A Little About The Hmong Tribe

Emotions, such as laughing, crying, being afraid, are experiences that many of the Hmong Tribe has faced. During the time when I was a child, I use to watch movies based on Hmong's past. While I was watching it as a child, I would always felt afraid and sad for those who have experienced the after effects of "The Secret." I personally know many people who were trying to escape for their lives after the Americans left Vietnam, such as my mom, dad, uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents. 

What could be worse than the feeling of running and trying to escape from this horrible nightmare of being hunted down. There were bombs everywhere. Gun shots were heard from all over the place, but shot out of surprise. The communist soldiers were hidden in the forest. As for the Hmong tribes who seek the light to wake themselves up from this horrible nightmare, it seemed impossible to.

After seeking the way out of the jungle, there is a river called the Bangkok River. This was a place where if people were lucky, they would pass across easily; however, if they weren't lucky they would be washed away in the Bangkok River. When crossing the Bangkok River, it was not an easy task because there were still many communist soldiers who were guarding the way. There were many lucky people who were able to escape towards Thailand. Many of the Hmong tribe had soon learned that it was not a good idea to cross the Bangkok River during morning time.

Riding the bus and splitting up with many family members was one of the most heart breaking experiences. There were many lovers who were split apart because either the girl or the guy had the chance to come to the United States first because they passed the requirement of being able to come to the States. Based on my mom's experience, during the time when many of the Hmong tribe were coming to the states, she said it was one of the most painful moments because many of her friends have left her behind to come to the United States. Even though most of us came to the United States, many of us are left behind in Thailand and Laos. Some of us fled to France, Vietnam, China, and many other places.

Today, there are many films based on the war history of the Hmong. Being born in the United States, I have had many times that people asked me if I was Chinese. I would always say that I'm Hmong, but according to my mom, she use use to tell me that we are part Chinese. Before living in Laos, many Hmong Tribes lived in China; however, the Chinese took over it after a war. After my friend came back from Taiwan, she told me that in Mandarin Chinese, we, the Hmong Tribe is called 苗族人 Miao Zhu Ren.

Because it is believed that the Hmong is Chinese, I have concluded myself that the Hmong is still Hmong no matter what.

If I were to choose one of the most important thing on the Hmong Outfit, I would say it is the Xauv.

This outfit is the one of the more common Hmong outfit.

The xuav is similar to a necklace, but there are more designs on it. The two xuav below are two examples. The one on the left is the new style xuav, while the one of the left is the old style xuav. Based on my experience, the old style xuav is very heavy. It is what my mom use to always wear

     

Hmong Clothes can vary depending on the region where the tribe lives. Below is a picture of what we call the Hmong Chinese Outfit.