The third element of the Khmer mentality, based ultimately on considerations of geography, lies in the fact that the Khmer have considerable pride, and have a strong inclination to praise themselves. This is because the Khmer people originally belonged to an ethnic family known as the Mon-Khmer, which inhabited the entire peninsula of Indochina. At that time the region was called Sovanna Phum ('Golden Country'), and shared a border with China.