The Heirs Speak Khmer

[Shima Costar]

TheSpecial Operations Research Office (SORO) of The American University, operating under contract with the Department of the Army, conducts research on military problems in support of requirements stated by the Department of the Army. As another service SORO provides through the Counterinsurgency Information Analysis Center (CINFAC) rapid responses to queries from Department of Defense agencies, their contractors, and as directed, other governmental departments and agencies.

The contents of this report, including any conclusions or recommendations, reflect the work of SORO and are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position, unless so designated by other authorized documents. This particular study was conducted in response to a request from the Directorate of Special Operations, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C. 20310.

Using agencies are encouraged to submit additional questions and/or comments which will lead to clarification or correction of errors of fact and opinion; which fill gaps of information; or which suggest other changes as may be appropriate. Comments should be addressed to:

SORO, in response to a request from the Directorate of Special Operations, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, Department of the Army, is developing through CINFAC an ethnographic study of selected groups residing in or migrating through the Republic of Vietnam. The complete study will cover 24 groups.

The task of studying these groups is a complicated one. The country is undergoing crises of various types, in the course of which the groups are more and more coming into contact with modern civilization. It is always difficult to gauge the true depth and nature of social and cultural changes; it is particularly difficult to identify and assess those occurring because of contact with U.S. military and economic assistance programs. It does appear, however, that the groups selected for study are deeply involved in these changes. Finally, the available information is fragmentary and often biased or contradictory.

This working paper on the Khmer is the 22d of a prepublication series being distributed on a limited basis. It is a descriptive report based on secondary sources dealing with the Vietnamese society. Field research was not undertaken, although the comments of consultants and personnel recently returned from Vietnam have been incorporated. The final report will contain line drawings and illustrations.

It must be recognized, then, that this paper is not an exhaustive study. There are appreciable gaps in the information, and many discrepancies in the original sources were difficult to reconcile. Further, the information contained herein may be outdated even before it is published and is subject to modification in the light of new developments and information. Therefore, although it contains the latest information available, and the validity of this material has been checked as closely as possible, the user is cautioned to consider this study as a point of departure to be checked against the current circumstances or conditions of the particular area in which he is working.

The Khmer, a people of Cambodian descent, form the second largest ethnic group in the area formerly known as Indochina. In the Republic of Vietnam, these remnants of a vast, ancient empire now number between 400,000 and 600,000 and are scattered throughout the Mekong Delta area.

The Khmer language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language family and is related to the M'nong and Bahnar tongues. Khmer social organization is patriarchal, but the women wield considerable influence in the household and in divorce and inheritance proceedings.

Like the Cham minority group, the Khmer were influenced by Indian civilization in their early history and have retained cultural elements which reflect this tradition. Whereas the Vietnamese practice Mahayana Buddhism, the majority of the Khmer adhere to Theravada Buddhism.1

The Khmer minority is of particular interest because of the frequent present-day incidents along the Vietnamese-Cambodian border. Here members of a secret organization known as the KKK (Khmer Kampuchea Krom) raid Vietnamese villages and flee across the border into Cambodia to escape Vietnamese Government forces, thus straining Cambodian-Vietnamese relations.2

According to legend, the Khmer kings were descended from the great hermit and seer, Kambu Svayambhuva; "Kambuja," translated by the French to "Cambodge" and by the British to "Cambodia," is a derivative of his name. Early Chinese inscriptions contain the word "Kambudjadesa" or "sons of Kambu."3 The name Khmer refers to the dominant population of Cambodia and differs from the term "Cambodian," which encompasses other groups in addition to the ethnic Khmer and also designates any national of the country of that name. In the Republic of Vietnam, the names Khmer, Khmer Krom, and Cambodian are used interchangeably when speaking of the people descended from the ancient Khmer of the Empire of Funan.

