This article is about the ethnic group known as the Khmer people and their descendants worldwide. For the language, seeKhmer language. For other uses, seeKhmer (disambiguation).
Ethnic group
Khmer people
ជនជាតិខ្មែរ
Khmer people in traditional Khmer attire duringthe new year
Ethnic Khmers sometimes use a tripartite division to differentiate Khmers native toThailand, Cambodia orVietnam. Those native toThailand are sometimes referred to as "Khmer Loeu" due to their location on the southernKhorat plateau relative to those native to Cambodia, "Khmer Kandal" or "Khmer Knong" ("central Khmer"), while Khmer native to the lower Mekong Delta region of Vietnam are called "Khmer Krom" ("lower Khmer" or "southern Khmer"). In theKhmer language, a use of the term "Khmer Loeu" is in reference to theNorthern Khmer people, not to be confused with thenon-ethnic Khmer people which share the same term.[28]
Distribution
The majority of the world's Khmers live in Cambodia, the population of which is over 95% Khmer.[27][29][30]
World Map of populations of Khmer Diaspora
Cambodia
+ 1,000,000
+ 100,000
+ 10,000
+ 1,000
+ 100
Thailand, Vietnam and Laos
Additionally, a large number of Khmer people liveThailand andVietnam. In Thailand, there are over one million Khmers (known as theKhmer Surin), most of whom are located inSurin (Sorin),Buriram (Borei Rom) andSisaket (Srei Saket) provinces. Estimates for the number of the Khmer population in Vietnam (known as theKhmer Krom) vary from the 1.3 million given by thegovernment of Vietnam to 7 million advocated by theKhmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation.[31] There has been some Khmer migration intoLaos, where Khmer communities reside in the southwestern tip of Laos, at the borders of Thailand and Cambodia.[32]
Due to migration as a result of theCambodian Civil War andCambodian genocide, there is a large Khmer diaspora residing in the United States, Canada, Australia, and France.
According to one Khmer legend attributed byGeorge Coedes to a tenth century inscription, the Khmers arose from the union of the BrahmanaKambu Swayambhuva and theapsara ("celestial nymph") Mera. Their marriage is said to have given rise to the nameKhmer and founded theVarman dynasty of ancient Cambodia.[43]
A more popular legend, reenacted to this day in the traditional Khmer wedding ceremony and taught in elementary school, holds that Cambodia was created when a merchant namedKaundinya I (commonly referred to asPreah Thong) married PrincessSoma, aNāga (Neang Neak) princess. Kaundinya sailed to Southeast Asia following an arrow he saw in a dream. Upon arrival he found an island calledKok Thlok and, after conquering Soma's Naga army, he fell in love with her. As a dowry, the father of princess Soma drank the waters around the island, which was revealed to be the top of a mountain, and the land below that was uncovered became Cambodia. Kaundinya and Soma and their descendants became known as the Khmers and are said to have been the rulers ofFunan,Chenla and theKhmer Empire.[44] This myth further explains why the oldest Khmerwats, or temples, were always built on mountaintops, and why today mountains themselves are still revered as holy places.
The Khmers, anAustroasiatic people, are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the area, having filtered into Southeast Asia fromsouthern China,[45] possiblyYunnan, or fromNortheast India around the same time as theMon, who settled further west on theIndochinese Peninsula and to whom the Khmer are ancestrally related.[46] Most archaeologists and linguists, and other specialists likeSinologists and crop experts, believe that they arrived no later than 2000 BCE (over four thousand years ago) bringing with them the practice of agriculture and in particular the cultivation ofrice. This region is also one of the first places in the world to usebronze. They were the builders of the laterKhmer Empire, which dominated Southeast Asia for six centuries beginning in 802, and now form the mainstream of political, cultural, and economic Cambodia.[47]
Ancient Khmer script
The Khmers developed theKhmer alphabet, which in turn gave birth to the laterThai andLao alphabets. The Khmers are considered byarchaeologists andethnologists to be indigenous to the contiguous regions ofIsan, southernLaos,Cambodia andSouth Vietnam. That is to say the Cambodians have historically been a lowland people who lived close to one of the tributaries of theMekong River. The reason they migrated into Southeast Asia is not well understood, but scholars believe thatAustroasiatic speakers were pushed south by invadingTibeto-Burman speakers from the north as evident by Austroasiatic vocabulary in Chinese, because of agricultural purposes as evident by their migration routes along major rivers, or a combination of these and other factors.
