Birthplace of Cambodia's First Ancient Dynasty ——
Origin of "Funan"
The word "Funan" is the name of an ancient Southeast Asian country first recorded in Chinese history. According to the "Book of the Later Han", Volume 86, " South Barbarians and Southwest Barbarians Legend", " In the first year of Yuanhe of Emperor Suzong (84 A.D.), the barbarians in the southern part of the country, Chu Buzhi, offered rhinoceros and white pheasants to the people in the euphony." The term "Chu Buzhi" refers to the country of Funan, which is also known as Funan and Trepan, and was later translated as "Cambodia" in the Ming Dynasty.
Its territory was roughly equivalent to all of present-day Cambodia, as well as southern Laos, southern Vietnam and southeastern Thailand. “Funan” is the Chinese translation of the ancient Khmer word "Bnam" (meaning "mountain"). The ruler of the Funan Dynasty called himself "King of the Mountains" (Kurung bnam), which also reflected the nature worship of the ancient Khmer people at that time, who regarded mountains as sacred places where the gods descended.
The Birth of “Bunong”
Like the five thousand years of civilization in China, the Funan Dynasty also has its long history, and those recorded for the ages have been passed down to the present day.
Legend has it that at the end of the first century A.D., before the founding of the country, Funan was at the stage of transforming from the late tribal stage to the early national stage, when cities such as Siem Reap and Phnom Penh did not yet exist, and the people were in the stage of primitive life.
Legend has it that the ancestors of the Bunong tribe were the Mon-Khmer people, who were overwhelmed by typhoons and tsunamis, and after several migrations, they finally found a safe haven in Kompong Som Harbor (Sihanoukville), where they temporarily lived, had children and enjoyed the bounty of nature. Ancient Kompong Som Harbor had warm climate, primitive forests, sufficient water source and rich vegetation, which created good conditions for the Bunong tribe to live in groups. They had no worries about food and drink, no need to avoid the cold, and no risk of typhoons, tsunamis, or earthquakes. Enjoyed a peaceful and peaceful life alone...
According to the evidence, it was a matriarchal society where women were in charge of work and production, inherited the family property, and dominated the main family affairs, and the later generations named the matriarchal tribe that settled in the area as "Bunong" tribe, which is still one of the largest ethnic minorities in Cambodia nowadays.
