Management Plan to Appreciate and Understand Nakhon Ratchasima
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Management Plan to Appreciate and Understand Thailand's Heritage Case study: Prasat Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand ABM, Prof. Nartnide Maneeneb F;~culfyut' Munapmcni St.i~cx.Khan Kacn Univursily [email protected] Abstract '171~higniticwtce of Prahat Phimrii cnn k u~trihutedto %\,em1 culh~rulvaltlcs und the in~e~g-ity or the ~~hi(wli1~1heritage afid il* laadscn~huvc con~inued~hn>ttghr~ui time, II caiild hc ~iddhat IM piam is a cultnml Ianclwrlpc. tlr~weuer,its Iqck of;) ptowr tnilnng~nllenlplan and lhe. iapr{bpcr uscs of SOAU: of the buildi~lpado nral pyote ~hcprr1pr uplx.et.intion n the visitom of its vignificuncc ;md interpretive value. ThereTow. this x*ilrb nl' the Illunigcmnl plan of an hih~nzicsite as u cultural t;lrldsc;l~ aucrnptx lo r~~vEy/canrlrvaIunIe lk utlluc and thcn oiTcr sugp~tinrlsfor ;I proper Irtsimm plan w well propoxc iw wemll 1anpccm1rwinugcmenl pI:m for futurc a=, Thor ~(uJyCwuseh mninly on ~hc.w?;~ui~l;lhili~ fit' l~nd-u~ ~IIcultural laurkni and d~cct>nservil~ion of the rui,\ti?g ai-clii~ectumand 1amEr;capc. Introduction Travcl and [nurim are considpad the WrrW's Lugst generdtom oT,iabs and wealth (World Travel ;md Twrisia Cwwll - WTTC, 2004). Accnrdil~g tu !he World Travel Organiwtion (WW).the numkr rjf tourists visiting tha Asian hcilic region rMe ld 104 n~illionurrivals in 21WW and i$l'mcast to mh1 %80 millinn in 20lt). Thew figures imply that tbe averdgts UIIIIUILIgr~wth rate will psak ut 6.7 pcnwl (WTO, IWb). In ter~nhnf iincdn~e,in 1969. lhi'w sector generuted 2(K) million hiobs, or H pcmnt af the wa1'1d:semploynia~c, and USS3.5 trillion. or 1 1.7 pwt:nt of the world's FNP. In 2000. the pi&d tourism receipts rachttd llSS527 hitlion TWTTC, 2MM1. Regarding Th;lilo~~d.the high&^ rate of ~hcgrowlh in visitors' arrival lo Thailand in recent ycurs has hcc~irewgni;rxd in Asia11 ti'tarkcts. In 1W8 Thailand was ranked us Asia'r; third papular tourist destination uftcr HOJI~Konp and China (Tourism Authority of Th&land - TAT. 200 I 1. The nurnber of 4nuril;rs arrivisg to Thuila~~dinrmwd 1 Oafold in.40 pars. from 11.M in 1960 ra 8,d million m IW (TAT. 2(N)l). In udditian. the t'twrisnl industiy was the acand-highest ~ou~cuf t'mig11 exchangl: hr the ct3untt-y in l%W (Thailand Bard af Invwt~wnt- 801. 2W). ?'hi< growth MI) Ix ~~rrihrtttidLW a-nunrber d fuctam fcm txa~nple.he a~mctivenessnf ntllural and culturul fcutures, ate. Moreover, Thailand is a country with a long historic significance and cultural diversily innuaced by mighboring countries. such as has, Burma, Cambodis. Vietnam and a fond values, beliefs. religions, sorial mysticaily and spiritually influend. many cultural sigmficances; aesthetic, , political and economic values, which t investigated historic plam in the been discovered. Prasat Phimai is and is a remarkable place of worship, it has great mbitecture and is a marvelow ex of building drom the anciat period with its mysterious construdion technique. Ln the conservation an ement of Thailand's places of dkcctural berilrsge, the relahnskip between the g of them can bF describd as conmaiion and management in law ng atld prom market. Statement of Heritage ShSi AusWs ICOMOS I aesthetic. historic, scimtific and social val that hcdtage sires must be historically heritage site resides in its inherent values, which Timothy and Boyd (2@33-3also added that econon~ic,smial, political and scientific significance. Adapted horn the Wcsme signtficance in heritage. The value and $igniFaicance of Ras cansideration d the criteria Social vhThe traditional, social activities and cumpatible present day use. It involves conte community and plays a mIe in st for keeping religiow documents. There m also the temple st or^ smctuari sites or shrines, usualjy a large s ceremonies in the comrnuniy . appeamnce of ppkwho lived nearly a thousand y~arsago, the clotbing of men and women and the characteristics of vies,pdams. musical instruments and more. Sdentih value Pram Phimai is a historic site. whicb dects ancient technique medds, design. materials, customs. local wisdom, ways of life of all the cultures in ThaiMand elated cu1ture.s of mbfrom ove~seaschat had relationship wiih Thai people inthe past, such as Khmer. The layout and sating of the heritage site [Prasut Phimaij reflects the intelligent thinking and Iruditinns af the ancient ur local people using natural resources und constru~~im nwhodx adapted fmtheir way of life. such as wall bearing canlstrucuon systems built by smdsttmc, Aesthetic value: Pmsut Phimai is