Unique statue of Kut Champa

In Champa stone sculpture art, Kut statue is a special art form, concentrated mainly in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan - the living place of Cham people today. Until now, the origin of this type of mystery is still many.

Kut statue at Ponit temple, Binh Thuan.

Researcher Le Dinh Phung at the Institute of Archeology said that the Kut statue may have originated from the stone idolatry of Cham people quite early. Statues are similar in form to tombstones of Vietnamese, Chinese, or Muslims in Indonesia. So far the Cham people have been making and using Kut during funerals and still worshiping the ancestors of the ancestors to pass on in the temples of their families.

Fabrication of Kut is stone which is usually light gray, fine grain, hardness is not high, easy to touch. Kut often have lotus petals. From the sharp lotus wing shape is transformed into different types with the round shoulders going round, the middle knot creates a unique reading. Some Kut shaped people but still took the shape of the lotus wing as the foundation to create the soul of the work.

Some Kuts have their own pedestals fitted together according to the technique of joint matching to create a complete church. A number of Kutos were made immediately and without a pedestal, buried directly in the place of worship.

Kut decoration pattern is quite simple, most of them use vignettes of plants, petals, wire flowers twist, flowers twist the flame shape. Some pedestals are carved with lotus pattern, the nipple of the band around. Decorate the simple pedestal, to distinguish the sex of the deceased: The heart of Kut created the sacred pillar, similar to the miniature image of Linga, to symbolize men. The heart of Kut operative pattern twisted shape nipple symbol for women.

Kut at Poklung Monai Temple, Binh Thuan.On the left is a statue for women, it must be male.

Usually the female Kut is often made larger in size, better decorated than male male, which proves that women are more respected in the Champa resident community during this period.

According to Mr. Phung, in the course of the study, the scholars all agreed that Kút was born quite late in the process of Champa stone sculpture art, belonging to the next stages of PoRome art style. Later Cham people continued to build Kut but only natural gravestones that are still in use today.

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