Scientific conference on Mon-Khmer peoples in Vietnam and Southeast Asia

On August 28, 2008, the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) organized a scientific conference.Mon-Khmer peoples in Vietnam and Southeast Asia: Language and CultureThe workshop was sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies Support (Vietnam National University, Hanoi). More than 50 scientists from the fields of Archaeology, History, Linguistics, Cultural and Social Anthropology, both domestic and international, participated in the workshop.

The workshop consisted of two sessions with two main themes: Language and History; Culture and Development.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2008/8/29/img_5255.jpg" border="0" alt="Professor Luong Ninh (left) and Professor Nguyen Van Loi (right)" title="Professor Luong Ninh (left) and Professor Nguyen Van Loi (right)" width="220" height="147" align="left" ]

Professor Luong Ninh presented a paper related to the history of the Mon-Khmer people in Vietnam.Vietnamese people, Vietnamese ethnic group, and Vietnamese language.This emphasizes the argument that the Vietnamese people and language developed on the basis of an ancient Mon-speaking population living in the Red River Delta and Northern Vietnam from the Hoa Binh culture period. Counterarguments suggest that this is a scientific hypothesis that needs clarification both theoretically and empirically. The crucial issue is whether or not there is a anthropological, cultural, archaeological, and linguistic connection with a specific ethnic group and its continuous development in the process of forming the modern ethnic group.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2008/8/29/img_5239.jpg" border="0" alt="Prof. Tran Tri Doi" title="Prof. Tran Tri Doi" width="220" height="160" align="right" ]

Also discussing the topic of history but from a linguistic perspective, Professor Tran Tri Doi's presentation onThe relationship between Austroasiatic and Austronesian languagesA new argument is put forward suggesting that these two languages ​​are not closely related but only have (specifically) unsystematic borrowing relationships. The basis of this argument is analyzed from comparative historical linguistic data. However, counterarguments suggest that the data used to develop this argument is primarily based on two groups of words: words denoting rocks and natural objects. Further data from other word categories should be collected for comparison to make this scientific argument more convincing.

Professor Nguyen Van Loi and Mr. Do Quang Son's presentation on the languages ​​of the Mang and Khang people is considered thorough and has positive significance in understanding the role of these languages ​​in the Mon-Khmer language system in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. This is also significant because both the Mang and Khang ethnic groups are very small in population, live in isolation in remote mountainous areas, and their languages ​​are at risk of disappearing.

Regarding the socio-cultural and development of Mon-Khmer populations, three papers were presented by Associate Professors Vatthana Pholsena, Hoang Luong, and Nguyen Van Chinh. Associate Professor Vatthana's paper focused on analyzing the cross-border demographic dynamics of the Bru-Van Kieu, Ma Cong, Tri, and Pakoh ethnic groups in the Sepon region (Laos) and Quang Tri (Vietnam). Explaining the cross-border exchange and migration of these groups, the author argued that, in addition to historical factors, ethnic relations and ethnic policies in the two countries are direct participants in the flow of people belonging to the same ethnic group on both sides of the border.

Associate Professor Hoang Luong presented his new findings on the relationship between the Black Thai and Khmu groups in Northwest Vietnam. Based on the analysis of genealogical records combined with materials from the epics of the Black Thai people of Northwest Vietnam, he argued that these two groups actually had intermarriage through marriage from ancient times. The later Thai nobility's perception of the Khmu and other Mon-Khmer groups as inferior to themselves likely stemmed from a self-aggrandizing mentality common among the ruling class. Opinions raised at the conference suggested that genealogical records must be analyzed and compared in conjunction with other sources. Furthermore, the Khmu-Thai intermarriage shown in the genealogical records does not reflect the relationship between Thai and Khmu as two separate ethnic groups, but rather the case of a single Black Thai group in Northwest Vietnam.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2008/8/29/img_5211.jpg" border="0" alt="Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Van Chinh" title="Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Van Chinh" width="147" height="220" align="right" ]

Associate Professor Nguyen Van Chinh presented a new analysis at the conference on the impact of resettlement policies on the Khmu people in the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam. The report was developed from his research over the past three years in five Khmu villages in Dien Bien and Nghe An provinces, combined with ethnographic observations in Khmu communities in Thailand, Laos, and Meng La (Yunnan, China). Refuting the arguments of foreign scholars such as C. Keyes and O. Salemink that the Vietnamese government's resettlement policy is merely a form of ethnic assimilation, he argued that state development programs in mountainous areas are often highly humane, aiming to improve the living conditions of self-sufficient and unintegrated communities. However, unintended consequences arise during implementation due to a one-sided and biased perspective. Focusing on rice cultivation development strategies in mountainous areas inhabited by ethnic groups with only experience in forest-based and slash-and-burn agriculture needs to be considered more thoroughly. Besides requiring significant investment in capital and human resources, it overlooks the potential for leveraging the inherent strengths of these ethnic groups and their accumulated indigenous knowledge over thousands of years. Meanwhile, adapting to a new economic and technical model is not easy for small, isolated ethnic groups. Feedback from participants suggests that the study would be more comprehensive if it developed analytical tools to find practical solutions for development programs for ethnic groups with a tradition of shifting cultivation in Vietnam's mountainous regions.

The general consensus among the scientists attending the conference was that it was a very practical scientific debate. For the first time, scholars interested in the Mon-Khmer people gathered to discuss issues of both scientific and practical significance. Furthermore, the emphasis on academic rigor and critical thinking in the conference demonstrated innovation in the organization of scientific conferences, where the formality and ceremonial aspects often seen in other scientific conferences were absent.

The papers presented at the conference will be published in sequence in this section.Academic spaceof this website.

•Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh
Asia-Pacific Research Center (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi)