Today, a group of visitors from India came to visit My Son. They walked in small groups, quietly and observing attentively, seemingly fascinated. I think they were probably returning to a place familiar to them.
I recall a story from nearly 30 years ago, when I was a guide taking a delegation of Indian ambassadors on a visit to this ancient Champa temple complex.
The story goes that the ambassador's wife wore an all-white outfit when she visited the historical site.
Upon reaching the entrance to Tower C1 – the main temple – she took off her sandals. As the guide, I had to go in first and… of course, I was wearing shoes. Seeing this, I quickly ran to the door, bowed, and apologized. Many people in the group were also Brahmanists.
Everyone in the group silently removed their shoes and entered with solemnity and reverence, performing their rituals. I felt as if they had returned to their own church.
Every step they took, every bow and shoulder tilt, expressed an attitude of reverence and gentleness, as if they were facing their gods and ancestors.
And I had a memorable day!
Today, my friend from Canada and I stood nestled inside Tower B1—the main temple. I wasn't working as a tour guide, so I quietly watched the two Indian visitors perform their rituals.
The elderly man held a bottle of water in his right hand, slowly pouring it over the head of the linga, the water trickling down to the yoni just enough for the prayer. The woman standing beside him also extended her right hand to support the man's hand as they recited the prayer. Around them, many people had removed their shoes and stood respectfully, murmuring prayers...
This suddenly reminded me of the other side of the Truong Son Mountains – Laos, with its ancient capital Luang Prabang – a place with many historical sites featuring temples, shrines, and pagodas… The site management there has complete instructions on where to leave shoes and personal belongings, encouraging visitors to behave appropriately and respectfully towards the historical site.
The interaction of visitors "revived" the ancient spiritual space. Visitors dressed neatly, carefully removing and storing their shoes, sandals, and hats. I suddenly thought that perhaps we need a different code of conduct, in addition to the existing safety and security regulations for heritage sites and artifacts.
For artifacts placed in specific heritage spaces, especially natural and cultural heritage sites that visitors come to admire, learn about, and perform religious rituals, perhaps it is necessary to create opportunities for them to interact. This would transform the heritage space, breathe life into the heritage, and revitalize it.
Perhaps, instead of just groups of tourists coming to take pictures and observe out of curiosity, we need to build, protect, and enhance more authentic cultural heritage spaces, allowing visitors to experience and enjoy the opportunity to better understand our cultural heritage, from the practical aspects of our solemn beliefs and traditions.
This will also encourage tourists to participate in heritage conservation efforts, with the spirit of "heritage in everyone's hands." I remember back in 2002, when we were excavating the Khe Thẻ stream bed and discovering buried structures, a female tourist volunteered to join the excavation team. She equipped herself with tools and followed the excavation supervisor's instructions. She worked a full day...
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/chuyen-vun-quanh-di-tich-3146935.html
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