Some South East Asia Place Names You May Have Heard of

Former French Governor's Home In Hanoi

That same division between the North and South mentioned in another post permeated the country and to some extent still exists.  Until today, the South is sometimes considered by Northerners as too foreign and too open to outside influence.  The North is sometimes considered by the Southerners as too doctrinaire and kind of country, to use American lingo.  Even during what the local people, who have a history of centuries of warfare, call the American War, the famous Tet Offensive had a North vs South twist or two.  The ancient city of Hue was the capital for the Nguyen dynasty and it was the focus of the most intense and extended fighting and destruction of the entire event.  The North made its point in showing the South that the Nguyen-Trinh conflict is not completely forgotten.


The whole of South East Asia was invaded, fought over and occupied from time to time by local tribes or clans, neighboring states, countries in the area and foreigners from Europe and the Middle East. As is usual the foreigners were quick to put their own stamp on the new territories they were occupying or passing through.  Some of the names that the interlopers called the area have either remained or are referred to in history books or legends of the place.

Here are some names referring to the area that you may have heard or read about in your travels or study of the fascinating countries of the region.

Tonkin
Cochin
Cochinchina
Khmer
Cham
Annam
Yunnan
Han
Champa
Siam
Tai
French Indo-China

These names either refer to geographic areas or are names given to the peoples who inhabited the area.  Some were also used by Europeans to identify heads of state.  An example of that is Cham.  Cham is an ethnic tribe or group that lives in Vietnam and comes from the same background as people form Malaysia or Indonesia.  They were heavily influenced by people form the subcontinent of India and most Cham are Muslims, followers of Islam.  Centuries ago there was a Dynasty or ruling family called the Champa Dynasty in Vietnam.

MUSLIM CHAM; NEAR CAMBODIA

There are similar backstories on most of the names shown above and if you should run into those names in your reading or travel, look them up, you will be all the better for doing so.  Anything you can do to get under the carapace of another culture is a good thing because it lets you feel and be less of a complete outsider and more of a participant in the life of the place you visit in person or through the magic of the written word.

By the way, specific to Vietnam here are some of the major ethnic groups and a rough guide to where they live.

MONTENARD FROM CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

DAO; NEAR LAOS & CHINA

TAY; QUONG NINH PROVINCE, NEAR HALONG BAY

HMONG; NGHE AN PROVINCE NEAR LAOS

Get out there, see what there is to see and come away a better person for having experienced another people and another way of life.  How can we understand our fellow Earthlings if we never even see them or acknowledge that they are there?


Enjoy and make sure that you leave the local people feeling glad you dropped by.