Kuy People Helped Erecting Khmer Empire: Indigenous Representative
Tep Tem, the representative of the Kuy people in Preah Vihear province, said the ethnic group not only participated in erecting the temples but also brought their skills to craft steel tools. Photo: Isa Rohany
- By Isa Rohany
- and Meng Seavmey
- December 25, 2023 7:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – The Kuy people, one of the oldest indigenous ethnic groups in Cambodia, contributed greatly to Khmer history by building temples.
Tep Tem, the representative of the Kuy people in Preah Vihear province, said the ethnic group not only participated in erecting the temples but also brought their skills to craft steel tools. Before extracting the iron from rocks, the indigenous community used to chant a prayer, she said.
“The process of making steel out of the iron from the rock included waterwheels and shaping boxes. The men would sing while working on it,” she added.
With the iron, they made knives and axes for daily livelihood, and weapons such as swords that were used at times of war, according to Tep Tem.
“I am proud that my ancestors possessed such amazing skills and helped build the temples during the Khmer Empire era,” she said.
Diverse cultures passed on to the next generations
For the indigenous leader, Cambodia’s diversity of culture resembles a garden with flowers in a variety of colors – which represent different indigenous ethnic groups –living in the same society.
The ethnic groups can conserve their cultures by creating a community and seeking legal recognition of their land, language, traditional clothes, and cultures such as dances and instruments.
“The colorful flowers would make a beautiful diversification despite different languages. The cultures and histories are similar, and that will keep Khmer culture conserved,” she said.
Tem believes that the best way to preserve these cultures for the next generation’s livelihood is to teach them.
“It has to be done by elder people,” she said. “If we the old generation do not share our cultures with them, all they know will be meaningless dances and not a thing about their own traditions.”
By 2013, there were 22 ethnic groups in Cambodia representing more than 138,000 people, spread across six provinces – Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng, Kratie, Kampong Thom, and Preah Vihear provinces.
These communities accounted for 1.25 percent of the total population. The Kuy ethnic group Tep Tem belongs to totaled 13,530 people, according to a 2021 report on ethnic groups issued by the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Rural Development.
