Originally, the Hmong people were immigrants from Tibet,
Siberia and Mongolia, before migrating to China 3,000 years ago where
they settled down in areas around the Yellow (Huang Ho) River, Kwaijoa,
Hunnam, Kwangsi and Yunnan. During the 17th century, the Manju Dynasty
(Hmeng) wielded power in China. The King changed policy to suppress
Hmong people who refused to practice and believe in the Chinese culture
and tradition, because Hmong men have a similar character to Russians
which led the Chinese to believe that they were Russian. Another reason
was that the Hmong was a barbarian race, and constantly fought each
other.
Eventually, the Hmong people were defeated and
moved to the south of China, separating into small groups. Most of
these groups lived on the hills in Sibsongpanna, while another set of
immigrants lived on the northeast of the Lao republic around Haihin
Dianbianfu. The Leader, named ‘General Wungpor’ collected Hmong immigrants, and moved to Thailand around 2400 in Buddhism era (c. 1857).
Now, Hmong people in Thailand have set up
villages on the hills, or the lowlands, around Chiang Rai, Payao, Chiang
Mai, Prae, Lampang, Khampang Phet, Loei, Phisanulok, Phetchabun, Tak
and Mae Hong Son. The current population of Hmong people stands around
151,080.
In the past Hmong believed that a pregnancy was an
act of the will of the Mother's and Father's ghost. Hmong women are
careful to make sure that as they approach the final stages of their
pregnancy they don't go anywhere alone. Wherever a pregnant woman goes
she has to have at least one friend go with her. Delivery is done
naturally, with the woman in labor sitting on top of a small stool in
front of the bedroom. The woman will lean against her husband for
support and the door of the house will be closed. Children are
prohibited from entering the house during this time.
After the baby has been delivered, it will be cleaned
up and the umbilical cord cut with scissors. If the baby is a boy, the
afterbirth will be buried at the central pillar of the house, which is
where, it is believed, a spirit resides. This is because boys should
understand about ghosts and spirits. If the baby is a girl, the
afterbirth will be buried under the mother's cot, because girls should
understand the value of chastity and understand the affairs of running a
household.
Three days after a new child is born the father will
conduct a ceremony to give a name to the child. Two chickens will be
offered as a sacrifice to please the spirits of the ancient ancestors
and to thank the spirits of the mother and father for sending the child
to be born. The spirits will be asked to watch over and protect the
child and to accept the child as a member of the family lineage.
As the Hmong believe that a child does not yet
become human until it is a full three days old, a baby that dies during
this period can be buried immediately, without having to perform the
various customary ceremonies. It is believed the newborn is still the
child of ghosts.
Nowadays it is mostly the middle-aged and elderly
Hmong who still hold these beliefs. Educated Hmong will tend not to
retain these beliefs, but their children will still go through all the
prescribed ceremonies of a Hmong. Deliveries are now mostly done at the
hospital as it is feared that danger may arise to the woman if a natural
birth is attempted at home. http://hmong.hilltribe.org
Hmong
people believe that the dead person’s spirit is sent to heaven when
the ceremony is completed. They believe that the dead person has merit
because that person can meet their ancestors and dead relatives. When a
person dies, a member in family will shoot a gun into the sky three
times to tell other people in the village.
The body is washed. The men wear women’s
clothes and a belt, and the women change to wear men’s clothing. The
face is covered by a red cloth to hide it from people who come to the
ceremony. The body is laid out opposite the door, and the wrists are
tied by red strings until the funeral ceremony is finished. The Chinese
Hmong believe that when someone falls down near the house, the dead
body must have a reassurance ceremony because they think the spirit of
the dead body will take the spirit of the fallen person.
Hmong people believe that when the spirit
goes to hell, it peels onions and cannot go to heaven. So they will
bind the dead body’s fingers by the red strings to tell that the spirit
has wound in the body, and put shoes on it because the spirit must
ford the caterpillar river and cross the green worm mountain.
The dead body is put on a table, close to the shrine of
the house. They will give three separate food offerings to the body.
Afterwards, they will shoot a gun three times and light a lamp on the
dead body, when the relatives are gathered together.
