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4. The hydraulic cities of Angkor |
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Tonle Sap: Source of Lives
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What is a baray? Angkor is located at the foot of Mount Kulen, a large natural water-tower from where many rivers flow down. But water was an irregular resource and the surplus had to be stored for use in the dry season. The Angkorian kings understood this and chose to build barays. These were large artificial reservoirs supplied by rainfall and diverted rivers. They were well thought out: instead of digging into the ground, people raised dykes to hold water. Water would enter through the north dyke and would later be released to irrigate ricefields. But however clever they were, barays were not meant to last…
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Inevitable silting Angkor's power was based on the management of water…but things were not that simple. Over time, canals gradually silted up and sand filled the barays. The dykes were raised to maintain the system, but the building of another baray was soon required. This irreversible phenomenon is one of the reasons why many kings had their own baray built. What if barays were not for irrigation? The barays were not only reservoirs: by having them built, the kings consolidated their power. But barays also had a clear religious function. The stored water and central temples symbolised the mythical ocean surrounding Mt. Meru, the home of the gods. Barays were therefore sacred sites. Some scholars even believe barays were not meant to store irrigation water at all. They argue that the way water was redistributed remains unclear and that none of the ancient inscriptions or texts mention it. There is no denying that with time, religious considerations became increasingly important. Still, it is difficult to figure out the original purpose of the baray…the debate remains open! Indratataka or the first baray Indratataka, Sanskrit for "Indra's basin," was the first baray. It was built around 880 by Indravarman I near Roluos, south of Siem Reap. The reservoir was a perfect rectangle four times longer than wide. The dykes were 2 to 5 meters high, and as much as 10 million m3 of water was stored there! The Roluos river supplied the baray, which provided for tens of thousands of people. The baray is now dried up, but you can still see the temple which was once an island in the middle of the reservoir… The second baray What is now called the Eastern Baray was the second baray built. Work was completed in the late 10th century under Yacovarman I's rule. The baray was five times larger than Indratataka. Just imagine a 7 km-long and 2 km-wide reservoir with dykes 5 to 8 m high! Hundreds of thousands of people could be supplied with water. The Eastern Mebon, a temple-mountain dedicated to Shiva, was completed later on in 953. Located in the center of the reservoir, it used to be accessible only by boat. The baray is now ricefields, but the Mebon can still be visited. The largest baray The size of both the barays and the royal cities gradually increased. The Western baray was the third one and the largest yet. It was 8 km long and 2.2 km wide, while the dykes were 10 to 17 m high. At this stage, more than 100 km2 of ricefields could be irrigated thanks to the baray, supporting nearly one million people. Yet despite its vast size, this third reservoir also gradually silted up. The dykes were raised to deepen the baray, drowning the central Mebon temple. Built in 1050, the Western baray was partly restored in the early 1950s. Today it is still partially filled with water, a living memory of Angkor's Golden Age… |
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Srah Srang Srah Srang, or "royal bath," dates from the 10th century but was remodelled two centuries later. It's a small 700 by 300 m basin, which still contains water today. Srah Srang was part of a series of smaller reservoirs intended to supply the Western baray, but most proved to be useless. The system itself was reaching its limits… The last baray The last baray of a certain size was built in the reign of Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century. Four basins surrounded a central one, but the total capacity of the baray was limited to 15 million m3. Once again the reservoir proved to be inadequate and silted up. The central temple used to be topped by a tree, until a thunderstorm destroyed it in 1935. The waters of Neak Pean were said to have healing qualities, which they're still said to have! [next] |
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