Henri Mouhot | |
---|---|
Born | 15 May 1826 Montbéliard, Doubs, France |
Died | 10 November 1861 35) | (aged
Nationality | French |
Known for | Angkor |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Natural history |
Alexandre Henri Mouhot (15 May 1826 – 10 November 1861) was a French naturalist and explorer of the mid-19th century. He was born in Montbéliard, Doubs, France, near the Swiss border, but spent his childhood in Russia and, possibly, parts of Asia. He died near Luang-Prabang, Laos. He is remembered mostly in connection to Angkor. Mouhot's tomb is located just outside of Ban Phanom, to the east of Luang Prabang.
Mouhot traveled throughout Europe with his brother Charles, studying photographic techniques developed by Louis Daguerre. In 1856, he began devoting himself to the study of natural science. Upon reading The Kingdom and People of Siam by Sir John Bowring in 1857, Mouhot decided to travel to Indochina to conduct a series of botanical expeditions for the collection of new zoological specimens. His initial requests for grants and passage were rejected by French companies and the government of Napoleon III. The Royal Geographical Society and the Zoological Society of London lent him their support, and he set sail for Bangkok, via Singapore.
From his base in Bangkok in 1858, Mouhot made four journeys into the interior of Siam, Cambodia and Laos. Over a period of three years before he died, he endured extreme hardships and fended off wild animals, to explore some previously uncharted jungle territory.
On his first expedition, he visited Ayutthaya, the former capital of Siam (already charted territory), and gathered an extensive collection of insects, as well as terrestrial and river shells, and sent them on to England.
In January 1860, at the end of his second and longest journey, he reached Angkor (already charted territory) — an area spread over more than 400 km2., consisting of many sites of ancient terraces, pools, moated cities, palaces and temples, the most famous of which is Angkor Wat. He recorded this visit in his travel journals, which included three weeks of detailed observations. These journals and illustrations were later incorporated into Voyage dans les royaumes de Siam, de Cambodge, de Laos which were published posthumously.
Mouhot is often mistakenly credited with "discovering" Angkor, although Angkor was never lost — the location and existence of the entire series of Angkor sites was always known to the Khmers and had been visited by several westerners since the 16th century. Mouhot mentions in his journals that his contemporary Father Charles Emile Bouillevaux, a French missionary based in Battambang, had reported that he and other Western explorers and missionaries had visited Angkor Wat and the other Khmer temples at least five years before Mouhot. Father Bouillevaux published his accounts in 1857: "Travel in Indochina 1848–1846, The Annam and Cambodia". Previously, a Portuguese trader Diogo do Couto visited Angkor and wrote his accounts about it in 1550, and the Portuguese monk Antonio da Magdalena had also written about his visit to Angkor Wat in 1586. Mouhot did, however, popularise Angkor in the West.
Perhaps none of the previous European visitors wrote as evocatively as Mouhot, who included interesting and detailed sketches. In his posthumously published Travels in Siam, Cambodia and Laos, Mouhot compared Angkor to the pyramids, for it was popular in the West at that time to ascribe the origin of all civilization to the Middle East. For example, he described the Buddha heads at the gateways to Angkor Thom as "four immense heads in the Egyptian style" and wrote of Angkor:
"One of these temples—a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michael Angelo —might take an honourable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."
Mouhot also wrote that:
"At Ongcor, there are ...ruins of such grandeur... that, at the first view, one is filled with profound admiration, and cannot but ask what has become of this powerful race, so civilized, so enlightened, the authors of these gigantic works?"
