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Khom: Unveiling the Historical Thai Term for the Khmer Legacy

An exploration of the term's origins, evolution, and complex historical context.

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What is Khom?

A Historical Designation

The term Khom (Thai: ขอม) is a historical designation used in the Thai and Lao languages. It primarily refers to the people and civilization of the ancient Khmer Empire.[1] Its usage is documented as far back as the 12th century. However, its precise meaning throughout history has remained somewhat ambiguous, potentially referring to a specific empire, a distinct historical period, or the Khmer people in a broader sense.[1]

Identity and Continuity

The term's application has evolved significantly. While initially used to denote the historical Khmer civilization, its modern interpretation, particularly from the 20th century onwards, has been influenced by nationalist discourse. This has led to its use in contexts aiming to create a distinction between the builders of the Angkorian civilization and the contemporary Khmer people.[2]

Historical Context

Early Records

The term Khom appears in historical records dating back to the 12th century. Its usage during this period likely related to the powerful Khmer Empire, which exerted significant influence over much of mainland Southeast Asia. The exact scope of its reference—whether it encompassed the entire empire, a specific era, or the ethnic Khmer population—has been a subject of historical debate.[1]

Influence and Reach

The Khmer Empire, often referred to by the term Khom in historical Thai and Lao contexts, was a dominant force in the region for centuries. Its cultural, political, and architectural legacy, including numerous archaeological sites found within modern-day Thailand, underscores the historical significance of this designation.[3]

Modern Usage and Discourse

Nationalist Narratives

In the 20th century, the term Khom became prominently utilized within Thai nationalist historiography. A key objective was to culturally and ethnically disassociate the magnificent Angkorian civilization from the present-day Khmer people of Cambodia. This narrative sought to establish a distinct separation, often portraying contemporary Khmers negatively and asserting that they were unrelated to the builders of the ancient empire.[2]

Historical Negationism

This discourse was significantly advanced by the Thai nationalist thinker Luang Wichitwathakan. He propagated the inaccurate claim that modern Khmers were ethnically distinct from the Angkorian civilization. To facilitate this separation, he repurposed the term "khom," drawing from the older term "Khmer Krom" (meaning "lowland Khmer"). This linguistic maneuver aimed to create a new ethnic identity, thereby accentuating a perceived discontinuity between the historical Angkor and modern Cambodia, despite well-established ethnic continuity.[3][4] This practice is often described as a form of historical negationism, used to bolster nationalistic sentiments.

Etymological Roots

Austroasiatic Origins

The Thai term khom originates from the Dvaravati Old Mon and Nyah Kur term *krɔɔm. This proto-term carried meanings such as "under," "below," or "beneath," particularly referring to the underside of something, like a house.[5][6] Over time, through linguistic evolution within the Austroasiatic language family and subsequent diversification, this root word gave rise to related terms across various language groups.[5]

Linguistic Connections

The etymological journey of khom reveals connections across several language families:

  • Austroasiatic Languages: Related terms include Bahnar krǎm, Proto-Katuic *dǎroom ~ *gǎroom ("underneath"), Khmu kn(d)ruum, and Mon *krom. The Khmer language itself features krom, derived from pre-Angkorian forms like karoň and karom.[5][11][12]
  • Hmong–Mien Languages: Hmongic languages show related terms like *gom, linked to the Mon root.[13]
  • Kra–Dai Languages: Proto-Kra–Dai and Hlai languages have forms like *kom, also tracing back to the Mon *krom.[13] Proto-Tai features gom.[13]
  • Tibeto-Burman Languages: Burmese terms such as gywans (referring to Siam) and kywam/krwam (referring to Cambodia) are also linguistically linked.[15][17]

Notably, the Thai and Lao term khom is understood as deriving from the Mon word krom, meaning "southerners."[5][14]

Specific Historical Usage

While khom can broadly refer to the Khmer people, its specific application in historical Thai contexts sometimes denoted the Mon-Khmer populations inhabiting the Lower Chao Phraya River Basin during the period of the Angkorian empire's influence (roughly 1000 CE to the late 13th century CE). In this sense, it referred more to the inhabitants subject to the Angkorian sphere rather than exclusively to the core Khmer population of Cambodia proper.[5][16]

