Cham people

The Chams (Urang Campa), Austronesians of central Vietnam and coastal Cambodia, first peopled the coast before Khmers and Vietnamese came, through Khmer expansion and the Vietnamese conquest from the 11th to the 19th century. From the 2nd century they founded Champa, Hindu-Buddhist seaport principalities rich in sandalwood, ivory and Chinese trade; My Son towers still rise over the rice fields. By the 17th century Champa had become an Islamic sultanate; today most Cham are Muslim, a minority Hindu, the indigenous faithful of both lands, keeping matriarchal family and inheritance against every pressure. Cham and Tsat tongues divide Vietnam from Hainan exiles. Panduranga weavers, Phan Rang potters and the Kate festival keep the coast's first people weaving. Hindu-Buddhist towers still dot the coast. Matriarchs still inherit every Cham house. Tsat speakers keep the Hainan exile tongue. Cambodian Cham still fish the great lake. Vietnamese conquest took eight centuries to finish. Khmer expansion first pressed the Cham coast.