Dr. Hashim's JofHappiness: Khmer History and Civilization

Angkor Wat (from Wikipedia Encyclopaedia)

1. Introduction. My involvement as Vice-President of the World Malay-Polynesian (M-P) Organisation, since its establishment in 2012 (see earlier posting on the blog entitled International Conference of the Malay-Polynesian Ancestral Nations in July 2012) gets me interested in all aspects covering history, culture, languages, religion, economic, education, social, politics etc of the 33 nation states of the M-P ancestral nations, covering as far West as Malagasy to as far East as Easter Island, covering southern Thailand, Cambodia, Southern Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Polynesian Island archipelagoes in the Pacific Ocean. So when the Institute of World Malay Civilization of the National University of Malaysia (UKM) in Bandar Baru Baru, a km away from my residence, organised a lecture on Khmer History and Civilization, I was present at the lecture. It was held on September 18, 2015 starting at 2.30 pm and the lecture was delivered by Prof. Dr Chanthourn, Archeologist and Deputy Director of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, Institute of Fine Arts, Cambodia. It was attended by an estimated 50 participants.

A section of the participants at the lecture

Photo with speaker, Prof. Dr Chanthourn (third from left)

2. Early History. The Khmer Civilization was preceded by three earlier kingdoms:

Funan Kingdom - 68 to 550 AD. The Kingdom covered present-day Vietnam, Cambodia, southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia and it was a Hindu kingdom, composed of many small settlements with each having its own chief.

Chenla Kingdom - 550 to 800 AD

Champa Kingdom - 1000 to 1800 AD

The Funan Kingdom

3. The Khmer Civilization. 802 to 1432 AD - The Civilization, which was centred in Angkor Wat, is known for the many temples built in honor of Hindu God, Vishnu and the water systems comprising of canals and reservoirs used for irrigation, trade and travel. The people developed a sophisticated way of rice cultivation and were skill in metallurgy especially in making tools from iron, of which the Kingdom was rich in. The iron bars were used to cut rocks, located in the mountain range around 125 km away, into huge slabs which were then loaded into rafts and transported to the temple site in the vast plain of Siem Reap. Other iron tools were used for stone carving - among the popular figures engraved in the stones were forms of gods and goddeses, human faces, elephants and buffaloes.

Prof. Chanthourn is active in archeological work and share his professional experience. He narrated of the discovery of historical relics during road construction. He was instrumental in the establishment of a Historical Park in Siem Reap, where many of the historical relics and artifacts are kept.

4. Comments and Concluding Remarks. Khmer Civilization was part of the bigger Malay-Polynesian Civilization, linked in history to Funan, Langkasuka, Srivijaya, Majapahit and Melaka kingdoms, where the inhabitants of these kingdoms were known for a number of attributes - skilled farmers that had domesticated rice and developed a very advance cultivation culture of it; metallurgists who developed iron tools to build enormous structures like Angkor Wat and other temple centres in Cambodia, the Borobudur and Prambanan temple complexes in Indonesia; musicians and great sailors. The lecture provided me more insights on the rich shared historical heritage of the Khmer-Malay-Indonesian history and the need for scholars to work together in the study of our history. Also, the lecture threw light to the many other temple complexes around Siem Reap, which I missed to visit on my trip to Angkor Wat some years ago and new historical locations such as the Historical Park that are worth taking a look at. Further more, participating in such anthropological discussions makes me understand deeper my roots.