Agenda

Centres

Bangkok

The Centre is hosting Mathilde Badey (Faculty of Historical Sciences – University of Strasbourg), an M2 student and recipient of an EFEO fieldwork grant, for a period of two months. She is working on funeral rites as they were conceived and practised in the 17th century in Ayutthaya.

Chiang Mai

Buakhampanh Phongsathorn (EFEO Chiang Mai) and David Wharton have been on a field mission since 19 January and will remain in the northern provinces until 6 February as part of the project "The Law Codes of the Ancient Kingdom of Lanna (Northern Thailand): a preliminary survey" led by Gregory Kourilsky. Buakhampanh Phongsathorn will extend his itinerary with a four-day mission to Ton Pheung, in the province of Bo Kaeo in Laos, at the beginning of the month, where he will join Michel Lorrillard.

During February, the Centre is hosting two artists as part of the Siamwave 2026 residency, a programme dedicated to sound creation, music and image, organised by the Alliance Française in Chiang Mai and the French Embassy in Thailand. This third edition highlights the dialogue between sound and moving images. Following the selection process, the duo of sound designer Sandy Ralambondrainy and visual artist Clara Robert was chosen to develop an immersive and poetic project in Chiang Mai. Their proposal explores the intersections between mythology, memory and contemporary spirituality, weaving a sensitive link between Thai and European cultures.

On 4 February, the Centre welcomed 25 students from the French literature course at the Faculty of Humanities of Chiang Mai University, led by their professor Virine Hutasangkas.

Jakarta

Collaboration with the Museum Cagar Budaya (MCB), Indonesia's national museum, under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed at the end of 2025 with the EFEO, begins with the documentation and cataloguing of the "short inscriptions" preserved at the museum.

The following persons will be present at the Centre:

- From 2 to 6 February, Sita T. van Bemmelen, author of the book Christianity, Colonisation, and Gender Relations in North Sumatra (Leiden, Brill, 2018), to work on the editing and layout of the Indonesian translation of her book.

- From 8 to 14 February, Zakariya Pamuji Aminullah, a doctoral student at the University of Hamburg, to work with Arlo Griffiths, his thesis supervisor.

Pondicherry

KANCHI Workshop Programme: Pondicherry & Kanchipuram

The KANCHI workshop will be held from 2 to 7 February at the EFEO Centre in Pondicherry and Kanchipuram. It will focus on the study of the temples, texts, inscriptions and ritual traditions of Kāñcīpuram using an interdisciplinary approach.

The first three days in Pondicherry will be devoted to scientific presentations and discussions.

Among the planned lectures:

- Dominic Goodall & Ute Hüsken: introduction
- Jonas Buchholz: Phaṇāmaṇīśvara and Mākāḷiyammaṉ
- Vigneshwaran Muralidaran: Kaccimāyāṉam as Yogapīṭha
- Paras Mehta: The 32 acts of karma of Pārvatī
- Aneesh Raghavan: Beyond Palar: Temple and text
- Suganya Anandakichenin: Exploring the Tiruvēḷukkai Temple
- Mohan Ramesh: Mahākumbhābhiṣeka (12/2025) of the Ekāmbareśvara Temple
- Peter Bisschop & Elizabeth Cecil: Purāṇa as a Way of Worldmaking (online)
- Udaya Kumar P. L.: 3D Scans for the Preservation of South Indian History
- Charlotte Schmid: Pallava Goddesses at Kāñcīpuram: Epigraphic and Iconographic Perspectives
- Lakshmi Narayanan Sundararaman: The Emergence of Varada in the 17th Century

Participants will also work in methodological groups and round tables, and prepare for the field trip through discussions on epigraphy, texts, art history and material culture.

The workshop will continue with a visit to the temples and sites of Kanchipuram and south of the Pālar River from 5 to 7 February. The workshop will thus enable participants to compare the analyses discussed in Pondicherry with the architectural, ritual and topographical realities of the sites studied.

23rd Classical Tamil Winter School (CTWS), Pondicherry

The 23rd Classical Tamil Winter School (CTWS) will be held from 9 to 27 February 2026 at the EFEO Centre in Pondicherry.

The first week will be devoted to an introduction to Classical Tamil, with an emphasis on grammar and syntax through careful reading of selected poems from the Caṅkam corpus. This course is intended for participants with no previous experience of Classical Tamil. The teachers, Neela Bhaskar and Maanasa Visveswaran, will guide students in learning the basics and analysing texts. Mornings will be divided between grammar instruction and text analysis, while afternoons will be devoted to practical exercises and specialised lectures on Tamil poetics and related disciplines.

