After four centuries of careful storage, the Champa royal treasure will open to visitors from 2024 through a community tourism project implemented by the descendants of the Cham royal family, who are currently custodians of the treasure.
Treasure on the white sand dunes
Located next to National Highway 1A, Tinh My village in Phan Thanh commune, Bac Binh district, Binh Thuan province has a simple and peaceful appearance like many other Cham villages in the white sand dunes. However, whenever mentioning Palei Canar (the Cham people's name for Tinh My village), the people in the area show respect and pride because there was a princess who once lived there with the treasure of the Cham royal family.
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| Mr. Lu Quoc Thien, a descendant of the Cham royal family, with the royal heritage. |
In the two-story house stained with time located in the middle of the village, Mr. Lu Quoc Thien, 50 years old, currently an officer of the Binh Thuan Provincial Museum, said that this house was built by his grandmother, Nguyen Thi Them, in 1964. Mrs. Them was born in 1911 and died in 1995. She was a descendant of the Cham royal family, so the locals called her Nai Them (Princess Them). After nearly 60 years of existence, the house is still quite sturdy. However, every detail and part of the house, from the walls, brick floors, stairs, wooden doors to the interior, have been covered with an old layer of color by time. Inside the house, the middle room on the first floor has an ancestral altar with a portrait of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Them wearing a red dress, a white turban, her face exuding a benevolent and noble look. Next to it is the certificate of recognition as a national historical-cultural relic awarded by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1993 to the heritage of the Cham royal family.
Following the narrow staircase leading to the second floor, visitors feel as if time is gradually flowing back to the past. When the doors of the two rooms are opened, a mysterious, solemn space with splendid relics of the Cham royal family from 4 centuries ago appears before their eyes. In the most solemn position is a glass cabinet displaying the crown of King Po Klong Mohnai and the hair bun (hair flower) of Queen Po Bia Som.
There are also more than 100 antiques including battle swords, household items, royal robes, clothes of kings, queens, princes, princesses, musical instruments, boxes (klong) to preserve the frontal bones of royal family members after their death according to Cham customs, royal decrees of Lord Nguyen and King Nguyen for the royal family... All are elaborately and meticulously crafted, using many precious materials such as gold, silver, bronze, ivory, stone...
In particular, the crown of King Po Klong Mohnai made of gold, 19.5cm high, 19.5cm in diameter, carved with sophisticated patterns, bold Cham art style and the image of the makara snake god, is truly a masterpiece. This is also the only crown of the Cham king that has been preserved to this day.
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| The crown of King Po Klong Mohnai and the bun of Queen Po Bia Som. |
According to historical documents, Po Klong Mohnai was the king who ruled the small country of Panduranga, ascended the throne in 1622, and abdicated in 1627. He made many contributions to the construction of irrigation canals to promote farming, livestock, and cultivation, contributing to bringing a prosperous and happy life to the people. In 1627, he abdicated the throne to his son-in-law Po Rome, also a very talented king, who was "deified" by the people after his death and built a tower. Po Rome Tower is still quite intact in Hau Sanh village, Phuoc Huu commune, Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province. To commemorate the merits of King Po Klong Mohnai, immediately after his death, the people built a temple, which is currently located in Luong Son town, Bac Binh district, Binh Thuan province.
Awakening the heritage
The Cham people follow a matriarchal system, and as a princess, Nguyen Thi Them was entitled to inherit the Cham royal heritage, including the treasure left by King Po Klong Mohnai. However, this heritage did not initially belong to her but was kept by a group of Raglai people. The reason was that in the past, when the war broke out, the kings and members of the Cham royal family had to leave the capital to take refuge in the mountainous areas to the west of the South Central Coast. During their journey, they handed over the royal treasure to the Raglai and Churu ethnic communities for safekeeping. Because it was a relic of the king, these communities kept an oath to always protect and preserve the treasure intact under any circumstances.
Even in the Ta Nang area, Duc Trong district, Lam Dong province, the Churu people previously established two temples, Sop temple and Krayo temple, to preserve and worship the treasures of the Cham royal family. Later, when they learned that Mrs. Them was a descendant of the Cham royal family, the Raglai people who were in charge of the treasure in the mountainous area of Phan Son commune, Bac Binh district, Binh Thuan province held a ceremony to ask the mountain god and then carried the treasure down to return it to Mrs. Them's family. The return was done many times, the last time being in 1958.
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| Bronze incense burner used to burn incense in the royal palace and at ceremonies. |
When the August Revolution broke out in 1945, Mrs. Them and her younger brother, Mr. Dung Gach, joined the resistance, participated in the Viet Minh Front, and mobilized people to fight the French. Responding to the "Golden Week" launched by President Ho Chi Minh, Mrs. Them met with family members, organized an ancestor worship ceremony, and donated a crown and some gold artifacts to the Government. "Later, my grandmother donated more than 200 hectares of rice fields to the State, leaving only a small amount for her family and descendants to cultivate and make a living. During her lifetime and after her death, our family's life was difficult, but we absolutely did not sell any antiques. No matter how hard it was, we still kept our ancestors' legacy intact," Mr. Lu Quoc Thien affirmed.
Over the past four centuries, the Cham royal family's heritage is a unique collection of original artifacts with great cultural and historical value, contributing to enriching and enriching the Vietnamese cultural treasure. "Previously, due to family circumstances and taboos, few people were able to admire these treasures. From 2024, Binh Thuan Provincial Museum will coordinate with families and the tourism industry to organize tours to explore Cham culture, in which the "open warehouse" of the Cham royal family is the highlight. This will open up opportunities for visitors from near and far to see with their own eyes the priceless treasures of the Champa royal family, thereby contributing to preserving and promoting the cultural values of Cham in Binh Thuan land," said Ms. Lu Thai Tuyen, Deputy Director of Binh Thuan Provincial Museum.
Source: https://ct.qdnd.vn/van-hoa-xa-hoi/kho-bau-hoang-gia-champa-530684
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