Cosmic tree of Dong Son culture on bronze drum

According to the documents of the Dictionary of World Cultural Symbols and the Origin and Development of Symbolic Architecture and Dong Son Language: Trees are one of the most common and abundant symbols of human culture. Each ethnic group on earth can have one or more cosmic trees. Such as the oak tree of the Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Finns; the pine tree of the American Indians; the mulberry tree, the peach tree of the Thai and Chinese; the banyan tree of the Muong people... With Christianity, there is the cross tree = the Tree of Life = the Tree of God, with Buddhism, the Bodhi tree = the Tree of Life = the Buddha Tree, Hinduism is the cosmic tree, with the root of the god Brahma, the trunk of the god Siva, the branches of the god Vishnu. Many ethnic groups in the world also have the concept of identifying trees with people, such as the custom of marrying trees... Because trees are symbols of life, symbols of fertile mothers, of vitality and fertility... This is a universal phenomenon in the cosmological thinking of ancient people.

Bronze tree with birds perching

PHOTO: ART OF THE BRONZE AGE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

In addition, the Dictionary of World Cultural Symbols also states: The cosmic tree is shown with birds perched on its branches, in addition to their cosmic origin meaning, birds also symbolize the souls of ancestors. According to the myths of Central Asia, Siberia and especially Indonesia, birds perched on the branches of the cosmic tree symbolize the human soul.

A bronze tree with birds perched on it from the Dong Son culture was discovered and published in the publication Art of the bronze age in Southeast Asia, although the information about this tree is very brief: “A rare branch of a living vein. Dong Son culture or Giao Chi period, Vietnam. Dated 300 BC – 100 AD. Bronze, height 10.8 cm”. The tree is described: “The buds are about to bloom and a bird seems to fly out from the tip of this branch. This exquisite and unique bronze piece perfectly demonstrates the sophistication of Dong Son material culture and the technological mastery of bronze casting”.

Examining the tree in the photo, it is clear that there is indeed a bird perched on a leaf at the top. Unfortunately, the lower part of the tree and two leaves on the left are broken, and the angle of the photo does not reflect the bird very clearly.

The question here is what purpose did the Dong Son people cast this tree for, what species did this tree belong to, was it a cosmic tree, and is the bird shown perched on the tree a symbol of the human soul as in the dictionary mentioned above?

With the discovery of circular patterns or concentric circles with stylized chrysanthemums in the middle, it has been shown that the plant element has never been absent in the decoration of bronze drums, especially the 28 flowers on the 5th pattern ring on the Thanh Cong drum face. Next, it was discovered that this flower was decorated with the sun on many drums and even on the axe. In addition, there are also many rich expressions of the chrysanthemum transformation of birds. All of this has shown that the "culture of the sun and chrysanthemums" has flourished in the Dong Son culture. Therefore, the discovery of this bronze tree with birds perched on it, although rare, is not surprising.

Sun on Thanh Hoa bronze drum

PHOTO: DONG SON DRUMS IN VIET NAM

The next issue here is birds. According to the Dictionary of World Cultural Symbols, in addition to symbolizing the human soul, birds also play a role in the connection between heaven and earth. Thus, the images of birds depicted very commonly in Dong Son culture are very likely related to this issue. That is why a sacred flower that is a symbol of the sun, such as the chrysanthemum, was used by Dong Son artisans to objectify birds. This shows that birds are highly revered in the spiritual life of Dong Son people.

Returning to the bronze tree with birds perched on it: The shape of the tree shows a strong resemblance to the trees and the petals decorated between the sun rays on the Thanh Hoa bronze drum, and it has been proven that the tree and flower are chrysanthemums. Regarding the worship of birds in Dong Son culture as analyzed above, it can only be explained by the fact that birds are symbols of human souls and ancestors' souls, the connection between heaven and earth.

In short, the discovery of the cosmic tree of Dong Son culture has shown that the cosmological thinking of Dong Son people is not beyond the universality of human cosmological thinking. So, together with discoveries such as Sun - Chrysanthemum, sun chariot, sun wheel, chrysanthemum turned into bird, it shows that the appearance of Dong Son culture is very rich.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cay-vu-tru-cua-nen-van-hoa-dong-son-tren-trong-dong-185240907213433686.htm