Such quotations may have given rise to the popular misconception that Mouhot had found the abandoned ruins of a lost civilisation. The Royal Geographical Society and The Zoological Society, both interested in announcing new finds, seemed to have encouraged the rumor that Mouhot — whom they had sponsored to chart mountains and rivers and catalog new species — had discovered Angkor. Mouhot himself erroneously asserted that Angkor was the work of an earlier civilization than the Khmer. For although the very same civilization which built Angkor was alive and right before his eyes, he considered them in a "state of barbarism" and could not believe they were civilized or enlightened enough to have built it. He assumed that the authors of such grandeur were a disappeared race and mistakenly dated Angkor back over two millennia, to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was later pieced together from the book The Customs of Cambodia written by Temür Khan's envoy Zhou Daguan to Cambodia in 1295–1296 [1] and from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. It is now known that the dates of Angkor's habitation were from the early ninth century to the early 15th century.
Henri Mouhot's exploration covered 4,955 kilometers in Southeast Asia, in three years, six months and 13 days. The exact itinerary, as listed in Le Tour du Monde ("Around the World" journal), is as follows: [2] [3]
Stage | Locality (period name) | Locality (current name) | Chapter from Le Tour du Monde | Arrival | Departure |
Preparation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | London | London | I | 27 April 1858 | |
2 | Singapore | Singapore | I | 3 September 1858 | |
3 | Paknam | Pak Nam | I | 12 September 1858 | |
4 | Bangkok | Bangkok | II - V | 19 October 1858 | |
First expedition (256 km) | |||||
5 | Ajuthia | Ayutthaya | VI | 23 October 1858 | |
6 | Arajiek, Phrabat | Phra Phuttabat | VII | 13 November 1858 | 14 November 1858 |
7 | Patawi | Phra Phutthachai | VIII | 28 November 1858 | |
8 | Bangkok | Bangkok | VIII | 5 December 1858 | 23 December 1858 |
Second expedition (2,399 km) | |||||
9 | Chantaboun Gulf, Lion's Rock | Laem Sing | IX | 3 January 1859 | |
10 | Chantaboun | Chanthaburi | IX | 4 January 1859 | |
11 | Ile de Ko-Man | Ko Man Nork | IX | 26 January 1859 | |
12 | Ile des Patates et ile de Ko-Kram | Ko Khram | IX | 28 January 1859 | |
13 | Ile de l'Arec | Chanthaburi | X | 29 January 1859 | |
14 | Ven-Ven | Pak Nam Welu | X | 1 March 1859 | |
15 | Chute de Kombau, grotte du Mont Sabab | Namtok Phlio National Park | X | ||
16 | Chantaboun | Chanthaburi | XI | ||
17 | Ko-Khut | Ko Kood | XI | ||
18 | Koh-Khong | Koh Kong | XI | ||
19 | Kampot | Kampot | XI | ||
20 | Kompong-Baïe | Kompong Bay | XI | ||
21 | Udong | Oudongk | XII | ||
22 | Pinhalu | Ponhea Leu | XIII | 2 July 1859 | |
23 | Penom Penh | Phnom Penh | XIV | ||
24 | Ile de Ko Sutin | Kaoh Soutin | XV | ||
25 | Pemptiélan | Peam Chilӗang | XV | ||
26 | Brelum | Bro Lam Peh | XV | 16 August 1859 | 29 November 1859 |
27 | Pemptiélan | Peam Chilӗang | XVI | ||
28 | Pinhalu | Ponhea Leu | XVI | 21 December 1859 | |
29 | Penom Penh | Phnom Penh | XVI | ||
30 | Lac du Touli-Sap | Lac du Tonlé Sap | XVI | ||
31 | Battambang | Battambang | XVII | 20 January 1860 | |
32 | Ongkor | Angkor | XVIII | 22 January 1860 | 12 February 1860 |
33 | Mont Ba-Khêng | Phnom Bakheng | XIX | ||
34 | Battambang | Battambang | XXI | 5 March 1860 | |
35 | Ongkor-Borège | Mongkol Borey | XXI | 8 March 1860 | 9 March 1860 |
36 | Muang Kabine | Kabinburi | XXI | 28 March 1860 | |
37 | Bangkok | Bangkok | XXI | 4 April 1860 | 8 May 1860 |
Third expedition (1,250 km) | |||||
38 | Petchabury | Petchaburi | XXII | 11 May 1860 | |
39 | Bangkok | Bangkok | XXIII | 1 September 1860 | |
40 | Nophabury | Lopburi | XXIV | ||