The relatives will repay the dead
person’s debts before burial to free them, give them wealth, and also
happiness in the future life. When the relatives come together, a
chicken is killed as an offering and black magic prayers are said, to
direct the body to the next world. The relatives who attend the
ceremony make a boat from silver and gold paper which the spirit uses
along the journey to next world.
If the dead person is elderly, the relatives make their respects (‘Xyom’)
each morning and evening. A ceremony which dresses the body in
embroidered clothes is performed in order to give a farm to all the
spirits, making them rich in the next world.
Before burial, the ceremony leader teaches to any visitors from 8pm until 2am.
On burial day many neighbors come to attend the
ceremony. The lineage will clean the body before burial and they have to
kill a cow to worship the dead person. Some families will do the
ceremony again outside, before taking the body to the graveyard to bury
around 4pm.
In the procession, a woman will take a torch to give
direction to the dead body. When the procession has passed through the
village she will throw the torch away and run back, because the Hmong
believe that then the spirit cannot find its way back home. The
procession finally arrives at the graveyard, where a black magic prayer
is performed, and the body is put in a well-placed grave that gives a
blessing and beneficial effects for the descendents. After the funeral
has finished, they family members put stones and twigs on the grave,
and burn the silver and gold papers (or anything else they have offered)
given to the dead body. The table that takes the dead body to the
graveyard is sawn up, as the Hmong believe that then it cannot take
life from the people in the village.
During the funeral ceremony, to let the
spirit reach heaven, no-one can pick any flowers or leaves. Also the
entire lineage may not cry on the way to the graveyard because the
spirit would be concerned, and unable to go to the next world. The
older dead around hillside are buried thus: those on the left will have
a female ancestor and on the right a male ancestor. Hmong do not bury
children on the same day as their parents because they will not
prosper; and they won’t bury other dead bodies in the same row because
that dead body will snatch the place to make a farm and come to
interfere with any family member that has an illness. A child’s body
can be buried in the same row because the children can play together.
The family makes a fence to protect the grave
from animals or insects, and relatives may not visit the grave until
13 days after burial. On that day they have to free the spirit, so it
can go to the next world.Hmong people believe that the grave or
graveyard which has overgrown grass, like spinach, means that the
family has peace. A person who dies from the result of an accident or
killed by violence is not taken to the house or buried the same way.
The Hmong
will be in mourning for 13 days, and during that time, they cannot wash
their clothes or brush their hair, because the dirt drops in the body’s
food. They don’t draw strings because it snuggles up to the legs of
the body, or sew clothes because the needle stabs the body. The husband
or wife of the dead person cannot marry until 13 days have passed
because it makes the dead concerned about their welfare. Hmong people
then converse and cover the coffin with earth, stones and branches.
Hmong people cannot be in love with people of the same lineage
because they are regarded as relatives. During the New Year
celebration, Hmong will don colorful clothes which they have prepared
the whole year. The women will throw the kato (a ball made from cloth)
to the man that she likes, and if the man does not like the woman, he
will slip away. Kato is a ball made from black clothes and is as large
as a tennis ball.. While playing the game, the match will talk to each
other or play games and those who did not receive a kato must pay a fine
in terms of items or decorations for the winner. This festive
practice provides an opportunity for the match to meet each other at
night. The courtship takes place around the woman’s house with the man
outside the house and the woman in her bedroom. The man does not enter
the house directly as it is against the Hmong’s traditions and disturb
the woman’s parents as well as dishonoring the woman’s family. When the
man is sure that the woman’s parents are asleep, the man will get to
the wall of the woman’s bedroom and whisper to her or play the Jang
(Hmong musical instrument made from brass)
If the woman recognizes that the voice belongs to
the man she loves, she will respond and talk to each other. She can
also come out to chat with him in front of her house. However, if they
make noise, the woman’s parents will be upset and will fine when a man
argue. The woman’s parents usually will be understanding and give
freedom to the couple.
Historically,
the Hmong have married within their clan but outside their family
name. They have a custom of engagement where the child is engaged from
one month of age. The boy’s parents will go to ask the girl’s parents
for an engagement by bringing the things for the engagement ceremony to
give to the girl’s parents. Both sides will then conclude an agreement
that their children will marry when they grow up and that whoever goes
back on the agreement will pay reparations to the other side. Hmong
still practice this tradition today, but not as commonly as in the
past.
