extensive restoration work at the Bayon using the technique of anastylosis, which means literally taking the structure apart and reassembling it. Since 1995, the work has been handled by the Japanese Government team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (JSA). They have done their work well, and today the Bayon is a testament to the glory of the ancient Khmer people, and an inescapable stop on any tour of this area. About the Author
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