John Paul M.

Jacosalem
2013 - 14795
Indian Architecture
Axis Mundi Through and Through
Rooted in our human nature is the need and desire for a Higher Being something or
someone that is greater than all of us. We derive security and certainty from the knowledge that this
Higher Being knows our past, present and future, and is capable of helping us in the midst of our
circumstances. Such a notion has given birth to countless beliefs systems and religions, each one fully
convinced that theirs is valid and true.
We, as mere mortals, aspire to come closer to the object of our beliefs, to be able to live life the
way these Beings lived theirs, to think like them and maybe someday, even become their equal in terms
of spirituality. As a fundamental part of our nature, this need for a Higher Being is manifested physically
so that we, here in the physical world, may be able to at the least, touch the spirituality we aspire to. In
our relics and structures, much effort is put in order to put ourselves closer to the beings we regard very
highly.
Places of worship are central to the practice of our beliefs, serving as the platform by which we
may draw near to our gods. So important that they are one of the most meticulously constructed
structures, governed by rules and guidelines even to the minutest details. It takes advantage of certain
locations that bring the people closer to the heavens, locations that bridge our world with that of the
spiritual realm the axis mundi.
The axis mundi, or the center of the world, represents order and is considered sacred since it
is the point closest to the heavens. Here, the directions meet and from here, the directions begin.
Although the axis mundi seems to represent a concrete location, it is also an idea as much as it is a
marked place, and so, it is possible to have a multitude of axis mundi, each validated by those who
revere it as such.
With spirituality being one of the most encompassing notions among Southeast Asian
countries, it is no wonder that our built structures mirror our beliefs and our spiritual aspirations.
Countless religions have been birthed in Asia and each have spawned distinct yet seemingly connected
architecture, the axis mundi a concept that ties all of these architecture together. As Roman historian
Mircea Eliade said, every microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that

is sacred above all. This center is a unifying concept among different architectures as every small
world has its own center. The architecture of the Northern Filipinos like the Ifugaos, regard their
ancestors as their center, their axis mundi, and as such becomes a central element in the way they
build their houses. An example of this is the central post in their houses that go through the roof to a
miniature house in which their ancestors live. Islam on the other hand, has the Mecca and the Dome of
the Rock as its axis mundis. Both of these, at first glance may seem to be at a disjunction and yet they
both share a central concept.
A parallelism can even be derived here in our campus. The University of the Philippines
Diliman Campus was built along a physical line of symmetry and at the forefront of this axis is the
Oblation Statue, the pinnacle of academic freedom and selfless sacrifice.
All of these point to how the axis mundi is able to pervade through different cultures and
different fabrics of society in order to unify architecture. Starting from spirituality and permeating
towards all the aspects of ourselves and finally manifesting itself in our built environment, the axis
mundi ties everything into one coherent belief.