Hmong

History of Hmong

Originally, the Hmong tribe moved from Cibily (C B L), Tibet, Mongolia and then continued moving for better life to China and resided by the Yellow River called (Houang Ho River). The immigration of the Hmong people was because of war and they kept moving to the South of China and then to Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Some of the mentioned Hmong people are now in Oudomxay Province (7 Districts):

Name and language

The tribe called‘Meo’(Miao,Meau) by the Chinese and some other groups consists of two major branches in China :the ‘Hmong Deaw’ (White Hmong) and the ‘Hmong Njua’(literally Green Hmong, but commonly called Blue Hmong).They are two sub-groups of the Miao people, the majority of woman continue to live in China. The name ‘Hmong’ (spoken with slight aspirationthrough the nostrils as the misenunciated) has become the one more commonly used among English speakers, and it the form we use. It should beremembered, however, that in the Blue Hmong dialect the m is not aspired. In both cases the o is pronounced as in the English word ‘roam’

Linguists classify the Hmong as a Miao-Yao language in the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. There are numerous borrowed words from Yunnanese and Laotian. Most of the men learn other languages, such a Yunnanese.

Origin

Hmong legends tell how their ancestors lived in an icy land where the winters were service and the nights long. This has led to speculation that they may have entered China through the high steppes of Tibet, Siberia and Mongolia, although this cannot be verified. Chinese records indicate that ancestors of the Hmong may have lived on the banks of the Yellow River some three thousand years ago.

Attempts by the Chinese to subjugate them over the centuries have engendered hostility in the Hmong and led to their period migration in the quest for freedom. There were three major periods in the 18^th and 19^th centuries during which they engaged in protracted armed conflict with the Chinese, culminating about 1870 in the disappearance of the ‘independent Hmong’ as a fighting entity.

During World War II, the Chinese Nationalist government attempted to prohibit the Hmong from speaking their own language and wearing their distinctive clothing, but with little success. Such oppressive measures have only sharpened their determination to remain independent. This result in their being the most widely dispersed tribal group to have come from China. Even so, there were over four million Miao living in China in mid- 1983.

Although it is not known exactly when the Hmong first migrated into Laos, by 1850 they had established themselves in the mountain around Lang Prabang, Phongsaly, Luang Namtha, Xiengkhouang, Houaphanh and Oudomxay.

Population

Hmong are found in at least 10 provinces in Laos 1). Phongsaly, 2) Oudomxay, 3) Luang Namtha, 4) Kokeo, 5) Luang Prabang, 6) Hoauphanh, 7) Xiengkhouang, 8) Xaysomboon, 9) Vientiane and 10) Bolikhamxay, it’s about over 15% in the whole country. The total number of the whole population in Ouodmxay province is 37,021 (Female: 18,453), is not included the others from other different provinces. The increasing number of the Hmong population is getting higher and higher.

Clothing and Ornamentation

A tiny needle, strands of bright thread, length of vari - colored cloth, and the genius of a Hmong woman-these are the ingredient of some of the most exquisite needlework to be found anywhere. Through their long history, Hmong women have devoted their artistic skill and industry to the development of an amazing variety of techniques using needle and thread. They adorn the clothing of every member of the family, from the smallest baby to the oldest grandparents. Even the corpses are richly endowed with embroideries to take to the next world.

Nowadays much of the cloth used is purchased from itinerant traders or in the marketplace, but traditionally it all had to be produced within the Hmong household. Even today many women prefer to weave their own homespun hemp or cotton cloth for much of the clothing worn by the family, using looms that combine back-strap and foot-treadle techniques. The weaver sits on a bench with one end of the loom attached to a belt. She controls the tension with her back, while shifting the warp threads with foot treadles.

Women’s clothing

Blue Hmong women wear knee-length pleated skirts of hand-woven hemp or cotton cloth, hemp being preferred. The central horizontal panel is 25 to 30 cm wide, and is covered with a batik pattern. The pattern is drawn with beeswax onto the cloth with a tool made by their blacksmiths. After the wax has been applied, the cloth is immersed in a cold indigo dye. When the dye has set, the wax is removed by boiling, and then skimmed off to be used again. The Blue Hmong are apparently the only tribal people in mainland Southeast Asia skilled in batiking.

A 15 cm strip of plain cloth is attached to the top of the batiked panel, and a border with bright-coloures cross-stitch embroidery and applique’of red and other bright colours is added to the bottom edge. The width of the border varies, with teen-age girls making their’s wider than the adults. A strip of white is stitched to the bottom edge. The entire skirt, more than six meters for an adult, is accordion-pleated,anchoreddown with herringbone stitches. A thread is run through the pleats as they are made, holding them together in three or four places, and the skirt is stored that way until used.

