HMONG
HISTORY, CULTURE, & RELIGION
LIFESTYLE
A daily lifestyle of a Hmong family in the old days is very different to today’s Hmong lifestyle. In the old days, the girls/daughters/mother had to wake up very early to make and prepare food for the family to eat. They had to “cook breakfast, prepare foods for lunch, feed the animals, and clean the house” (Thao, et al). The boys/sons/father had to also help feed the animals. Then the whole family would get ready to go work on the fields. They would work for the whole day and then come back home before the sun sets and eat dinner together after the long day of working in the fields.
The daily meal for a Hmong family include: rice, meat, naturally grown fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Each family had a large field where the family worked at daily. The field would be full of a variety of vegetables and herbs depending on the season. Sometimes a family would work on the fields of other people to make money. The tools that were used for farming were mostly handmade. They were rab hlau, rab liag, rab txuas, etc. They all serve for a particular reason and is used effectively in the field.
A typical Hmong family has a livestock of a few chickens and maybe some pigs. Some of the livestock were kept for ceremonies or for eating on special occasions. Sometimes the husband, son(s), and/or brother-in-law(s) would go hunting in the forest and bring back what they caught for the family to eat. Hunting was also a game for the men and they often went hunting for a few days.
The Hmong people lived in tiny villages that consist of fewer than a hundred people. Every village is in different locations; some are far from each other while there are some that are close. When traveling to other villages, it can be a day or a few days walk to get to another village. Usually when you go to another village, you would bring some food to eat along the way because it can be a very tiring.
Hmong clothes
Hmong clothes (20th century)
In the 1900s the Hmong people wore tradition clothes that had been passed down for thousands/hundreds of year ago. Hmong clothes have change overtime, because of war, wealth, environment, location and etc. Most Hmong were poor and life style was harsh, because of the French’s taxation and growing opium. Like many of the other tribes, they use any resources and reuse it if still good in use. Women made their own fabrics and threads by using hemp and dying the fabrics with plants. Some Hmong woman wore the skirt called Lao sarong and modern shirts because of living in the refugee’s camp in Thailand.
Men: Men clothes are simple with a black and baggy trouser held to the waist by a red fabric, which maybe embroidery depending on the custom. Men wear long sleeves or sleeveless black shirts. And depending on the custom, some clans may have embroidery.
Women: Women clothes are mostly black with colorful embroidery. Depending on the different Hmong group, some women wear skirts such as the Green dialect speaking Hmong people. The white dialect speaking Hmong groups wore baggy, black pants like the men. The shirt/ blouse are different by the different embroidery, length of the sleeves, etc.
Hmong clothes (21st century)
Hmong people wear clothes depending on the location. For example in America Hmong people wear modern western style clothes. Some Hmong women still wear the Lao sarong in their homes because of growing up in the refugee camps in Thailand. In Laos, some Hmong still wear tradition Hmong clothes, because they are isolated from the cities. Now when the women make Hmong clothes, fabrics and threads are brought at stores. Hmong clothes worn today are very simple and are new fashion trend. Tradition Hmong clothes are worn only on special occasion such as the Hmong New Year, Marriage, and Hmong events, when decrease and sometimes when the shaman is doing a spiritual ceremony.
Men: Men wear modern western style clothes. Even in for special events, some men will still wear western style clothes such as suits and slacks.
Women: Women wear modern western clothes, but some older Hmong women may still wear the Lao sarong.
“Life in Laos.” 28 July 2004 Cal.org. 6 May 2012.
“Hmong culture in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.”Galenfrysinger.com. 6 May 2012.
