Who
knows the "pure Chams"?
by Bruno DENIEL-LAURENT
Published in South Eastern Globe - 2007
One
of the positive aspects of the Khmer Rouge trials is that they put Cambodia’s
recent history in the spotlight. But the Khmers – as well as the
expatriates – would do well to acknowledge that the ethnic and
religious diversity of their kingdom is a goldmine too often neglected.
After all, who knows the traditions of the Jarai, the Kroeungs or the
“pure Chams”? Yet, the latter may be one of the most unique
peoples in Cambodia, discreet in spite of their fascinating cultural
heritage.
But first of all, who are the Chams? Present in Cambodia for five centuries,
they are the heirs of the great Hindu kingdom of Champa. Champa, which
controlled central modern-day Vietnam from the 7th to the beginning
of the 19th century, was the Angkor Empire’s sole rival for a
long period, but eventually collapsed under the repeated attacks of
the Vietnamese. The 1471 destruction of Vijaya, Champa’s capital,
was a catastrophe that forced thousands of Chams to flee to Cambodia.
The Chams one can meet in the street today around Kampong Cham (“the
port of the Chams” in Khmer), Battambang or near the coasts are
the descendants of these refugees.
It was upon arriving in Cambodia that most Chams converted to Islam.
What were the reasons for this conversion? There are probably several.
First of all, the Chams are ethnically and culturally similar to the
Malays – the Cham language belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian group
– and one could suppose that the Malays encouraged the Chams to
join them in the heart of the "Community of the Believers"
(ummah), allowing them to merge with the flourishing Islamo-Malay civilization.
The trauma of the recent defeat may also have played a role in their
conversion to Islam, causing them to renounce their Hindu gods and adopt
the religion of Allah. By converting to Islam, the Chams also opened
themselves up to the world and began praying to Mecca in the west as
opposed to their fallen kingdom.
For the most part, the coexistence of the Chams and the Khmers was a
peaceful one. Their religion didn’t pose a problem; on the contrary,
the Chams were free to specialize in such trades as butchers or slaughterers,
which were “forbidden” to the Buddhists. But although they
had lived in Cambodia for centuries, the Chams continued to cultivate
their identity, which was rooted in their religion, their language,
and the memory of their vanished kingdom. For many Chams, Champa represents
a sort of myth that allows them to keep the splendor of their former
identity alive.
But not all Chams share the same vision of their religion and identity.
One would therefore be mistaken in believing that the Chams form a homogenous
body: In the very heart of the Cham community, several distinct groups
exist. Certain Chams, influenced by the Tablighi Jamaat (a Muslim missionary
movement founded in India in the 1920s) or by the Salafis of Saudi Arabia,
follow the rigoristic laws of orthodox Islam. This renewal of religious
fundamentalism (not to be confused with political Islam, even if certain
similarities do exist) can be observed in the villages neighboring the
Islamic center of Phum Trea, on the banks of the Mekong to the north
of Kampong Cham: the men proudly wear long beards and djellabas, while
the women, confined to their homes, cover themselves with long burqas
that hide their faces. The influence of the Tablighi Jamaat is also
felt in the Muslim villages of Phnom Penh, notably in the village at
KM 9, on the route of Kampong Chhnang.
On the other hand, the “pure Chams”, who call themselves
Kaum Jumaat (the “Friday group” because they pray only once
a week), have religious practices quite unlike those of orthodox Islam.
The “pure Chams” form a small community of several tens
of thousands, mostly grouped around the village of O’Russei, between
Phnom Penh and Kampong Chhnang, and in the provinces of Battambang and
Pursat. Peaceful and accommodating, they are the descendents of a group
of Chams who fled Vietnam in the 19th century. Unlike other Chams, who
were converted to the Shafi‘i school of Islam by the Malays in
the 15th century, the “pure Chams” were already Muslims
when they arrived in Cambodia. And the Muslim faith they developed in
Vietnam is distinctly unorthodox, with certain aspects that resemble
Brahmanism, Buddhism or Sufism.
One can encounter these “pure Chams” upon one of the verdant
hills of Oudong, watched over by the remarkable tombs of the Khmer kings.
A dozen old men and women will welcome you with broad smiles and greet
you as Buddhists do, by joining their hands together and raising them
above their heads. Shabbily dressed, they live in small wooden huts,
revering Iman San, a “saint” of the 19th century who, after
performing miracles before the king Ang Duong, was granted permission
to construct a small mosque upon the hill. The old hermits of Oudong
will take pleasure in welcoming you into the humble structure, which
looks more like a small pagoda than a mosque. The elderly Ong Leb, who
is unfortunately nearly deaf and blind today, is one of the most endearing
personalities of the community of Iman San. Just a few months ago, he
was spending his days meditating and creating magical talismans with
Cham inscriptions. The writing of these inscriptions, of Indian origin,
has been forgotten by nearly all Chams, with the exception of the “pure
Chams” who continue to teach it to their children at any cost.
In the village of O’Russei, north of Oudong, lives the spiritual
leader of the “pure Chams”, the “Ouknha Khnour”
Kay Toam. By attending Friday prayer, one can witness firsthand the
remarkable originality of the Islam of the “pure Chams”.
First of all, the call to prayer is not performed by a muezzin but with
a drum, as Buddhists do. We know also that in Islam, all worshippers
must bow during prayer. The “pure Chams” do things differently:
only the “initiates”, men dressed in white, are authorized
to chant the prayers, expressed in Cham or in imperfect Arabic. And
instead of praying five times a day, the “pure Chams” prefer
to pray only once a week, which is in contradiction with the Five Pillars
of Islam. Similarly, the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) is not encouraged.
As for the status of women, there is no denying that it constitutes
another significant difference from orthodox Islam: the women are rarely
veiled and share equal rights with men concerning inheritance and divorce.
And unlike villages living under the rules of Islamic fundamentalism,
it is easy for an “infidel” to speak to a woman, who, more
often than not, possesses a very communicative sense of humor.
But the most noticeable difference between the “pure Chams”
and the other Chams lies in their attachment to the kingdom of Champa.
For above all, they consider themselves to be the sole guardians of
Champa’s cultural heritage. Among all Chams, they are, therefore,
the ones who desire to remain the most faithful to age-old traditions
– and that includes pre-Islamic tradition – something that
has earned them heavy criticism from fundamentalist Muslims. Some go
so far as to claim that the “pure Chams” aren’t even
Muslims, or that they are, at the very least, “deviant”
ones. The Ouknha Khnour Kay Toam or the hermits of the community of
Iman San tell of regular visits from “preachers” who attempt
to persuade them to convert to a “purer” Islam.
Isolated, aging, and without financial means, the community of the pure
Chams is diminishing little by little every year. Young “pure
Chams”, especially when they come to frequent the Islamic centers
of Cambodia, Thailand or Malaysia, are especially susceptible to the
discourses of these preachers and upon their return will sometimes attempt
to convert their villages.
It’s difficult to predict the future of the “pure Chams”,
but one can hope that they manage to resist the assaults of the “missionaries”
of orthodox Islam who would like everyone to pray and dress the same
way, from Senegal to Cambodia to Yemen to Bosnia. Yet it seems obvious
that it’s the diversity of religious traditions in the heart of
the Muslim world that accounts for so much of the beauty of Islam.
Bruno DENIEL-LAURENT
Texte publié dans South Eastern Globe
© Bruno Deniel-Laurent