Blue Hmong women’s jackets are generally of black cotton; sometimes velvet it used. There are three types.The first has a five to six cm embroidered and applique’dstrip stitched to each edge in front. The second has a wide zigzag coming down in there steps from the right shoulder, crossing over to the left side. The third has a finer zigzag pattern. The jackets are unfinished at the lower edge, and are bound down with a black sash that is wound several times around the waist.

There are two types of collars: one is a simple rectangle about 12 by 16 cm; the other has a similar rectangle, with a wide border tapering to elongated points on the free edge. The collars are generally stitched to the jacket with the embroidered side down. There are many theories why the needlework is reversed, but the Hmong say they really do not know, only that it is the ‘proper’ way to do it.

Women wear an apron over the front of the skirt, which for everyday wear is black. Festive aprons, elaborately embroidered and applique’d, tie on with a red, pink, or orange sash, and have long tassels hanging down the back. For full dress occasions extra sashes are wound around the waist until a woman seems grossly overweight. Quiet often a silver belt is worn over this. At New Year an unattached batiked bib is worn with the apron. Often silver coins and ornaments are stitched to it.

The costume is completed by leggings made of tapered pieces of black cloth. The wide end covers the leg from the knee to the ankle, and narrows as it is wound around the leg. At New Year they sometimes wear while leggings.

The Blue Hmong sweep their long hair forward and twist it around a horse’s tail (or possibly as witch of human hair), then wind it into a large puffy bun which covers the crown of the head. (In Mae Hong Son area the bun is at the back of the head.) A black and white checkered or embroidered strip is tied around it. Some women wear a special type of headdress at New Year, consisting of 14 pieces of black and white cotton checked cloth. This is built up to a high point in front. (See picture upper right.)

White Hmong women’s clothing varies from that of the Blue Hmong in several ways. The heavy pleated skirts are of white hemp cloth without adornment. These are reserved for special occasions; for everyday wear loose black pants are worn.

One type of jacket is black edges and cuffs of bright blue. A jacket for special occasions has strips of embroidery and reverse applique’down the front.Both types have a rectangular collar at the back, decorated with applique’, reverseapplique’, and embroidery. Much of their time is spent making these collars in a great variety of patterns and techniques. They usually have a number of them stored away.

Black aprons, edged with blue, are worn front and back. For festive wear one with an elaborately embroidered central panel and a wide sash with embroidery and reverse applique’is worn. A double bib with heavily adorned front and back pieces is added. Long tassels of magenta or shocking pink yarn hang in the back.

White Hmong women tie their hair in a knot at the top of the forehead. They do not like hair to show under their turbans, so they shave from above the ear to the forehead. Various kinds of turbans are worn in different areas. For one style the crown of the head is first covered with black cloth, then the remaining six meters are wound around to form a thick brim. Another style is a cloth folded to about a 12cm width and wound around the head two or three times, with tiny red or pink pompons added to the embroidered front.

Men’s clothing

Hmong men wear loose-fitting black pants folded across the waist, tucked in at the top, and often secured with a leather belt. Blue Hmong pants are extremely full, having narrow openings for the ankles with the very wide crotch falling mid-way between calves and ankles. White Hmong pants are less full, having a higher crotch.

Jackets are also made of black cloth-usually cotton, but sometimes velvet or satin. Both Blue Hmong and White Hmong wear short jackets leaving a bare midriff. Hmong in the Chiang Mai area commonly wear extremely short jackets. The collarless jacket buttons at the neck, crosses over the chest, and fastens on the left side with silver buttons. The piece across the chest is ornamented with the needlework customary for that branch of the tribe.

Many White Hmong men wear a longer jacket with a Chinese-style high collar, which, together with the cuffs and the front opening, areaembroidered. Some Blue Hmong men now wear a similar jacket in cold season.

Men wear wide sashes up to six meters long. Some are folded on the bias so as to from pointed ends. The sash is carefully wrapped so that the heavily embroidered ends fall evenly together in front giving the appearance of an apron. White Hmong, and some Blue, wear red sashes which are squared-off at the ends and adorned with Mien-style embroidery.

Traditionally the men shaved their heads, except for the crown, where was the hair left long and sometimes braided into a queue. Blue Hmong in all areas and some White Hmong in Chiang Mai province wear Chinese-style black satin skullcaps with a big fluffy magenta pompon on top.(See photo upper left.)

Silver ornaments

The Hmong keep a great deal of their wealth in the form of silver jewellery. All Hmong-men, women and children - wear silver neck rings, at least for special occasions. At the naming ceremony a silver neck ring is given to a Hmong baby to keep the soul in and signify that the baby belongs to the human world (Chindarsi 1976:66). Silver has a special significance to the Hmong, symbolizing wealth and the essence of the good life.

