Changing ethnic identities among the Kuy in Cambodia: Assimilation, reassertion and the making of Indigenous identity

Abstract

The Kuy are one of the largest Indigenous groups in Cambodia. Though they are extremely similar to the Khmer in terms of physical appearance and material culture, a significant distinction between the two groups continues to be maintained. At the same time, assimilation into the Khmer identity has been a dominant trend among the Kuy for a considerable time and appears to be related to the relatively lower status of the Kuy identity. However, over the past decade or more, some people have begun to reassert a Kuy identity, driven by awareness of benefits of identifying as Kuy and a lessening of the stigmatisation of the Kuy identity. Following the introduction in Cambodia of the concept of Indigenous Peoples, 'Indigenous' has become an ethnic identity that more and more Kuy are assuming and within which they are becoming prominent. It is associated with a broader Indigenous community inside and outside of Cambodia which is becoming increasingly respected. The Indigenous identity has been able to inspire pride and confidence in a way that the Kuy identity has not and has played an important role in letting people of Kuy ancestry 'become Kuy' .

Lived experience of vulnerability from a Gypsy Roma Traveller perspective

“…There is a resonance between these findings of GRT feeling forced to live inauthentically due to imposed cultural change and the experiences of other indigenous groups such as Aborigines in Australia (Delauney ), First Nations, Inuit and Metis in Canada (Shantz ), Adivasis in Bangladesh (Khan & Samadder ) and Kuy in Cambodia (Swift ), all have been forced to adapt to living in ways at odds with their own cultural identity. Gypsy Roma Travellers in our study perceived their way of life was under threat by those in the settled community and that they were being eradicated.…”

“…Gypsy Roma Travellers in our study perceived their way of life was under threat by those in the settled community and that they were being eradicated. These feelings have been expressed by other indigenous communities who also feel as though they are being forced to adapt their traditional cultural heritage in the light of wider societal norms (Khan & Samadder , Swift ). What is interesting is that these other indigenous groups going through enforced cultural change have similar poor health outcomes to Gypsies/Travellers in terms of higher physical and mental illness in comparison to the wider settled population (Shantz , Delauney ).…”

Organizing against Land Grabbing in Cambodia: Exploring Missing Links

“…The exact number of Kuy is hard to estimate. In the Prey Lang area, Kuy and Khmer share a long history of co-existence and similar traditions in terms of resin tapping and rotating land cultivation (Keating, 2013;Swift, 2013). Based on the focus group discussions with the committee members, many Kuy act as Khmer in terms of speaking, dressing and housing, but still practice customary Kuy ceremonies.…”

The etemic model of Gypsy Roma Traveller community vulnerability: is it time to rethink our understanding of vulnerability?

“…Therefore, we propose that further work is required to explore the validity of this proposed model in other vulnerable groups to identify parts which resonate with them and their experience. One particular set of groups would be other indigenous groups such as Aborigines in Australia (Delauney ), First Nations, Inuit and Metis in Canada (Shantz ), Adivasis in Bangladesh (Khan & Samadder ) and Kuy in Cambodia (Swift ). All of which, like GRT, have higher poorer physical and mental health outcomes than the settled community, but also a separate cultural identify from the majority of the society in which they live.…”