One of the most well-known sightings of Hmong people and their culture in popular American culture is in the movie Gran Torino, directed by Clint Eastwood. In the film, the protagonist has Hmong neighbors who owe him a debt due to saving one of the young boys from other Hmong gang members. They bring him gifts of vegetables, meats, and other foods, and leave blessings at his door. He repeatedly tells them to cease; however, they believe that they owe him their lives. The protagonist ends up sacrificing himself for his Hmong neighbors, in order to put the gang members behind bars (8). Watching the film, the viewer gets a sense of this complete culture that does not welcome much outside change, or welcome outsiders of any kind. It also addresses the unfortunate issues of gang violence and other criminal activities in the Hmong community.
As the Hmong have no written language, they also have no written music or notes; this makes creating music for entertainment in the United States can be difficult. Hmong music is also made for small audiences traditionally, and so transitioning some traditional elements into modern music meant for large audiences has been an interesting challenge as well (3). Hmong music is also popular in the genres of hip-hop and rap. Since the 1980s, Hmong rappers and other musicians have arrived on the music entertainment scene, and have become increasingly popular. While largely still unknown to mainstream media, there has been a growing fanbase for the popular Hmong rappers, including the rapper Buddha. These artists’ lyrics generally talk about growing up in rough living conditions, being tough to the world, and working hard to get ahead and grow their wealth. See below for a few YouTube video examples of some of these rappers’ songs; WARNING: this music is intended for audiences 18+ years of age. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkE0zs_d1IQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5PJmc8AA64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUL1DUaC0GM
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There are 18 total Hmong clans that are recognized by all the people, and there are also several main lingual and cultural dialects that differentiate between the clans. The main clans are Vaj, Tsab, Lis, and Xeem (3). There are rules that dictate how each clan interacts, as well as taboos and rituals specific to each lineage. Marrying anyone in the same clan is against Hmong custom, for example (2). An example of another taboo is that one specific clan cannot eat the organ meats of certain animals; others cannot wear certain materials or colors. Just like everything else in Hmong culture, these rules must be followed in order to preserve their heritage and rich cultural traditions.
There are five main dialects spoken by the Hmong, which are White, Green, Black, Red, Flower (3). The most widely spoken are White, or Hmoob Daub; Blue, or Hmoob Ntsuab; and Green, or Hmoob Leeg. More and more people are switching to White and Blue Hmong over the Green dialect, especially in China. However, most Hmong people are illiterate in any form of the Hmong language, even though there is now a written form of the language (6). Today, 80% of Hmong children are illiterate in the language, as are most adults. Most Hmong children speak some form of “Hmonglish,” which is a mixture of Hmong and English (14). Because Hmong is often the only language spoken at home, many Hmong only learned English through either school as children, or through the media such as television and newspapers. As many refugees and migrants did not learn English, and only their children did, there is a significant language barrier. This barrier impedes education and employment, especially for older Hmong (2). Those rare few who do read and write in the Hmong language are self-taught, as there is no formalized setting for Hmong, or anyone, to learn the Hmong language in any form (14). There are multiple forms of language barriers to the diaspora in the United States, and only encouraging Like any minority group, the Hmong have been faced with racism and discrimination since their arrival in the United States. Because the majority of Hmong refugees and migrants were settled in small towns, rather than urban areas like most other migrant or refugee groups, these prejudices have been more obvious (9). There are many types of harassment and abuse, and the most common type experienced by Hmong migrants has been verbal harassment (9). When faced with racist comments or violence, many Hmong react in a way to sweep it under the rug, and they keep it quiet. According to a study, men preferred to dodge confrontation with racists, while women denounced these actions and words as they met them (16). The refugees did not understand the American legal system, and feared police based on brutality and discrimination (16). People have cited incidents of violence as well, namely happening in the few urban areas where the Hmong were settled originally, or moved during secondary migration to create communities. Hmong Americans are stigmatized not just on the basis of race but also om being foreign-born, so they receive even worse discrimination (9). In an effort to change this cycle, many Hmong youth are standing up against discrimination. They hold rallies, lead organizations and programs through schools, and fight for legislation that further support and assist their communities in order to thrive (16).
There is a sect of Hmong that, arguably, is discriminated against even worse - the members of the LGBTQIA+ community. These people have discrimination and prejudices aimed against them from both within and without the Hmong community. Namely, the Evangelical Hmong, that were converted during the migration to the U.S., fought against same-sex marriage and gay rights (13). According to one source, “Most Hmong still adamantly reject the notion of a gay or lesbian lifestyle. Why? They believe this lifestyle is the worst curse a person could have” (14). In Minnesota, however, there is a large gathering of Queer Hmong in the urban areas, and they have create open, safe spaces for people to comfortably Queer and Hmong at the same time (13). As more and more people stand up for LGBTQIA+ rights, and minority rights in general, more of the Hmong population have turned to acceptance of their Queer family members and friends. This people faces discrimination in every sense of the word, and some of it has been coming from inside the community itself; but every day we get closer to the acceptance of all. In recent years, there has been a transition towards returning to the homelands for the Hmong migrants to the United States. They have begun returning for shorter trips, to visit family and friends that were left in Laos, Thailand, China, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia (15). According to one source, “Going back to Laos and Thailand to visit with relatives and old friends who remained behind is a key element that strengthens them not only as extended families but as a nuclear family and as individuals” (2). It is important to revisit the homelands, to revisit their culture and heritage, in order to strengthen core principles in the diaspora. This visitation is vital to remembering who they are, where they came from, and figuring out where the community needs to go in the future (1). There have even been political movements that have arisen in the diaspora to help those in Laos. These political movements are geared towards wresting the homeland back to the democratic world, so that some Hmong in the diaspora, particularly those in the U.S., can return to their friends and families (15). This would be important to rekindle traditions, and reunite families to create a strengthened set of individuals. Especially with what the returning people could bring from the outside, the Hmong communities in Laos and Thailand could flourish and utilize things from the West to their advantage. The Hmong community had a prominent leader in the 1970s, leading out of the Vietnam War and into the diaspora in the United States. This man’s name was Major General Vang Pao, and he was the sole leader of the Hmong in the West for 36 years. He provided solid leadership, insight, and guidance for the community until his death from cardiac complications and pneumonia on January 6th, 2011 (14). Since Pao’s death, there has been no overarching leader to rise to the occasion within the Hmong community. Several have tried, but none have succeeded on the same scale as Pao. Working with the Major General, there has been the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which was coupled with Hmong leadership to place refugees in homes and settle them in the United States (2). These two entities have worked in tandem to assist the Hmong community and help it stabilize and thrive.
Hmong communities across the country have risen up and banded together in order to support each other. In Wisconsin, there is a specific organization that has a goal to help boost the Hmong communities in that state. It is called the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association of Wisconsin (HMAAW), and its goal is to assist the community in ways so that there is a decreased dependence on public welfare systems to survive (16). The community is actively coming together to own businesses, provide services, and economically flourish together (4). As time has ticked on, most Hmong are losing their status as refugees, due to being at least two generations in America at this time. Because of this, many communities and programs are losing federal funding, as that funding is reserved to help new refugees adjust to living in the U.S (16). Because of this, the Hmong people need new leadership to guide them in the right direction as a whole community, and today that means civic participation. Historically, the Hmong have embraced leadership in times of crisis, but have questioned it during times of peace (3). Mistrust would lead to suspicion, ultimately ending in betrayal and an inevitable change in leadership quickly. However, as people living in the West during contemporary times, they are working to come together to provide leadership for their communities, as well as on the political and governmental scale. Refugees have participated in civic affairs since they arrived in the United States, and some were even elected into office (14). Hmong have been in politics, especially on the state and local levels, since shortly after they settled. Especially for the last thirty years or so, Hmong community leaders have seen, “...politics as a vehicle to drive social and cultural change for the better” (16). Especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota, having Hmong leaders in the government has assisted with the creation of many new programs and organizations that help the Hmong community and other migrant communities to grow and thrive. For example, “...because of strong community leadership, the University of Wisconsin has added a new department to its ranks: the Asian-American studies program, with courses on the Hmong” (4). By working together, and supporting a uniting leadership, support and change are possible. Summer of 2004 marked the beginning of another great wave of Hmong migrants to the United States (11). After the closing of most of the Thai refugee camps, there remained a monastery that housed hundreds to thousands of Hmong refugees. This monastery was officially closed in 2004. Because of that, more than 90% of these refugees then fled to the U.S. (10). As mentioned in previous posts (re: “The Hmong and War”), this created a migratory influx of Hmong in several countries, mainly the United States. These numbers have since been spread across several states, landing mostly in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Because of their horticultural background and large family sizes, Hmong migrants to the U.S. initially had high unemployment, poverty, and reliance on public assistance rates (9). The combination of minimum wage employment and large numbers of dependents caused a constrained rate on the process of increasing employment means decreasing reliance on public assistance (7). This causes stereotypes and all forms of violence against migrants to increase, particularly against Hmong migrants. However, Wisconsin and Minnesota have had the least amounts of violence against Hmong refugees and migrants. In Minnesota, the, “…structural conditions enabled Hmong to be resettled there more readily than in other states” (13). While they originally settled in urban areas, many refugees completed secondary migrations in order to be closer to family and build a community. Urban areas are generally more accepting and friendly towards migrants of all walks of life, and the cities in Minnesota were more welcoming than others (13). Hmong actually make up roughly 10% of Minnesota’s total migrant population, as of the last census. In addition to being more welcoming, this state is also known to the Hmong and LGBTQIA+ folks alike as the “Gay Mecca.” More accepting of Queer people as well as migrants, Minnesota has attracted large numbers of Queer Hmong. This will be discussed in more depth in a later post. Wisconsin is one of the other states where Hmong refugees landed after leaving the Thai refugee camps, after the Vietnam War. This state has the third largest Hmong population in the United States, according to the most recent census (16). The Hmong population in Wisconsin has shown dedication to their communities through the creation of social reform groups and community assistance programs. For example, the Wisconsin Refugee Women’s Initiative is dedicated to stopping domestic violence and solving domestic disputes so they do not escalate to violence (16). There are other assistance programs available for Southeast Asian migrants specifically, that aid migrant communities in helping them pay to open small businesses. The communities come together to build these businesses as a whole, and the entire community profits from it in some way. The Hmong community truly gives back to its people, and the diaspora has created the ability for these positive transitions. There are many Hmong traditional practices that have been put into place over the course of hundreds of years, if not longer. However, since the mass migrations to the United States, both coerced and voluntary, have kept some aspects and changed others. Hmong culture is adaptable to outside influences, and that has shown with any culture they have been a part of. For example, Hmong in Laos have a tradition of tying yarn around their wrists, which is a Laotian custom called Baci that is used during celebrations - usually of births, marriages, or deaths - to preserve one’s good luck (3). Another tradition that has become part of Hmong culture through generations of rituals, is the practice of songs and poems. All religious chants, shamanistic rituals, and other traditional rites that require spoken word, are all poems telling great stories (3). This is the same for more-modern Hmong folk songs, and even most Hmong music today.
The Hmong, then and now, believe in honoring one’s parents and ancestors above all else, regardless of anyone’s social status (14). Within this system of honoring parents and ancestors, men rule at the top of the socioeconomic pyramid. Hmong people live in a very patriarchal society, and that has been slow to change and adjust to the Western world. Masculinity is still the driving force behind daily life, and women are having a harder and harder time functioning within this system in the U.S. (14). There has, however, been much change in the Hmong world today, since migrating out of Laos and Thailand. Now, with women bucking at the bit in a masculinity-driven society, women’s roles are finally changing. Mothers are encouraging their daughters to not marry young, to not have children young, and to finish out high school and even college (16). In school, young people, boys and girls alike, have had a hard time adjusting to a formal school setting. However, Hmong researchers have found that if a Hmong student is comfortable with their cultural identity at home, they are more likely to behave better and are more eager to learn (3). Because these children are the most vulnerable to outside influences from mainstream culture, it is important to teach them about their heritage at home. This is not to say that it is unimportant to adapt and for culture to naturally grow and change, but knowing one’s heritage is the key to preserving their culture (3). The parents of these children are also now living vicariously through them, as they wish to experience these changes but have a language barrier or are simply unable to connect with the Western world; this has become less of a prominent issue as the generational gap between initial migratory experiences and today’s world. The young people today are out of touch with their culture roots, and it does not just affect their school and home lives. There is a significant loss of culture, as the younger generations are refusing to learn traditional practices and rituals, and are instead completely adapting to mainstream American culture (15). Even with wedding and funeral rituals, the most important to Hmong culture, are being forgone in favor of modern practices (16). However, there are positive aspects to these cultural changes. Hmong are involved in everyday life in America, and many have fully integrated and are adding positive influences into their own and surrounding communities. Hmong today, “…stimulate the economy wherever they live, are role models for others, and continue to improve their civic participation” (16). There are also new materials that have been made accessible for healing, and to continue traditional practices in the West despite being away from the materials of the homeland. Crafting is a prominent part of traditional culture, and with these new materials available, some people have been able to monetize their crafts and create businesses selling them to other Hmong as well as Americans who are interested in learning more about Hmong culture (15). While some may not have faith, the community at large believes that they can get through this period of modernization that has taken away large numbers of Hmong from their traditional roots. Just as when they were forcibly migrated in previous situations, their culture and traditions will continue to survive. After all, “with a reputation for surviving tough times, the Hmong are coping better than many other immigrant groups” (2). As with any non-Western culture, the Hmong in Laos and Thailand have met Western medicine with suspicion and doubt. Migrants and refugees in the United States also greet Western medicine and medical professionals with doubts about their effectiveness and abilities to preserve and save lives. Because Hmong medicine and healing practices are so different, many in the U.S. see them as “barbaric,” “savage,” and unreliable as they are not backed by science in the same way. Because, traditionally, Hmong have no concept of physiology, at least in the way that is studied and practiced by Western doctors, there are certain beliefs that are held that are not in-line with what scientific study has proven to be true.
For an example of this, traditionally they do not have the concept that the body shuts down after death, and so they believe that the dead could potentially come back to life (3). Because of this, there are specific rituals held at the time of death for a Hmong person to avoid their rising out of the grave. Hmong also believe that there are finite amounts of blood in the human body, and that this amount of blood does not replenish. From a real-world example of a child of Hmong refugees being treated in a hospital in the U.S., the child’s parents said that, “…if the doctor drew any more blood against their will, they would both commit suicide” (5). Today, there are Hmong doctors in the United States, trained in Western medicine; as there have been two or three generations since the mass exodus from Laos and Thailand to the U.S. and other nations, most younger Hmong believe in the science of these practices rather than the traditional beliefs. However, many practice both forms of healing in tandem, backing each Western practice with a traditional practice and vice versa, to get the best results possible. The other main issue with Hmong and Western medical practices would be the treatment of doctors versus shamans, or txiv neebs. When American doctors would fail, the Hmong they were treating would blame them for the loss of life or the patient’s inability to heal. When a txiv neeb would fail, they, “…could preserve unblemished reputations even if their patients didn’t get well… because they had to do battle with particularly dangerous opponents” (5). The treatment of healers, traditional or otherwise, depended entirely on the person’s beliefs about healing, whether they were traditional or more-progressive. After the mass migrations to the United States, many Hmong were faced with a new dilemma. Besides contending with new medicinal practices and utilizing hospitals and doctors, they now had to find a way to cope with communicable diseases. Because many of these migrants began their lives in the U.S. living in urban communities, and many continued to live in these places while some migrated to less-populated communities to join their families and build Hmong communities, they were exposed to these diseases regularly. However, they had no traditional practices to battle these diseases, and had no immunity built up as many Americans had built up since childhood (3). This has been yet another struggle for Hmong migrants to handle and work around, post-migration to the U.S. Hmong religious practices are closest to animism; however, they take pieces from Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism (3). Since the 1970s, but with traces since the French Catholic missionaries from the 1600s, they have even taken bits of the Christian faiths and incorporated it into their belief systems. Truly, the Hmong have a “melting pot” of a religious system.