Every household acquires as much silver as possible, and at New Year all the family silver jewellery is worn and displayed. Three styles of earrings are worn by Hmong women. One style is shaped like an arrow with the shaft bent around to from a circle. The second is an elongated S-shape, flat or round, with a pointed plug worn through the earlobe, and either hooked up into the back of the turban, or allowed to hang down in front. A more modern type is a small silver hook with a number of small dangles hanging front it. White Hmong, both men and women, wear heavy engraved round silver bracelets.Blue Hmong wear narrow flat engraved bracelets. These may be of brass or copper rather than silver. Neck rings, solid or hollow, are worn either singly or sets if up to six tiers – five being standard. Frequently heavy silver chains with lock – shaped pendants are attached to the neck rings. These ‘locks’ are added during curing ceremonies to keep the soul in the body. At New Year they may wear heavy silver chains with pendants of fish, butterflies, wheels, bells, and miniature grooming tools, and young women may wear a pointed ring on every finger. The amount of silver displayed at the New Year festival in an affluent Hmong village is most impressive.

The Village

Hmong like to located their villages at high altitudes, especially if they grow opium poppies as their main crop. Now many live at lower elevations and are farming paddy fields.

Those who dwell in higher mountain favour a location in the lee a hill rather than a ridge top. Even better, they like a site where they have the shelter of two or three hills to protect them from the monsoon stoems.

When looking for a location they ask themselves questions such as: If this is a good site, why has no one built a village here before? Is there enough distance between the village and fieldsso that domestic animals will not destroy the crops? Is there sufficient land within a reasonable distance for relatives and friends who might come later? And, is there an appropriate site for burying the dead?

There is no set layout, although a ‘horseshoe’ pattern is common for a village. Every house must face downhill, and no two houses may be in direct line with each other, because sprits (good ones in this case) enter a house in a straight line and nothing must obstruct their path.

A typical village is made up of several clusters of houses with six to eight in a cluster. These usually center around some influential person, and may be composed of families of a single clan. Some consist of families who arrived during the same season and started a new section of the village.

A Hmong village is not fenced, nor does it have gates like Akha villages. However, many ceremonial ‘bridges’ (choi), built for soul-calling rituals, can be seen along the trail leading into the village.

On the whole Hmong live separately from other ethnic groups. In villages relying heavily on opium production some Yunnanese traders may be found.

Hmong move their village for a number of reasons, the principal one being exhausted soil. Other reasons include: a shaman’s prediction that something evil will happen if they remain where they are; conflict with a government agency or another local group; a serious epidemic; a lack of eligible females nearby for their sons; and problems related to their Thai neighbours. One village moved after the following serious of events: a tiger had killed two of their animals; the headman was injured in an explosion when preparing for New Year; another group had buried a body on the mountain above their village;and the man who was responsible for making the offering to the ‘Load of Land and Water’ had moved away.

The move is carefully planned. First the ‘patron figure’, the most respected village elder, visits several areas looking for a possible site. He report his findings, then a group of men from the village go together to scout out a likely location. After an area is chosen, four or five families go ahead to establish then new site. Some of these may be unclear families from extended household.They build temporary shelters, then marl out fields for themselves as well as for those who will come later. They plant enough rice to meet the needs of the whole village for one year. Although the advance party has to put up with a number of hardship, there are compensations: they are assisted by thoseremaining behind in buying food while waiting for the first harvest, and they get first choice of land for making their field and of girls for their sons to marry.

After the first rice harvest the remainder of the villagers move to the new site. Ponies are used to pack their goods, and it may be necessary for a party of men to go ahead to widen the trail. The people also carry all they can on their backs. Armed men go at the front and at the rear, women children and animals in between. There is a different sense of relief when everyone has arrived. The size of villages differs from region to region, the determining factor often being the amount of good land available for cultivation.In areas where the land has been overworked, as in Nan Province where the Hmong settle in Thailand, the villages are now often quite small, most of them having only four to eight households. In areas more recently settled, however, there may be thirty or more houses per village. There is a great deal of movement in and out of poppy-growing villages, whereas those who make irrigated rice fields are the most stable.

Houses

The site for a Hmong house is chosen with great care, as it important that the site be acceptable to their ancestors. The family makes a tentative choice, and then consults the ancestors through an offering of ‘paper money’ to determine whether the choice is acceptable. If no negative sings follow the offering, the family clears the site and levels it with mattocks and a tool made of wide wooden boards which is used to drag or push the soil.The ground should be as level as possible, as it forms the floor of the house. It is dampened and tamped down to make a hard surface.

