Who Are the Cham?
The **Cham** are an Austronesian people, descendants of the ancient **Kingdom of Champa** that flourished along the coast of what is now central and southern Vietnam from roughly the 2nd to 17th centuries CE. Today numbering approximately **600,000 people**, the Cham are divided between Vietnam (about 180,000), Cambodia (about 400,000), and smaller diaspora communities. In Vietnam, they are recognized as one of 54 official ethnic minorities. The Cham were historically Hindu-Buddhist, and their temple complexes—including the UNESCO World Heritage site of **Mỹ Sơn**—rival those of Angkor. Today's Cham are religiously divided: Vietnamese Cham practice a syncretic form of Hinduism alongside Islam, while Cambodian Cham are predominantly Muslim, descendants of refugees who fled Vietnamese conquest.
The Kingdom of Champa
**Champa** was a powerful maritime kingdom that controlled trade routes along the South China Sea coast for over 1,500 years. The Cham built elaborate **temple complexes** dedicated to Hindu gods—Shiva was particularly important—that demonstrate sophisticated brick construction and sculptural arts. Mỹ Sơn, the royal religious center, contains over 70 temples built between the 4th and 13th centuries. The Cham developed a unique artistic style blending Indian, Indonesian, and local influences. They were skilled mariners and traders, their ships carrying goods between China and the Islamic world. However, pressure from the expanding Vietnamese (**Đại Việt**) state gradually pushed Champa southward. Major defeats in 1471 and subsequent Vietnamese conquests reduced Champa to a vassal state; the last Cham king was deposed in 1832, and the kingdom was formally absorbed into Vietnam.
Vietnamese Cham Today
Vietnam's Cham population lives primarily in two regions: **Ninh Thuận** and **Bình Thuận** provinces (the Cham heartland), and scattered communities around **An Giang** province near Cambodia. Vietnamese Cham practice a unique religious synthesis: approximately half follow **Bani** (an Islam adapted to Cham practice, maintaining pre-Islamic elements), while the other half practice **Balamon** (a Hindu-influenced tradition). Both groups share cultural practices including matrilineal kinship, distinctive textiles, and the **Katé festival** (honoring ancestors and spirits). The Cham script, derived from Indian Brahmi, is still used for religious purposes. However, cultural preservation faces challenges: younger generations increasingly adopt Vietnamese language and customs; traditional textile arts decline; and economic development transforms Cham villages.
Cambodian Cham
Cambodia's Cham community is larger than Vietnam's, concentrated in fishing villages along the Mekong and Tonle Sap. These Cham are descendants of refugees who fled Vietnamese expansion beginning in the 15th century. Unlike their syncretic Vietnamese cousins, Cambodian Cham are primarily **Sunni Muslims**, their religious practice shaped by centuries of Islamic influence. They constitute Cambodia's largest religious minority (about 2-3% of the population). The Cambodian Cham suffered terribly under the **Khmer Rouge** (1975-1979), who targeted them for genocide because of their distinct religion and ethnicity—perhaps 100,000 Cham were killed, and mosques were destroyed. Recovery has been gradual; today, Cham communities maintain their identity while integrating into Cambodian society, their mosques rebuilt and traditions preserved.
Heritage and Memory
The Cham story illuminates how peoples survive the loss of statehood and territory. From powerful kingdom to scattered minority took centuries, yet the Cham maintained linguistic, religious, and cultural distinctiveness. Their temple ruins draw tourists and archaeologists; their textiles and arts are celebrated. UNESCO recognition of Mỹ Sơn (1999) and Cham temple complexes acknowledges their architectural heritage. Yet living Cham culture faces erosion: language shift toward majority languages, religious change, economic integration, and youth migration all transform communities. Documentation projects preserve traditions; cultural tourism brings income; and diaspora communities maintain connections. The Cham represent both tragic loss—a civilization that once dominated now reduced to ethnic minority—and remarkable persistence, identity surviving across centuries of displacement and adaptation.
References
- Hardy, A. (2009). "The Cham and the Degar: Memory and the Reconstruction of Tradition." In Memory and History in East and Southeast Asia. Wilkes.
- Trần Kỳ Phương (2009). Vestiges of Champa Civilization. Vietnam Ministry of Culture.
- Taylor, P. (2007). Cham Muslims of the Mekong Delta: Place and Mobility in the Cosmopolitan Periphery. University of Hawaii Press.
- Kiernan, B. (2008). The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Yale University Press.