Cham people in Vietnam
Cham people in Vietnam
With about 100,000 inhabitants, Cham (Cham, Chiem, Hoi) ethnic group originates from Ancient Cham Pa Kingdom. They live mainly in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen. Belonging to MaLai-Da Dao linguistic group, the Cham people remains influenced by matriarchy and Indian culture. The ancient Cham writing is Sanskrit-based. Hinduism and Mohammedanism are their principal religions.
THE UNIQUE CHAM CULTURE
The Cham culture is a unique tradition, contributing much to the diversity and richness of the Vietnamese multi-ethnic culture. From the first century AD, the Cham people received deep influences from Indian culture. In the 7th century AD, Cham Pa was already a kingdom with a capital in TraKieu (now Quang Nam) with a temple dedicated to the Indian Valmiki and his famous epic, the Ramayana.
By the middle of the 8th century AD, their capital was shifted to Nha Trang and five years later to Dong Duong, 15 km away from Tra Kieu in the southeast. The Cham are one of the 53 ethnic groups in Vietnam and comprise various subgroups. There are around 98,000 Cham people, including the Cham Hroi in Binh Dinh, Ph