The second part will focus on reading selected poems from the Paripāṭal, prepared by Indra Manuel, Maanasa Visveswaran and Neela Bhaskar. Mornings will be devoted to the presentation and explanation of the poems, followed by exercises and group discussions in the afternoon. Specialised lectures will also be offered at the end of the day.

The entire three weeks will follow the usual CTWS format, combining morning lessons, student-led reviews, group exercises, text readings and specialised lectures.

Activities of the Centre's researchers:

In February, S.A.S. Sarma presents a paper entitled "Ritual Knowledge Transmission in Kerala: Vedic and Tantric Lineages of the Nambudiri Community" at the international conference Aesthetica 2026: Art in Action, organised by Christ University, Bengaluru, which takes place from 5 to 7 February.

In memory of N. Ramaswamy (Babu)

A memorial gathering will be held on Tuesday, 3 February at 4:45 p.m., in a hybrid format. Those wishing to participate online can join the commemoration via Zoom.

We will pay tribute to N. Ramaswamy (Babu), who passed away on 18 December 2025. A member of the EFEO since May 1993, Babu was known for his generosity, optimism, and exceptional expertise on sites, temples, and inscriptions, as well as for his commitment to our photographic archives. We invite all those who wish to honour his memory to join us in this moment of reflection.

Shanty Rayapoullé retires

After 37 years at the Centre, Shanty Rayapoullé has just retired. She joined the team as a secretary in 1988, then trained as a librarian in the early 2000s. The EFEO sincerely thanks her for her decades of service.

Arrival of an intern at the EFEO Centre in Pondicherry

The Centre welcomes Arunaditya Das as an intern. A 2025 graduate of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education with a passion for Indian art and heritage documentation, Arunaditya will contribute to the organisation of archives, photographic documentation and the study of Indian temple art.

Seoul

Seoul

- On 3 February, Pola Couëdel, a Master's student in Archaeology at the University of Nantes, who is doing an internship at the Siem Reap Centre from 6 January to 3 April, travelled to Laos to take part in excavations at the ancient city of Vat Phu under the supervision of Nicolas Nauleau as part of the CHAMPA project.

- From 16 February to 27 March, Lola Vaissaire, a student curator at the Institut National du Patrimoine, is doing an internship at the Siem Reap Centre.

- From 25 February to 20 March, Corentin Nunes, a Master's student in Art and International Creation at Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne University, is visiting the Siem Reap Centre to participate in the study and restoration programme of the dancing Shiva statue of Koh Ker at the Angkor Conservation.

- From 13 February to 21 March, Benoît Lafay and Violaine Pillard, followed by Nathalie Bruhière from 20 February, conservators-restorers of sculpture, will join Éric Bourdonneau and Chan Chamroeun to continue and complete the restoration of the dancing Shiva statue from Koh Ker at the Angkor Conservation Centre.

Researchers

Luca Gabbiani

From 6 to 13 February, Luca Gabbiani will be travelling to Taiwan to attend the annual CRISOLIC programme meeting. This meeting will be held from 9 to 11 February at the Institute of Modern History of Academia Sinica. It will bring together researchers from the programme as well as the team of statisticians and IT technicians.

Benoît Jacquet

On Monday 9th and Friday 20th February, Benoît Jacquet visited Kōgakuin University in Tokyo to consult the archives of architect and anthropologist Kon Wajirō and examine his study notebooks (kenbunyachō) on country houses (minka).

Christophe Marquet

On 19 February, Christophe Marquet will serve as rapporteur on the jury for Marion Di Santi's thesis entitled "Penser la culture matérielle. André Leroi-Gourhan and Japan (1937-1939)", prepared at the Sorbonne University Doctoral School of Art History and Archaeology, under the supervision of Jean-Sébastien Cluzel and Nathan Schlanger (École nationale des Chartes).

Christophe Pottier

Charlotte Schmid

Projects

CHAMPA Project

Following the latest prospecting mission in January for the NATURAL_FORESTORE project, a collaboration between the National Biobank of Thailand (NBT), the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), IRD and EFEO, a team of researchers will be installing and conducting a detailed survey of tree species in approximately 18 areas of one hectare each from 9 February until May 2026.

From 4 February to 11 April, Nicolas Nauleau is conducting two archaeological excavation campaigns at the Phon That and Nong Vienne sites as part of the CHAMPA project to develop the site.

