THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF THE CHAM PEOPLE IN MALAYSIA

Political upheaval in Indochina was a major contribution for the emmigration of Chams from their homeland. Even though many Chams were found in several places in Malaysia, majority of them settled down in Kelantan. This paper discusses some aspects of social structure and organizations of the Chams, especially inrelation to marriage and family. Data presented in this paper was based mainly on primary sources i.e. interviewing Chams in Kelantan. Several issues pertaining to their structure and organization shall be highlighted. This paper attempts to answer several questions on similarities and differences with their counterpart in Cambodia. Besides, this paper also discusses issues pertaining to social relations between the Chams and local Malays as this is an important indicator for social adaptation, assimilation and/or conflict berween them due to different social background.