Saving Cham culture and identity in Cambodia

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Saving Cham culture and identity in Cambodia

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Leb Ke, a leading Cham language and culture specialist, is a very interesting guy, and he is passionate about fighting to save Cham culture and identity.
Few Cham people know how to read and write in their language, and even fewer are interested in learning about the legacy of their ancestors. But Leb Ke is different.
ImageLeb Ke. Photo KT/Mai Vireak
One of the leading Cham language and culture specialists in Cambodia, Mr Ke is working hard to preserve the Cham identity.

Faced with the challenge of encouraging young people to explore their heritage, Mr Ke has created Cham fonts for Android smartphone keyboards, hoping it will inspire a change in the way they communicate.
By the end of this year, he plans to publish a 2,500-word Cham to Khmer language glossary.

Mr Ke fears the value of the Cham identity is declining in communities, since Cham people do not understand their heritage and fail to educate themselves about it.
“Literature helps make religions and cultures more beautiful,” added Mr Ke, who has travelled to several countries to give lectures about Cham identity.

He said many Cham people feel that being identified by their ethnic group is disrespectful, now preferring to be known as Khmer Muslims.
However Mr Ke argued that being Cham is separate to being Muslim.

Cham is an ethnicity not a religion, but people are confused when they hear the word Cham and think all Chams are Muslim, he said. “It is nonsense when you call Cham people Khmer Muslims. Cham is Cham,” he said.
Full article: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5081008/str ... m-culture/
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mauser765
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Re: Saving Cham culture and identity in Cambodia

Post by mauser765 »

Interesting, thank you. I always thought Cham only referred to Muslims. live and learn.
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Re: Saving Cham culture and identity in Cambodia

Post by Khartoum »

There are two types of Muslims in Cambodia,” said Sary Abdulah, president of the Islamic National Movement for Democracy of Cambodia. The two groups include: Sunni, traditional Muslims, along the lines of Arab Muslims, who pray five times per day, and Fojihed Muslims, who follow an ancient Cham interpretation of the religion. “They only pray once a week. They speak Cham, and keep the old Cham traditions.”
The Koran cannot be translated in Cham, because the Cham have no writing system,” explained Sary Abdulah. “But we are currently translating the Koran into Khmer language
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