Make a marriage proposal.
Traditionally, Hmong parents would find a wife for
their son when he is 14-16 years old. If they know that their son
already has a lover, they will make an offering of boiled chicken and
seven joss sticks to an ancestor spirit and pray for guidance from it.
They will know the response from the tongue of a chicken and the
chicken leg that they gave in offering. If the sign is inauspicious,
the would-be groom’s parents tell their son to break up with the woman
and offer another boiled chicken to the spirit. Another way is to
arrange for two matchmakers to make a marriage proposal.
If, on the way to the woman’s house to deliver a
marriage proposal, a wild animal like a snake or a deer were to pass in
front of the line or a dead body were to be in a village that the
group walked past, Hmong would interpret it as a bad omen and would
cancel the marriage proposal in the belief that the couple would be
visited by ill fortune, separating or passing away in the future.
Hmong go to the woman’s house in the evening, after
they finish their day’s work. The man’s matchmaker will give tobacco to
the woman’s parents and tell them the name of the man who wishes to
marry their daughter.
Hmong will call their relatives over to decide
whether to accept. The woman will have two matchmakers working to reach
an agreement with the man’s matchmakers about the dowry. To that end,
the woman’s matchmakers will put one bottle of alcohol and four glasses
on the table near the door; they will come to drink together and after
reaching an agreement to marry move the table inside the house and
discuss the dowry and the date of the wedding.
If in some other way the woman denied, they will
move the table outside and, after finishing the alcohol, everyone goes
back home. The man really loves that particular woman, the man will
try again. On the other hand, Hmong do not have to make the marriage
proposal; instead, the man may elope with the woman and have a wedding
ceremony when the couple has enough money.
In the past, Hmongs constitute
of big families. Hmong women who has wedding, usually will prepare them
self to give a birth.
Hmong women wake up early in the morning at
around 4.00 - 5.00 am. They undertake all the household chores
including drawing water, cooking meals for the family and feeding the
domestic animals. After sunrise, the women prepare for work in the
field to gather opium leaves, cut the grasses or harvest the crops.
When they are at home, they will weave and look after their children,
and in the evening, the woman prepares opium for their husbands. Her
work will finish when everyone in the house sleep. Hmong men have
lesser workload than women as their daily routine includes sipping tea,
smoking opium, taking care of the house, and entertaining their
guests.
Hmong women work harder than men because Hmong
perceive marriage as man buying woman to work for everyone in his house.
Therefore, Hmong women who are married are like housemaids and work
very hard but cannot support themselves. Also, Hmong men can marry many
wives to take care of the house. Some people have up to 4 wives and
the women usually can live together as relatives and do not fight.
Nowadays, the Hmong people are more receptive to Thai cultures, and the
men usually marry only one woman. The Hmong men also take more
initiative to help his wife as compared to the past.
In the past bride
theft was a common practice. Bride theft was used in the event that the
woman was unwilling to marry her suitor. Following the theft, a wedding
ceremony would be held. The father of the groom would help his son
conjure up a plan to capture his bride and find people to come and help
in the act. The woman would be lured out of her house and then seized.
Assaulting the woman while she was still in her house was considered
foul play and a fine would have to be paid. The woman would find every
possible way to resist her captors and try to get her relatives to help
rescue her. During the scramble, the relatives of the man would plead
with the woman's family to let their daughter go with them.
After the
woman had been hussled off to the man's family's house she would be
forced to stay in the man's room with him. Two days later the man would
send two representatives to the woman's family's house to inform them of
what had happened to their daughter and gently ease all their concerns
and fears regarding her plight. At the appropriate time, a formal
request for marriage would be made and the wedding ceremony would be
held soon after. The representatives sent to negotiate had to be masters
in the art of speech and communication in order to convince the mother
and father of the woman to approve of the theft. As the negotiations
progressed, the representatives would try to offer tobacco to the mother
and father of the woman. If they accepted the tobacco it was considered
a sign they approved of the union. In the event that the man and his
family did not go to the woman's family's house and inform them of the
situation, it was considered to be a violation of Hmong custom and
tradition, and a fine of approximately 12 maang would have to be paid (A maang is
a large silver coin which the Hmong use amongst themselves). Along the
same lines as this, if the woman is able to escape from her captors and
return home within three days of her disappearance, the man would be
fined. Sometimes, however, if the father of the woman does not wish to
have his daughter marry the man who stole her away, the woman might
simply be returned and no fine would be paid.