Next the family must gather construction material. Post are cut in the jungle, preferably of wood impervious to termites. Where wood is available the walls are made of planks. The wealthier Hmong hire Lao people to saw lumber for that purpose, but other hews the planks by hand. If wood is scarce split bamboo must serve instead. Thatch grass, rattan leaves, or wooden shingles are used for the roof.

　On an auspicious day the family calls the neighbors and they build the house together. Afterthe first two posts have been erected the head of the house announces, ‘I am living here! From now on let all evil spirits stay away’. A fireplace is then installed and a temporary altar made, following which construction is resumed.

When the house is completed two chickens are sacrificed at the altar and the ancestors and other household sprits are invited to occupy the new dwelling.A rooster and hen are offered at the main entrance with an appeal to the ‘door spirits’ to provide protection to the family’s domestic animals and crops, and to bring good fortune. A wooden sword is hung over the doorway to prevent evil spirit from entering.

The main room in a Hmong house, which is used for family activities and entertainment of guests, is quite large. The guest sleeping platform is located off the main part of the house, and the bedrooms are partitioned with boards or bamboo mats. There is an attic for the storage of food, seeds and tools, which can be reached by climbing a ladder made of a notched log. Whatever is stored there is kept dry and free of vermin, but becomes darkened from the smoke of the open fire below it.

Most Blue Hmong houses have only one door, which is located in the middle of the front wall on the downslope side. White Hmong have a door at the side of the house as well, and maintain the front door for ceremonial purposes, much as the Mien does. The spirit alter is on the wall directory opposite the front door.

Tools used in house construction are: axe, machete, adze, posthole digger, hoe, and mallet with hardwood wedges. The latter are used for splitting wood for the walls, and in some area the roof shingles as well.

There are two hearths; the fireplace being the focal point of the household where meals are cooked and guest are entertained. The fire is banked at night so it will not go out. The second is large clay stove use primary for cooking pig’s food. It is also using feasts when large quantity of food is needed. The foot-treadle rice pounder has always been an important feature in every Hmong house.

Stables for ponies and mules, as well as chicken coops are built against the house, but stone mills for grinding maize are separated from the house as are pig pens and granaries.

Family and Clan

The most important social units among Hmong are the family and the clan. The extended family household constitutes the basic cultural and political unit, with the eldest male having virtually unlimited authority over its members. All other in the household are subject to him as the chief decision-maker. He is responsible for the family’s general welfare and must settle all disputes between family members.

Respect for age is of cardinal importance: children respect their parents; younger siblings respect older siblings; nieces and nephews respect aunts and uncles, varying in degree according to their relative age. The father – son link is especially important. The father’s welfare in the afterworld depends largely on the sumptuousness of the funeral ceremony given for him by his sons, and a son’s welfare in turn is thought to depend on the respect he bestows on his parents while they are alive and on the treatment he receives from his deceased ancestors.

When the head of a household dies, the married sons generally move off and start their own household. If all the sons are already married, the youngest son and his family will probably remain in the home with his mother, although it is not uncommon for one of the other sons to assume this responsibility.

Although the link between brothers is not as vital as between son and father, they assist one another both in work and ritual.

Overt expressions of conflict within the family are serious breaches of Hmong culture.

Therefore, if irreconcilable disputes develop within a family, the household sprits up.In any attempt to restore good relations, it is important that all faction be allowed to maintain their freedom.

Despite the fact that the Hmong move frequently, they regret leaving their house site for two reasons: the placentas of their children are buried there, and the main hearth with its continual fire has a sacred significance. It is though that when a person dies, his soul returns to its placenta, which is like his birth clothing. The problem regarding the fire is solved by carrying along to the new site some of the ashes from the hearth to represent the continuity of thehome.

The patrilineal clan system of the Hmong tie together social, political, economic, and religious aspects of behavior, and service as primary focus for their daily lives. Often the clan of the founding family tends to domain the village numerically and politically.

There are reported to be twelve such clans, but not all are found in Thailand. According to Gray Lee the Chinese and Hmong names of the clans are (Hmong in parentheses): Lee (Lis), Taw (Thoj),Chung(Xjooj), Heu (Hawj), Ya (Yaj), Law (Lauj), Cha (Tsab), Wu (Vwj), Ha (Ham), Mua (Muas), Fa (Faj), and Wa (Vaj). Some of the clans are divided into sub – clans, for example the Taw has at least three subdivisions.

Each clan has its own way of doing things, such as healing. Therefore, a girl, who must marry into a clan difference from her own, may be concerned that in case she falls ill, the heading methods used may not be as effective as those of her father’s clan. Taboos also vary clan to clan. For instance, some clans strictly forbid a daughter – in – law to climb up to the storage area above the fire, whereas other permit it.

