Invoke and appease or better still become the deity for the safety of the throne. Nothing new there. Old Vietnamese deities were very earth and nature based - mountains, streams, rivers, rain, clouds, et al.
In Duy Phu village, Duy Nuyen district, Quang Nam province, at My Son Valley, there is still a most important complex of Hindu temple towers which is a lasting symbol of Champa art which was continuously developed from the 4th C to he 13th C.
The ancient Champa people were raised to be the masters of art in building with brick. The bricks were laid closely and securely without mortar, onto which carvings showing images of deities, priests, dances, plants, animals and sacrifices were added.
UNESCO added My Son (about an hours drive from Hoi An, dodging cows, water buffalo, chickens, dogs, and the ever insane Vietnamese traffic) to World Cultural Heritage Listing in 1999. Entrance for 150,000 VND ~ AUD9.
"My Son is the royal holy city of ancient Champa Kingdom including the sacred My Son mountain, Mahaparvata in Sanskrit, meaning the God Shiva, located n the southern part of the city. A spring starts from the sacred mountain from the north and integrates the scared Thu Bon River which is Mahanadi in Sanskrit, meaning the Goddess Ganga, wife of the God Shiva."
~~ from the 'You Are Here' board at the entrance trail after the drive up from the main parking area in a little electric bus.
The first temple complex was built in the 4th C combining the beliefs of God Shiva-the Creator and destroyer in Hinduism - were merged into that the Divinity-King and worshipped at My Son. The first temple was destroyed by fire but successive kings built new temple towers at My Son, ultimately encompassing more than 70 monuments in a scared and divine complex.
I kept on thinking about Judy Davis emerging from damp erotic darkness climactic, if not actually ravaged, but the best I could manage was a heavy sweat.
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