Northern Khmer people


The Thais of Khmer descent or colloquially Northern Khmer people, is the designation used to refer to ethnic Khmers native to the Isan region of Northeast Thailand.

History

Khmers have had a presence in this area since at least the time of the Khmer Empire. With the fall of the Angkor, the Khmers of the Isan region were subject to increasing Thai influence. In the 18th century, the Thai kingdom officially annexed the former Cambodian province of Surin. The Khmer residents became de facto subjects of the Thai monarchy and a long process of gradual cultural assimilation began.

Demographics

Culture

Although now a minority, the Northern Khmer have maintained some of their Khmer identity, practicing the Khmer form of Theravada Buddhism and speaking a dialect known as Khmer Surin in Khmer and Northern Khmer in English. Few Northern Khmers are able to read or write their native language, since teaching in public schools is exclusively in Thai.
This Thai language instruction has resulted in many of the younger generation being more comfortable using Thai as a medium of communication. In 1998, Smalley reported renewed interest in Khmer language and culture had resulted in a two-fold increase in the use of Northern Khmer since 1958. However, usage of Khmer has subsequently declined.
in the past two decades, there has been state-directed revitalization of 'local' cultures in Thailand, including of Khmer culture, which has been challenged for adopting a state narrative and insufficiently empowering the Northern Khmer themselves.

Conflict

Although it is not anywhere near the scale of the protests of the Khmer Krom in the Mekong Delta Vietnam, some Northern Khmers living in the Isan region have demanded more rights and oppose Thaification of the Khmer Surin. Also, the occasional hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia have made their relations sometimes difficult.

Notable Thai-Khmers