Religion Champa

while today balamon cham surviving hindus in vietnam, region once hosted of exquisite , vibrant hindu cultures in world. entire region of southeast asia, in fact, home numerous sophisticated hindu kingdoms. angkor in neighboring cambodia, java , bali in indonesia.

13th century sculpture in thap mam style, depicting garuda devouring serpent

before conquest of champa Đại việt emperor tran thánh tông in 1471, dominant religion of cham people hinduism, , culture heavily influenced of india. hinduism of champa overwhelmingly shaiva , liberally combined elements of local religious cults such worship of earth goddess lady po nagar. main symbols of cham shaivism lingam, mukhalinga, jaṭāliṅgam, segmented liṅgam, , kośa.

a liṅga (or liṅgam) black stone pillar serves representation of shiva. cham kings erected , dedicated stone lingas central religious images in royal temples. name cham king give such linga composite of king s own name , suffix -iśvara , stands shiva.
a mukhaliṅga linga upon has been painted or carved image of shiva human being or human face.
a jaṭāliṅga linga upon has been engraved stylised representation of shiva s chignon hairstyle.
a segmented liṅga linga post divided 3 sections represent 3 aspects of hindu godhead or trimurti: lowest section, square in shape, represents brahma; middle section, octagonal in shape, represents vishnu, , top section, circular in shape, represents shiva.
a kośa cylindrical basket of precious metal used cover linga. donation of kośa decoration of liṅga distinguishing characteristic of cham shaivism. cham kings gave names special kośas in way gave names liṅgas themselves.

the predominance of hinduism in cham religion interrupted time in 9th , 10th centuries, when dynasty @ indrapura (modern dong duong, quảng nam province, vietnam) adopted mahayana buddhism faith. buddhist art of dong duong has received special acclaim originality.

beginning in 10th century, hinduism again became predominant religion of champa. of sites have yielded important works of religious art , architecture period are, aside mỹ sơn, khuong my, trà kiệu, chanh lo, , thap mam.

islam

islam started making headway among cham after 10th century. 17th century, royal families of cham had converted islam. cham evenly split between being followers of islam , hinduism, majority of vietnamese cham being hindu while majority of cambodian cham muslim, though significant minorities of mahayana buddhists continue exist.

indonesian 15th century records indicate influence of princess daravati, cham, converted islam, , influenced husband, kertawijaya, majapahit s seventh ruler convert majapahit royal family islam. islamic tomb of putri champa (princess of champa) can found in trowulan, east java, site of majapahit imperial capital. in 15th 17th century, muslim cham maintained cordial relationship aceh sultanate through dynastic marriage. sultanate located on northern tip of sumatra , active promoter of islamic faith in indonesian archipelago.