The Khmer are considered a part of theIndian cultural sphere, owing to them adopting Indian culture, traditions and religious identities. The first powerful trading kingdom in Southeast Asia, theKingdom of Funan, was established in southeastern Cambodia and the Mekong Delta in the first century, although extensive archaeological work inAngkor Borei District near the modern Vietnamese border has unearthed brickworks, canals, cemeteries and graves dating to the fifth century BCE.
During the Funan period (1st–6th centuries CE) the Khmer also acquired Buddhism, the concept of theShaivaimperial cult of thedevaraja and the great temple as a symbolicworld mountain. The rival KhmerChenla Kingdom emerged in the fifth century and later conquered the Kingdom of Funan. Chenla was an upland state whose economy was reliant on agriculture whereas Funan was a lowland state with an economy dependent on maritime trade.
These two states, even after conquest by Chenla in the sixth century, were constantly at war with each other and smaller principalities. During the Chenla period (5th–8th centuries), Khmers left the world's earliest knownzero in one of their temple inscriptions. Only whenKing Jayavarman II declared an independent and united Cambodia in 802 was there relative peace between the two lands, upper and lowland Cambodia.
Map of South-east Asia showing Cambodia's territorial expansion from 1290 A.D. to present-day
Jayavarman II (802–830) revived Khmer power and built the foundation for the Khmer Empire, founding three capitals—Indrapura,Hariharalaya, andMahendraparvata—the archeological remains of which reveal much about his times. After winning a long civil war,Suryavarman I (reigned 1002–1050) turned his forces eastward and subjugated the Mon kingdom ofDvaravati. Consequently, he ruled over the greater part of present-day Thailand and Laos, as well as the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. This period, during whichAngkor Wat was constructed, is considered the apex of Khmer civilization.
The Khmer kingdom became theKhmer Empire and the great temples of Angkor, considered an archeological treasure replete with detailed stone bas-reliefs showing many aspects of the culture, including some musical instruments, remain as monuments to the culture of the Cambodia. After the death ofSuryavarman II (1113–1150), Cambodia lapsed into chaos untilJayavarman VII (1181–1218) ordered the construction of a new city. He was a Buddhist, and for a time, Buddhism became the dominant religion in Cambodia. As a state religion, however, it was adapted to suit the Deva Raja cult, with a Buddha Raja being substituted for the former Shiva Raja or Vishnu Raja.
The rise of theTai kingdoms ofSukhothai (1238) andAyutthaya (1350) resulted in almost ceaseless wars with the Khmers and led to the destruction of Angkor in 1431. They are said to have carried off 90,000 prisoners, many of whom were likely dancers and musicians.[48] The period following 1432, with the Khmer people bereft of their treasures, documents, and human culture bearers, was one of precipitous decline.
Post-empire (1431–present)
Angkor Wat in the 1900sUpper class Khmer women in the 1800s.
In 1434, KingPonhea Yat madePhnom Penh his capital, and Angkor was abandoned to the jungle. Due to continued Siamese and Vietnamese aggression, Cambodia appealed to France for protection in 1863 and became a French protectorate in 1864. During the 1880s, along with southern Vietnam and Laos, Cambodia was drawn into the French-controlled Indochinese Union. For nearly a century, the French exploited Cambodia commercially, and demanded power over politics, economics, and social life.
During the second half of the twentieth century, the political situation in Cambodia became chaotic. KingNorodom Sihanouk (later, Prince, then again King), proclaimed Cambodia's independence in 1949 (granted in full in 1953) and ruled the country until March 18, 1970, when he was overthrown by GeneralLon Nol, who established the Khmer Republic. On April 17, 1975,Khmer Rouge, who under the leadership ofPol Pot combinedKhmer nationalism and extremeCommunism, came to power and virtually destroyed the Cambodian people, their health, morality, education, physical environment, and culture in theCambodian genocide.
