My Cham Tongue

Unbeknownst to today’s world, the Champa kingdom was the longest lasting empire in the history of Southeast Asia. Centuries of war, genocide, and assimilation has resulted in a Cham identity nearly extinct—but not completely. Through recipes passed down from the matriarchs of her family, Nurhaliza weaves breathing Cham food culture into the broader context of Cham history. My Cham Tongue reclaims Cham cuisine within the faculties of food photography, risograph-style illustration, Cham Jawi Arabic calligraphy, poetry, and historical archive. An act of decolonization, My Cham Tongue rejects the dominant narrative that Cham language, stories, traditions, and foodways are forgotten, borrowed, lost, or don’t exist—by gathering the ingredients of a scattered kingdom and imparting its taste back into our diaspora for generations to come.