At present, bride theft has started to disappear
resulting from the fact that some of the women who have been forced to
marry have found themselves caught in bad marriages. Some have caused
harm to themselves, but some couples have also been very successful in
married life. With all the changes occurring in society, combined with
Hmong now becoming more educated, it is not surprising that ways of
thinking and living have begun to change accordingly. Although bride
theft is becoming a thing of the past, there are some cases in which
necessity causes it to still be practiced. One example might be when
a father sees that a particular woman has caught his son's eye and he
is unable to persuade his son to make up his mind to marry. In this case
the father might steal the bride away. This would only be allowed if
the woman hadn't yet set her heart on some other man. As money has become a strong
driving force in the life of man, however, if the woman in question does
not love the man as much as the man loves her, but the elders of the
woman's family approve, the woman will not have any right to resist. Her
older relatives will force her to marry the man without exception.
Running off together
In the past it was very common
for a man and woman who were in love to run off together. This would
occur when the man was unable to ask the woman's family for her hand in
marriage. In this case the man would get his sweetheart to pack her
belongings up and run off to his house. A few days later a
representative would be sent to inform the woman's mother and father of
what had happened. The woman would help the family of the man with their
work and when they had enough money, the man's family would go and ask
for the woman's hand in marriage and would then hold a wedding ceremony
in accordance with Hmong custom.
At present, Hmong seem to favor this as
the best way to get married because it is inexpensive. Having two wives
is not uncommon as the decision is made between two people, without the
knowledge of the elders or one's relatives. In the event the
relationship fails the man is able to go out and find himself another
wife.
The various Hmong ancestral lines found in Thailand
The Ree: Green or black Hmong
Tao: Green or black Hmong
Yang: Black or green Hmong
Ma or Hang: Black or green Hmong
Weu: White Hmong and some Weu lines are Gua Maba Hmong
Fa: White Hmong
Wang: White Hmong and some lines are green or black Hmong
(The Ree and Ma family
lines believe themselves to be related to one another by way of their
great grandmothers and grandfathers, and thus they are forbidden to
marry one another. Legend has it there was once a young man of the Ma lineage and a young woman of the Ree lineage
who met and fell in love, unaware of the fact that they were related.
This would have been quite possible as Hmong live among the mountains
and are spread far apart from one another. The couple ran off and began
living together. When the elders discovered this, however, they came in
and split the two apart, explaining that they were cousins and could not
marry one another. Heartbroken, the couple decided to run off and die
together. When the villagers found the bodies of the two lovers they
decided to bury them together. Thus, it was ordered that members of the Ree and Ma families
should be forbidden from marrying one another, as they consider
themselves to be cousins. These days, intermarriage between these two
family lines has begun to happen, but a formal ceremony to separate
one's self from one's relatives must be done before the marriage will be
allowed.
Ranking of relatives and how to address family members:
Yeurgong: Father's father
Yeur: Grandfather (Father's side)
Jeu: Husband's father
Bpoo: Grandmother (Father's side)
Naw: Husband's mother (or you can call her Bpoo)
Nawdtai: Mother's mother
Jeudang: Mother's older brother (or younger brother is ok too)
Addressing wife's relatives
Addressing husband's relatives
Relationship
Address them as
Relationship
Address them as
Wife's father or father of grandfather (mother's side)
Yeur dtai
Husband's father's grandfather (Father's side)
Yeurgong
Wife's mother or mother of grandmother (mother's side)
Naw dtai
Husband's father or grandfather (father's side)
Jeu
Wife's older brother
Jeu dtang
Husband's mother
Naw
Wife's younger brother
Jeu dtang
Husband's older brother
Lao (Call them by name after the word lao)
Wife's older sister
Dtai lao
Husband's younger brother
Jeu jeur-eei (Call them by name after the word jeu)
Wife's younger sister
Dtai roo-ah
Husband's older sister
Bpoo ngan (Call them by name after the word bpoo ngan )
Wife's older sister-in-law
Naw dtang
Husband's younger sister
Bpoo ngan (Call them by name after the word bpoo ngan )
In
the past most Hmong resided on mountaintops. Thus, the economic system
of the Hmong was not very good, because the Hmong were not familiar with
the concept of farming for commerce. Instead, farming was simply done
to feed one's self and one's family. Farming was the only profession the
Hmong knew and as every family planted their own rice and vegetables,
the concept of using money to buy and sell was totally foreign to them.
