Introduction
This article talks about the main ethnic group of Cambodia and their earliest origin.
Homeland
The Khmer people is a branch of the Austro-Asiatic people.Their homeland is along the lower Mekong River basin in Cambodia and Vietnam.
The Khmer are the natives and the largest ethnic group in Cambodia.
Early Khmer kingdoms
The earliest Khmer kingdom was Funan (1st century AD-550 AD), where the Khmer started the Oc Eo culture in the Mekong River delta.Funan was overthrown by Chenla (550 AD–802 AD), a Funan vassal situated in the adjacent north.
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| Funan |
There are several evidences that Funan was a Khmer kingdom:
- The kingdom originated in Mekong Delta where the only natives found today are the Khmer Krom people who believe they are the descendants of Funan.
- Furthermore, Chinese history books recorded Funan as 扶南 which in Old Chinese is pronounced as Pho-Nam; which is very close to the Khmer word 'Ph-Nom' which means mountain.
- Queen Soma, the Khmer queen, was claimed as Funan's first recorded monarch.
The Khmer king Jayavarman II united the independent Khmer states of Chenla and founded the greatest Khmer empire called Angkor Empire (802-1431 AD).
During the rule of Jayavarman VII (1181–1215), the empire was at its greatest extent, which covered a large portion of mainland South East Asia.
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The Tai Kingdom of Ayutthaya sacked the Angkor capital in 1431 AD, which caused the collapse of the Angkor Empire.
The last Angkor king founded a new capital in Phnom Penh in 1434 AD.
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| Last Angkor king |
Khmer language and writing
The Khmer language has typical Austro-Asiatic linguistic features such as one-and-a-half syllabic, rich consonant clusters and lack of tones.
The Khmer script is descended from the Pallava script of southern India.
The oldest known Khmer inscription was found in Angkor Borei, which is situated south of Phnom Penh, in 611 AD after Chenla conquered Funan.
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| Khmer inscription in Angkor Borei (inset) |
Khmer culture and religion
During the 2nd to 5th century AD, the Khmer adopted the Indian culture and the Hindu religion.
Suryavarman II (1113-1150 AD) built Angkor Wat which is the greatest Hindu temple complex in mainland Southeast Asia.
During the rule of Jayavarman VII (1181–1215), the Khmer converted to Theravada Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism originated from Sri Lanka.
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| Angkor Wat in Cambodia |
Khmer martial arts
The Khmer martial arts called Bokator which means 'pounding a lion' was invented in the 9th century AD.
Contrary to popular beliefs, Muay Thai in Thailand is not part of Tai martial arts but originally descended from Bokator.
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| Ancient Khmer Bokator |
Khmer subgroups
There are four main subgroups of Khmer people which are Central Khmer, Khmer Krom, Khmer Surin and Western Khmer (Chanthaburi Khmer).
The Central Khmer called Khmer Kandal, who live in the plains of Cambodia, is the largest Khmer subgroup.
The Central Khmer called Khmer Kandal, who live in the plains of Cambodia, is the largest Khmer subgroup.
The Northern Khmer/Khmer Surin live in Surin, Buriram, Sisaket provinces in eastern Thailand, which were annexed by Thailand in 18th century AD. They also live in parts of Northern Cambodia. The Khmer Surin is an ethnic minority in Thailand.
The Western Khmer lives in Cardamom Mountains in south-western Cambodia and in the mountains in Chanthaburi province in eastern Thailand.
Due to the isolation of their mountains from the plains where the Central Khmer live, the Western Khmer language preserves more features of Middle Khmer language.
Closest ethnic relative
The Khmer's closest ethnic relative is the Pearic people who live mainly in western Cambodia and southeastern Thailand.
The Pearic people includes the Pear, Sa'och, Chong, Samre and Somray people.
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| Pearic people (inset) |
There are claims that the Pearic people are the natives of southwestern Cambodia and southeastern Thailand bordering Cambodia before the Khmer expanded their kingdom there.
Conclusion
The Khmer are the natives and the ethnic majority in Cambodia.They built Angkor Wat which is the greatest Hindu temple complex in mainland Southeast Asia.
Cambodia is the sole country left in the world where both the rulers and ethnic majority are Austro-Asiatic people.
Austroasiatic people are darker skinned than the Sino-Tibetan and Tai-Kadai people who migrated to South East Asia at a later date.
Related links
Ethnic origin of Mon
http://eastasiaorigin.blogspot.com/2019/11/ethnic-origin-of-mon.html
Sources
- Reconstructing Austroasiatic prehistory by Roger Blench. Year 2014.
- Angkor Borei and the Archaeology of Cambodia's Mekong Delta. By Miriam T. Stark.
- Funan: SEA first Indianized kingdom. https://pathsunwritten.com/cambodia-funan-culture/
- History of Funan. https://kknews.cc/history/z26lp63.html
- Queen Soma. https://chekchay-all.com/archives/27273
Last updated: 26 Feb 2021
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I stumbled your page and I would like to thank you for sharing your information. I wish you had more information about the Pearic including the groups. I've been reading different article from different authors about the origin of Khmer people and some say that the Khmer originated from Southern region of China. So I don't what is the right answer.
ReplyDeleteThose are just theories without any solid proof; this blog does extensive research to verify or refute certain theories.
DeleteThere are Austro-Asiatic tribes recorded at the southern border of China, please read 'Ethnic origin of Palaung' in June 2020 for more details.
Sorry for the late reply, Thank you and I will be looking forward on read about the "Ethnic origin of Palaung". I will have some question in the near future. So far, I am getting hooked on reading your blog research on ethnic origins.
DeleteI want to know about the Kuy people. My father told me a story that when he was very young. He would see them riding on elephants and selling herb medicine to the locals. I really don't much about them but I would like to learn where they are originated from.
DeleteI have seen the ethnic maps on both article. My curiosity what is their relationship with the Khmer? I read somewhere that the Thai call them "Jungle Khmer or Ancient khmer" even though they are not khmer.
DeleteThe answers to your questions will be on 'Ethnic origin of Kuy' article that will be published in this blog on 1st August 20.
DeleteThank you very much for this document that is similar to the Cambodia official history book but one more to add is Jayavarman 7 (Mahayana Buddhism)
ReplyDeleteJavavarman 7 is already mentioned as Javavarman VII in this article. It is not Mahayana but Theravada Buddhism from Sri Lanka.
DeleteIn addition, you can watch the video version of this article on Youtube (Eastasia Origin).