On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese forcesousted the Khmer Rouge. After more than ten years of painfully slow rebuilding, with only meager outside help, the United Nations intervened resulting in the Paris Peace Accord on October 23, 1992, and created conditions for general elections in May 1993, leading to the formation of the current government and the restoration of Prince Sihanouk to power as King in 1993.
Pol Pot died on April 15, 1998, reportedly from heart failure. Sources speculate his death may have been a result of poisoning or even suicide. His death marked the formal end of the Khmer Rouge regime as a significant political and military force. However, a residual Khmer Rouge movement remained in Cambodia for almost two more decades, largely operating from remote jungle regions near the Thai border. Immediately, the post-Pol Pot years marked intense efforts to rebuild the country. Cambodia had suffered enormous loss of life, widespread trauma and a shattered infrastructure. The Cambodian government, now under the leadership of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and the monarchistNorodom Sihanouk, faced significant challenges.
The culture of the ethnic Khmers is fairly homogeneous throughout their geographic range. Regional dialects exist, but are mutually intelligible. The standard is based on the dialect spoken throughout theCentral Plain,[49] a region encompassed by the northwest and central provinces. The varieties of Khmer spoken in this region are representative of the speech of the majority of the population. A unique and immediately recognizable dialect has developed in Phnom Penh that, due to the city's status as the national capital, has been modestly affected by recent French and Vietnamese influence. Other dialects areNorthern Khmer dialect, calledKhmer Surin by Khmers, spoken by over a millionKhmer native to Northeast Thailand; andKhmer Krom spoken by the millions of Khmer native to theMekong Delta regions of Vietnam adjacent to Cambodia and their descendants abroad. A little-studied dialect known asWestern Khmer, or Cardamom Khmer, is spoken by a small, isolated population in theCardamom Mountain range extending from Cambodia into eastern Central Thailand. Although little studied, it is unique in that it maintains a definite system ofvocal register that has all but disappeared in other dialects of modern Khmer.The modern Khmer strongly identify their ethnic identity with their religious beliefs and practices, which combine the tenets of Theravada Buddhism with elements of indigenous ancestor-spirit worship, animism and shamanism.[50] Most Cambodians, whether or not they profess to be Buddhists or other faiths, believe in a rich supernatural world. Several types of supernatural entities are believed to exist; they make themselves known by means of inexplicable sounds or happenings. Among these phenomena arekmaoch ខ្មោច (ghosts),pret ប្រែត (comes in many forms depending on their punishments) andbeisach បិសាច(monsters) [these are usually the spirits of people who have died a violently, untimely, or unnatural deaths];arak អារក្ស (evil spirits, devils),ahpkrasue,neak ta អ្នកតា (tutelary spirit or entity residing in inanimate objects; land, water, trees etc.),chomneang/mneang phteah ជំនាងផ្ទះ/ម្នាងផ្ទះ(house guardians),meba មេបា (ancestral spirits), andmrenh kongveal ម្រេញគង្វាល (little mischief spirit guardians dressed in red).[51] All spirits must be shown proper respect, and, with the exception of themneang phteah andmrenh kongveal, they can cause trouble ranging from mischief to serious life-threatening illnesses.