Exchange of one type of good for another was method of trade and
commerce.
The way of life of the Hmong has been a very hard way
of life. One reason is the Hmong belief that one must have many children
so that they can take care of you in your old age. This has caused life
for the Hmong to be very difficult. To produce the amount of food
needed to feed such a large family, one has to labor away arduously in
the fields. Now, however, many changes are taking place as the Hmong
have been forced to relocate from their native lands on the mountains,
down into the lowlands. The traditional way of life of the Hmong is
being rapidly altered as they race to adapt to a new environment and a
new way of doing agriculture. New models and types of farming have been
introduced for such things as planting rice, managing an orchard, etc.
Hmong Agriculture
In the past farming was done for self-sufficiency. The crops of choice
were limited to rice, sticky rice, corn, beans, pumpkin, lettuce,
shallots/onions, garlic, and hemp. Trade and commerce was done through
the exchange of goods rather than money. (At the present time,
there is likely to still be some planting of opium in the more remote
villages, deep in the forest, but this is very limited. Tourists looking
to see an opium field would be hard pressed to find even a
trace...though there does not seem to be a shortage of opium in its
processed form.) As for rice, it continues to be planted mainly on the
mountainsides.
Rice plantation (on a mountainside)
Rice field (paddy rice--flatland)
At present
some Hmong have begun to plant rice in the lowlands, in paddies. This
method of rice farming requires the fields to be flooded and the young
rice to be transplanted once it has grown from a seed into a young
seedling. This method of rice farming is foreign to the Hmong, whom are
used to planting rice on the mountainsides, where water just runs off
and down the mountainside. As a result, many Hmong are unable to carry
out the transplanting stage of the rice growing process and have to hire
seasoned experts (likely local Thai farmers) to do this for them. The
Hmong, however, are quite the experts at tilling the land and planting
the rice seed.
In
the past, Hmong never used to use machinery on their farms. One
seemingly obvious reason for this is that they have lacked the money
needed to purchase such things (having never used money before). Now,
however, Hmong in both Laos and Thailand are the proud owners of tilling
machines. Life for these Hmong has become a little less difficult than
in the past. Hmong still residing in more undeveloped regions, however,
continue to labor away arduously without these modern conveniences.
Beyond
planting rice, Hmong have also received development assistance in
learning how to plant other cash crops. As the Hmong adapt to life in
this new culture of commercialism and consumerism, they have found
themselves forced to work increasingly harder help them to keep up with
expenses. The major cash crops of choice are mango, longan, lychee,
tomatoes, and tamarind. As for vegetables, there is cabbage, ginger,
cotton, and tapioca. Some Hmong also raise silk worms or plant flowers
for sale, such as carnations, and roses.
Mango orchard
Raising animals
Raising animals In the past animals were raised for
consumption within the household. No corrals, fences, or pens were
made; rather, animals were allowed to roam free. As a result, numbers
were few. The animals of choice for raising included horses, cows, water
buffaloes, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, and ?*. Particular care and
attention was paid to horses because they were used as the principal
means for transportation of both people and things. On the opposite end
of the spectrum was dogs. The only species of dogs the Hmong took any
interest in were those species that could be used for hunting.
Presently the Hmong have adopted a
new system for raising animals. Cages and corrals and regular feeding
hours have been introduced, and when it comes to transportation, using
cars and motorcycles has become far more convenient. Still, the Hmong
retain their great cultural knowledge, passed down from generations, in
how to castrate, as well as the best methods for fertilization of
various animals in order to get a good and hardy breed. The animals
which the Hmong raise these days can be divided into three categories:
for food, to use for work purposes, and animals sold for a price.
Hmong manners in Hmong society are the set of
rules that allow them to understand each other and live together
peacefully in the village. The important manners for the Hmong people
in Hmong society are:
1.Manners for a visitor.
