Hill Tribe People - Hmong

The Hmong Hill Tribe people originated in the mountainous regions of Southern China. They are also known as the Miao, Meo, Maeo, or Mong. In the 1700s and 1800s there were several uprising and rebellions by Hmong people in China which led to violent suppression by the government. This along with the opportunity to make money through opium production caused the Hmong people to migrate south.

The Hmongs in SE Asia are now located from China's Yangtze River basin, Vietnam, Laos, and into Thailand. As a result of allying themselves with the United States in the Vietnam War and in the Secret CIA War in Laos, many Hmong people fled to the United States in the 1970s. There are an estimated 500,000 Hmong in the USA.

The Hmong first started migrating to Thailand about one hundred years ago. Today there are about 80,000 Hmong in Thailand excluding the Hmongs who are in refugee camps on the Lao border.

As strange as it sounds, even today 34 years after the end of the Vietnam War some Hmong continue their armed conflict with the Lao government. No wonder the Hmong fighters also known as "Montenards" by their American officers were well respected and admired. For them there are no political expediences or political correctness. For them it is victory or death.

The conflict with the Lao government has caused some reverberations back in the United States. In June 2007 a famous Hmong general, General Vang Pao age 77 was arrested in the United States for plotting to overthrow the Lao government.

We have visited the Hmong in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. While in Vietnam, Duang and I had an interesting encounter with some young Hmong girls. These girls live in the Sapa area near the frontier with China. Although Sapa is in Vietnam and has been for a very long time, the young women did not speak Vietnamese. They spoke English rather well and were self educated in speaking, writing, and reading English. When I asked how come they did not speak Vietnamese, the language of their homeland, it was made apparent and quite clear to me that they had no interest. Another example of the Hmong spirit of independence and self-identity. These young woman hike down the mountain cross a narrow valley, and back up another mountain to go into town (4 hours one-way) to access the Internet. They spend up to 5 days at a time staying at a friend's apartment.

The Hmong are renowned for their textile art. Hmong women wear richly decorated clothing. The women are very skilled at embroidery and very often you can see Hmong women embroidering or preparing hemp or silk thread for weaving.

Classic Hmong female clothing consists of a finely pleated knee length dark blue skirt. Underneath the skirt they wear black leggings. The skirt is usually dyed with intricate patterns using batik techniques. Batik involves placing an intricate geometrical pattern on a clothe using a stylo and molten bees wax. The cloth is then dyed and the wax is removed with boiling water. The bottom of the skirt has a wide colorful border of embroidery or applique. A narrow apron over the front of the skirt is attached around the waist with a wide colorful sash.

The women wear a long sleeved black jacket that has elaborate and colorful embroidery on the back collar, cuffs, and front opening.

The Hmong people live at the highest elevations in the mountains. They farm the steepest portions of the mountains. Up until the late 1970s, the Hmong were very adept at cultivating opium poppies in Thailand. They maintained their tradition of opium cultivation and processing until their opium culture was suppressed by combined Thai and American efforts.

To make up for the lost income from the elimination of opium poppies, the King of Thailand set up many Royal Projects to assist the Hmong in developing more acceptable ways of making an earning. Today the Hmong grow flowers and vegetables on their steep plots. In addition Royal Projects assisted the Hmong in developing markets for their textiles, silver smithing, as well as tourism.

The Hmong like most of the other Hill Tribe peoples are Animists. They believe that household spirits protect people, livestock, crops, money, gold, and silver. Sometimes these spirits escape and have to be called back. Some illnesses are believed to be caused by a wandering spirit, so an animal sacrifice is performed to entice the spirit back.

Hmong people typically get married at age 17. Duang and I witnessed the courtship ritual last month during Hmong New Years Festival in Laos. The adolescent boys and girls play pov pob. In Pov Pob a small ball is tossed back and forth between parallel lines of boys and girls. The tossing of the ball back and forth is an ice breaker between the sexes. If you are interested in someone, you ensure that you toss the ball a few times to the person that interests you. The boy then goes over to the girl and they may sing a song before leaving to get a drink, snack, or go off to a much more private setting.

A boy's father has to agree to his son's selection for a wife. The girl has the freedom of choice to accept. A boy and girl can have premarital sex, which happens a great deal of the time during the New Year Festival, but the boy is expected to send a representative the next day to the girl's family to inform them, set a wedding date, and negotiate the price.

When a Hmong baby is born, the placenta is buried in the dirt floor of the house. The Hmong believe that the baby comes from the spirit world. After three days, the baby is given a name and is believed to then belong to the world of men. The baby is then considered to be placed under the protection of the house spirits.

These animist beliefs are similar to other Hill Tribe people and also the people of Isaan. Many years ago while a young boy in Junior High School, I became aware of and read a book called "The Golden Bough" by Sir James George Frazer. "The Golden Bough" written in 1922 its sub title is "A Study in Magic and Religion". In the book there is a great deal of interesting information regarding pagan, animist, and other pre-Christian beliefs and rituals. I was impressed at how many of these have parallels in Christianity.

Today I am just as impressed to witness some of these beliefs or at least some very similar beliefs and rituals being practised in the 21st century. Over all the centuries the animist beliefs and rituals remain a link to our far and distant past. Through all the centuries of progress and evolution, these rituals continue to serve man providing answers and direction to man's spiritual needs.

I am fortunate to be able to photograph, experience, and share these rituals.