Promoting heritage values of Ponagar Temple associated with sustainable tourism development

Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee has recently organized a scientific conference on the promotion of the potential cultural heritage values of Ponagar Temple associated with sustainable tourism development. The participating scientists and managers presented the special cultural values of this monument and solutions for continued exploitation and promotion of the heritage value of the temple associated with tourism development. 

A place that preserves special cultural values

Pilgrims attending Ponagar Temple Festival

Ponagar Temple is considered an important worship center of Cham people and Vietnamese people. This is the complex of temples worshipping the Mother of the land Po Inư Nagar of Cham people and Holy Mother Thien Y A Na of Vietnamese people. The complex dates back to the 8th to the 13th century. Each work in the complex features unique quintessence of architecture and sculpture of Cham’s culture. The scientific conference on the promotion of the potential cultural heritage values of Ponagar Temple associated with sustainable tourism development served as an activity to prepare for submission to the Prime Minister to recognize Ponagar Temple as a special national monument. “The conference clarified and deepened the outstanding values of Ponagar Temple. In addition, the scientists also evaluated more comprehensively the capacity to exploit the values of the Ponagar Temple as a cultural resource for tourism development; solutions to build and develop integration of tourism products in the central coastal area", said Associate Professor, PhD Dang Van Bai – Vice-Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council.

Cham people performing ritual acts at Ponagar Temple Festival

Based on researches about Ponagar Temple, the scientists all agree that this is a monument complex with special cultural values, featuring the quintessential and sophisticated elements in Cham’s architectural and sculptural art; clearly showing the interaction between Cham’s culture and Vietnam’s culture through the worship of the Mother of the land of Cham people and Holy Mother Thien Y A Na of Vietnamese people.
“Currently, Ponagar Temple in Nha Trang City comprises 5 architectural works with different features of the ancient kingdom of Cham. It can be said that rarely does a remaining Cham monument complex still contains many different architectural characteristics like Ponagar Temple. Therefore, besides the world heritage of My Son (Quang Nam Province), the architectural works of Ponagar Temple are and will be the historical, cultural and artistic heritages of Vietnam", said Associate Professor, PhD Ngo Van Doanh - former member of the National Cultural Heritage Council.

Ponagar Temple shows the development of the ancient kingdom of Cham. It is considered a sacred place for both Cham people and Vietnamese people as well as some other ethnic groups. It has tangible cultural values and intangible cultural values. Ponagar Temple Festival is the largest traditional and well-known festival in the south central and highland regions. 

Associated with sustainable tourism development

According to PhD Tran Dinh Hang - director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts in Hue Province, the Mother Goddess Thien Y A Na worship and the land’s Mother worship are the prominent features in the cultural life of  the local people. Khanh Hoa Province, the homeland of Holy Mother Thien Y A Na - Mother of the land which includes Am Chua (where the Holy Mother descended to earth), Suoi Do (where she visited) and Ponagar Temple (where she ascended to heaven), has advantages to develop pilgrimage tourism. This is the potential for the development of eco-tourism associated with unique spiritual tourism and can also serve as a basis for expanding tourism through worship facilities of Holy Mother Thien Y A Na in villages and communes in the province.

Cham dance performed at Ponagar Temple

At the conference, Professor, PhD Tu Thi Loan - former Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts proposed some solutions to exploit and promote cultural resources for sustainable tourism development at Ponagar Temple, for example making changes and improve the ways of presentation and introduction of heritages; diversifying tourism products relating to Ponagar Temple and Ponagar Temple Festival; improving the quality of the workforce; harmoniously equalizing protection and promotion of heritage values among ethnic communities; focusing on protecting the environment and landscape in tourism development, and so on.

Khanh Hoa has more than 200 places of worship of Holy Mother Thien Y A Na, as said by Dinh Van Thieu - Deputy Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee at the conference. The worship Holy Mother Thien Y A Na strongly bears a cultural characteristic of Vietnamese people with its own legends, which exists parallel to the worship of the land’s Mother of Cham people.

Giang Dinh
Translated by H.N