Hmong customs and culture

The Hmong people are an ethnic group currently native to several countries, believed to have come from the Yangtze river basin area in southern China.

Housed in Thai refugee camps during the 1980s, many have resettled in countries such as the United States, French Guiana, Australia, France, Germany, as well as some who have chosen to stay in Thailand in hope of returning to their own land.

Members of the same clan consider each other to be kwv tij, translated as "brothers", "siblings," and they are expected to offer one another mutual support.

[6][dead link‍] Respected clan leaders are expected to take responsibility for conflict negotiation and occasionally the maintenance of religious rituals.

The parents are not notified at the time of the "zij", but an envoy from the boy's clan is sent to inform them of the whereabouts of their daughter and her safety (fi xov).

After three days or more, the groom's parents will prepare the first wedding feast for the newlywed couple (hu plig nyab tshiab thaum puv peb tag kis).

At the end of this first wedding feast, the couple will return to the bride's family's home, where they spend the night preparing for the next day.

On the second day, the family of the bride prepares a second wedding feast at their home, where the couple will be married (Noj tshoob).

Upon arriving back at the groom's house, another party is held to thank the negotiator(s), the groomsman, and the bride's maid (tiam mej koob).

If it is determined the wife had committed adultery, the husband will receive custody of the sons, the bride price and an additional fine.

During the periods in which Confucianism reached its peaks (206 BCE – 220 CE) along with Legalism (法家) or Taoism (道家) during the Han dynasty.

It was during the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) that Confucianism was adopted as the government's state doctrine in China, becoming part of official education.

[citation needed] Hmong women are responsible for nurturing the children, preparing meals, feeding animals, and sharing in agricultural labor.

However, most Hmong people, both in Asia and the West, continue to maintain traditional spiritual practices that include shamanism, and ancestor veneration.

Rituals performed by the head of the household "in honor of the ancestral spirits" are for individual benefits which are usually done during Hmong New Year celebrations.

For followers of traditional Hmong spirituality, the shaman, a healing practitioner who acts as an intermediary between the spirit and material world, is the main communicator with the otherworld, able to see why and how someone got sick.

Rituals, which serve as a treatment, might include herbal remedies or offerings of joss paper money or livestock.

In cases of serious illness, the shaman enters a trance and travels through the spirit world to discern the cause and remedy of the problem, usually involving the loss or damage of a soul.

Extended family and friends are invited to partake in the ceremony and tie a white string around the wrist (khi tes) of the individual.

A household always has a sacred wallpaper altar (a Thaj Neeb made of Xwmkab) in which when the shaman comes, he/she performs the ritual in front of it.

People that inherit the skills to become a shaman often experience symptoms of unexplained physical illness, bipolar personality, and multi-personality/ schizophrenia.

According to traditional Hmong beliefs, these symptoms are the result of shamanic spirits (dab neeb) trying to get through to the Shaman-to-be.

This consists of warm rice, freshly boiled chicken with herbs (koj thiab ntiv), lemongrass, and a little salt.

For 30 days (nyob dua hli), she will stay on this diet in order to cleanse her body of leftover blood and avoid future illness.

In Southeast Asian countries, Hmong New Year is celebrated by harvest end dates as well as by the lunisolar calendar.

In the Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Burma, Hmong people celebrate it between October and November, depending on their crops.

Black Hmong wear deep indigo-dyed hemp clothing that includes a jacket with embroidered sleeves, sash, apron, and leg wraps.

An important element of Hmong clothing and culture is the paj ntaub, (pronounced pun dow) a complex form of traditional textile art created using stitching, reverse-stitching, and reverse applique.

[53] The main traditional functions of paj ntaub are in funerary garments, where the designs are said to offer the deceased spiritual protection and guide them towards their ancestors in the afterlife, and for the Hmong New Year celebration.

Hmong people play a sport called tuj lub (pronounced "too loo"), or "spin-top", which resembles aspects of baseball, golf, and bocce.