Religions and Beliefs in the Khmer Empire
Indianisation caused one of the extremely important aspects of Indian culture, its religion, to also be spread to Southeast Asia and in that the Khmer Empire. Its main religion was Hinduism, followed by Buddhism. The religions were mixed in with local animism and traditional cults found in the region.
The widespread practice of these Indian religions show the strong and pervasive influence of the Indian culture on the Khmer Empire. The syncretic nature of these practices, combining them with the local and traditional practices, further supports the debunking of the Kshatriya Theory of Indianisation as it proves that the locals not only absorbed the religion, they also adapted it to suit their needs/wants. The religions were practiced in temples that were similar in architecture to those in India. In the capital city of the Khmer Empire, Angkor, over 700 monumental temples were built, most notably Angkor Wat, which spanned 200 hectares. The large amount of temples indicate that not only did the locals pick up the religion, they were extremely devout, further supporting of the strong Indian influence found in the region. Find out more about Angkor Wat! |