The Cham People of Indochina

The Cham

The little-known Cham civilisation once dominated a lengthy stretch of coastal plains and valleys of what is today central and southern Vietnam, stretching from the upper reaches of the Mekong Delta as far north as the area of present-day Hue. Champa, as it is now referred to by historians, is thought to have evolved from the earlier Sa Huynh culture, around the 2nd century CE, and existed until the mid-19th century, when the last remaining Cham principality was absorbed by the expansionist, Vietnamese, Nguyen dynasty.

Champa is generally considered to have consisted of a collection of semi-autonomous city-states or trading ports, rather than a unified empire in the manner of their Khmer neighbours, although they could clearly act cohesively when military concerns dictated, as in 1177, a Cham army conquered Angkor itself. They subsequently occupied the Khmer capital for 4 years until the celebrated king Jayavarman VII managed to liberate the city. (True to their maritime roots, the Cham army is said to have surprised the possibly rather complacent Khmers by loading their army onto ships and travelling up the Mekong and Tonle Sap lake to attack the fortified capital of Angkor Thom by water.)

The individual coastal city-states had become powerful and wealthy on the back of extensive maritime trade networks that stretched as far as China to the north and the Indian subcontinent to the west and indeed Cham culture was heavily influenced by the latter. Their rulers adopted the Hindu religion and Sanskrit influenced the script and language. (Cham itself is an Austronesian language – in the broader Malay family – with the people thought to have originated in what is now the Indonesian archipelago, (possibly Borneo), before migrating to coastal Vietnam.) By the 17th century, at a similar time to most of their cousins in the Indonesian archipelago, the majority of Chams in Vietnam converted to Islam.

Several so-called ‘Montagnard’ tribes who inhabit Vietnam’s Central Highlands – as well as Rattanakiri and Mondulkiri Provinces of northeastern Cambodia – such as the Jarai, Rade and Banna, also form part of the Cham ethnic and linguistic family although, as they are traditionally animist, one would have to assume that they have inhabited those regions since very early times. (A minority have since converted to Christianity.)

After their defeat and subsequent brutal oppression by the Vietnamese forces in the 19th century, many Chams fled south to the Mekong Delta (an area at that time still largely inhabited by ethnic Khmers). Additionally, the Cambodian king granted refuge to fleeing Chams, so many appear to have given up completely and left the country for good and indeed today they are more frequently encountered in Cambodia than Vietnam. With Cham migrants traditionally relying on fishing, significant-sized communities are found along the Mekong in Tbong Khmum and Kampong Cham as well as the coastal province of Kampot while mosques are a common sight today in riverside suburbs of Phnom Penh and Battambang. In Vietnam, the few remaining Cham villages are now mainly concentrated in the Delta region around Chau Doc and Long Xuyen. The Muslim population of Cambodia today is estimated at around 2% and in Vietnam, 0.1%. (A slight simplification as, of course, not all ethnic Cham are Muslim and not all Muslims in the region are ethnic Cham.)

Consequently, today, Cham communities are frequently encountered on our Cambodia tours – the local market in Battambang, for instance – while in Vietnam, mentions of Chams are generally in connection with historical sites. Danang’s excellent Cham Museum springs to mind, while the ruins of the old Cham ceremonial/religious centre at My Son are now a UNESCO-listed destination.

Although at its peak, Champa rivalled Angkor as the early Southeast Asian powerhouse, tragically, its vestiges suffered greatly during the recent war and, while still impressive, can not rival the myriad spectacular temples of the Khmers. Many historical sites, including My Son itself, were heavily bombed by US forces and what you see today is largely a result of painstaking restoration in recent times. Indeed, you’ll now see more depictions of Cham warriors in the reliefs of battle scenes at Angkor Wat or Bayon than you will in Vietnam. (Not surprisingly, with history being written – as always – by the victors, the sandstone Cham soldiers are a gruesome-looking bunch.)

Visits to both the Cham Museum in Danang and the World Heritage site of My Son feature on our small group Vietnam tours, Hanoi to Saigon and World Heritage Sites of Vietnam.