In this article, which is based largely on archaeological data, I argue that colonial intervention between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries in South and Southeast Asia not only altered the nature of linkages that had existed across Asia from at least the middle of the first millennium BC, but also, and more significantly, redefined our understanding of monuments, especially religious structures, from abodes of spiritual power to objects of artistic and aesthetic appre-ciation. This had far-reaching implications for the study and understanding of the nature of Indic religions, and here, I focus on Buddhism. The article highlights the changes intro-duced as a result of colonial intervention in three major monuments of South and Southeast Asia, viz., Bodh Gaya in eastern India, Borobudur in central Java, and the Angkor complex in Cambodia.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Files in the Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi.
2.
Files in the National Archives of India, New Delhi.
3.
Field visits to the monuments, and to the British Museum and the Muse´e Guimet.
4.
Reports, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi.
5.
Almond, Philip C.The British Discovery of Buddhism, Cambridge , 1988.
6.
Archaeological Survey of India Annual Report, Vol. I, New Delhi , 1871.
7.
Asher, Frederick M. ‘Gaya: Monuments of the Pilgrimage Town’, in Janice Leoshko , ed., Bodhgaya: The Site of Enlightenment, Bombay , 1988, pp. 74–88.
8.
Barua, B.M.Gaya and Buddha Gaya, Calcutta , 1934.
9.
Bayly, Susan. ‘ French Anthropology and the Durkheimians in Colonial Indo-China ’, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 34 (3), 2000, pp. 581–622 .
10.
Bayly, Susan. ‘ Imagining “Greater India”: French and Indian Visions of Colonialism in the Indic Mode ’, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 38, 2004, pp. 703–44 .
11.
Benjamin, Thomas , ed., Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450, Farmington Hills , 2007.
12.
Berg, C.C. ‘ The role of Structural Organisation and Myth in Javanese Historiography: A Commentary ’, Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 24 (1), 1964, pp. 100–03 .
Brekke, Torkel . Makers of Modern Indian Religion in the late Nineteenth Century, Oxford , 2002.
15.
Brown, Robert L. ‘Bodhgaya and Southeast Asia’, in Janice Leoshko , ed., Bodhgaya: The Site of Enlightenment, Bombay , 1988, pp. 101–24.
16.
Christian, John L. ‘ Anglo-French Rivalry in Southeast Asia: Its Historical Geography and Historical Climate ’, Geographical Review, Vol. 31 (2) 1941, pp. 272–82 .
17.
Cle´mentin-Ojha, Catherine and Manguin, Pierre-Yves . A Century in Asia: The History of the E´ Fran¸aise d'Extre^me-Orient 1898–2006, Singapore , 2007.
18.
Coedès, G. ‘ Une recension palie des annals d'Ayuthia ’, Bulletin de l'E´cole Fran¸aise d'Extre^me-Orient, Vol. 14 (3), 1914, p. 3 .
19.
Cohn, Bernard S.Colonialism and its Forms of Knowledge: The British in India, New Delhi , 2002.
20.
Cousins, L.S. ‘ The Dating of the Historical Buddha: A Review Article ’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Series 3, Vol. 6 (1), 1996, pp. 57–63 .
21.
Cunningham, Alexander.The Ancient Geography of India: Buddhist Period, London , 1871.
22.
Cunningham, Alexander. . Mahabodhi or the Great Buddhist Temple Under the Bodhi Tree at Buddha-Gaya, London , 1892.
Dagens, Bruno.Angkor: Heart of an Asian Empire, London , 1995.
25.
Daulton, Jack. ‘ Sariputta and Moggallana in the Golden Land: The Relics of the Buddha's Chief Disciples at the Kaba Aye Pagoda ’, The Journal of Burma Studies, Vol. 4, 1999, pp. 101–27 .
26.
Davis, Richard.Lives of Indian Images, Princeton University Press , 1997.
27.
De Casparis, J.G.Indonesian Palaeography, Leiden , 1975.
28.
Delacour, Catherine. ‘ The Building of a Collection ’, Orientations, Vol. 22 (5), 1991, pp. 72–77 .
