ANGKOR and I

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63 century into a vast nation, to the extent that the word “Kambuja” came to be written in inscriptions. The Khmer and Surrounding Ethnic Groups When the Khmer people commenced the building of their nation, the present-day ethnic groups of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar had not yet arrived at their current areas of residence, and they had not established any nation-like features. In terms of nation-building, they had a time difference of about 300 years from the Chenla of the Khmer people. Hence, the Khmers expanded their domain into wide areas in the vicinity of uninhabited land, and acquired a zone they could control. By bestowing high-grade titles to small chiefs of ethnic groups who had been assigned to the various regions the Khmer chiefs tried to make them dependent on themselves, or by erecting Khmer-style temples in local areas they conducted unified rituals and used those places as regional bases. Since the middle of the 6th century the pre-Angkor dynasty appears to have been active in current northeastern Thailand and the middle reaches of the Mekong River, and the name of the first king (Bhavavarman I) of 598, can be confirmed from the inscriptions. People of Thailand and Myanmar in general moved south from the 11th century to the 12th century and commenced their migration. Laos began a little later, and Vietnam moved south to the Mekong River delta only in the first half of the 17th century. The current borders of each nation were formed when they were colonized by the West. Permit me now to regress a little. Each ethnic group or society arriving at the newly developed lands gained knowledge pertaining to the culture of life from the indigenous or other peoples of the vicinity, and they were inspired by them. While nurturing and sustaining their own languages and traditions, they also enhanced their sense of belonging. They formed regional bases where life was stable, and there are