The Khmer are located in settlements throughout the Mekong Delta, particularly around Khanh Hung (formerly Soc Trang) and Vinh Loi (Bac Lieu) in Ba Xuyen Province; Rach Gia and Ha Tien Giang Province; Phu Vinh (formerly Tra Vinh Province; Can Tho in Phong Dinh Province; and in the Provinces of Tay Ninh and Chau Doc. Scattered Khmer settlements are also found near the towns of Long Xuyen, Cholon, Vinh Long, Tan An, and Bien Hoa.6

The Vietnamese are the principal neighbors of the Khmer. In Tay Ninh and Chau Doc, the Cham and Malays live in small settlements adjacent to the Khmer and maintain a harmonious relationship with them despite religious differences. The Stieng tribe, the closest Montagnard group, inhabits Binh Long Province near the Khmer of Tay Ninh Province.

The region inhabited by the Khmer consists of a continuous plain no higher than 3 meters above sea level, dissected by several rivers which drain into the South China Sea. This locale may be subdivided into three areas: the delta of the Saigon and Dong Nai Rivers, the Mekong Delta, and the Ca Mau Peninsula. The first region comprises ancient alluvial soils or "gray" lands and, in some areas, red basaltic soil. The French established numerous plantations in this area because of the fertile soil, the absence of dense forest, and the close proximity to Saigon.7 The lower reaches of this delta region are broken up by small river tributaries and are for the most part overgrown with mangroves. The Song Soirap receives the waters of the Vaico Occidental River and is navigable for small boats.

The Mekong Delta is dominated by the two branches of the Mekong River, the Anterior and the Song Hau Giang (formerly called the Bassac) with its five tributaries. Extensive drainage projects and special methods for the utilization of marshy ground have facilitated intensive cultivation of the region. Mangroves and sand dunes are limited to small areas along the coast. 8 South of Chau Doc, steep granite hills reach a height of 614 meters above the low-lying plains. The hills themselves are barren and unpopulated, but ethnic Khmer, attracted by the market town of Tri Ton, have settled in villages at the base of the cliffs.9

The Ca Mau Peninsula, unlike the other two regions, is sparsely populated due to extensive areas of mangrove or dense forest swamp. The tram (Melaleuca leucadendron), which reaches a height of 15 to 20 meters, is the predominant form of vegetation in these forests. No major rivers traverse the peninsula, but several secondary rivers drain into the Gulf of Siam. Sediment transported by offshore currents from the

The rail line running northwestward from Saigon to Loc Ninh is inoperable. No railroads run south of Saigon, the terminus of the Trans Viet-Nam line. The network of secondary roads in the delta is often subject to Viet Cong interdiction. Although many good secondary or provincial roads serve the Mekong Delta region, no national routes extend into the area. Few roads exist in the coastal portion of the Ca Mau Peninsula due to frequent floodings. The chief means of transportation in this area is by water, along the numerous navigable canals.10

The modern Khmer, or Khmer Krom, are a heterogeneous people who represent centuries of cultural and racial fusion. Their precise origins are obscure, but the Khmer are believed to have migrated prior to 2000 B. C. from the northwest, possibly Tibet, into present Cambodia and the Mekong Delta. In the beginning of the Christian era, the Khmer encountered peoples of Indonesian stock inhabiting Cambodia and drove them into the mountains.1 Despite this direct contact with primitive tribal groups, the Khmer have refused to acknowledge any common origin or cultural affinity with them.2

Hinduization of the Khmer began in the third century B. C., when small groups of Hindu traders, attracted by the riches of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, migrated to Cambodia and to the present Republic of Vietnam and established states modeled after Hindu kingdoms. These waves of migration, reaching a peak in the ninth and tenth centuries, were accompanied by a blending of races and cultures. Incursions of Indo-Malays from Java in the eighth century and Thai invasions from the 10th to the 15th centuries produced a concomitant mixing of races. More recently, the Khmer have intermarried with Vietnamese, Chinese, and Europeans. 3

Khmer belongs to the Mon-Khmer linguistic family, which includes such distant language as the Mon and Khasi languages of Burma, the Wa-Palaung tongues of the Chinese Shan states, and the Munda languages of India. 4

At one time, Khmer was spoken throughout the Mekong Valley - present-day Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and the parts of the Republic of Vietnam formerly known as Cochin China. As a result of the invasions and occupation by the Thai and Vietnamese, the territory inhabited by the Khmer-speaking population was considerably reduced. Today, Khmer-speaking groups are located in Cambodia, parts of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Many Montagnard tribes, such as the Sedang, M'nong, and Stieng have languages related to Khmer. 5

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