29.
Delaporte, Louis.Voyage au Cambodge, Paris , 1880.
30.
Edwards, Penny. ‘ Relocating the Interlocutor: Taw Sein Ko (1864–1930) and the Itinerancy of Knowledge in British Burma ’, South East Asia Research, Vol. 12 (3), 2004, pp. 277–335 .
31.
Edwards, Penny. ‘Making a Religion of the Nation and its Language: The French Protectorate (1863–1954) and the Dhammakaya ’, in John Marston and Elizabeth Guthrie , eds, History, Buddhism and New Religious Movements in Cambodia, Honolulu , 2004, pp. 63–85.
32.
Edwards, Penny. ‘Taj Angkor: Enshrining L'Inde in le Cambodge’, in Kathryn Robson and Jennifer Lee , eds, France and ‘Indochina’: Cultural Representations, Oxford , 2005, pp. 13–28.
33.
Germano, David and Trainor, Kev in, eds, Embodying the Dharma: Buddhist Relic Veneration in Asia, Albany , 2004.
34.
Germano, David. ‘Living relics of the Buddha(s) in Tibet’, in David Germano and Kevin Trainor , eds, Embodying the Dharma: Buddhist Relic Veneration in Asia, Albany , 2004, pp. 51–91.
35.
Gombrich, R.F. ‘Asoka–the Great Upasaka’, in A. Seneviratne , ed., King Asoka and Buddhism: His-torical and Literary Studies, Kandy , 1994.
36.
Go´mez, Santiago Castro . ‘ The Missing Chapter of Empire: Post-modern Reorganization of Coloniality and post-Fordist Capitalism ’, Cultural Studies, Vol. 21 (2–3), 2007.
37.
Guha-Thakurta, Tapati.Monuments, Objects, Histories, New Delhi , 2004.
38.
Guan, Kwa Chong. ‘Historiography and Definition of pre-Angkorean Art’, in James C.M. Khoo , ed., Art and Archaeology of Funan, Bangkok , 2003, pp. 119–34.
39.
Guy, John. ‘The Mahabodhi temple: Pilgrim souvenirs of Buddhist India’, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. CXXXIII (1059), 1991, pp. 356–67.
40.
Higham, Charles.The Civilisation of Angkor, London , 2001.
41.
Howes, Jennifer. ‘ Colin Mackenzie and the Stupa at Amaravati ’, South Asian Studies, Vol. 18, 2002, pp. 53–65 .
42.
Huntington, John C. ‘ Sowing the Seeds of the Lotus: A Journey to the Great Pilgrimage Sites of Buddhism ’, Orientations, Vol. 16 (11), 1985.
43.
Imam, Abu.Sir Alexander Cunningham and the Beginnings of Indian Archaeology, Dacca , 1966.
44.
Jacques, Claude. Gaya Mahatmya, Pondicherry , 1962.
45.
Jacques, Claude. ‘Sources on Economic Activities in Khmer and Cham Lands’, in David G. Marr and A.C. Milner , eds, Southeast Asia in the Ninth to Fourteenth Centuries, Singapore , 1986, pp. 327–34.
46.
Journey to India in 1872 of king Chulalongkorn, Bangkok , 2000.
47.
Karetzky, Patricia Eichenbaum. ‘ The first sermon ’, East and West, Vol. 45 (1–4), 1995, pp. 127–48 .
48.
Kartunnen, Klaus.India and the Hellenistic World, Helsinki , 1997.
49.
Kinnard, Jacob N. . ‘ When is the Buddha not the Buddha? ’ Journal of the American Academy of Reli-gions, 66(4), 1998, pp. 817–39 .
50.
Kinnard, Jacob N. . ‘When the Buddha Sued Visnu’, in John Clifford Holt , Jacob N. Kinnard , Jonathan S. Walters , eds, Constituting Communities: Theravada Buddhism and the Religious Cultures of South and Southeast Asia, Albany , 2003, pp. 85–106.
51.