References

Source Material

  1. Denes, Alexandra (2022). "A Siamese Prince Journeys to Angkor". Journal of the Siam Society. 110 (1): 58.
  2. Vail, Peter (June 2007). "Thailand's Khmer as 'invisible minority': Language, ethnicity and cultural politics in north-eastern Thailand". Asian Ethnicity. 8 (2): 111–130. doi:10.1080/14631360701406247. ISSN 1463-1369. Kasetsiri, Charnvit (16 March 2003). "Thailand and Cambodia: A Love-Hate Relationship". Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia. No. 3. cited in ibid.
  3. Ünaldi, Serhat (2008). Reconstructing Angkor: Images of the Past and Their Impact on Thai-Cambodian Relations (PDF). Sűdostasien Working Papers. Vol. 33. Berlin: Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften. pp. 16–17.
  4. Fry, Gerald W (2012-09-23). "Complex relations between Thais,Khmers". The Nation. Retrieved 2023-11-13. "First, many Thais think that Khom and Khmer are different peoples – with the Khom being the people who built the great Angkor empire and magnificent architecture and who are now extinct. They see the Khmer as a different people who now control Cambodia and who committed the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. In fact, the Khom and Khmer are the same people."
  5. Diffloth, Gérard. (1984). The Dvaravati Old Mon Language and Nyah Kur. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Printing House. pp. 219–220. ISBN 978-974-5-63783-2. Note: Entry no. V192., and V.192a. p. 343 — "The Thai term ขอม /khɔ̄m/, "Khom", sometimes used to refer to the Khmer period in Thailand, is apparently a Lao pronunciation of the Old Mon word *krɔɔm < krom >, meaning "Cambodian". The word is found in an Old Mon inscription, with that meaning (DOMI: p. 62), and in other Mon-Khmer languages, meaning "below, under, South". (Cf. V192).
  6. Huffman, Franklin E. "Burmese Mon, Thai Mon, And Nyah Kur: A Synchronic Comparison," The Mon Khmer Studies Journal 16-17(1990): 48. — "7) /krɔɔm/ under".
  7. Vovin, By. (1993). "Origins of the Ainu Language," A Reconstruction of Proto-Ainu. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 169. ISSN 0925-6512 ISBN 90-04-09905-0
  8. Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia (RILCA), Mahidol University. (1991). Pan-Asiatic Linguistics Volume 2. Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Language and Linguistics, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, January 8-10. Nakhon Pathom: Mahidol University. p. 680.
  9. Sidwell, Paul and Jacq, Pascale. (2003). A Handbook of Comparative Bahnaric. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. p. 144. ISBN 978-085-8-83541-2
  10. Centre de Documentation et de Recherches sur l'Asie du Sud-Est et le Monde Insulindien, École Pratique des Hautes Études (France). Asie du Sud-Est and Monde Indonésien 6(4)(1975): 4. ISSN 0395-2681
  11. BERNARD, J. B. (1902). Dictionnaire Cambodgien-Français [Cambodian-French Dictionary] (in French). Hong Kong: La Société des Missions-Étrangères. p. 162. — "KRƠM. Sous, dessous, au dessous. Il — âs, le plus bas, le plus profond. Il É—, au dessous. Il Pi — , par dessous, il Nou —, être dessous."
  12. Jenner, Philip N. (2009). A Dictionary of pre-Angkorian Khmer. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-085-8-83595-5
  13. Benedict, Paul K. (1990). Japanese/Austro-Tai. Ann Arbor, MI: Karoma Publishers. p. 210. ISBN 089720-078-0
  14. Unseth, Peter. "The Sociolinguistics of Script Shoice: An Introduction," International Journal of the Sociology of Language 192(2008): 25. doi:10.1515/IJSL.2008.030 "Notes 2. The term Khom is from the Lao word khom, from the Mon krom 'south(erners)', ..."
  15. Bennison, J.J. (1933). Census of India, 1931 Volume XI: BURMA PART I.—REPORT. Rangoon: Office of the Supdt., Government Printing and Stationery. p. 300.
  16. Phaideekham, Santi. (2019). "เขมร คำที่ไทยใช้เรียกเขมรมาตั้งแต่เมื่อใด?," Laelang kham Khamen-Thai [Behind the words Khmer-Thai] แหล่หลังคำเขมร-ไทย (in Thai). Bangkok: Matichon. pp. 61–87. ISBN 978-974-0-21687-2
  17. The Text Publication Fund of the Burma Research Society. (1923). The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma. (Translated by Pe Maung Tin and G.H. Luce). LONDON: Oxford University Press. p 106. "south-eastward the country of the Gywans, also called Ayoja;". Cœdès, George. "Documents sur l'Histoire Politique et Religieuse du Laos Occidental," Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient 25(1925): 24. doi:10.3406/befeo.1925.3044. ISSN 1760-737X. "Le Hmannan Yazawin (trad. Maung Tin et Luce, pp. 99 et 106) place les Gywam au Sud-Est des Birmans et dit que leur contrée est aussie appelé Ayudhya = le Siam."

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References

References

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