Who are the Cham people and what is distinctive about their names?
The Cham are one of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, also known as Chàm, Chiêm, Chiêm Thành, Chăm Pa, and Hời. Under the list of Vietnamese ethnic groups issued with Decision No. 121-TCTK/PPCĐ dated 2 March 1979 by the General Statistics Office, Cham is the official name, while Chàm is the familiar alternative long used in many documents and in daily life. This article uses the official name Cham throughout, mentioning other names only so readers can recognise them.
According to the Survey of 53 Ethnic Minorities dated 1 April 2019, the Cham number 178,948 people. Earlier, under the 2009 Population and Housing Census, the figure was 161,729. The difference reflects both natural population growth and different data collection scopes between the two surveys.
Recorded local groups of the Cham include Chăm Hroi, Chăm Poổng (some sources write Chăm Pôông), Chà Và Ku, and Chăm Châu Đốc. These are local groups within the same ethnic group, not separate ethnic groups.
Where do the Cham live?
The Cham live mainly in Ninh Thuận, Bình Thuận, and in several localities in An Giang province (including the Châu Đốc area), Tây Ninh, Đồng Nai, and Ho Chi Minh City. The list of Vietnamese ethnic groups on the Government Portal also records Cham residence in Bình Định, Phú Yên, and Khánh Hoà.
The distribution can be pictured as two main branches by area and religion:
- The branch in Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận mainly follows Bà la môn, with a small part following traditional Islam, usually called Chăm Bà ni.
- The branch in localities of Châu Đốc, Tây Ninh, An Giang, Đồng Nai, and Ho Chi Minh City follows newer Islam.
Differences in location bring differences in livelihood. The Cham in Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận are tied to wet-rice farming, irrigation, and fruit growing, alongside single-crop dry fields on hillsides. The Cham in the South live mainly by fishing, hand weaving, and small trade, with farming only secondary.
What is notable about the Cham language and script?
Cham belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian group within the Austronesian language family. The Cham are one of Vietnam's ethnic groups with a very early script. Cham script was created based on the Sanskrit writing system, and many inscriptions and scriptures in Cham script survive. However, according to cema.gov.vn, its use was previously very limited to the clergy and nobility, while learning and transmission of crafts remained mainly oral and by imitation.
The Cham have a traditional agricultural calendar based on the lunar calendar. This is the basis for distributing agricultural rites through the yearly cycle, including the rite of opening canals and building dams, the transplanting rite, the rite for young rice, and the rite for rice forming ears.
Traditional Cham family and social organisation
Cham families follow matrilineal tradition, even though Cham society was formerly a stratified, feudal one. In Islam areas, families have shifted to patrilineal form and the male role is emphasised, but according to the source, matrilineal customs remain quite pronounced in family and clan relations tied to ancestor worship.
Cham people were originally divided into two clans, Cau and Dừa, similar to the Niê and Mlô lineages among the Ê đê. Later, the Cau clan became the class of commoners, while the Dừa clan became the class of nobles and clergy. Below the clan are lineages traced through the mother, headed by a woman of the youngest child's line, and each lineage divides into sub-lineages.
Traditional Cham society was divided into classes with many similarities to ancient Indian society. The classes had their own residential areas and clear separations: they did not marry each other, did not live in the same hamlet, and did not eat from the same tray.
Regarding marriage, women took the initiative in courtship, marriage was matrilocal, children took the mother's surname, the bride's family provided the betrothal gifts, and the marital principle was monogamous families.
What do the Cham worship?
The Cham worship system is closely tied to matrilineal lineages and to deities in both folk belief and religion. The temple towers are a unique cultural heritage of the Cham, surviving for centuries and still bound to the people's spiritual and emotional life. Major rites at the towers are occasions for the community to practise its beliefs together.
Ancestor worship is also tied to the matrilineal principle. According to cema.gov.vn, members of the same lineage are buried in the same place according to the maternal line. As for burial customs, the Cham have two forms, earth burial and cremation: the Bà la môn group usually cremates according to religious law, while other groups practise earth burial.
One notable point is the rites connected with housing. When building a new house, the Cham in Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận must perform several rites to the gods: worshipping the Earth God to fell timber in the forest, a rite to welcome the trees when the timber is brought back to the village, and a wood-cutting rite to begin construction of the house.
What is the main festival of the Cham?
The largest Cham festival is Bon Katê (written Katê in many documents), held grandly at the temple towers in the middle of the tenth lunar month. This is when Cham folk dance is performed at the towers, tied to the ritual and community setting.
Besides Katê, the Cham also perform many agricultural rites through a yearly cycle according to the traditional agricultural calendar:
| Rite | Time in the agricultural cycle |
|---|---|
| Rite of opening canals and building dams | Stage of preparing water for the crop |
| Transplanting rite | When starting to transplant rice in the fields |
| Rite for young rice | When the rice has grown into young plants |
| Rite for rice forming ears | When the rice begins to form ears |
| Bon Katê | Middle of the tenth lunar month, at the temple towers |
Another festival mentioned by dantocmiennui.baotintuc.vn is Ramưwan, when Cham men and women wear traditional clothing in many colours. This festival is tied to the Cham who follow Islam.
Clothing, food, and traditional crafts
In clothing, both men and women wear wrapped skirts. Men wear short open-front shirts with buttons, women wear pullover long tunics. The dominant colour is the white of cotton fabric. In daily life today, the Cham dress like Vietnamese people in the central region, with the pullover tunic appearing only among older women.
In food, the Cham eat rice cooked in large and small clay pots. Dishes include fish, meat, and vegetables from hunting, gathering, herding, and farming. Drinks include jar wine and rice wine. The betel and areca chewing custom is very common in daily life and in traditional rituals and customs.
In crafts, famous in Cham areas are silk weaving and hand-moulded pottery fired in open kilns. Cham wheel-made pottery products are well known and widespread in the central region, with women playing an important role in creating them. Cham brocade weaving is growing and adapting to a market economy, serving tourists' needs.
In housing, the Cham in Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận live in ground-level houses. Each family has houses built close together in an order including a guest house, the house of the parents and young children, the house of married daughters, the kitchen, and the ritual house. The ritual house contains the rice granary, the wedding room, and the living quarters of the youngest daughter and her husband.
For transport, the main and most frequent means is still the basket carried on the back. The Cham are also highly skilled boat builders for river and sea work, and they make ox-carts and buffalo-carts with fairly large loads for land transport.
Music and folk games
Notable Cham instruments include the Paranưng skin drum, the hand drum, and the xaranai oboe. According to cema.gov.vn, Cham folk songs and classical music have left many influences on the folk and classical music of Vietnamese people in the central region, such as the rice drum, nam ai music, and Huế hò singing. Cham folk dance is seen during Bon Katê festival days at the temple towers.
Cham children enjoy spinning tops and flying kites, playing mock battles, competing to steal the flag, and playing blind man's bluff.
Points to note when learning about the Cham
A few points are easily confused when researching the Cham. First, local groups such as Chăm Hroi, Chăm Poổng, Chà Và Ku, and Chăm Châu Đốc are groups within the same Cham ethnic group, not separate ethnic groups. Second, the distinction between Chăm Bà ni and newer Chăm Islam reflects two different religious traditions within the same ethnic group, not two ethnic groups. Third, sources may differ on population figures and on some ritual details, because survey times and recording scopes differ, so when researching one should compare sources and state clearly which source is being used.
The Cham beliefs and festivals described here are presented as cultural practices tied to history and community life. Learning about these practices helps to recognise more clearly the place of the Cham in the picture of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups.