41 | Ajuthia | Ayutthaya | XXIV | 19 October 1860 | |
42 | Tharua-Tristard | Tha Ruea | XXIV | 20 October 1860 | |
43 | Saohaïe | Sao Hai | XXIV | 22 October 1860 | |
44 | Khao Koc | Wat Tha Khlo Tai | XXV | ||
45 | Tchaïapoune | Chaiyaphum | XXVI | 28 February 1861 | |
46 | Saraburi | Saraburi | XXVI | ||
47 | Bangkok | Bangkok | XXVI | 12 April 1861 | |
Fourth expédition (1,050 km) | |||||
48 | Sikiéou | Si Khiu | XXVI | ||
49 | Korat | Nakhon Ratchasima | XXVI | ||
50 | Penom-Wat | Prasat Phanom Wan | XXVI | ||
51 | Tchaïapoune | Chaiyaphum | XXVII | ||
52 | Nam-Jasiea | Non Kok | XXVII | ||
53 | Poukiéau | Phu Khiao | XXVII | ||
54 | Leuye | Loei | XXVII | 16 May 1861 | |
55 | Paklaïe | Pak Lay | XXVII | 24 June 1861 | |
56 | Thodua | Tha Deua | XXVII | ||
57 | Luang Prabang | Luang Prabang | XXVII | 25 July 1861 | |
58 | Na-Lê | Na Le | XXVIII | 3 September 1861 | 15 October 1861 |
This section possibly contains original research .(June 2017) |
Some have argued that Mouhot may have been a tool for French expansionism and the annexation of territories which followed shortly after his death. Mouhot himself, however, did not seem to be a hardcore colonialist, for he occasionally doubted the beneficial effects of European colonisation:
"Will the present movement of the nations of Europe towards the East result in good by introducing into these lands the blessings of our civilization? Or shall we, as blind instruments of boundless ambition, come hither as a scourge, to add to their present miseries?"
However, Mouhot appears in his notes as genuinely interested in South East Asia and its culture, and kept in mind the benefits he thought France could provide to those countries. He notably wrote in the Tour du Monde: [3]
Page 174: " European domination, the abolition of slavery, protective and wise laws, and faithful, experienced and scrupulously honest administrators, would alone be capable of regenerating this State, so close to Cochinchina, where France is seeking to establish itself and where it will undoubtedly establish itself; then it would certainly become a granary of abundance, as fertile as lower Cochinchina ". [3]
Page 175: "People are astonished to see insignificant production and no industry in these regions that are so fertile and so rich, but they are generally unaware that the kings and mandarins enrich themselves through despoilment and corruption, through all the abuses that ruin work and halt progress. Let this country be administered with wisdom and prudence, with loyalty and protection for the people, and everything will change with marvellous rapidity.” [3]
Mouhot also highlighted he saw France already provided Cambodia, at his time: (page 179) "Had it not been for the war that France has been waging against the Empire of Annam for the past two years, it is probable that today the last hour would have sounded for the little kingdom of Cambodia, whose destiny, with little doubt, is to die out and be assimilated into the neighbouring peoples.” [3]
Mouhot died of a malarial fever on his fourth expedition, in the jungles of Laos. He had been visiting Luang Prabang, capital of the Lan Xang kingdom, one of three kingdoms which eventually merged into what can be known as modern-day Laos, and was under the patronage of the king. Two of his servants buried him near a French mission in Naphan, by the banks of the Nam Khan river. Mouhot's favourite servant, Phrai, transported all of Mouhot's journals and specimens back to Bangkok, from where they were shipped to Europe.
A modest monument was erected over his grave in 1867 under the orders of French commander Ernest Doudart de Lagrée, who gave him this eulogy:
"We found everywhere the memory of our compatriot who, by the uprightness of his character and his natural benevolence, had acquired the regard and the affection of the natives."
