Petty Exchange or Culturally-Charged Dispute? Thai Temple Design Clashes with Cambodian People

Most people these days won’t recognise the Sihanakhon Temple’s name… unless they’re Cambodian.

Sihanakhon, a new Buddhist temple under construction in Buri Ram (a northeastern Thai province), is sparking controversy with Cambodia’s bureaucratic and civilian populations because of its similar physical appearance to Angkor Wat.

Cambodia’s prevailing claim is that the Thai temple’s existence is an insensitive case of cultural appropriation. In as much, Cambodia’s response has been swift, if not also unexpectedly incisive. The country quickly sent over architectural officials, archeologists, and even the director of the ministry of culture in desperate attempts to make their case. Hashtags like #SaveAngkorWat and #AngkorWatBelongsToKhmer were even trending, indicating a rapid response from an engaged digital Cambodian community.

Cambodia’s primary evidence of Thailand’s unjust mimicry is that of Angkor Wat and Sihanakhon’s architectural similarity. Both heavily draw from Khmer architecture with elements like grand prangs (looming spires/towers), terraces, stand stupas, and intricate carvings of asparas (supernatural dancers). However, Cambodia’s argument can be turned against itself.

For one, Angkor Wat may be a World Heritage Site, but can its architecture “belong” to a group of people, or a political entity like a country? Additionally, temples with Angkor Wat/Sihanakhon’s architecture crop up all across Southeast Asia. Bangkok even contains a model of Angkor Wat in its royal palace. Perhaps the most salient context is that Buri Ram also contains several ancient ruins from its time in the Khmer empire, and that Cambodian dialects are widely spoken in the province’s southern half. Clearly, the boundaries between Cambodian-Thai relations regarding these temples are hazier than what Cambodia is perpetuating.

Underlying Cambodia’s argument is that Angkor Wat is a historic and cultural icon/”logo” of the country, and one that can never be claimed elsewhere, Thailand included. Past disputes over Thai/Cambodian temples have manifested in both civil discourse and charged rioting, but the irony that so much strife could spring from debates over Buddhist temples isn’t lost, even on both the Thai and Cambodian governments. Besides, it’s widely implied (if not accepted) that Sihanakhon will never hold the same cultural, religious, and historic weight as Angkor Wat does to Cambodia, forcing all parties to re-evaluate their intentions and inspirations behind the situation.

Sources:

-https://thethaiger.com/news/north-east/cambodia-upset-over-thai-temples-…

-https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2145011/abbot-denies-new-te…

-https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/27/new-thai-temple-controvers…

-https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2171035/cambodia-to-examine…