Another in this excellent series of programs about the cultures of Asia, this one features the Champa Kingdom, which at one time challenged the great Khmer Kingdom at Angkor, but eventually faded away.
The Champa Kingdom was centered upon what we might today call South Vietnam, but it began a long time before the Viets reached there. Speaking an Austronesian language, it is known from their earliest inscriptions, of which there are around 400.
The main relics of their culture are now found in the magnificent tall Hindu brick temple buildings around their ancient kingdom, including the most famous at My Son. A lot of sculptures and other works are also preserved in museums in Danong also.
Their excellent weaving traditions have been passed down within the remnants of the Champa people, but it is hard to piece together other influences of the local culture, which long ago was fused with the dominant Viet culture.
The last episode in the 3rd series concerns the Sultanate of Sulu (in the Philippines). It doesn’t fit within this blog, but if you are interested in the history of the region, it is defintely worth seeing, so I post a link to it here.
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to see an album of screenshots click here