The monument was destroyed by the overflow of the river Nam Khan. It was replaced in 1887 by a more durable crypt monument, and a maisonnette was built nearby to house and feed visitors to the white shrine. Some restoration work was done on the tomb in 1951 by the EFEO (Ecole Française d'Extrème Orient—The French School of the Far East).
Mouhot's tomb was consumed by the jungle and lost until it was accidentally rediscovered in 1989 by a French Laos scholar, Jean-Michel Strobino, who played a part in rehabilitating it with the support of the French embassy and the Municipality of Montbeliard, Mouhot's birth town. A new plaque was fixed to one end of the crypt in 1990 to commemorate this rediscovery. The location is now known to hotels and tourist operators in Luang Prabang, and a minivan or "tuk tuk" may be hired to take one the 10 km from town to visit it. This entails a walk down a steep track on the southern bank of river Nam Khan, over a small wooden bridge, and then up to a well-cleared track to the tomb, altogether about 150 meters. A new road being constructed nearby (June 2013) will make access easier. The tomb is still quite near the river (only about 20m), and access by boat from town should be possible.
The popularity of Angkor generated by Mouhot's writings led to the popular support for a major French role in its study and preservation. The French carried out the majority of research work on Angkor until recently.
Two species of Asian reptiles are named in his honor: Cuora mouhotii , a turtle; and Oligodon mouhoti , a snake. [4]
Mouhot's travel journals are immortalized in Voyage dans les royaumes de Siam, de Cambodge, de Laos et autres parties centrales de l'Indochine (published 1863, 1864). English title: Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China, Cambodia and Laos During the Years 1858,1859, and 1860.
Angkor Wat is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia. Located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor, it is considered the largest religious structure in the world by Guinness World Records. Originally constructed in 1150 CE as a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Vishnu, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century.
Luang Phabang, or Louangphabang, commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ as Luang Prabang, literally meaning "Royal Buddha Image", is a city in north central Laos, consisting of 58 adjacent villages, of which 33 comprise the UNESCO Town of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site. It was listed in 1995 for unique and "remarkably" well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The music of Laos includes the music of the Lao people, a Tai ethnic group, and other ethnic groups living in Laos. The traditional music of Laos has similarities with the traditional music of Thailand and Cambodia, including the names of the instruments and influences and developments. To categorize Lao music, it seems helpful to distinguish between the nonclassical folk traditions, the classical music traditions and its basic ensembles, and vocal traditions.
Émile Gsell was a French photographer who worked in Southeast Asia, becoming the first commercial photographer based in Saigon. He participated in at least three scientific expeditions, and the images he produced from the first, to Angkor Wat, are among the earliest photographs of that site. Though he died at an early age, he managed to make several hundred photographs in just over a dozen years featuring a wide range of subject matter including architecture, landscapes, and studio, ethnographic and genre portraits.
Zhou Daguan was a Chinese diplomat of the Yuan dynasty of China, serving under Temür Khan. He is most well known for his accounts of the customs of Cambodia and the Angkor temple complexes during his visit there. He arrived at Angkor in August 1296, and remained at the court of King Indravarman III until July 1297. He was neither the first nor the last Chinese representative to visit the Khmer Empire. However, his stay is notable because he later wrote a detailed report on life in Angkor, The Customs of Cambodia. His portrayal is today one of the most important sources of understanding of historical Angkor and the Khmer Empire. Alongside descriptions of several great Buddhist temples, such as the Bayon, the Baphuon, Angkor Wat, and others, the text also offers valuable information on the everyday life and the habits of the inhabitants of Angkor.
Siem Reap is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia.
Auguste Jean-Marie Pavie was a French colonial civil servant, explorer and diplomat who was instrumental in establishing French control over Laos in the last two decades of the 19th century. After a long career in Cambodia and Cochinchina, Pavie became the first French vice-consul in Luang Prabang in 1886, eventually becoming the first Governor-General and plenipotentiary minister of the newly formed French colony of Laos.
