COSMOLOGY AND RELIGION IN PRE-MODERN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Abstract

The Southeast Asian archipelago is a fascinating area inhabited by diverse peoples of varied religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Due to the colonial period in their history most of the Southeast Asian countries have focused their attention on this aspect or on issues emphasising the indigenous nature of their origins, especially that of nationality. Yet inspite of their distinct individuality in terms of their social, political development, most of Southeast Asia, at least for a period of time, and to a lesser degree even today forms, in a broad sense, a homogenous culture. This was particularly so between the first to the fourteenth centuries A.D. when Hindu-Buddhist symbols and concepts of State formation and cosmology were ascendant in this region. This research focuses on the nature of this contact as it is revealed in ritual architecture and shared symbolisms. In particular, it posits suggestions for such cultural exchange between India and Southeast Asia through symbolism and ritual architecture. This research is undertaken through an analysis of Hindu, Buddhist shrines, their conformity to architectural manuals and the functions of such structures. Through such a study, I would show the degree of contact between these areas. It can reveal the modes and expressions for the transmission of ideas. A closer examination of this period will also reveal the nature of Southeast Asian society then and now. The present is built on the past and the future on the present. This research on aspects of classical Southeast Asia hope to enable us to appreciate the past, the present and the future. To put it succinctly, "Yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream." As such, it is vital for us historians to understand and recover as much of the past as possible for all forthcoming generations.