Re: KEP - CAMBODIA'S OTHER RUINS with Dr Jean Michel Filippi
There was a time when Cambodia was at the crossroads of international trade with Malay traders doing their commerce in the country and leaving behind words that are now part of the Khmer vocabulary such as "kampong" [landing place] and "psa" [market place, "pasa" in Malay]. I came across these words also while visiting Kular Lumpur [muddy river?]. As for Kep, I have no clue about its origin in terms of naming!
Yes, our Vietnamese neighbours are always several yards ahead in concocting up historical identity and evidence, and this in total denial of historical and scholarly records that are available to anyone to draw from in evidence.
Some of today's Vietnamese historians and scholars even question the fact that the Khmers had been the first to have settled in the Mekong delta known as Kampuchea Krom. It makes no difference to the Vietnamese that before Ho Chi Minh city became Saigon it was Prey Nokor in Khmer, and before Phu Quoc became Phu Quoc it was Koh Tral? They even changed the street names in Phnom Penh in the 1980s when Vietnamese troops were occupying Cambodia. The corollary of this deliberate distortion policy is to rewrite relevant and national identity in the minds of new generations of Khmers and Vietnamese and to sever the Khmers' emotional attachment to their ancestral lands whilst conditioning Vietnamese children's sense of belonging and ownership towards these places.
6 comments:
The city was founded in 1908 during French colonial rule and was originally named Kep-sur-mer, according to Wikipedia.
Kep-sur-mer and Cap-sur-mer may be the closest one alternative spelling of the same place.
And yes French word Cap is equivalent to English word Cape.
In the USA we have famous Cape Cod,
Cape Canaveral etc...
You have indeed raised a very good point in your writing, School of Vice.
Thank you.
Pissed off
Thanks to beloved Khmerization who always provides the good encouragement and foster perfect environment for good comments and discussions. Thanks all readers of this blog who cared in exchanging ideas and opinions in a most civil manner. For School of Vice,the superb writer with no nonsense,I enjoy every pieces of his writing and feel fortunate that he had shared his innermost Khmer spirit with us.
The stubborn
I agree with Stubborn. Khmerization has more depth news and pertinent information about khmer people than KI-media. KI-Media has a lot of junk now a day. Just want to point that out.
Thank you readers for your company and very kind comments. I feel that all the credit should go to Khmerisation who does all the hardwork!
All the very best wishes for the coming New Year.
School of Vice, It is a team work. You've done a great job too. Happy new year to all.
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