people who, in central Vietnam referred to as Eastern
Cham, are the surviving inhabitants of Champa and who, in Cambodia referred to
as Western Cham, are a mixture of Cham and Malay. Their original Cham language
belongs to the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) family. In Cambodia the Western
Cham number about 200,000 and preserve some original cultural traits--e.g.,
the predominance of the maternal uncle--but otherwise they are entirely
integrated into Cambodian life, speaking the Khmer language. From the Malay they
adopted Islam. The Eastern Cham of Vietnam (about 80,000) have been largely
assimilated by the surrounding Vietnamese, but some speak Western Cham, the link
between the Thai-Kadai languages of southern China and Indonesian.
Self-supporting rice cultivators, they traditionally carried on a small
bartering trade (salt, rare woods) between the hill tribes and the Vietnamese.
The traditional Cham family was matrilocal and
matrilineal. The cult of nature spirits was all important, because ancestors'
souls were supposed to settle in the earth when the tomb--near the rice
fields--was abandoned after seven years of worship. The Indian culture of
ancient Champa left some influences; for example, in ancient Cham temples,
"brahmanes," with female mediums, performed rites
in honor of Po Rome, Po Nagar, and Po Klaung Garai, deified heroes of the past.
