In the art of Cham stone sculpture, the Kút statue is a unique art form predominantly found in Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận, where the Cham people live today. To this day, the origin of this art form remains shrouded in mystery.
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Kút statue at Ponít Temple, Bình Thuận. |
Researcher Lê Đình Phụng from the Institute of Archaeology states that the Kút statue may have originated from the early stone worship figures of the Cham people. The form of the Kút is similar to the tombstones of the Vietnamese, Chinese, or Islamic graves in Indonesia. To this day, the Cham people still create and use Kút for funerals and continue to worship ancient Kút figures passed down from their ancestors in family shrines.
The material used to craft Kút is usually a light gray stone, fine-grained, with low hardness, making it easy to carve. Kút often takes the shape of a lotus flower. The slender lotus-shaped Kút has been transformed into various types with rounded shoulders and a cinched middle, creating a unique character. Some Kút are designed in human form but still maintain the lotus shape as the primary element, giving the piece its soul.
Some Kút have their own bases that fit together using mortise and tenon techniques, creating a complete worship object. Others are made as a single piece, without a base, and are directly buried at the worship site.
The decorative patterns on Kút are quite simple, primarily featuring plant motifs, petal designs, flowing floral vines, and spiral flowers resembling flames. Some Kút bases are carved with lotus patterns and nipple-like protrusions around the edges. The decoration within the Kút base is simple, aimed at distinguishing the gender of the deceased: the inner Kút is shaped like a sacred column, similar to a miniature Linga, symbolizing masculinity. In contrast, the inner Kút with spiral nipple designs symbolizes femininity.
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Kút at Poklung Mơnai Temple, Bình Thuận. The left figure is female, while the right is male. | |
Typically, female Kút are crafted larger and adorned more beautifully than male Kút, indicating that women were held in higher regard within the Cham community during this period.
According to Mr. Phụng, throughout the research process, scholars agree that Kút emerged relatively late in the progression of Cham stone sculpture, belonging to the subsequent stages of the PoRome artistic style. Later, the Cham continued to create Kút, but these were merely natural stone grave markers that are still in use today.
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