Indian Values in Oc Eo Culture Case Study – Go Thap, Dong Thap Province

Abstract

Oc Eo is one of the ancient cultures in the Southern part of Vietnam, which belonged to the ancient Funan Kingdom. The ancient Funan was the earliest nation formed and developed in Southeast Asia between the 1st and 7th century AD. In its heyday, the Kingdom was highly developed in terms of society, economy, and great military power. Oc Eo port was considered as an important international market and also one of the centers of culture and commerce of Funan. When considering Funan, it was Oc Eo that was mostly mentioned, the economy and culture of Oc Eo reflected that of Funan. What belongs to this culture now is only in the form of antiques, artifacts and monuments scattering throughout the lands in southern Vietnam such as An Giang, Kien Giang, Tien Giang, Dong Nai, Long An and Tay Ninh province, etc. particularly Dong Thap which is known for the historical site and relics of Go Thap which bear all the imprints of India such as Go Minh Su, the Sun God temple, Shiva temple, Vishnu temple, God Pond, God sculptures, golden Buddha, stone, wood, and reliefs. Each single relic and artifact in Go Thap contains cultural and religious values of India. Currently, the historical site of Go Thap which has been excavated by well-known archaeologists both national and international is ranked as the special National Monument. Therefore, the aim of this article is to elucidate the influence of Indian culture on that of Oc Eo, namely the culture of Go Thap in terms of religious beliefs, architectural shrines, god sculptures, and reliefs.  There were a number of excavations in 1980s and 1990s at Go Thap Site in Mekong Delta region by archaeologists in Vietnam. They unearthed many brick architectures and relics which were considered to be belonged to Oc Eo culture. For me, they reflect the imprints of Indian culture, namely Indian religion i.e. Buddhism and Hinduism, Indian architecture and sculpture.

In this article, I will prove that the religious, architectural and sculptural vestiges in Go Thap site bear Indian values by studying round and reliefs sculpture, relics and architecture remained in Go Thap and basing on the findings of eminent scholars and experts in this field both national and international such as Prof. Dr.Dang Van Thang, Dr.Le Thi Lien, Le Xuan Diem, Dao Linh Con, Parmentier.H and Anna Aleksandra Slaczka.