Each person has certain obligation to others in the clan. For example, one shares with one’s fellow clan membersknowledge of good sites for making fields, and when called upon gives substantial aid so that they can exploit that opportunity. When a new family moves into a village, a fellow clansman acts as sponsor. Usually the new family lives close to the sponsoring family, and makes fields near theirs.

Courtship and Marriage

A Hmong man must marry a girl another clan or sub-clan. Marriage between people of different generation is prohibited. That is a man must not marry a woman old enough to be his mother or young enough to be his daughter. Marriage of parallel cousins is also prohibited, although family may encourage a young man to marry a cross-cousin (that is, his father’s sister’s daughter or his mother’s brother’s daughter) in order to return the blood tie. In fact, there used to be a tradition of parents betrothing such children at an early age. Most boys marry when they are about 17 or 18 years old, girls about same age or somewhat younger. A Hmong young man looks for several things in a prospective bride:

beauty, ability to work hard, suitability as a sex partner, and intelligence.The girl looks for a husband whois strong, rich, hardworking, and of a good family. Is there are opium addicts in the family she may not want to marry him.

Courtship

The main courting period is during the New Year festival. The young people, dressed in their New Year finery, congregate in a level area in or near the village to play catch with black cloth balls the girls have made. They stand in two lines from 6 to 12 meter apart, the girls in one line and the boys in the other. Each girl throw her ball to the boy of her choice, or if she is shy she may give her ball to a married friend, asking her to pass it to a certain boy, suggesting that he should play catch with the girl. If he likes the girl he accepts the invitation.

Both boys and girls often wear white towel as a shawl or turban to partially hide their face in a show of shyness. Whoever fails to catch the ball must give an item of clothing or jewelry to the partner. These forfeits may be redeemed while still playing catch, or in the evening by singing a love song – one song per item, drawing quite a crowd if the singing is good (Lee, private correspondence)

The courtship period continues until rice planting time. Young men often go to other villages in their search for wives. Villages come alive in the evenings with local boys as well as visitors calling girls out of their homes to sit and talk. They sing and play the Jew’s harp to one another. There is sometimes a great deal of whispering through the planks of the girl’s bedroom walls. The boy who is coaxing her out has a big red blanket which he promises will keep them warm that night (Lee 1981:42-43).if the girl is interested she will go out with him, or in the case of White Hmong she may invite him into her bedroom. It is taboo for a young man to sleep with an unmarried Blue Hmong girl in her house.

Marriage

Is the girl agrees to marry the boy, he must first receive the permission of his parents, because they will pay the bride price and bear the cost of wedding. The young man may then take the girl to live his house. As soon as this takes place, the boy’s father sends two representatives to the girl’s father to tell him, ‘your daughter is now part of my family. Please do not be concerned about her. We would be grateful if you could set a date to celebrate the marriage’

If the couple lives not too far from the girl’s village, her mother may come and seek to retrieve her daughter, beating with sticks and berating the one who is ‘stealing’ her. There must be no retaliation or striking back (1981: 44). This indicates how highly she values her daughter and hates to lose her – and incidentally may help to increase the bride price!

Sometimes the couple arranges for the young man to ‘abduct’ the girl, even though she is willing to marry him. The girl’s mother hurls abuse at the young man for ‘stealing’ her daughter, while attempting to ‘rescue’ her. If the girl shows a desire to say with the boy, the mother may be beat her as well for such disloyalty to her own family.

Meanwhile, back at the girl’s house, the representative from the boy’s father is quietly negotiating a wedding date for the couple with the girl’s father or male relatives.

The bride price is computed in silver ingots, and formerly depended on the relative wealth of the two families, the area in which they lived, and the girl’s beauty and ability to work. Currently there is an attempt to standardize the bride price – five ingots being the amount established, or six ingots if there is no wedding feast.* The bride price is paid at the time of the wedding, which may take place within a few days of the time the girl goes to live in the boy’s home. However, the wedding may be delayed for weeks or even years, depending on when the groom’s family is able to pay.

If the groom’s father cannot pay the bride price, the couple may live with girl’s family and work for her father, thus reducing the amount to be paid. Some couples have two or three children before the full price has been given. There are instances when a Hmong man’s family never pays the bride price, so he must work off the entire amount. This is a reproach on him and his family, however and causes him to lose much standing in the community.

When the bride price has been paid in full, the woman belongs to the husband, his family and his clan. If a woman who has no children wants to leave her husband, she can do so only after the bride price has been paid. If she has children, some of them may remain with the husband’s family in lieu of repaying the bride price.