The guests who come to visit the Hmong people must
learn about Hmong culture. Before entering to the Hmong house, the
visitor must call the host to announce his presence and ask permission
to open the door. The host will reply with “Jue-Jai” (Allow) or “Jai”
(No entry) – for example, because they are worshipping or completing a
traditional ceremony. If no one replies, even if the door is open, the
guest may not enter the house. Hmong greet their visitors with hot tea
or alcohol, depending on the relationship. If they are relatives, the
host may greet with them opium. If a visitor is offered something to
eat or drink, it is polite for him to eat or drink these things
together with the host. The visitor sleeps in the place that the host
prepares for him and does not have sex.
- Staying overnight at a Hmong house.
The visitor should take care not to eat “forbidden
foods”, which vary according to the Hmong family on the basis of name.
If a Hmong family name is Lee, the family cannot eat animals’ spleen;
if the surname is Yang, they cannot eat the animals’ heart; and a family
with the surname Wang cannot bring the sour fruits from the forest to
their house. Hmong believe this and pass it from generation to
generation.
- The notices outside a Hmong house.
When a visitor goes to a Hmong house and sees the
door closed and a twig or timber, known as a “Talaw hang”, on the roof,
it means that the visitor cannot enter the house or call to those
inside because they are under “interdiction”. Hmong believe that when
they have under interdiction it can help them avoid the spread of
illness. Additionally, if the visitor calls the host during worship, it
interrupts the ceremony and it is believed that the spirit coming to
take the illness’s soul needs to be worshipped all over again. Under
these circumstances, the host can fine the visitor money or animals,
which they will give as an offering to the spirit.
2. Manners when attending a ceremony or worship.
What rules the Hmong follow during ceremonies or
worship depends on the family, as the details for the same ceremony can
differ. Therefore, the host explains everything about the ceremonies
to the visitor when they attend the ceremonies.
-Manners when a visitor attends a funeral ceremony.
This ceremony is of great importance to the Hmong
people. When they have the funeral ceremony, the clans display a sign to
notify the villagers of it. If the dead body hasn’t been put in a
coffin, and the practice varies from village to village, visitors are
expected not to show fear or any other negative emotion towards it.
-The manners when a visitor attends the New Year ceremony.
The Hmong have a New Year ceremony every year around
the first waxing moon on December 1st. Every household has to kill a
pig for the ceremony as an offering to the ancestor spirits. Hmong
greet their visitors with alcohol. The Hmong have two types of glasses
for greeting visitors. The first type, for close friends, the visitor
must drink completely. The second type is for general visitors, and the
rule is that if the visitor cannot empty the glass, he or she can give
it to someone else to finish
Manners are the tools that make the people in
Hmong society accept one another between younger and older generations.
The basic manners for them are:
-The younger accepts the eldest’s opinions and suggestions, and respects them.
-The younger of the villagers take care to support the eldest.
-The eldest have the right to design or judge. http://hmong.hilltribe.org
Hmong people have
many taboos and they follow them strictly. Some of these taboos are
with regards to their family groups and lineage. Nowadays, the Hmong
people live together as a big Hmong village and practice their own set
of taboos. Some of the practices of the taboos are as follows:
Hmong people of the same family name cannot
marry each other. If they have to marry, the couple must break off
their ties with each other.
Hmong women who are not married can have the
opportunity to make friend with other men until they are married,
after that the women cannot go anywhere with other men. Hmong
woman takes over the husband’s mother in preparing meals for the
entire family and also for their domestic animals. She works hard that
opposite to the Hmong men. Hmong men are allowed to have many wives
by depending on the first wife.
The couples can not display affection in front of the woman’s parents, or in public.
A man who is not from the Hmong tribe cannot stay with the Hmong woman in the place out of side.
Hmong man cannot marry their daughter in-law.
The guests cannot have sexual relationship in the Hmong house.
Can not hit the drum for no reason as it means
that there is funeral in the village. Drum is the one of musical
instrument used in a Hmong’s funeral.
Cannot fire a gun because it symbolizes a death in the village, thus Hmong people disallow shooting in the village.
Cannot use money on the New Year’s Day because
there is a religious ceremony in the village. This is because the
Hmong believe that they will be lack of work and money, and be
poorer in the next year.
