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

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

The conference had two sessions with two main topics: Language and History; Culture and Development.

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

Regarding the history of the Mon Khmer residents in Vietnam, Professor Luong Ninh presented a paper.Vietnamese people, Vietnamese ethnicity and Vietnamese language, which emphasizes the argument that the Viet people and the Vietnamese language were developed on the basis of a class of ancient Mon-speaking residents living in the Red River Delta and Northern Vietnam since the Hoa Binh culture period. Opposing opinions argue that this is a scientific hypothesis that needs to be clarified both theoretically and materially. The key issue is whether or not there is a connection in terms of anthropology, archaeological culture and language with a certain ethnic group and their continuous development in the process of forming modern ethnic groups.

[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 onrelationship between Austroasiatic and Austronesian languagesput forward a new argument that these two languages ​​are not related but only have unsystematic (special) borrowing relationships. The basis of this argument is analyzed from historical linguistic comparative data. However, opposing opinions say that the data to develop this argument is mainly based on two groups of words referring to rocks and nature. It is necessary to collect more data from other groups of word types for comparison, then this scientific argument will be more convincing.

The discussion of Professor Nguyen Van Loi and Mr. Do Quang Son on the languages ​​of the Mang and Khang people is considered elaborate and has positive significance in understanding the role of the above languages ​​in the Mon-Khmer language system in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. This is also significant because both the Mang and Khang people have very small populations, live isolated in remote mountainous areas and their languages ​​are at risk of disappearing.

On the topic of socio-cultural and development of the Mon Khmer people, there were three papers 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 area (Laos) and Quang Tri (Vietnam). Explaining the situation of cross-border exchange and migration of these ethnic groups, the author argued that in addition to historical factors, ethnic relations and ethnic policies in the two countries are factors directly involved in the flow of people of the same ethnic group on both sides of the border.

Associate Professor Hoang Luong presented his new discovery about the relationship between the Black Thai and Khmu groups in the Northwest of Vietnam. Based on the analysis of genealogies combined with documents from epic sources of the Black Thai people in the Northwest, he argued that these two groups actually had a mixed-race relationship through marriage since ancient times in history. The fact that the Thai nobility later recognized the Khmu and other Mon Khmer groups as inferior to themselves probably stemmed from the self-glorification ideology commonly found in the ruling class. Opinions raised at the conference suggested that the genealogies must be analyzed and compared in combination with other sources. Furthermore, the mixed-race relationship between Khmu and Thai as shown in the genealogies does not reflect the Thai-Khmu relationship as two ethnic groups, but is only the case of a Black Thai group in the Northwest.

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

Associate Professor Nguyen Van Chinh brought to the workshop a new analysis of the impact of the sedentary policy 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 the two provinces of Dien Bien and Nghe An, combined with ethnographic observations in Khmu communities in Thailand, Laos and Meng La (Yunnan - China). Refuting the argument of foreign scholars such as C. Keyes and O. Salemink that the Vietnamese state's sedentary policy is just a form of ethnic assimilation, he argued that state development programs in mountainous areas are often highly humane in nature and aim to improve the living conditions of communities with self-sufficient and unintegrated economies. However, there are undesirable impacts arising during the implementation process due to a one-sided perspective. The focus on the strategy of developing wet rice in mountainous areas among ethnic groups with only experience in living with forests and shifting cultivation needs to be more thoroughly considered because in addition to requiring large investments in capital and human resources, it has ignored the promotion of the internal strength of the ethnic groups as well as their indigenous knowledge accumulated over thousands of years. Meanwhile, adapting to a new economic-technical form is not easy for small ethnic groups accustomed to living in isolation. Feedback from participants suggested that the study would be more comprehensive if analytical tools were developed to find practical solutions for development programs among ethnic groups with a tradition of shifting cultivation in mountainous areas of Vietnam.

The general assessment of the scientists attending the conference was that this was a very practical scientific debate. For the first time, scholars interested in the Mon Khmer residents gathered and discussed issues that were both scientifically significant and highly practical. On the other hand, the academic and critical nature emphasized in the conference showed innovation in the organization of scientific conferences, in which the rituals and formalities often seen in many other scientific conferences had no place in this conference.

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

•Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh
Asia-Pacific Research Center (University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU)