In 1954, he was sent to study at the Faculty of Letters, Hanoi University. It was Professor Tran Van Giau who advised him to study Ethnology, and Ethnology became his lifelong career from then on. After graduating with honors, he continued his studies as a postgraduate student with the topic:M-speaking ethnic groupsOn-Khmer in Northern Vietnam"The dissertation was defended in 1963 at Lomonosov Moscow State University. This was the first doctoral dissertation in Ethnology by a Vietnamese graduate student to be defended abroad under a democratic republic regime."
On his ethnographic journey, his footprints have been left on many lands of the country, from the northernmost point of Lung Cu (Ha Giang) to Xom Mui (Ca Mau). As his student over 30 years ago, I was fortunate to hear him recount many fieldwork memories about various ethnic groups, with unforgettable flavors and experiences, from the thang co and men men dishes of the Hmong people in the Dong Van plateau to the resounding bronze drums of the Lo Lo people on the summit of Lung Cu, from the taste of sour bamboo shoots cooked with frogs, a specialty of the Muong people in the Northwest region, to the com poi dish of the Duc people in the Truong Son region, and the fragrant chicken porridge in Chom Lom village in western Quang Binh, still containing the offal that hadn't been prepared yet... He recounted his meeting with President Ho Chi Minh and the President's question about the Xa La Vang (a type of leaf) as an unforgettable memory that further strengthened his research path.
Professor, Doctor, and People's Teacher Phan Huu Dat - a leading scientist in the field of Anthropology,
Head of the History Department (1970-1975), Rector of Hanoi University (1985-1988) / Photo: Thanh Long
With over half a century of teaching and scientific research, Professor Phan Huu Dat has become one of the leading professors in Anthropology. His research focuses on topics such as: Theoretical issues concerning ethnicity, national communities, and anthropological theory; Culture of ethnic groups in Vietnam, Culture and development; Ethnic processes and ethnic relations in Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and the world; Ethnology and the ethnic policies of the Party and State in light of Ho Chi Minh's thought; and the history of marriage and family.
Professor Phan Huu Dat's more than 100 published research works address core issues in ethnographic research, ranging from theoretical issues to summarizing research problems in ethnology in Vietnam; from Vietnamese ethnology to ethnographic issues worldwide; from culture and development to the requirements for training and research in ethnology to serve the planning and implementation of the Party and State's ethnic policies; from ethnic relations and urgent issues in Vietnam and the world to the issue of ethnicity in globalization; from promoting research in social sciences and humanities to applied research...His research works, regardless of the field, are characterized by profound theoretical understanding, principled ideology, and practical significance in terms of application..
As one of the leading ethnologists, his research laid the foundation for the development of Vietnamese ethnology. He was the first Vietnamese person to compile a textbook.Fundamentals of Ethnology(1973) served for research and teaching. In the 1990s, many of his research works continued to address the research requirements of Ethnology in the direction ofAnthropologyBased on new research achievements and insights in response to the country's development needs and regional and international integration.
Professor Phan Huu Dat, Doctor of Science, People's Teacher, at his 80th birthday celebration in 2008.
Based on fundamental research, Professor Phan Huu Dat's scientific works have particularly focused on researching and summarizing the theory and policies regarding ethnic groups in Vietnam, both historically and currently. From an early stage, he proposed adding the principle of mutual development to the basic principles of ethnic policy, a principle that was reflected in the documents of the 9th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Throughout his research, the issue of ethnic relations, from theory to practice, is a central theme. He meticulously studied lessons learned from around the world and identified the characteristics of ethnic relations in Vietnam, while also offering compelling proposals to further strengthen these relations today.
One of Professor Phan Huu Dat's most important contributions was his research on ethnic communities in Vietnam, their culture, and development. His more than 30 research works have covered a wide range of issues in this field. His body of work can be considered a significant contribution.The development of ethnic minorities in Vietnam in the 20th centuryThis work is a comprehensive summary with high theoretical and practical value. Professor Phan Huu Dat was also the first to fully summarize the main characteristics of the ethnic communities in our country. He also contributed to the research and development of criteria for determining the ethnic composition in Vietnam. These criteria were put into practical application in the 1970s. From the 1960s and 1970s, he contributed to the research of historians and social scientists on the first era of nation-building and national defense in Vietnamese history: the Hung King era. His research results from an ethnological perspective have helped shed light on the nature and social institutions in our country at that time, as well as the role of Lac Viet culture in Southeast Asian culture.
In Professor Phan Huu Dat's research, the history and culture of many ethnic groups, from those speaking the Thai language to the Mon-Khmer peoples, from those speaking the Hmong-Dao language to those belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language group, from the Viet-Muong peoples to those belonging to the Austronesian language family... have been presented quite vividly and convincingly. When examining the communal culture of Vietnamese ethnic groups, he has provided quite convincing analyses by placing the communal culture of Vietnamese ethnic groups within the context of regional and global culture. These research results have been presented at numerous universities and international conferences.
He made very important contributions to building a model for preserving and developing the cultures of ethnic groups in our country in the dialectical relationship between tradition and modernity. When examining the traditional cultures of ethnic groups, he deeply analyzed and pointed out cultural elements that did not hinder development, as well as outdated values that could hinder development and needed to be reformed. At the same time, he also pointed out the cultural values of ethnic groups that are eternal or relatively eternal and need to be preserved to enrich national and human culture.
Professor Phan Huu Dat, PhD, People's Teacher, speaking at the international conference on Anthropology research and training in Vietnam, held at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in 2010. (Photo: Thanh Long)
As a leading expert on marriage and family studies, since the 1960s, he has researched the marriage patterns of the Van Kieu people, uncovering traces of the three-clan alliance. He has also delved into the study of the system's origins.fourEthnic marriage in the Central Highlands; rules of residence in marriage as well as the dual system; traces of kinship among the Ede people with scientific discoveries, opening up new directions in studying the past of humankind, and at the same time contributing positively to the implementation of the Law on Marriage and Family of Vietnamese ethnic groups, building a new cultural life in accordance with the laws of development.
As an educator, he has trained thousands of graduates in Ethnology and History, and supervised dozens of doctoral candidates who successfully defended their dissertations. He also directly taught at training courses for cadres at the Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy, the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, the National Assembly's Council for Ethnic Minorities, and various universities... and participated in teaching on ethnic issues in Vietnam at several universities around the world, such as Lomonosov Moscow State University (Soviet Union), Humboldt University (Germany), and numerous international scientific conferences.
He has published over 100 research papers, including 9 monographs, notably:Festival culture of ethnic groups in Southeast Asia(Editor-in-chief, 1992);Harvest-praying ceremonies of ethnic groups in VietnamEditor (1994).Thai-Vietnamese Culture(co-authored with Cam Trong, 1995);Our ancestors' methods of employing people throughout history.(Editor-in-chief, 1998);Some Issues Regarding Vietnamese Ethnology(1998);Contributing to the study of Vietnamese ethnology.(2003)... Many of his research papers have been published in prestigious international scientific journals and magazines such as: Soviet Ethnology (1961); ASEMI (1978), international conference proceedings... in many languages such as English, French, Russian.
He was appointed as the principal investigator for two state-level scientific research projects:Vietnamese culture in the development of regional and ethnic cultural nuances (1990-1995); Urgent theoretical and practical issues related to ethnic groups and peoples in the world and in our country today. The Party's ethnic policy (1995-2000).
Educator and scientist Phan Huu Dat is a typical example of a revolutionary intellectual who matured under the new democracy. He is one of those who contributed to bringing glory to the country's higher education and science in general, and Hanoi National University in particular.
Author:Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lam Ba Nam