Traditionally, the Hmong have a set of rituals and beliefs that are widely followed by most people; these traditions can vary slightly depending on the community and family. Part of the standard belief system is the belief in reincarnation, or rebirth (3). According to Hmong scholars today, there are strict beliefs involving death and reincarnation. If the person dies an unnatural death, such as murder or suicide, the soul will be banished to wander forever. If the person dies a natural death, such as from old age, their soul will reincarnate over and over; the downside of this cycle is that it causes the host to suffer the same death every time the soul is reincarnated (3). The term for “soul” in Hmong is tos plig, and the term for the last breath a person draws is pom siav. The Hmong are also firm believers in the spirit world, rather than in the Christian version of Heaven. They also believe in benevolent spirits in this world and the spirit world, as well as guardian angels (14). The people believe that, rather than a church or a temple, that the house is their main religious sanctuary, and shamans practice their healing rituals and religious rites in peoples’ homes. In fact, part of the shaman’s duty is to help the people in leaving offerings for the spirits, both benevolent and meddlesome. The word for “offering to the spirits” in Hmong is laig (14). Much of these traditional beliefs were altered once the Hmong people came in contact with Christians. The early missionaries to Laos in the 1600s helped to convert some Hmong, but these missionaries created an “agree to disagree” mindset with most of the people. Much later, after the Vietnam War, many Hmong converted to Christianity because much of their migration to the United States was church-sponsored and these Christians “rescued” them from the horrors of the refugee camps (16). In fact, “some Hmong have taken up the religion of whichever group helped them arrive in America” (2). This means that they have simply converted to whichever religion or sect that was able to help them out of their situation. However, the Hmong have a track record of reverting back to traditional views once they no longer needed the support of the church that sponsored their migration (16). Today, some younger generations of Hmong actively convert to Christianity to avoid participating in traditional practices from their homeland (15). Regardless, the Hmong have a fascinating relationship with religion from every angle, and continue to transform their understanding of their - and others’ - belief system. While they may have only helped to create, with the French, a written language in the last century, the Hmong have a rich culture full of traditions, practices, and religious beliefs. Most of these traditions and practices have been passed down through kinship and village lines via oral histories. What this post, and subsequent sub-posts, will highlight includes funeral rites, medicinal practices, religious systems, and the general, overarching culture with traditional versus modern day practices.
There are three main groups of Hmong cultural traditions: birth, marriage, and death (16). These events are the most titular in a Hmong person’s life, and they come with the most strict set of rules, rituals, and practices that must be done just-so. As the most important event for an individual is, arguably, their funeral, this post will focus on mortuary rites out of the three main traditional groupings. Funeral rites and rituals are very important to the Hmong people. There are specific sets of rules that must be followed, specific sets of people that must be involved, and even specific instruments that must be played at specific intervals and times. There are several essential items that must be present for mortuary rites: a drum, a crossbow, knives, twine, a paper umbrella, a kettle of warm water, a tiny pot of rice with a hard boiled egg mixed in, and a few other small things (3). There are multiple players to these rituals, but an important person is the qeej player - a qeej is a form of reed pipe that is played with two hands (6). There is also a ritual where paper money is burned, in order to be sent to the deceased in the spirit world for them to use in death (14). There are multiple stages to mortuary rituals for the Hmong. First, comes the traditional death rituals, which include bathing and dressing the deceased - known as lub ntee tuag. The second phase, after the mourning and reliving of the person’s life, is the after-death ritual. This ritual is held to invite the deceased to visit their home before they leave for the spirit world (va xi or purib tsug hnub). Lastly comes phase three, the ritual of final release for reincarnation or rebirth - tsog plig (14). The Hmong believe in this reincarnation as a core principle of their religious beliefs, which will be highlighted in a later post. Death is merely, “...a time of transition for the human soul, for the body may have perished, but the soul lives on” (3). Because a funeral can last anywhere from three to seven days, depending on the wealth and status of the deceased and their family, these services are financially burdensome to the