Do not eat food forbidden by each family group. For example the Hmong with the family name Lee cannot eat spleen; the Yang Hmong cannot eat animals’ heart; SeaWang Hmong
cannot eat sour fruits from the forest or nature in their house.
Also, Hmong children are not allowed to eat chicken feet, stomach,
and intestines because the Hmong believe that the children who
eat chicken feet will interfere with other people’s business and
cannot succeed in their lives. Similarly, children who eat the
chicken stomach or intestine will become foolish because the
chicken stomach and intestine will wrap around the brain and
disrupt the thinking of the children.
Hmong
people work hard in the fields and the gardens. The main working tool
of Hmong people is a big knife. Hmong people shape a knife to suit
their work, such as the long handled knife for cutting wood (Moajour),
although an axe is also used. Hmong people will use a small, sharp
knife when they cook a food.
Short handled knife ( Jorplour)
Short handled, sharp knife (Jorplour)
The knife is 15-25 centimeters long, and the blade is
razor sharp. The iron is heated and beaten into the correct shape.
Usually this knife is used in the kitchen to cut vegetables, but is
also carried when hunting animals in the forest.
Long handled knife (Moajour),is
the knife used for cutting grass. It’s 30-45 centimeters long, and the
top has curve to the blade. The Hmong use this knife when they go to
work in the fields.
Long handled knife (Moajour)
Axe (Tau)
Axe (Tau) This is a tool for hard
work, such as chopping firewood, cutting down palm trees for pig
food, or other trees in the forest. The axe is the tool which the
Hmong use to make a knife. It is made from iron, with the handle
crafted from wood.
Gun (Plor-Yang) This is the Hmong
gun - a rifle. The bullets are made from gunpowder mixed with scraps
of wood. They use it to shoot such animals as birds, monkeys and
fish.
Gun (Plor-Yang)
Bow (Neng)
Bow (Neng) A Hmong bow is made from
wood or iron and put together with the rattan. It is fashioned by
sharpening the wood and bending it into the shape of a bow. The head
of bow is attached to a PVC tube to make it strong. It is used to
shoot birds, monkeys and squirrels.
Bamboo basket (Kawm) Made from
bamboo, they have many different styles depending on the type of
Hmong people. A bamboo basket of White Hmong has an intensity of
stripes and the basket is smaller than that used by the Black Hmong.
Usually it is carried when working on the farm.
Bamboo basket ( Kawm)
Threshing basket (Wang)
Threshing basket (Wang) This
equipment is used to winnow rice or dry vegetables. It is made from
woven bamboo, starting at the center and moving to the outside. When
they reach the desired size, the weave is cut into a circle and a
side is created to make it strong.
Colander (SourJee) Used for sifting rice and lard, and made from bamboo. A circle is made and a bamboo string is used to make a bowl shape.
Colander (SourJee)
Bamboo pot (Ju)
Bamboo pot ( Ju) Hmong people use
the pot to cook rice. Especially useful for families who have many
members. Made from bamboo, with plain bamboo put on the inside and
woven on the outside.
Bowl (Fuektao) Hmong people use this
tool to get boiled rice, and also water (sometimes to get food for a
pet). It is made from the bottle gourd by cutting it into two
pieces, taking the seeds out, and leaving it on a fire to dry out.
Bowl (Fuektao)
Pan (Year)
Pan (Year) Hmong use this pan to
boil feed for the animals only, not for people, because they believe
that animals are dirty, therefore it cannot be used for both.
Iron Pot (Laogwe) A pot for cooking
rice for small families. The water is boiled, the rice put into the
pot, until the water boils again. Then it is strained and the pot
left on the fire.
Iron Pot (Laogwe)
Pounding Pot (DungJao)
Pounding Pot (DungJao) For pounding
the powder to make Hmong sweets. Usually a big piece of wood is used.
The wood is chopped and a hollow is carved out, afterwards left to
soak for one day before use.
The way to make the Hmong sweet is to boil sticky rice
and pound it, using this tool. Egg yolk is put on the threshing
basket to protect it from the sticky rice. After this, it is molded
into a ball and covered with a banana leaf. This is to protect the
sweet and so it will keep longer. This sweet is made at the New Year
festival.
