© Ka-set

The Muslim community in Cambodia, “Chams Clichés” intends to go beyond frozen and monotonous representations of the Muslim community in Cambodia by offering several colourful portraits casting light on the diversity of the Cham community. The aim of this monthly column is to elude commonplace statements by studying a few clichés regarding characters - contemporary or ancient, historical or mythical - or ritual and everyday objects, and will put the focus on a multitude of key “Cham” protagonists. Purists might be surprised about the use of the term “Cham”- the word is usually reduced to the sole descendants of the Kingdom of Champa -  to designate the whole of the Cambodian Muslim community, thus going beyond the simple “ethnic group”. This column echoes the general accepted meaning of the word “Cham”, a misnomer generally used to refer to the whole Muslim community of Cambodia.

A few references

Glossary of terms about the Muslim community and Islam in Cambodia

The author
Emiko Stock is a PhD student in Ethnology at the University Paris X - Nanterre, France. She started taking an interest in the Cham community in 1998 and has been based in Cambodia since 2000.

Her website: Du fin fond du grenier

All the "Cham Cliches"

1- "Cham Clichés" (1) : Saeth Mith's glorious ancestors (22-08-2008)

2- "Cham Clichés" (2) : The “Ta Arab” from India (19-09-2008)

3- "Cham Clichés" (3) : Mawlid celebrations and sweet treats for the dead and the living (17-10-2008)
4- "Cham Clichés" (4) : Cham-style rowing in Cambodia (21-11-2008 )

5- "Cham Clichés" (5) : A Franco-Cham romance from Cambodia (19-12-2008 )
6- "Cham Clichés"(6) : Yiey Yah, high priestess of possession ceremonies (16-01-2009)

7- "Cham Clichés" (7): The prayer rooms at Pochentong airport, Cambodia (20-03-2009)