The wedding festivities start at the house of the groom, whose family must provide two pigs, two to four chickens, and ten bottles of Hmong liquor. A chicken is sacrificed to the house spirits and placed on a table, where the go-between are honored with a drink of liquor, whilethe relatives of the groom stand before them to show their respect. Then the groomand his friend (who takes the role of best man) kowtow to the relatives in turn, beginning with the groom’s paternal grandfather, his father, his paternal uncles in order of age, and finally to his brothers, again starting with the eldest. The conclude by kowtowing to the household spirits and ancestors.

Following this the groom, best man, bride, bridesmaid, and helper plus two go-betweens set out for the bride’s house, taking with them twochickens, food, and liquor. The liquor is offered to mountain, forest and stream spirits on the way.

On their arrival at the girl’s parent’s home, the go-between presents two chickens to the bride’s father to sacrifice to his household sprits. The groom and best man then kowtow to the bride’s grandfather, father, uncles, and brothers in the same order as before.

After kowtowing to all the bride’s male relatives, the groom must drink liquor with each one separately. As there are 20 to 30 of them, he would become very drunk if he drunk a full cup with each one. To spare him this, some of his relative stand by and finish off the drink in each case after he has taken a sip. After lengthy negotiations over the bride price and its payment, the groom and his party escort the bride back to his own home.

Geddes (1976:82) describes the departure of a Hmong bride to become a part of husband’s household.

‘For a girl who leaves her home to join her bridegroom in a distant place the breach is severe. She is losing the clan membership which has given her security, comfort, and companionship all the years of her life to become possessed by strangers. Many (Hmong) songs have as their theme the sadness of a girl at departing from her relatives and village, and her fear of the servitude and loneliness that may await her.’

After the return to the groom’s house, more feasting follows in order to thank all who took part in the wedding process and to reward those who accompanied the bride to her village earlier to negotiate the bride price.Eating and drinking goes on late into the night.

*One silver ingot weight 378.5 grammes, the current value is between $115 and $130.

Plural marriage

Some Hmong men take two or more wives, adding to their status, as indicated in their proverb, ‘A man which two wives and ten horses is a very rich man’. A bride price must also be paid for other wives, unless a man marries the widow of his elder brother. In that case no bride price need be paid, as her parents already received it when she first married into the family. The man is supposed to secure the consent of his first wife before taking other wives. Some men may take three or more wives.

Birth

Each baby is said to be sent to this world by a ‘Baby Goddess’ (Poor DlangPor). The first three days of its life it still belongs to the spirit world, and if it dies no funeral held.

The third day after birth the father calls in an elder to hold a ceremony. Two chickens are sacrificed as an offering of thanks to Poor DlangPor, and to invite the soul to take up permanent residence within the child’s body and in the parental household. This serves to adopt the child into the world of human beings, and formally accept it into the parent’s kinship group. The baby is then given a name and introduced to the household sprits, who are expected from that moment to give it protection. (Lee, personal communication).

The birth takes place in the couple’s bedroom, and no one but the midwife or husband can be present to assist in her delivery. The woman sits on two stools on the sleeping platform with her body covered by ablanket, learning on her husband for support. The child drops onto the springy bamboo, which cushions its fall and also, they say, helps the child to start breathing. The Hmong are known for their dexterity in turning the child in the womb if the position is not correct.

The father cuts the cord with a fresh silver of bamboo. If a boy, he buries the placenta in the earthen floor of the house at the base of the main central post, to be close to the house spirits. A baby girl’s placenta is buried under the place where she was born.

The mother lies near the fire of the main hearth for three days after giving birth, then may return to her bedroom. For 20 days she should eat nothing but chicken and rice, as it is believed that chicken will help her recover her strength quickly, and other food might poison her. After a month she returns to the fields to work and may resume sleeping with her husband.

Death

To have a proper funeral is of great importance to Hmong, for as a result the soul will prosper in the afterworld. It is preferable to die in one’s own home or, at least in the home of a clansman.

When death seems imminent, close relatives gather around the dying person for mutual comfort, and for sharing the many duties that arise when death occurs. The firing of a gun three times and the wailing of family members announce to the village that death has come.

When an old person dies the children and grandchildren wash the body, then dress it in special burial clothing that will have been made and laid away for that purpose. Each wife makes burial clothing for her husband and herself which differ from that ordinarily worn. It is usually of hemp cloth, and in addition to the pants for the men and skirt for the women, there are three or more upper garments of varying lengths placed one on top of the other on the body, each richly embroidered, the outer one being the most elaborate. Strips of white cloth are wound around each leg and special shoes are placed on the feet. More affluent Hmong use ornamental Chinese shoes for this purpose, while others use simple hemp sandals. They are important because they are used to walk through the ‘land of the giant furry caterpillars on the way to the other world’. (Lee, personal communication.) Until the time of burial the body rests upon a bier about one meter high, next to the family altar.