Sugar cane compress Made from
wood, this tool has 2 pillars with wood in two halves across them
horizontally. The top section of wood has iron weights put on it to
control the pressing when crushing the sugar cane.
Sugar cane compress
Chicken coop (Thercar)
Chicken coop (Thercar) Equipment
made from bamboo to carry a chicken. The frame is designed in an oval
shape. Alternative bamboo colors are used when weaving the chicken
coop to make it more beautiful. An entrance is built for the chicken
and a handle so it can be carried anywhere.
Corn mill (Yeb) It is a tool for
Hmong people who would like to mill corn for pet feed. The corn mill
is made from igneous rock and separated into two circular stones
which are put together. The stone on top has a hole to drop in the
seeds, and a handle on the side to turn it to grind.
Corn mill (Yeb)
Mortar (Cug)
Mortar (Cug) Hmong
people use this tool to pound rice. It’s made from a big section of
wood and positioned in a hole that is dug. The mortar is put in the
house and a long pestle is made to hit the ingredients put in for
pounding.
The regulations practiced by
the Hmong people are similar to the common Law of England but are
different in some aspects because the Hmong people believe in
spirituality. Hmong people do not have a written language, and they
follow their traditions and the cultures closely. Hmong people have the
head leader but do not stay in the same area as the villagers. In each
of the Hmong village, there is a villager chief. The villagers enjoy
freedom and practice democracy in the village.
They have a say in decision making and the men
have the right to vote, whereas the women and children can attend these
sessions and give their suggestions in the meeting but are not
entitled to vote. The reasoning behind this is that the Hmong women are
supposed to follow the wishes of their husbands. As for the children,
they are not measured by their age but from the maturity and their
capability to work, which are determined by the fellow villagers.
Nowadays, the Hmong people use this rule especially on the more trivial
problems but in other more serious cases, they will use the country’s
laws.
Villager leader. In the past, the
leader of each village is a chief. The people in the village vote for
the person whom they think can be the leader and there will be 2
assistances. The chiefs can remain in their post and will only be
changed in the event of the death of the chief, resignation, relocation
or when the people in the village vote for the chief to step down.The
responsibility of the chief is to bridge contact with the people
outside the village, to preserve the unique traditions and cultures of
the Hmong village, to mediate when the villagers have problems with each
other, and to make decisions to relocate the village. The elders form a
village advisory committee, and will have a say in the decisions made
by the chief because they have the authority.
The Assembly. When the village
would like to have a new rule or regulation, they organize a meeting.
The rule or the regulation must not contradict the old traditions. The
voting system is similar to that of the election where one man is
entitled to one vote. The villager leader is the chairman. In the case
where the numbers of votes are equal for both sides, the chairman will
make the decision whether to pass the new rule or not. When the
villagers have to elect the villager leader, they will choose one of
the elders in the village to be the chairman.
The Justice.
In the past, whenever a conflict occurred in the
village, Hmong people did not allow the Thai authority to get involved.
The village’s justice process has 2 categories.
1. In the case of conflicts in the family, the
villager leader will not get involved because it is the problem within
the family and will be solved by the family themselves.
2. The central committee will make judgment and
make decisions when a conflict arises between families. There are 2
ways to appoint the committee.
2.1. The villager leader to appoint a judge with
the agreement from the parties involved in the conflict. However the
people directly related to the parties cannot be the judge.
2.2. In the case where a consensus cannot be
reached with regards to the appointment of a judge, a committee of 6 to
10 members will be appointed instead, which again will consist of
people unrelated to the parties involved. The village leader will be
the chairman of the committee and the committee makes a decision by
voting. If a decision cannot be reached by voting, the chairman will
make the decision based on his judgment. The party that is in the wrong
will then be punished according to the Hmong’s traditions. If it is a
new case, the committee will decide on the punishment which will then
be followed from then on.
The Political group
In the past, the Hmong people have to respect the wishes of the
majority. They didn’t use the ideology for the entire member but use
the ancestry so if they have big families mean they are a majority to
work every thing but have some group they come together and be a big
group. If there is an election in the village, the entire ancestry will
choose the person to apply. Now Hmong people have a little change
because who will be the village leader must have the skill and can
communicate the outside.
