Thai, Lan
Description
This thesis investigates intermarriages between ethnic Khmer and
Kinh people in a province of southern Vietnam. Khmer-Kinh
interethnic marriage raises paradoxes, for the very possibility
of such unions is sometimes questioned owing to the
socio-economic gaps and assumed differences in cultural practices
between these groups, their historical tension, and mutually
unfavourable stereotypes. Nevertheless, this type of marriage is
real and has been increasing in...[Show more] recent years. This thesis aims to
explore the facilitating factors behind this type of marriage;
how Khmer-Kinh couples experience their relationship with
each-other and with their families; and how ethnic identity is
transmitted to the children of such unions. It demonstrates that
Khmer and Kinh couples engage in a dynamic process of negotiating
multiple constraints and adapting to differences to make their
marriages viable.
This thesis draws upon in-depth interviews and observations from
a field study undertaken by the author in 2012 in An Giang
Province. Thirty-five Khmer-Kinh interethnic couples took part in
the study that examined marriages in rural and urban areas as
well as ethnically segregated and ethnically mixed settings. The
participants were drawn from diverse socio-economic backgrounds
and included couples made up of individuals of similar and
dissimilar socio-economic standing.
The findings highlight that geographical and socioeconomic
disparities are significant barriers to Khmer-Kinh interethnic
marriage. Historical tensions also have led to the development of
pejorative stereotypes between the ethnic groups, which
significantly impede the formation of such intimate unions. The
findings unpack the complex factors and conditions facilitating
the incidence of Khmer-Kinh interethnic marriage, highlighting
the significance of modernization and development factors in
bridging the geographical, social, cultural and psychological
gaps between groups, and the role of new marriage markets and
personal experiences in facilitating such conjugal unions.
By examining couples’ relationship with each-other and with
their families, I found two core factors—class disparity and
cultural differences—account for many of the tensions and
conflicts arising in their marital life. The findings also
highlight the differential capacity of spouses and their families
to cope with cultural differences. Educational level, residential
location, ethnicity, gender expectations and practical utility
were influential factors shaping the capacity of spouses to cope
with the cultural differences encountered in their married lives.
The study further highlights the dynamics and variation in the
transmission of language, identity and heritage to the children
in Khmer-Kinh families, finding that all interviewed couples
supported the proposition that their children embrace both
cultural identities and acquire multicultural capacity.
Nevertheless, the findings show that such transmission to these
mixed children is shaped not only by individual choices or
familial preferences but also by several other factors including
gender, socialization context and socio-economic factors.
The thesis confirms that regardless of the socio-economic
disparities, preconceptions and cultural differences between
these groups, such unions are possible and viable in contemporary
Vietnam. The study uncovers the sources of tension in their
marriages and reveals that when conflicts do arise, most of the
couples in this study make multiple negotiations and adaptations
to make their relationship last.
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