The Cham Diaspora in Southeast Asia

The Cham people particularly following the depeat of the Champa Kingdom by Vietnam in 1693, dispersed into countries like Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, to mention just a few; Therefore, to study their identity is most important as by this we can perhaps  understand how minority people struggle to maintain their distinct culture againist the mainstream. As a matter of fact, diasporic communities have been; egmerging along with the rapid transnational movements witnessed by migration in Southeast Asia. Cham people migrated to Cambodia in several stages beginning from the end of the 16^th to the early 17^th centuries. After the fall of Pol Pot, internal problems in Cambodia encouraged a kind of reverse movement of Cham people from Cambodia to Malaysia since historically, Cham people have had close connection with people in other countries of Southeast Asia; especially Malaysia and Southern Thailand. Recently, the Arab world hass started to be important to the Cham people, especially in relation with religious matters. Transnational networks have been established and these seem to follow old patterns of relationships. The Islamic world, an important channel for transnational networking, has in turn infliuenced the contemporary construction of Cham identity. However, being Cham is not a single identity but fluid and contested. In this, the second year of fieldwork in Cambodia, we came across the so-called Cham Jahed which has a unique practice of Islam. Unlike other Cham who pray five times a day, Cham Jahed pray once a week, on Fridays, and have a different ritual for the wedding ceremony which they regard as the authentic tradition of the Cham because this group considers itself as pure descendants of the Cham in Vietnam, retaining Cham traditions.