Kohl, Philip L. ‘ Nationalism and Archaeology: On the Constructions of Nations and the Reconstruc-tions of the Remote Past ’, Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 27, 1998, pp. 223–46 .
52.
Lahiri, N. ‘Bodh Gaya: An Ancient Buddhist Shrine and its Modern History (1891–1904)’, in Timothy Insoll , ed., Case Studies in Archaeology and World Religion, Oxford , 1999, pp. 33–43.
53.
Legge, James (translated and annotated). A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, New Delhi , 1998 (reprint).
54.
Linstrum, Derek. ‘ The Sacred Past: Lord Curzon and the Indian Monuments ’, South Asian Studies, Vol. 11, 1995, pp. 1–17 .
55.
Lockard, Craig A. ‘ Integrating Southeast Asia into the Framework of World History: The Period before 1500 ’, The History Teacher, Vol. 29 (1), 1995, pp. 7–35 .
56.
Ludden, D. ‘ Presidential Address: Maps in the Mind and the Mobility of Asia ’, Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 62 (4), 2003, pp. 1057–78 .
57.
Lueders, H.Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum II, Part II, Bharhut Inscriptions, Ootacamund , 1963.
58.
Mabbett, Ian. ‘Buddhism in Champa’, in David G. Marr and A.C. Milner , eds, Southeast Asia in the Ninth to Fourteenth Centuries, Singapore , 1986.
59.
Malandra, Geri H. ‘ The Mandala at Ellora/Ellora in the Mandala ’, Journal of the International Asso-ciation of Buddhist Studies, Vol. 19 (2), 1996, pp. 181–208 .
60.
Malandra, Geri H. ‘The Mahabodhi Temple’, in Janice Leoshko , ed., Bodhgaya: The Site of Enlightenment, Bombay , 1988, pp. 9–28.
61.
Marsden, W.Miscellaneous Works of William Marsden, London , 1834.
62.
Marshall, John.The Monuments of Sanchi, Archaeological Survey of India-Annual Report 1913–14, Calcutta , 1917.
63.
Marshall, John. ‘Where the Restored Relics of Buddha's Chief Disciples Originally rested: The stupa of Sariputta and Mahamogalana, Illustrated London News, 29 January 1949, p. 142.
64.
Miksic, John.Borobudur: Golden Tales of the Buddhas, Periplus editions, Berkeley— Singapore , 1990.
65.
Mitra, Rajendralal . The Antiquities of Orissa, Vols I & II, Calcutta , 1875 &1880.
66.
Mitra, Rajendralal. Buddha Gaya: The Hermitage of Sakya Muni, Calcutta (published under Orders of the Gov-ernment), 1878.
67.
Mouhot, Henri.Travels in Siam, Cambodia, Laos and Annam, Bangkok , 2000.
68.
Mukherjee, B.N . ‘ Inscribed Mahabodhi temple Plaque from Kumrahar ’, Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, n.s., Vol. 14, 1984–85, pp. 43–46 .
69.
Mus, Paul.Barabudur: Sketch of a History of Buddhism based on Archaeological Criticism of the Texts, translated from the French by Alexander W. Macdonald , New Delhi , 1998]1935[.
70.
Myer, Prudence M. ‘ The Great Temple at Bodh Gaya ’, Art Bulletin, Vol. 40, 1958.
71.
Obeyesekere, Gananath. ‘Buddhism, Nationhood and Cultural Identity: A Question of Fundamentals’, in Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby , eds, Fundamentalisms Comprehended, Chicago and London , 1995.
72.
Osborne, Milton.Southeast Asia: An Introductory History, New South Wales , 2004.
73.
Pellegi, Maurizio . ‘Royal Antiquarianism, European Orientalism and the Production of Archaeological Knowledge in Modern Siam’, in Goh Beng Lan , Srilata Ravi and Mario Rutten , eds, Asia in Europe, Europe in Asia, Singapore , 2004, pp. 133–61.
74.
