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THE KINGDOM OF CHAMPA

Angkor was not the only significant kingdom of its time in Southeast Asia. Another major Southeast Asian power and sometimes rival of Angkor was the kingdom of Champa. Champa was the great kingdom of the Blacks on the coast of Southeast Asia in central Vietnam. Indeed, the facial characteristics on the statues of the Cham are as Africoid as anywhere, including full lips and broad noses.

The Cham are believed to have settled along the coastal plains of central Vietnam (Annam) more than two millennia ago. The economy of Champa was based on agriculture and maritime trade. They exported rice and forest products, including sandalwood, and essentially dominated the area from about the fourth century through the 13th century.

Chinese dynastic records from as early as 192 C.E. reference a kingdom of Lin-yi, which meant the “land of Black men.” The kingdom of Lin-yi was known as Champa in Sanskrit documents. They stated the inhabitants possessed “‘black skin, eyes deep in the orbit, nose turned up, hair frizzy” at a period when they were not yet subject to foreign domination and preserved the purity of this type. These records expressly state that: “For the complexion of men, they consider Black the most beautiful. In all the kingdoms of the southern region, it is the same.”

During this same period Cham ships, known to the Chinese by the appellation kun-lun bo (the “vessels of Black men”), were navigating the currents of the Indian Ocean from Southeast Asia to Madagascar.

Among the major centers of Champa were those based near Dong Duong, Tra Kieu and Pandulanga (Phan-Rang). The great southem capital was Vijaya (Binh Dinh), and the early northern capital and religious center was Mi Son.

More than 70 temples were constructed at Mi Son from the seventh century through the 12th centuries. The masterpiece of Cham architecture at Mi Son was an enormous, 70-foot-high stone tower that was destroyed by United States Army commandos in August 1969.