The majority of the Cambodians live in rural villages either as rice farmers or fishermen. Their life revolves around theWat (temple) and the various Buddhist ceremonies throughout the year.However, if Cambodians become ill, they will frequently see akru khmae (shaman/healer), whom they believe can diagnose which of the many spirits has caused the illness and recommend a course of action to propitiate the offended spirit, thereby curing the illness.[52] Thekru khmae is also learned in herb lore and is often sought to prepare various "medicines" and potions or for amagical tattoo, all believed to endow one with special prowess and ward off evil spirits or general bad luck.[52] Khmer beliefs also rely heavily onastrology, a remnant of Hinduism. A fortune teller, calledhao-ra (astrologists) orkru teay in Khmer, is often consulted before major events, like choosing a spouse, beginning an important journey or business venture, setting the date for a wedding and determining the proper location for building new structures. Throughout the year, the Cambodian celebrate many holidays, most of a religious or spiritual nature, some of which are also observed aspublic holidays. The two most important areChol Chhnam (Cambodian New Year) andPchum Ben ("Ancestor Day"). The CambodianBuddhist calendar is divided into 12 months with the traditional new year beginning on the first day ofkhae chaet, which coincides with the firstnew moon of April in the western calendar. The modern celebration has been standardized to coincide with April 13. Dance occupies a central place for the Khmer people, one of its earliest records dates back to the 7th century, where performances were used as a funeral rite for kings.[53] In the 20th century, the use of dancers is also attested in funerary processions, such as that for KingSisowath Monivong. During theAngkor period, dance was ritually performed at temples.[54] The temple dancers came to be considered as apsaras, who served as entertainers and messengers to divinities.[55] Ancient stone inscriptions describe thousands of apsara dancers assigned to temples and performing divine rites as well as for the public.[54] The Khmer classical dance was placed in 2003 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Cambodian culture has influencedThai andLao cultures and vice versa. Many Khmer loanwords are found inThai andLao, while many Lao and Thai loanwords are found in Khmer. TheThai andLao alphabets are also derived from theKhmer script.[56]
Genetics
The Khmer people are genetically related to other Southeast Asian populations. They show strong genetic relation to otherAustroasiatic people inSoutheast Asia andEast Asia and have minor genetic influence fromIndian people.[57] In particular, they share close affinities withNortheastern Tai-Kadai groups from Thailand. Cambodians andMons are also cladal with Central and Southern Thais andNayu and differ in terms of their South Asian ancestry and in regards to Nayu especially,Atayal ancestry.[58][59] Cambodians trace about 16% of their ancestry from aEurasian population that is equally related to bothEuropeans andEast Asians, while the remaining 84% of their ancestry is related to other Southeast Asians, particularly to a source similar to theDai people.[60] Another study suggests that Cambodians have ancestry from a similar Eurasian population related to modern-dayCentral Asians,South Asians, andEast Asians (19%) while their remaining ancestry is related specifically to modern-day Dai andHan people (81%).[61] Both Khmers from Cambodia and Thailand have a mixture ofMlabri-related and South Asian ancestry but also received Atayal-related ancestry from neighboring groups likeChams, especially for Khmers from Cambodia.[62][63] There is also evidence of genetic input fromKinh Vietnamese.[64] South Asian ancestry in present Khmers ranges from 12–15%, which is much lower than in protohistoric individuals from the Vat Komnou site for instance, who have about 37–44% South Asian ancestry. Their South Asian ancestry is represented byIrula,Mala andVellalar populations whilst their East Asian ancestry is represented byAmi populations. Nonetheless, present Khmers and Kinh Vietnamese share high genetic drift with these protohistoric individuals. However, this is more likely due to Kinh and Khmers significantly contributing to the East Asian component of these individuals.[63]
Thegenetic testing website23andMe groups Khmer people under the "Indonesian, Khmer, Thai & Myanmar" reference population. This reference population contains people who have had recent ancestors from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.[65]
^Tarr, Chou Meng (1992). "Changing Notions of Time and Money in a Peasant Community in Northeastern Thailand".Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice (31).
^D'après l'épigraphie cambodgienne du X° siècle, les rois des "Kambuja" prétendaient descendre d'un ancêtre mythique éponyme, le sage ermite Kambu, et de la nymphe céleste Mera, dont le nom a pu être forgé d'après l'appellation ethnique "khmèr" (George Coedes). [2][permanent dead link]; See also:Indianised States of Southeast Asia, 1968, p 66, George Coedes.
^Ross, Russell R. (December 1987)."Cambodia: A Country Study"(PDF). Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. p. 6.Archived(PDF) from the original on January 21, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2022.
^Papiha, S. S.; Mastana, S. S.; Singh, N.; Roberts, D. F. (1994). "Khmers of Cambodia: A comparative genetic study of the populations of Southeast Asia".American Journal of Human Biology.6 (4):465–479.doi:10.1002/ajhb.1310060408.ISSN1520-6300.PMID28548253.S2CID23979421.
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