deceased’s family (3). When one compiles all the costs, including today’s modern cost of utilizing a funeral home or something similar, it takes a great bit of wealth to have what is considered a “proper” funeral and burial. In terms of these more-modern problems of Hmong in the diaspora, some have begun to advocate for shortened services in order to lower the costs. These suggestions have come from younger generations, and those who do not have the wealth to provide full services for their families (3). The Hmong became more-commonly known in American popular culture and media, and really were placed on the global radar, at the closing of the Vietnam War in 1975. However, there were wars before that where the Hmong took part. During the war that is sometimes referred to as the “Japanese War”, meaning World War II, Hmong people helped French soldiers escape from the Japanese and their allies in Laos and elsewhere in Southeast Asia (14). Hmong men then made up much of the manpower for the war that led up to the Vietnam War, working closely with the CIA of the United States during what was called the “Secret War,” right before the communist takeover of Laos. The Hmong were recruited to help complete “covert operations” for the United States, as mercenaries disguised as allies (16). In the 1960s, former president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, authorized the recruitment of minorities in Laos for covert military operations against the spread of communism in Laos (12). In Nichol Bryan’s Hmong Americans, she states, in regards to this authorization, that, “the United States trained the Hmong and gave them weapons” (2). In 1969, former president Richard Nixon was exposed as authorizing a bombing of allies in Laos, which included thousands of Hmong soldiers and civilians alike (12). Many allies of the United States were killed during the bombing.
Hmong were also directly involved in the United States’s Vietnam War efforts. By the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, 40-50,000 young Hmong boys and men had been killed, and over 30,000 were injured or Missing in Action (14). Overall, a quarter of all Hmong males had died by 1975, the end of the Vietnam War (12). They acted, once again, as mercenaries and skilled allies in battle. The Hmong who lost their lives are not recognized at nearly the same level that Americans are recognized, even though, “…The Hmong people fought for the U.S. in the war in Laos and lost 35,000 of their own people – more than half as many as Americans who died [in the war]” (2). All soldiers deserve recognition for their efforts, especially those who fought and died for their cause. At the end of the war, however, the U.S. “settled” it all without considering implications for the allies that were left behind (14). Because of their efforts to aid their ally, the United States, the Hmong were persecuted heavily after the closing of the lost war. According to Martha Alajem’s Hmong Americans in Michigan, “The Hmong might have hoped that fighting communism would raise their status in Laos, but unfortunately, they lost thousands of men and young boys” (1). While their aid in the war efforts did not help them in their homeland, it created new pathways for the Hmong future. There were three main phases in which the Hmong left Laos and Vietnam, and ultimately left as refugees or migrants. First, came those who left directly after the communist takeover. Then, came the people who left after the government cracked down on Hmong communities, after the end of the war in 1975. Thirdly, there were those left between 1975 and 2004 due to economic hardship, worsening conditions, and the slow closings of refugee camps and monasteries in Thailand. Lastly, we have much small numbers leaving Laos and Vietnam after the 2004 wave that came from closing down of refugee housing, leading from shortly after that event to today (16). In the refugee camps in Thailand after the war, there was very little sanitation, little access to food and water, and little access to most types of resources. The conditions were truly horrendous. As populations in camps increased, so too did social problems, disease rates, illegal activities, and sexual assault rates. This, combined with lack of access to resources, really created a hellish atmosphere for the refugees (14). However, the state of things in Laos for the Hmong was arguably worse at many points. There were mass arrests of Hmong people in their communities of those who had chosen not to flee, where they were then forced into labor camps. “Those who had fought against the Pathet Lao were put in camps inside of Laos and forced to work” (2). Additionally, the Hin Heup Massacre occurred in 1975 by the Pathet Lao forces, otherwise known as the Communist Party of Laos, where many Hmong were slaughtered in their own communities like animals (14). While the Hmong made a powerful ally in the United States, ultimately their situation worsened all the way around. Those that escaped to the U.S. as refugees have had the best outcome thus far. |
AuthorSydney Wise is a graduate student at Millersville University, earning a Master of Arts degree in History. ArchivesCategories |