As prescribed by their oral traditions, special cloths must be presented to the corpse. These include richly embroidered ‘pillows’ (cloths 30 to 35 cm square) made by the sisters, daughters, and nieces of the deceased, and placed under the corpse’s head. In addition they adorn a man’s corpse with a sash, and a woman’s with embroidered collars.

The fingers of the dead person are often tied with red thread so if on his journey in the afterlife he is detained by spirits wanting him to ‘help peel onions and garlic’, he can say his hands are injured and he cannot help. A small red cloth is placed over the forehead or face so the deceased will ‘not be ashamed in front of other people’.

Soon after death a chicken is sacrificed and laid above the head of the dead person. The presiding elder says a prayer for the dead and tells him that he can live under the chicken’s wings if it hot, or under its tail if it rains, thus revealing to the deceased that he is dead. He is further instructed to take the middle path to reach the land of the ancestors with the chicken as his guide.

The many tasks related to the funeral are assigned by two men who are in charge of the rites. One man is assigned to blow the Hmong mouth organ (qeej), and another to beat the ceremonial death drum, which is used only for funerals. When these two instruments are heard together in a Hmong village, one can be sure there has been a death.

Others are assigned to ‘feed the corpse’, and to fire three shots each time food is offered. Another person is chosen to settle the dead man’s accounts, for the ledger must be closed and all brought back to zero before burial can take place. Consequently the deceased will be happy, prosperous, and free of debts in the next life.Others are assigned to make the coffin, cut firewood, cook, and so on.

All family members must be present for the burial. If some of the married children have moved to other areas, the burial is delayed until their arrival. The coffin must be completed, and all the sacrificial animals in readiness.Only on a day which is auspicious for thefamily can the burial take place. The corpse, meanwhile, must be kept in the house, even though it may already have begun to decay.

When all is ready the corpse is carried out of the house on the bier on which it has lain since death, and placed on a wooden carrying frame. The oxen which have been given by the dead person’s spouse and relatives are then sacrificed.

In the afternoon the funeral procession gets under way, timed so the burial can take place around four o’clock. The leader of the procession, blowing a mouth organ, is followed by a girl who carries a brand for the deceased to ‘see the way’. Those carrying the body follow.

After they have goes part of the way the girl throws the brand on the path and runs back home, thereby confusing the soul of the dead man.Various stops are made along the way to instruct the dead person, and to ensure that his soul will not return to the village.

When the procession reaches the burial site, the coffin is placed in the grave, the body lowered into it, and the lid put in place. The grave is then filled with earth and a cairn of stones built over it, with branches placed on top, to prevent wild animals from unearthing the body. The two poles used to carry the corpse are cut in two so that they cannot ‘return home and bring other people to the afterworld’.

If a Hmong dies a ‘bad death’a number of food and drink offerings are placed at increasingly greater distances from the house, while saying to the soul, ‘Come, eat and drink. Do not return, but come further. There will be plenty for you to eat and drink in the next life’.

Religion

Supernatural beings are involved in every aspect of Hmong life. There are a number of household sprits in each home which they believe protect them from attacks by the spirits of disease and death. They also protect the souls of crops, money, and livestock in order that the household will prosper and be healthy.

The ‘door spirit’ is especially important. When a Hmong dies his souls must seek permission from the door spirit to leave the house and cross into the afterlife.There is also an annual ceremony to the door sprit. A pig is killed, offerings are made, and the family eats the meat. The head of the household then takes a piece of burning firewood in one hand, and opens the door, with the other declaring, ‘I open the door, not to let diseases come into the house, or to let the souls of money, silver and gold leave the house, but to let the souls of money, silver, and gold, and good fortune, come in’. some hold a similar ceremony to the main central post once a year.

Every Hmong house has at least one altar, while those of shamans have more. The focus of the main altar in a Blue Hmong houses is a piece of white paper about one hand-span square put on the wall opposite the doorway. At this altar protection is enough is sought for all of the people and animals of the household. Here at each New Year festival a cook is sacrificed and some of its feathers are stuck on the paper with its blood.

The household sprits have names, and are graded in order of seniority. According to some White Hmong informants the six most important sprits in a household are: 1. spirits of the ancestral altar, 2. sprit of the central post, 3. sprit of the fireplace, 4. sprit of the stove, 5. sprit of the door, and 6. sprit of the bedroom. All are ‘tame’ sprits, as distinct from the ‘wild’ spirits which live outside the village.

During heavy winds and rains the household head may call on spirits for protection. If this does not suffice, he may fire a gun to drive the storm away. If it abates shortly after, he may shout away. If it abates shortly after, he may shout victoriously, ‘The rain has given in to me!’