A wat is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
A Dharmasala or a house of fire, or house with fire, is the name given to a place where people, especially pilgrims, can rest on a journey. It is a type of building found in Angkorian complexes constructed during the reign of late 12th-century monarch Jayavarman VII and still found in Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and Banteay Chhmar.
Lakhon Khol or Khmer Masked Theatre is a dance drama genre that is performed in Cambodia.
Luang Prabang is a province in northern Laos. Its capital of the same name, Luang Prabang, was the capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom during the 13th to 16th centuries. It is listed since 1995 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for unique architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries. The province has 12 districts. The Royal Palace, the national museum in the capital city, and the Phou Loei Protected Reserve are important sites. Notable temples in the province are the Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Wisunarat, Wat Sen, Wat Xieng Muan, and Wat Manorom. The Lao New Year is celebrated in April as The Bun Pi Mai.
The Cambodian Royal Chronicles or Cambodian Chronicles are a collection of 18th and 19th century historical manuscripts that focus on the time from around the year 1430 to the beginning of the 16th century. This period of Cambodia's history is considered to be the Middle Periods, as it marks the end of the Khmer Empire. Written sources such as Sanskrit epigraphy become obsolete, beginning in the first half of the 14th century. Even Old Khmer inscriptions are absent until the middle of the 16th century. The last king mentioned in the ancient inscriptions of Angkor is King Jayavarman Parameshwara, who reigned from 1327 to 1336.
The Mekong expedition of 1866–1868, conceived and promoted by a group of French colonial officers and launched under the leadership of captain Ernest Doudard de Lagrée, was a naval exploration and scientific expedition of the Mekong River on behalf of the French colonial authorities of Cochinchina. Its primary objective, besides scientific documentation, mapping, and the mission civilisatrice, was an assessment of the river's navigability in order to link the delta region and the port of Saigon with the riches of southern China and upper Siam. Ambitions were to turn Saigon into a successful commercial center such as British controlled Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze River.
Henri Parmentier was a French architect, art historian and archaeologist. Parmentier became one of the first European specialists in the archaeology of Indochina. He has documented, depicted and preserved many Khmer, Cham and Lao monuments.
Thommo Reachea II (1602–1631), also known as Ponhea To or Cau Bana Tu, was the Cambodian king who reigned from 1628 to 1631.
The Grande Inscription d’Angkor, referenced as K. 301 or Inscription Modern Angkor Wat (IMA) #38, is the longest Khmer inscription at Angkor Wat. Dated to 1701, it is located on the east wall between the bas-relief galleries and facing the Chey Non stupa in the courtyard outside.
The Austroasiatic crossbow which is also known as the Hmong crossbow, the Jarai crossbow, or the Angkorian crossbow is a crossbow used for war and for hunting in Southeastern Asia. It has become a symbol of pride and identity for ethnic groups from Myanmar (Burma) to the confines of Indochina.
A ballista elephant, also known as a Khmer ballista, is a war elephant mounted with a simple or double-bowed ballista which was used by the Angkorian civilization. They are considered as the summit of sophistication of Khmer weaponry comparable to the carrobalista in the legion of Vegetius.
Samdech Preah Moha Sangkha Reach Nil Teang or Nil Tieng as it was written during the French protectorate of Cambodia, was the first Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia in the Mahanikaya. He held that position during the reign of three consecutive kings: King Preah Ang Duong, King Norodom, King Sisowath.
The fall of Longkvek, also known as the sack of Longvek or siege of Longvek, was the final act of the Siamese–Cambodian War which lasted from 1591 to 1594 and after which the Khmer capital Longvek was ransacked and looted. After the Khmer refused to recognize Ayutthaya authority, the Ayutthaya Kingdom besieged Longvek and sacked the capital city. After the fall of Angkor, the conquest of Longvek was another blow to Khmer sovoreignty, which was not restored for many more centuries, initiating the period known as the "dark age" of Cambodia.