The Kingdom of Champa once ruled much of Cambodia and Vietnam. Antonio Graceffo visits a Cham village directly across the Tonle Sap River, from downtown Phnom Penh, to learn about the religion, language, and culture, of the descendents of the Champa Kingdom. In modern Cambodia, the Cham, who follow the religion of Islam, are the largest growing ethnic minority. The population is estimated between 500,000 to 1,000,000 people. The Cham have the highest birthrates of any ethnicity in Cambodia, with an average of 5 children per family. Many Cham villages are poor, but this particular community seemed to be doing well.

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Part 1

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Part 2

Antonio Graceffo visits the village school and asks the teacher about instruction. Children learn Cham first, which they speak at home, and learn Khmer which they speak outside. They learn to read Malay before learning to read Arabic. Antonio then walks down to the river and meets a Cham family who live on their boat, working as fishermen.

About Antonio

Antonio Graceffo (a.k.a. "The Brooklyn Monk") is a martial arts and adventure author living in Asia. He is the author of 6 books, including including The Monk from Brooklyn, Adventures in Formosa, Rediscovering the Khmers, The Desert of Death on Three Wheels,Boats, Bikes, and Boxing Gloves: Adventure Writer in the Kingdom of Siam, and his latest book, Warrior Odyssey: The Travels of a Martial Artist in Asia. All his books are available on Amazon.com here. He is also the host of the web TV show, “Martial Arts Odyssey,” which traces his ongoing journey through Asia, learning martial arts in various countries (watch select clips here).

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