Culture
Both Vietnamese and Khmer speak a Mon-Khmer language which linguistically links the 2 groups. Vietnamese in Cambodia often don't integrate well with Khmers unlike the Chinese or Cham, this could be due to the cultural difference that both groups have. Today, due to the high unemployment rate in Vietnam, many Vietnamese come to Cambodia looking for work. While many Vietnamese come to Cambodia looking for a better life, few found it. Due to Vietnam's ten year occupation of Cambodia, most Cambodians harbor a deep distrust and dislike of the Vietnamese. Intermarriage is not as often with the Khmer as the Chinese settlers. While dispersed throughout the country, many Vietnamese are concentrated in the urban areas; others are involved in traditional fishing and agricultural activities where they live in floating villages on water. Vietnamese celebrate Chinese New Year during the month of February and is one of the biggest celebrations in Cambodia. They have also introduced their religion of Cao Dai which combines Mahayana, Confucian and Catholic beliefs. There are 2 built temples in Cambodia. Religion in Vietnam has historically been largely defined by the East Asian mix of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. They are the so-called Tam Giáo, or "triple religion." Beyond Tam Giáo, Catholicism is also practiced in modern Vietnam. Vietnamese Buddhism has typically been the most popular. This fits perfectly with the "triple religion" concept, making it difficult for many Vietnamese to identify exactly which religion they practice. Besides the "triple religion", Vietnamese life was also profoundly influenced by the practice of ancestor worship, as well as native animism. Most Vietnamese, regardless of religious denomination, practice ancestor worship and have an ancestor altar at their home or business, a testament to the emphasis Vietnamese culture places on filial duty. Most Vietnamese are followers of Mahayana Buddhism unlike the Khmer who follow Theravada Buddhism. Most Vietnamese speak Vietnamese as their mother tongue and the younger kids must learn to speak Khmer to prepare themselves to enter a school.
Read more about this topic: Vietnamese Cambodian
Famous quotes containing the word culture:
“He was one whose glory was an inner glory, one who placed culture above prosperity, fairness above profit, generosity above possessions, hospitality above comfort, courtesy above triumph, courage above safety, kindness above personal welfare, honor above success.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 1, ch. 1 (1962)
“Cynicism makes things worse than they are in that it makes permanent the current condition, leaving us with no hope of transcending it. Idealism refuses to confront reality as it is but overlays it with sentimentality. What cynicism and idealism share in common is an acceptance of reality as it is but with a bad conscience.”
—Richard Stivers, U.S. sociologist, educator. The Culture of Cynicism: American Morality in Decline, ch. 1, Blackwell (1994)
“With respect to a true culture and manhood, we are essentially provincial still, not metropolitan,—mere Jonathans. We are provincial, because we do not find at home our standards; because we do not worship truth, but the reflection of truth; because we are warped and narrowed by an exclusive devotion to trade and commerce and manufacturers and agriculture and the like, which are but means, and not the end.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)