Jean-Baptiste Chevance, archaeologist and director of the Archaeology and Development Foundation (ADF), is continuing an archaeological excavation campaign until 11 February at the sites of Tham In Seau and Tham Leck, rock shelters located north of the Vat Phou site, as part of the CHAMPA project. The excavations are a prerequisite for their development and integration into a walking trail called the "Vat Phou Hermit Trail". Jean-Baptiste Chevance is accompanied by Chloé Chollet (doctoral student at EFEO EPHE-PSL) and Sophorn Nhoem (archaeologist), in collaboration with the Vat Phou office and the heritage department. The EFEO/Vat Phou geomatics laboratory team and Vissa Chanthaphasouk are providing assistance with topographical surveys and photogrammetry.

LiDAR surveys are continuing, and the addition of an extra engineer from the Vat Phou office (Phoumany Sinaphinan) will enable the number of survey teams to be doubled, while still maintaining an official representative in each of these teams.

The mission to consolidate and protect the murals at Vat Taleo Kao will begin on 3 February, ahead of the building's restoration work as part of the CHAMPA project. It will be led by Marie Parant, accompanied by Agnès Roze, Soria Sum, Maud Pouliot and Sarah Albrand, who will work in pairs during the six weeks of the mission. Three representatives from the Savannakhet Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) will participate in the mission, as well as three people from the Vat Phou office who were trained by the World Monuments Fund in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Vissa Chanthaphasouk (EFEO doctoral student) will participate in the first week of the mission to help set it up. David Bazin will visit the site on 3 and 4 February to finalise the last details of the complex organisation and logistics of this mission.

David Bazin is in Savannakhet Province to prepare for the mission to consolidate and protect the murals at Vat Taleo Kao, prior to the restoration work on the building as part of the CHAMPA project. This mission is being carried out with the assistance of a member of the DCT who will be specially seconded from February to March, as well as Bounsouang Senphaseuth, a Laotian engineer from the Vat Phou division, and two Laotian technicians, Vansouk Keophan and Kommalien Sivilay.

Vissa Chanthaphasouk is conducting photogrammetric surveys on the northern part behind the Vat Phou sanctuary with the help of the geomatics laboratory team. She will also participate in other ongoing missions.

The final restoration of the lime-based paintings on the pinnacle of Vat Meuang Kang will be completed in early February, based on the results of tests carried out at the end of January 2026, under the supervision of Vissa Chanthaphasouk, by Bounsouang Senphaseuth, a Laotian engineer from the Vat Phou division, and two Laotian technicians, Vansouk Keophan and Kommalien Sivilay. This final operation will conclude their mission, which began in 2025 at the Vat Meuang Kang site.

DiPiKA Project - Thrissur

Olga Nowicka (postdoctoral researcher, DiPiKA project) will present a paper entitled "South India and Advaita Vedānta Monastic Networks" at the international conference "The Global South: Dialogues between Science, Humanities, Social Science, and the Arts", to be held on 23 and 24 February in Pondicherry at the Department of English Language and Literature of Kanchi Mamunivar Govt. Institute for Postgraduate Studies and Research.

P.S. Sudhanjali, Ushus K. Unnikrishnan and P. Rasmi (all three permanent members of the DiPiKA project) are participating in the international symposium "New Horizons of Indological Research" organised by the Department of Sanskrit Literature, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, from 26 to 28 February. Their presentations are entitled:

- P.S. Sudhanjali: "The Vādhūla School in Kerala: An Examination of Its Gṛhya Tradition with Special Reference to the Vādhūla Gṛhyasūtra"

- Ushus K. Unnikrishnan: "Vedārthasārasaṅgraha - Establishing a Critical Text from Six Manuscripts with Introduction and Annotation"

- P. Rasmi: "Scribal Error and Scholarly Emendation in Manuscripts".

Lectures

Alain Arrault & Michela Bussotti
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire culturelle de la Chine impériale tardive : textes techniques et prescriptions du quotidien

Éric Bourdonneau
- Seminar, "Depuis la marge". Étude des images et écriture de l’histoire du Cambodge ancien, Phnom Penh Faculty of Archaeology

Hugo David
EPHE seminar ("Philosophie et Philologie sanskrite") in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies,  Autour de l'énonciation : linguistique et métaphysique (introduction à la philosophie linguistique de Bhartrhari 2)

- Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3 Seminar as part of the Bachelor's Degree in Indian Studies, Lecture de textes philosophiques sanskrits : introduction à la lecture du "Pātañjalayogaśāstra" ("Yogasūtra" de Patañjali et leur [auto-]commentaire)

Véronique Degroot
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Introduction à l'histoire de l'art et à l'archéologie de l'Indonésie occidentale: protohistoire et période hindo-bouddhique

Andrew Hardy
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire de la colonisation du Vietnam : approches micro-biographiques ?