Pottier, Christophe . ‘Yasovarman's Buddhist Asrama in Angkor’, in Pierre Pichard and Franc¸ois Lagirarde , eds, The Buddhist Monastery: A Cross-Cultural Survey, Paris , 2003, pp. 199–208.
75.
Pou, Saveros. ‘From Old Khmer Epigraphy to Popular Tradition: A Study of the Names of Cambodian Monuments’, Southeast Asian Archaeology 1990, Hull , 1992.
76.
Quilty, Mary Catherine.Textual Empires: A Reading of Early British Histories of Southeast Asia, Clayton , 1998.
77.
Raffles, T.S.History of Java, London , 1817.
78.
Reynolds, Craig J.Seditious Histories: Contesting Thai and Southeast Asian Pasts, Seattle and London , 2006.
79.
Rhys Davids, T.W. ‘ Buddhism ’, North American Review, Vol. 171, 1900, pp. 522–24 .
80.
Schopen, Gregory. ‘Burial Ad Sanctos and the physical Presence of the Buddha in Early Indian Buddhism: A Study in the Archaeology of Religions’, Religion, Vol. 17, 1987.
81.
Schopen, G.Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks, Honolulu , 1997.
82.
Singh, Rana P.B. , John McKim Malville and Anne L. Marshall . ‘Sacredscape and Manescape: A Study of Gaya, India’, http://www.colorado.edu/Coferences/pilgrimage/papers/Singh-3.html (accessed on 3 August 2007).
83.
Snellgrove,D. , ed., The Image of the Buddha, Paris , 1978.
84.
Soekmono, R . Candi Borobudur, Amsterdam and Paris , 1976.
85.
Stark, Miriam T. ‘Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian Cambodia’, in Ian Glover and Peter Bellwood , ed. Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History, London and New York , 2004.
86.
Stephens, Harold. ‘Flying Visit to the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha’, Bangkok Post, 23 February 2005.
87.
Strong, John S.The Legend of king Asoka, Princeton , 1983.
88.
Swearer, Donald K. ‘Signs of the Buddha in Northern Thai Chronicles’, in David Germano and Kevin Trainor , eds, Embodying the Dharma: Buddhist Relic Veneration in Asia, Albany , 2004, pp. 145–62.
89.
Tartakov, Gary M.The Durga Temple at Aihole: A Historiographical Study, New Delhi , 1997.
90.
Tin, Pe Maung and Luce G.H. , translated, The Glass Palace Chronicles of the Kings of Burma, London–New York , 1923.
91.
Trautmann, Thomas R.Aryans and British India, California , 1997.
92.
Trautmann, Thomas R. ‘Constructing the Racial Theory of Indian Civilization’, in Johannes Bronkhorst and Madhav M. Deshpande , eds, Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia, Harvard , 1999.
93.
Watters, Thomas.On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India (AD 629–645), New Delhi , 1996 ]1904–5[.
94.
Weatherbee, Donald E. ‘ Raffles’ Sources for Traditional Javanese Historiography and the Mackenzie Collections ’, Indonesia, Vol. 26, 1978, pp. 63–93 .
95.
Williams, Monier. ‘ Shraddha Ceremonies at Gaya ’, The Indian Antiquary, Vol. V, 1876, pp. 200–04 .
96.
Willis, Michael , ed., Buddhist Reliquaries, London , 2000.
97.
Wink, Andre.Al-Hind, The Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Vol. II, New Delhi , 1999.
98.
Wolters, O.W. ‘ Southeast Asia as a Southeast Asian Field of Study ’, Indonesia, Vol. 58, 1994, pp. 1–17 .
99.
Wu, Peiyi. ‘An Ambivalent Pilgrim to T'ai Shan in the Seventeenth Century’, in Susan Naquin and Chun-fang Yu¯ , eds, Pilgrims and Sacred Sites in China, Berkeley, Los Angeles and Oxford , 1992, pp. 65–88.
100.
Zhou Daguan: A Record of Cambodia, translated by Peter Harris , Chiangmai , 2007.
101.
Zürcher, Erik.The Buddhist Conquest of China, 2 vols, Leiden , 1972.
