CULTURES - HMONG

Background
For many decades the word Hmong has been said to mean human being or free people in Hmong language, but this meaning has never been proven to be true. The Hmong people of Southeast Asia are some of the most recent immigrants to the United States. Like many ethnic peoples today, the Hmong face rapid erosion of a once proud and distinctive culture. Scattered from their homes and devastated by war, many arrived in some U.S. communities (such as San Diego) in the late 1970's where they now struggle to maintain economic stability.

The Hmong people originally came from northern China, near Siberia. It was here that they began to take on an identity as a separate people with distinct practices and social structure. After 1800, thousands of Hmong began southward out of China towards Laos and Vietnam. The Hmong organized themselves for nearly self-sufficient production, and avoided political entanglements with other groups as much as possible. But as the French colonial power of Indochina grew, conflict arose as did the Vietnam War. Thousands of Hmong were again forced to flee, this time to Thai camps and other settlements.

Immigration
When the North Vietnamese and Lao communists took over Laos following the Vietnam War, the Hmong people were persecuted because of their support for America in the Vietnam War. Forced to flee their homes and travel the dangerous path to freedom through the jungle, many Hmong people were on the run trying to reach Thailand. During the teacherous journey along the Mekong river, many refugees died of starvation, drowning, or were hunted down by communist soldiers. Many of thsoe who did make it to Thailand were placed in refugee camps beset by problems like starvation and malnutrition for as long as ten years before being resttled in countries like the United States, Australia, France Germany, and Canada. Between 1975 and 1981, thousands of Hmong arrived in the United States without English skills, knowing little of American life, and disoriented by their recent hard experiences.

Although they lost great economic self-sufficiency, they retained much of their cultural identity. The Hmong kept memories of their tragedies as they established their cultural identity in their new environment. It is estimated that over half the Hmong population died during the Vietnam War and the subsequent flight to Thailand, but the Hmong (as their name suggests) to this day have been characterized by their will to survive.

Currently there are 3,000 Hmong living in San Diego with about 15% of that number enrolled in Linda Vista Schools.

Education
Laos public school system consists of: five years that begin at the age of six, the pathom or primary level, followed by three years of middle school called mathayon, and three years of udom or high school. In reality, children receive less than three years of formal education, the national norm, and frequently leave school to begin vocational job training.

As refugees from the persecution they have suffered at the hands of the communists, many Hmong students have very little formal education before coming to the United States.

Language
Hmong is spoken in China, Laos, Thailand, Burma and Vietnam and the language is classified within the Sino-Tibetan language family of Asia. A predominately monosyllabic language, Hmong has two major dialects. The language is tonal with particular tones being associated with each syllable. The primary dialect spoken by the vast majority of Hmong individuals worldwide is known as White Hmong. Here words are stressed within the throat. The other dialect is known as Green Hmong, were the stress of the words lies on the rolling of the tongue. The words are softer with more intonation with the tongue. The writings of the two are very different.

The Hmong language uses the Roman alphabet which makes it easy for Hmong students who are literate in their native language to transfer these skills to English. However, as it has been noted earlier, the written form of the language has only been in existence for about fifty years and thus literacy rates among the Hmong population are considerably lower than other Southeast Asian groups.

Religion
Though Christianity is embraced by many Hmong who come to America, animism is the traditional Hmong religion and is still practiced often. Shamanism is also prevalent among the Hmong. All Hmong people though celebrate the Hmong New Year which lasts from December 26 to January 1.

Hmong believe in spirits including ancestral, house, nature, and evil ones. They are extremely spiritual people, believing that God and ancestors play a central role in shaping the direction of a Hmong's life on earth including affecting a person's health. When the physical life ends, Hmong believe that souls return to their ancestors to be reincarnated into Hmong families.

Art
When they came to the United States, the Hmong brought their ancient culture with them in forms of art, poetry, songs and stories. Part of this is due to the fact that the Hmong language did not acquire written form until the 1950’s. Therefore, the Hmong had to depend primarily on oral and artistic traditions to pass on their history, legends, beliefs and cultures form one generation to another. They wrote their stories of their ancient culture on elaborate hand woven needlework pieces called Pa ndau (pronounced pan-dow). It was a way to keep their memories sacred as well as a way to make a small living creating new designs.

Cultural issues that emerge for Hmong in America
Within the Hmong culture, family is very prominent. Hmong families are usually large and close knit. The family name and face are both very important and children are often disciplined to avoid negative sanctions to avoid shame. Children are taught to love, respect, and obey their parents and elders. The family, in Hmong culture, takes precedence over all other group allegiances. Education is valued by Hmong parents, but as many of them are without education themselves, they are unable to help their children. They are strict in exhorting their children to study and ingrain as much educational value in them as they can. Most Hmong children are high achievers in school, but most adopt Americanized attitudes as they reach upper levels, which tend to alienate them from the Hmong culture.

Learning to adapt to a new lifestyle, the Hmong undergo a great deal of stress which carries a tremendous cost. Besides feeling losses of their traditional values, many parents complain about losing control over their children. What they consider discipline is now classified as child abuse. In all aspects of their lives, the old ways are losing out to new beliefs and customs.

Resources
Cha, D. and Livo, N. (1991). Fold Stories of the Hmong. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.

Donnelly, Hang, L., and Mallison, J. (1998). Hmong Batik: A textile technique from Laos. Seattle, WA: Mallison, Donnely.

Hmong Cultural and Resource Center of Minnesota. (2000). Traditional Hmong Religion. Retrieved April 2, 2004 from http://www.hmongcenter.org/tradhmonrel.html