The mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1863-1943, 1864-12-24
The Wonders Of CambOdia.


+. >-. ...e -S,r.uoe, - e4.. oseiL/~ IoE J0fS "a
there is an account by one DR.. A. Bastain
OF journey recently made to Cambodia,
in Farther India. giving some very inter.
esting information about that distant and
little known country. ---- .-----...-.
The great marvels Of CambodiA are the
enormous ruins of Nahkon, of which DR..
Bastan says: ....
"They are frequently termed the 'mys.
teriOus ruins and there is certainly q
good deal that is strange and curious about
them; but the most curious appears to
me the fact that they have so long re-
maincd entirely hidden from travellers and
! OrientaIists There is short notice in
paper of a medi@val writer (Ee Mancane-
do) that during his sojourn in Cambodia
in the year 1870 the servant of the king
happened to discover in the depths of a
forest the remains Of an immense city,
adorned with sculpture Of fantastic ami.
mails, and bearing inscriptions which no.
body could read. This city be calls Ang.
cor; and Ankhor. or more correctly,
Nanknon (the Indian Nagharal is the
name Of those ruins which only few
years ago were re.diScovered, having been
forgotten for more than two centuries.-
There Is, however, no reason to wonder
at the ObScurity which they were buried
in, il we reflect on the state Of geographi-
cal knowledge regarding Cambodia, Of
which country one might say that moth
ing was know at all, and scarcely the
name Of that great lake which now shows
itself so fruitful an object for exploration" "
The history Of the country is perfectly
silent on these ruins, and the natives as
cribe their building to the gods.
"Phara In (the Indra Ct Brahminica
mythology relates the legend, sent Phra
Phryttakam, or Pitsanukan, to raise this
place and prepare it for the royal resi-.
pence Of one Of his numerous sons, the
offspring Of a Irritation with lady of the
terretrial world. As the other gods would
not aliow this imp, in whom they smeIt
the man, TO remain in heaven, his divine
sire, to console him for the los, had city
constructed on earth, in perfect imitation
Of the stately halls he was obliged to quit.
Others say that Nakhon Vat copies in its
design only the stable of Erawaddi, a IA.
''i''S C'SPhuht VI ihuAa Out as, III CIUa
India, the stables Of the white elephants
often equal the habitations Of the kings,
the difference is of small account
These palaces bear the traces Of the
gaudy colors and the rich gliding which
were once used to cover the statues OF the
polymurphous deities with a multiplicity
Of hands and arms. but they are now strip.
ped Of Their ornaments. and stand in soil.
tude. abandoned and forSakcn. On the
highest platform Of the central tower at
the Cambodan structure is enthroned the
four fold figure Of Bu,l1ha a; and when the
great patriarch Buddha GhOsa, with his
train of Shaven monks, entered the Sump
tuous colonades Of this palace, cherished
as their hereditary abode by long line Of
kings, then the temples of idoiatrous sac.
riticeS lcll, ard the old classical name of
luthapattaburi was changed into that Of
Vat, Che City of Mona>tericS,) which
thcncuirrth became 4 convent dedicated
t. the priesthood.
The ancient inscriptions are considered
unintcl,:ihc hy the present CambodianS,
but more from laZine>S and fear OF ment1l
cXertion, as the letters, although Of n more
antiquated form. are generally similar
en0p.h to the Pail, and the words in most
cases differ from those now II use. One
scriptiouS may perhaps still give clue
to historical facts connected with these
ruins, as nothing of that kind is to be
hoped for from the written history Of
Cambodia, which begins with the Cam
bodian kings removing to their ucw capi
tai Of BaSan or Panompcn, and thence to
Lawek~ They had left the fertile plans
exposed to the inrna1S Of the Siamese,
who just then began - break forth from
their native mountains, and retired into
the inaccessible swamps round the shores
Of the great lake
The traditions collected from the
people in Cambodin speak of the son Of
a king Of Romah. who banished his coun-
try, married the daughter Of the dragon
king in Kamphuxa-Thibodi, the great
country born out of the water, and ac-
cording 10 Javancse, who likewise aludeS
to an aRcieat colony from R0hm, settled at
I the mountain Of Sununv kedang, th,ir
first civiizer, tie holy Triirsta, was mar
ried to Bramani Kali Of Kamboja. II In
dian inscriptions could be believed, Raia
! Deb, Pal Deb Of the Para dynasty in Ben.
gal, added kamboja to his conquests in
the ninth century, and the victorious
Suren is brought there by the annals of
the Malays. In the tenth century Cam
bodia constituted ilourishing empire,
strong enough to conquer parts of Ton
quin, and it even checked the progress Of
kublai Rhon, who, it is said, attracted by
its wealth. sent an army against it. The
| Cochin Chinese historians, however, as.
cribe the honor Of conquering the Tartar
conqueror to their own king, Ishingish-
i0uen. After the dismemberment of the
prosperous monarchy, over which the Ha-
haTaja Of Zabedj had swayed his scepter.
a constant and intimate intercourse was
kept up between the maritime ports on
the India and eastern seas, by the feet Of
the Siam, who had been taught to excel
in navigation by Malay settlers in Cham.
pa. The Malay Cheritas describe their
proud capital. thronging .on the waves,
and give Javanesc mother to Raia Tig-
max. The name of Siam was afterwards
adopted by the Thai in Siam, which
country was formerly known as Nawi or
Lava. The pedigree of Panji, the iavorite
hero of romances and plays in Java, was
ennobled by his descent from a Hindu
princess, whom his royal father woocd
during stay in Kalinga; Wutu Rahu,
the first brahmana of the Sewa caste, who
settled in Bali, came from Ialinga, and
the King of Madura, the Plolemies Of the
East, and long before that time entertain
ed Intercourse with Europe by embassies,
as well as the sovereigns Of Ceylon. This
latter island has always exercised a great
influence or the countries Of Ultra lndia,
and before devastated by the Damila, IL