Changing ethnic identities among the Kuy in Cambodia: Assimilation, reassertion and the making of Indigenous identity

The K uy are one of the largest Indigenous groups in C ambodia. Though they are extremely similar to the K hmer in terms of physical appearance and material culture, a significant distinction between the two groups continues to be maintained. At the same time, assimilation into the K hmer identity has been a dominant trend among the K uy for a considerable time and appears to be related to the relatively lower status of the K uy identity. However, over the past decade or more, some people have begun to reassert a K uy identity, driven by awareness of benefits of identifying as K uy and a lessening of the stigmatisation of the K uy identity. Following the introduction in C ambodia of the concept of Indigenous Peoples, ‘Indigenous’ has become an ethnic identity that more and more K uy are assuming and within which they are becoming prominent. It is associated with a broader Indigenous community inside and outside of C ambodia which is becoming increasingly respected. The Indigenous identity has been able to inspire pride and confidence in a way that the K uy identity has not and has played an important role in letting people of K uy ancestry ‘become K uy’.