CULTURAL MEMORY AND IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AMONG THE CHAMPA DIASPORA IN MALAYSIA

This paper is aimed at explaining the role of diaspora experiences and cultural memory as it relates to the formation of identity by the descendants of Champa in Malaysia, especially in the philosophy of Islam. The study conceptualization of culture implies the notion that Islam could be the most important factor in the creation and perception of the memory or recollections of people on the cultural experiences. Diaspora areas such as avocation, marriage, occupation, and cooking styles are also compared with how they were used in assimilating the Champa culture into the mainstream Malaysian culture. Similarly, the language, customs, knowledge, and micro-practices of everyday life, known as cultural memory, are examined to understand how it is transmitted across the generations. This study demonstrates that Islamic values are a guideline used to bring together these conflicting forces and enable a shared identity to be sustained within the Champa society. The qualitative data was subjected to manual analysis involving identification of themes of recovery experience in the participants using the NVivo software.. Using the qualitative research paradigm and employing only thematic analysis, the study looks at how the Champa diaspora maintains and recreates the lost cultural and religious identity and adapts its place in the Malaysian sociocultural environment. By describing the experiences of the Cham people of Malaysia, this research adds to the existing global literature on Diaspora, cultural memory, and the formation of their identity, particularly within the Islamic context.