Amidst the majestic Central Highlands landscape, where deciduous forests stretch and streams meander through layers of red basalt soil, the Yang Prong Tower stands as a silent relic of history. Not massive, nor situated on a high hilltop like many Cham towers in Central Vietnam, this structure possesses a unique beauty, small and mysterious.
Overview of Yang Prong Tower
The Yang Prong Tower, also known as Cham Yang Prong Tower or Green Forest Cham Tower, is a Cham tower located in Ea Rok commune, Dak Lak province, about 100 km from the center of Buon Ma Thuot. To date, it remains the only Cham tower recorded in the Central Highlands.
Yang Prong means “Great Gods” who govern the harvest, according to the ancient Cham people’s beliefs. The tower was discovered between 1904 and 1911 by a French ethnologist named Henri Maitre. This scientist described this structure in his book Les jungles Moi, published in Paris in 1912.
Yang Prong Tower in Dak Lak
The tower was built at the end of the 13th century during the reign of King Sinhavarman III. Besides its historical, scientific, artistic, and cultural value, the monument also serves as evidence of the Cham people’s presence in the highlands in the past.
More than just an architectural structure, the Yang Prong Tower also holds deep religious significance. It was once a place of worship for Shiva – the supreme deity in Hinduism, a symbol of creative and destructive power. For local people, the tower is also associated with the belief that praying for a good harvest and favorable weather is important, reflecting the connection between humans and nature.
Every year, during festivals and holidays, people of the local ethnic groups still come here to offer incense and make offerings, praying for peace and well-being. Yang Prong is a tower of great archaeological, historical, and cultural value. On August 3, 1991, the tower was classified as a National Architectural Monument.
Architecture of the Yang Prong Tower
Yang Prong Tower is a structure of red fired bricks on a raised base of blue stone. The tower is still relatively intact, about 10m high, built of hard bricks of various sizes. The tower has a square base, with the eastern vestibule being 1.60m wide. The square structure of the tower has sides of 5m each, with three false doors on each outer wall, and a single door opening to the east, the abode of the deities.
The top widens and tapers like a pen, different from the architecture of other Cham towers in Central Vietnam. This is an unfinished structure because, when building towers, the Cham people never built just one but usually a complex.
During wartime, the tower was damaged by mines planted by gold prospectors. Unlike other Cham towers, which are built on high hills or low, treeless mountains, the tower is nestled beneath the ancient trees of the Ea Súp forest and beside the gentle Ea H’leo river.
Useful information about Yang Prong Tower
- Location: Ea Rok commune, Dak Lak province, about 100km west of Buon Ma Thuot Ward.
- Entrance: Free
- Tourist spots nearby:
Source: collected by An
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