Some Hmong believe there is a ‘Lord of the Land’ dwelling in each locality. The villagers jointly construct a sprit shelf on the trunk of one big tree in a grove above the village. During the New Year festival elders make offering to the ‘Lord of the Land’, so that their village will be protected from wild animals, robbers, fire, enemies and outside evil spirits. Representatives of all households attend these rites, which help to sustain unity.

Hmong believe that some of them have the power to ‘send sprits’ (tsodaab) to harm other people. Once a person is suspected of having this ability, people are afraid to bring any charges against him for fear of his malevolent power.

Religious Practitioners

Most household heads are able to perform the common rituals. However, to contact the spiritual world in emergencies shaman is consulted.

Shamans may be either male or female and every village must have at least one. In a village in southwestern Chiang Mai Province, Chindarsi (1974) found six resident shamans, three men and three women. A person is ‘chosen’ by the spirits to be a shaman, and he or she usually learns of this calling through a long illness, which is cured only when the person consents to become a shaman. Each shaman has ‘teacher spirits’ who instruct him or her now to perform.

When a shaman is called into cure a sick person, he usually goes into a trance to be in direct communication with the unseen powers. He veils his eyes with a block cloth ‘so as to see the spirits’, and sit on the bench facing the shaman’s altar, with his ceremonial rattle in his hand. He then call his ‘teacher spirits’ to come cure the patient.

Tension builds up as the shaman shakes his rattle with one hand and slaps the other on his thigh, his helper beating a gong in time with the chanting. He bounces up and down on the bench as if riding a horse, and begins to tremble. While in a trance he calls out that a pig or chicken must be sacrificed to soothe a sprit which has been angered. When this is done, some of the blood is wiped on the clothing of the patient or on the soles of his feet, depending on the instructions of the shaman. Paper sprit money is then burned as an offering following the practice of the Chinese.

The shaman may jump up from the bench and declare that wicked sprits have come; he must fight them off. He may jump up backwards from the floor onto the bench as part of the struggle with the forces of evil. The battle may grow so intense he falls to the floor and rolls around groaning and shouting. The family watches to see whether the shaman will emerge victorious.

Finally the shaman becomes still and doubles over, face downward. His helper raps him gently on the back to bring him out of his trance. Now recovered, the shaman removes the black cloth from his eyes and throws the diving sticks to see what the outcome of the struggle will be. He then ceremoniously thanks his ‘teacher spirits’, after which the family dose obeisance to him and to the spirits in turn, expressing gratitude for their help. The meat of the sacrifice is then cooked, and all present eat a meal. The shaman is paid for his services, and given some of the meat to take home.

Sickness and Treatment

In every village there are some adults, both men and women, who have learned one or more curing rites that have been passed down from generation to generation. Unlike shamans, they do not go into a trance and not spirt mediums, but know how to perform certain rites and sacrifices for curing illness and exorcising evil spirits.

Most Hmong ritual activity is concerned with determining the cause if illness, and then curing it. If a Hmong falls ill and the family believes an offered spirits may be the cause, a shaman is called in to perform a curing rite. They believe that spirits who have been disturbed or insulted seek revenge, and may thus capture the souls of the offenders or block their path. Supernatural cures are needed for supernatural illness.

If a person is sick and the shaman determines that the case is due to the souls leaving his body and wandering around in the forest, a ‘silver and golden bridge’ ceremony may be held to show the souls the way home. There are five types of ceremonies in which a ‘bridge’ is made either along a trail or over a small stream and an animal is sacrificed. On completion, the sick person is ledacross the bridge and returns home; then all present tie strings around his wrist. The sacrificed animal is cooked and all participate in a meal.

In various curing ceremonies Hmong tie hemp or cotton string on the wrists of the patient. If the patient does not improve, another ceremony is held and a metal neck ring, bracelet, or anklet is used instead of string.In case of serious illness two or three kinds of metal are twisted together, silver, brass and iron being the metals used.

In their quest for Hmong do not become discouraged if one ritual does not result in a cure, but try one after another until the right one is found. Sometimes they may make a contract with the spirits, ‘If you will effect a cure now, I will sacrifice such-and-such an animal to you at the New Year’

Curing is not limited to such ceremonies. Many Hmong men and women have a knowledge of herbal medicines widely used for common ailments. Increasingly they are also turning to modern medicine. In many cases they first perform ritual healing ceremonies, then seek the help of modern medical practitioners.

Relationships

Hmong are hospitable, always ready to welcome strangers and give them the best food they have. When it comes to competing for land, however, another side of their character can be revealed. This is especially true of opium-growing Hmong who may takes as much as 30 rai(4.8 hectares) of land per family for their poppy fields. Although this is small by Western standards, it may be disproportionate when the need of their tribal neighbours are considered.