Iu Mian

Hitory of Iu Mian tribe in Oudomxay Province

Originally, Iu Mian people moved from Yunnan Province, China to Phongsaly and then moved to Na Mor District, Oudomxay Province. There is only one Iu Mian Village in Na Mor Distirct and the population is 452 people – 174 females according to the statistic in 2011.

Iu Mian is the last official tribe name, people used to call them Lao Houay, Hmong and Lan Tan. They had no certain tribe name. Therefore, Iu Mian is chosen as the official one and has become the tribe name that they like the most. There are 2 types of Iu Mian people “The White Iu Mian and the Red Iu Mian”. But the Iu Mian tribe in Na Mor village is the white one. The Red Iu Mian is in Luang Namtha.

Iu Mian people have their own speaking and writing language, the writing pattern is similar to Chinese alphabet. But the current problem is only old people can read it at the moment because the Iu Mian writing was left for years, so nothing left for the new generation.

The majority of Iu Mian people are animists, they believe in natural power – almost everything on Earth. For example, they believe in “ghost” and their ancestors.

For human race, the father is the key person of the family surname and the son has to follow it or keep it up. The son is very important for the family and he is the one who will surely replace his father’s position. Men are the most powerful in solving problems in the family or outside.

The site for an Iu Mian house is chosen with great care by village elders, 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 animal for sacrifice 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 a wide wooden board 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. The house shape of Iu Mian and Hmong is the same. There is always an altar in the house as a family worship place.

Each baby is said to be sent to this world by a baby Goddess. The first three days of its life it still belongs to the spirit world and if it dies no funeral is held. 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. In the past, a married woman was not allowed to give birth at her parent’s house, but at her husband’s house or her husband’s parent’s house.To have a proper funeral is of great importance to the Hmong people, for as a result the soul will prosper in the afterworld. There are many steps for organizing the funeral and 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 mouth organ and another to beat the ceremonial death drum, which is used for the funerals. Many sacrificial animals like pig, buffalo, cattle and chicken are killed for the dead.