Gérard Moussay early 1970’s, they were around 40 000 including Cam inhabitants in the neighbourhood (Phan Ri). Two thirds of this population "follow a religion which was no doubt Brahmanism in the past but it is now only a distant souvenir of the religion coming from India". The last third are the so-called Banis who are descendants of Cam families who have opted for Islam since 14th or 15th century. These two communities have their villages, theirs clergies, their own rites. They don’t get married between them but keeping their relationship (same Cam calendar and some formal occasions). A small part of
Historical Vedic religion and unrelated to Hinduism. The Hindu religion was thought to be linked to the Hindu epics and the Puranas through sects based on Purohita, Tantras and "Bhakti". In the 20th-century, a better understanding of the Vedic religion, its shared heritage and theology with contemporary Hinduism, has led scholars to gradually encompass Brahmanism and the Vedic religion into "Hinduism". The Hindu reform movements and the Neo-Vedanta emphasized the Vedic heritage and "ancient Hinduism", and this term has been co-opted by some Hindus. Vedic religion is now generally accepted to be a predecessor of Hinduism, but they are not the same because