<P> The elite, and the royal household, often employ Brahmins to mark funerals and state ceremonies such as the Royal Ploughing Ceremony to ensure a good harvest . The importance of Hinduism cannot be denied, even though much of the rituals has been combined with Buddhism . </P> <P> According to the Thai Census of 2005, there are 52,631 Hindus living in Thailand, making up just 0.09% of the total population . </P> <P> The first recorded religion of the Champa was a form of Shaiva Hinduism, brought by sea from India . Hinduism was the predominant religion among the Cham people until the sixteenth century . Numerous temples dedicated to Shiva were constructed in the central part of what is now Vietnam . The mainly Hindu Óc Eo archeological site in Mekong River Delta in southern Vietnam, dates back to 7th century and earlier . The Champa civilisation was located in the more southern part of what is today Central Vietnam, and was a highly Indianized Hindu Kingdom, practising a form of Shaivite Hinduism brought by sea from India . Mỹ Sơn, a Hindu temple complex in central Vietnam built by the Cham people is still standing albeit in ruins in Quảng Nam Province, in Vietnam . Since the 15th century under the growing Vietnamese kingdom from the north, Champa was conquered and reduced as a polity . The Chams were subsequently absorbed by the Vietnamese and today are recognised as one of the many ethnic minorities of Vietnam . </P> <P> The Chams Balamon (Hindu Brahmin Chams) form a majority of the Cham population in Vietnam while most of the remainder are Cham Bani followers of Islam . The term Balamon is considered to have been derived from Brahmin, however another study suggests that 70% are considered to descend from the Nagavamshi Kshatriya caste (pronounced in Cham (?) as "Satrias"), and claim to be the descendants of the Champa Empire . In any case a sizeable proportion of the Balamon Hindu Cham are considered Brahmins . </P>

Buddhism and hinduism arrive in southeast asia thanks to