a heritage st~ucturethat represtnts the unique ark of a particular piad. such es the pedormance of the sculpture 00 the lintel showing musiriamc; and dancers. This is a etting For u sense of harmony with humonkind and gives the silt a piwe of beauty. (Wright 1997. p. 1 181 ~isbuqic value: Prasur Phiwai is a hislaric site thal rcpesenls lbt irnportsmt uswciation of hkury und displays he dd way of lif~gf pcclple from hc puat. The site remains identify th!: materials. style, and wiul prac~iceof ii particular historical ume, such Dharmawlu or "huw of fire", a li@ted h~usabuilt for lrivelew to slay overnight on the mute from Angkor t+Pmsat Phiami and Aropyasaia or Kldti Rutsi, a place for physical remedies and health lrm>menta in the ci:lmrnunity. In addition. for his%wic valuc, the roof structure of Phimui sanctuary resembles fiat of Angkor Wat. Perhaps Phimd sanctuary was the rnndel for 1ht ct~rlstmetionof Angkor Wat that was built in ;I later period. The signifince of hut Phimai can be attributed to several culturtl values and kcausr? of the integrity uf the architectural heritage and its h~dscupethroughmt time, it ct~uldbe said that the she is a cultural landmark, Momover, Prasut Phimd also has economic 3-gnificance because af the value it ot'fers in term of txpcnditures of viaitom la the site. Background of Khmer Cultural Rout; Stme Sanctuaries in bwer Isan adPrasat Phimai In rhe southern Isan region or lhe Khoral Plateau. l~caredWween the Mun River and the Dong Rak Mountains along the Thd-Cambodian border, the:re is evidence of hunian settlements khat date back more than 2,000 years. In the pst, this ma wus called "upper Khnw'' that was separated by the Dadg Rak Mountains from lower Khmer (present day Cambodia). But pople in the two arwb were able to travel and cbgtuct each other through more lhan 40 pases since ancient times. Signs of the reladons of thekJwosides fmrn the past appear in the forin of the amsanctuaries that arc located in s line h\m Phimi. r large city of the Mun River bash, to Angkor Wai which shw the ~Ituilaritiesof the art. culture and way of life of the upper and lawer Khmer groups. The Reasans far the Construction of the Stone Sanctuaries These stone sanctuaries are archaeologicaI sites that are msid~redto be characrmistic or ancient Khmer culture. Khner kings had the sanctuaries cotlzi~ct~dto k the abode of celestial beings in accwdance with die system of n god-kjng in which the king is believed to be a living god ox a divine king in the Hindu digion such a$ Shiva, Vishnu or Brahm. Although Hinduism of the Sbivaite sect, that believes that wbn the king die$ he will 8s to join the highest gads that are symtwld by the Shiva lingam, was predominantly practiced in the Khmer, there am dm other belid systems such as Vaishasvik sect ad \ Mahayanaquddhism that are mixed in wjth Khmer culture. sanctuarits bad been built since the 6th cenauy A.D. The in low I~aushowed the power of the lcdm of with the Khmer court. Constructing the be a center of faiths of mygroups of about the donation of people. things established it self around The construdon y stone sanetaaries in lower fsan brought the plan For cwnmunitics in Khmer cul use, mch as cities with sdgmoats with eatthen dike and a stone sanctuary o s MMin the middle d tbe city, ALso Bwys or reservoirs were bnib to co well suited for this ma of Thailand. The hyswerc of both large sizEs depending on the urn d the size of the community. They were ad imp e cm see a1 Prasat Muang Tam where thm is a bmynearby which hm as an ~rnportantsource of water up to Wy.The building of stone sanctuaries an mhmliy brougM the Khwculture into use lnto hesetting of cornmities tbat were la the 10th -12th camries AD. On the Mun Rivw plaip is he city d "Vimayapura"which is a hrge rectangular ancient city sunrwndad by moats Tbis city is located on the trade route linking the NoWt with communities and therc is evidence oE an ancient road hat is believed to haw oo~ectedPhimai with kpgkm, Ihc mchKhmmcapi~al. Figure 1 The three stmmm (left to Figwe 2 The right) me Rang HLn Dmg, 2004, TAT the himipal Tower and mgB-that. 2004, TAT. Praw Fhirrmi w;rs &ilt in the I Ith mflhlry A.D. h thc Michuynna Buddhism style and hou.red the respected imap of kalnrateng Jagatit Vimiy a. which is be! ieved ta be and inuge of the lard Buddha. The mdatwcture of Pllimai +w~xctuaryce~e~nblad that of Angktr Wal. Perhups Pl~i~mi salwluriy was tht. rn~hktt'tr He rlo~~r;tntr.tionaf Anpkw Wilt thd was built in n Inter age. Thcrc is a legend in the ma of Phimi hutPrince Pachit of Aqkar 'Ihlm ad Nung Oruphim, whi~his a stt~ryor thcir love md scprrratiun.