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The Po Klaung Garai Tower was built around the late 13th or early 14th century, during the reign of King Jaya Simhavarman III - a figure quite familiar to Vietnamese historians as Che Man - to worship King Po Klaung Garai.
According to Cham legend, Po Klaung Garai reigned in the late 12th century and was worshipped by the Cham people as their hero. He is believed to have built the Nha Trinh irrigation system (now located in Nhon Son commune, Ninh Son district, Ninh Thuan province), which has existed for over 700 years. Besides helping the people with irrigation, the king is said to have been very clever and resourceful: he helped the people avoid bloodshed in the war with the Khmer by winning a tower-building competition.
The Po Klaung Garai Cham tower complex is located on the top of Trau Hill in Phan Rang-Thap Cham city, Ninh Thuan province.
According to old archaeological records, the entire complex consisted of six towers: one central tower and five smaller towers. The central tower was in the middle, with two smaller towers in front of it. The smaller tower directly in front of the central tower has now collapsed, leaving only its foundation. The smaller towers to the northeast and southwest have also crumbled.
Currently, the entire complex consists of three towers: the Central Tower; the Fire Tower - with a saddle-shaped roof; and the Gate Tower - the furthest auxiliary tower to the east, in front of the Central Tower.
The central tower, situated atop the hill, is the largest tower in the complex, standing 20.5 meters tall with each side measuring over 10 meters wide.
The Central Tower is the most beautiful tower in the complex. However, because it was built later, its architecture and sculptures are quite simple compared to other Cham towers in Central Vietnam. In this tower, only terracotta firework details are attached to the false archways and stone details are attached to the corners of the tower, rather than the direct sculptural motifs on the archways or the tower body found in Cham towers in the Binh Dinh and Quang Nam areas.
The stone statues of gods in the niches of the false doors are also quite simple. Perhaps the most "valuable" are the statue of the divine bull Nandin at the tower entrance and the statue of the dancing god Shiva on the lintel of the central tower.
Inside the tower is a shrine dedicated to Mukhalinga, the deity king Po Klaung Garai, placed on a Yoni pedestal.
What is Mukhalinga?
According to Hinduism, virtuous and meritorious individuals who have made great contributions to the country and society, and who are respected by the people, are revered and worshipped as deities. The most solemn form of veneration is to carve their face onto a linga (a symbol of male genitalia). A linga with a human face is called a Mukhalinga.
In Vietnam, lingas are abundant in Cham religious architecture, but mukhalingas are very rare. The mukhalinga (perhaps the only one) in Vietnam today is at the Po Klong Garai Cham tower, placed on a yoni (female genitalia) pedestal.
Because the temple complex is located in an area inhabited by the Cham community, many Cham temple festivals take place here annually, the largest being the Kate festival - which includes rituals of bathing and dressing the statues of the gods.
The Fire Tower was once a place where people prepared and arranged offerings before presenting them to the gods.
The Fire Tower, located in the southern corner of the tower complex, features a distinctive saddle-shaped roof. Among the remaining ancient Cham towers, only a few have this type of roof, and the Po Klaung Garai Fire Tower has the most intact roof compared to other towers in the area.
Although this Fire Tower is relatively well-preserved, its body lacks any sculptural decorations (the Fire Tower in the Banh It Tower complex has many brick sculptures at the base and beautiful sculpted motifs at both gable ends of the roof).
The Gate Tower – the easternmost tower in the complex – is a smaller, simpler replica of the Central Tower. Although the main entrance to the complex faces east, due to the erosion and steepness of the eastern slope of the Betel Hill, the current access to the complex is located on the gentle southern slope of the hill.
At Po Klaung Garai Tower, in addition to the ancient temple structures, there are several inscriptions of great value to archaeologists: two stone pillars in front of the central tower entrance densely inscribed with Cham script; a linga; and two stones located outside the wall surrounding the tower complex, both of which are exposed on the ground and inscribed with Cham script that is still quite clear.
Since 1979, the Po Klaung Garai tower complex has been classified as a special national monument. The cultural sector has established a large monument complex with supporting structures at the foot of Trau Hill, all aimed at preserving, conserving, and promoting this special historical site.