Benoît Jacquet
- Master 2 Seminar, Introduction au Projet de fin d’études (PFE), École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette

- Master 2 Seminar, Par-delà la modernité : Retour d’Asie, École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette

Fabienne Jagou
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Le nationalisme tibétain à partir du début du XXe siècle

François Lachaud
- EPHE seminar ("Bouddhisme et civilisation japonaise") in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, La Guerre et ses fantômes: les pièces à Asura (shuramono) dans le théâtre nō [Le Heike monogatari et ses héritages 1]

- EPHE seminar ("Bouddhisme et civilisation japonaise") in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Le prélat et les guerriers : lectures du Gukanshō (Mes Vues sur l'Histoire) [Penser la guerre au moyen âge I]

Martin Nogueira Ramos
- EPHE seminar ("Histoire du fait religieux dans le Japon prémoderne et moderne (XVIe-XIXe s.") in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Sources et histoire du catholicisme japonais moderne (XIXe siècle)

Christophe Pottier
- Master's seminar at Sorbonne University, Actualités et pratiques de l'archéologie en Extrême-Orient

Catherine Scheer
EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Faire de la recherche sur le terrain : contraintes, contournements, engagements en Asie du Sud-Est

Charlotte Schmid & Saarthak Singh
EPHE seminar ("Épigraphie et iconographie du monde indien") in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Écrire, inscrire et mettre en scène : la culture matérielle des textes dans le monde indien

Publications

This volume contains the following contributions by researchers from the EFEO:

- Andrey Klebanov (author) et Hugo David (trad.), "S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma: note biographique", pages XXIII-XXXIV

- Hugo David, "Introduction", pages XLIII-LV

- S.A.S. Sarma, "Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Grammar, with Special Reference to the Grammatical Works of Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa", pages 169-194

- Hugo David, "Poetics of Clarity. Mahima Bhaṭṭa’s Views on śleṣālaṃkāra", pages 229-276

- Dominic Goodall, "A Sanskrit Eulogy of Narendrāditya, Son of the Twelfth-Century Sovereign of the Khmers Sūryavarman II – an Edition and Translation of the Four-Faced Stela K. 384 of 1072 śaka (1150 CE), from Phnom Rung, Thailand", pages 639-704.

All EFEO publications are available on the publications website.

Researchers' publications

Hugo David, "Compendium of All Philosophies. The Sarvadarśanasaṃgraha Translated, by Johannes Bronkhorst (ed. & trans.)", Indo-Iranian Journal 69.1 (2026), pages 80-89.

Yohann Perron, Vladyslav Sydorov, Christophe Pottier, Loic Landrieu, "Adapting Vision Transformers to Ultra-High Resolution Semantic Segmentation with Relay Tokens", article en ligne, arXiv, 9 janvier 2026.

Research Services

Recipients of allocation on mission

- Mathilde Badey is based at the Bangkok centre for a study on "Les pratiques funéraires bouddhiques au Siam d'après les voyageurs européens du XVIIe s."

- Milan Garcia is based at the Pondicherry centre for a study on "Jalore et sa grande mosquée - Étude architecturale et urbaine"

- Agathe Grosbeau is based at the Pékin centre for a study on the "Histoire sociale du vêtement féminin dans la Chine des Tang"

- Lieu Dien Vi is based at the Ho Chi Minh-City centre for a study on "Participer à l’avenir : enquête ethnographique sur les pratiques de divination à Hồ Chí Minh-Ville auprès des praticiens rituels"

- Elichéva Ma Juster is based at the Hanoi centre for a study on "Kiều/Qiao翹, miroir du féminin : de la légende chinoise aux pratiques vietnamiennes"

- Lucie Mizzi is based at the Kyoto centre for a study on the "Commerce ambulant, une marginalité sociale en question au Japon. Passé, présent et devenir de la corporation des vendeurs de rue tekiya"

- Yunheng Xu is based at the Pondicherry centre for a study on "The Ulakaḷanta Perumāḷ Temple through its Inscriptions and its Legends"

- Xinying Yang is based at the Hong Kong centre for a study on "Les lettrés chinois séjournant en France dans les années 1930 : espace de médiation littéraire et modernité poétique".

Staff

Appointment to the position of librarian/archivist - Pondicherry

The EFEO Centre in Pondicherry welcomes S. Saranya as its new librarian/archivist. Saranya holds a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Pondicherry and has gained solid experience at the IFP and in the IFP's photographic archives department. She will be responsible for managing the Centre's library and archives.

Library

The Paris library will be closed exceptionally on Tuesday 10 February until 1 p.m.

Photo Library

Réseau des Écoles françaises à l'Étranger

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