(9 November:National Day)
Cambodia country lying in the southwestern Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast
Asia. Covering a land area of 70,238 square miles, it is bordered on the west
and northwest by Thailand, on the northeast by Laos, on the east and southeast
by Vietnam, and on the southwest by the Gulf of Thailand. The capital is Phnom
Penh. The importance of Cambodia's contributions to mainland Southeast Asia is
out of proportion to its present reduced territory and limited political power.
Between the 11th and the 13th century, the Cambodian state included much of the
Indochinese Peninsula and incorporated large parts of present-day southern
Vietnam, Laos, and eastern Thailand. The cultural influence of Cambodia on other
countries, particularly Laos and Thailand, has been enormous.
Cambodia's climate is governed by the monsoon winds, which define two major
seasons. From mid-May to early October, the strong prevailing winds of the
southwest monsoon bring heavy rains and high humidity. From early November to
mid-March, the lighter and drier winds of the northeast monsoon bring variable
cloudiness, infrequent precipitation, and lower humidity. The weather between
these seasons is transitional. Maximum temperatures are high throughout the
year, ranging from about 28° C in January, the coolest month, to about 35° C in
April. Much of Cambodia is heavily forested. The central lowland region is
covered with rice paddies, fields of such dry crops as corn (maize) or tobacco,
tracts of tall grass and reeds, and thinly wooded areas. Small populations of
most species still may be found, along with some tigers, leopards, bears, and
many small mammals. Among the more common birds are herons, cranes, grouse,
pheasant, peafowl, pelicans, cormorants, egrets, and wild ducks. Four varieties
of snakes are especially dangerous: the Indian cobra, the king cobra, the banded
krait, and Russell's viper.
Cambodia always has been overwhelmingly a land of villages. Only a small
fraction of the total population has ever lived in towns of more than 10,000
inhabitants. Houses in Cambodia generally were built on wooden pilings and had
thatched roofs, walls of palm matting, and floors of woven bamboo strips resting
on bamboo joists. More prosperous houses, while still on pilings, were built of
wood and had tile or metal roofs. Throughout rural Cambodia, lifestyle was
closely geared to the agricultural cycle, which was based, in large part, on
family-oriented subsistence farming. Family members were awake before dawn, and
most of the day's work was accomplished before noon, although minor tasks were
performed in the cool of the early evening. Electricity has always been rare in
village areas, and country people were generally asleep soon after sunset.
During the rice-growing season, all family members worked together in the
fields, because the work of planting, transplanting, and harvesting had to be
done quickly. Without mechanical assistance, the work of several people was
needed to grow enough rice to feed a family for a year. Festivals and marriages,
celebrated by a whole village, were usually held after the rice had been
harvested and money had been obtained from selling the surplus grain.
In 1863 French naval officers from Vietnam persuaded King of Cambodia to sign a
treaty that gave France control of Cambodia's foreign affairs. By the late
1870s, however, French officials in Cambodia were pressing for greater control
over internal affairs. In 1897 the French representative assumed executive
authority, reducing the king's power to a minimum. In 1941, Japanese forces
occupied the component states of the Indochinese Peninsula, while leaving the
French in nominal control. In October 1945, after the war was over, the French
returned to Indochina and reestablished their control. Cambodia soon became an
“autonomous state within the French Union,” with its own constitution and a
handful of political parties, but real power continued to rest in French hands.
Between 1945 and the achievement of complete independence in 1953, however,
several significant political developments occurred. Cambodia was poorly
prepared for parliamentary democracy, and the French were unwilling to give the
National Assembly genuine power. At the Geneva Conference convened in 1954 to
reach a political settlement to the First Indochina War, Sihanouk's government
was recognized as the sole legitimate authority within Cambodia.
The Cambodians account for the vast majority of the total population. Other
traditional ethnic groups included the Chinese, Vietnamese, Cham-Malays, various
tribal peoples, and Europeans. Most ethnic Cambodians are Buddhists. Until 1975
Buddhism was officially recognized as the state religion of Cambodia. Tribal
people were animists, and the ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese were eclectic,
following Taoism, and such syncretic Vietnamese religious movements as the Cao
Dai. The Cham were strict Muslims, and a sizable number of Vietnamese were
members of the Roman Catholic church.
Cambodia's economy heavily dependent on two major products—rice and rubber—and
consequently was vulnerable to profound annual fluctuations caused by vagaries
in the weather and world market prices. Agriculture dominated the economy, with
most rural families engaged in rice cultivation. Cambodia has few known mineral
resources. Some limestone and phosphate deposits are found and precious stones
are mined. Cambodia's small quantities of iron and coal have not justified
commercial exploitation. Rice is Cambodia's principal food, its major crop, and,
in times of peace, its most important export commodity. Rice is grown on most of
the country's total cultivated land area. Cambodia traditionally has produced
only one rice crop per year because it has lacked the extensive irrigation
system needed for double cropping. Other food products include corn (maize),
beans, soybeans, and sweet potatoes. The principal fruit crops, all of which are
consumed locally, include oranges, bananas, and pineapple; these are
supplemented by a variety of other tropical fruits, including breadfruit, mango,
mangosteen, and papaya.
In 1981 a constitution was promulgated by the Vietnamese-backed government .This
document (amended in 1989) provided for a legislative National Assembly and a
Council of State selected from the assembly, an executive Council of Ministers,
and a judiciary.
Islam is the religion of a majority of the Cham and Malay minorities in
Cambodia. There were 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims in Cambodia as late as 1975 and
by the late 1980s they probably had not regained their former strength. In 2009,
the Pew Research Center estimated that 1.6% of the population, or 236,000 people
were Muslims. All of the Cham Muslims are of the Shafi'i school. The Cham have
their own mosques. In 1962 there were about 100 mosques in the country. At the
end of the nineteenth century, the Muslims in Cambodia formed a unified
community. When Cambodia became independent, the Islamic community was placed
under the control of a five-member council that represented the community in
official functions and in contacts with other Islamic communities. Each Muslim
community has a hakem who leads the community and the mosque, an imam who leads
the prayers, and a bilal who calls the faithful to the daily prayers. The
peninsula of Chrouy Changvar near Phnom Penh is considered the spiritual center
of the Cham, and several high Muslim officials reside there. Each year some of
the Cham go to study the Qur'an in Malaysia, and some go on to study in, or make
a pilgrimage to, Mecca. According to figures from the late 1950s, about 7
percent of the Cham had completed the pilgrimage and could wear the fez or
turban as a sign of their accomplishment.