Introduction
Many people in the US mistake Hmong to be Vietnamese or Chinese, but it should be noted that the many Hmong immigrants in the US are from a different culture. Many of the Hmong adults are from Laos where they were born and later grew up as poor farmers from the summits of northern Laos. This was before they were engaged to fight a devastating secret war for the US’s government which was against some powerful Communist forces (Robert Cooper).
While, the Hmong people themselves do not know what the name Hmong really means there are some westerners who were somehow curious in studying the Hmong people and were swayed that Hmong signifies free men. until the present times a great number of people don’t know who the Hmong are. But based on stories and legends, it was thought by some of the Hmong researchers and the Hmong elders that their predecessors originally came from Northern Asia. Still, no one can really tell precisely where the Hmong community originated from. (Hein)
some of the places that are frequently cited by the Hmong as there original home are;Vietnam, Mongolia, and Northern China. It was not until the 18th century, when the Catholic missionaries came to know about the Hmong tribe in China and later on in Southeast Asia; these missionaries believed that the Hmong tribe is one of the lost ethnic group from either Siberia or maybe it originated from Iran. Therefore even though different people have different ideas of where the Hmong tribe originated from, it is still hard to get a trace of their origin, (Robert Cooper)
Some million Hmong people still remain in Vietnam, Thailand, China and Laos and they speak a range of Hmong languages. The language used by the Hmong is known to be monosyllabic tonal dialect i.e 6-12 tones and it depends on the language, with some aspects that might make it a vital link betweenThai, Chinese, Burmese, and other Austro-Asian languages. it is said by some scholars that the Hmong written dialect have vanished over many years due to maltreatment in Vietnum. With some Hmong traditions, the women once tried to conserve their barred Hmong writings through sewing stylized qualities into their dresses, (Hein).
It was until later in the 19th century when the writing system for the Hmong tribe came to be well known. There were different writing forms that were attempted, but the main method was a Romanization system whereby the articulation seems highly non-intuitive for Hmong and English speakers as well. scholars of the Hmong tribe came to realize that there utterances are unique i.e. the letter “X” is uttered as “S”, “P” is uttered as “B”, “S” as “SH”, “PH” as “P”, “T” as “D”, “R” as something like “DR”, etc. however when it comes to tones they are denoted by either a consonants either; d, j, g, b, v or s at the end of every word, or there could be no consonant for the mid-range level tone. When learning the Hmong language one can find it to be a little intimidating in the begining but after all it’s pretty reasonable. currently there the materials used in learning the Romanized language are increasingly being published, but it is still hard for many Hmong people themselves to read them.
In today’s world the Hmong community speaks different languages; there are those Hmong languages that are very similar and some which are completely different. with the world that we lie in today the Hmong languages are developed and changed on regards to which part of the region they lived. Even though the Hmong language may sound the same when spoken, it should be noted that every Hmong region has a unique way of speaking. Research has revealed that there are a number of Hmong languages, and one individual can be fluent in a particular Hmong language and may not understand the others. on regards to Hmong languages, it has been discovered that there are two well known which are the “Hmong Dlawb” and “Hmong Leeg”. And for people to get to know these Hmong language then they have to learn about their history and customs, (Taichiming).
Even though there are different missunderstandings in the Hmong culture and language. In some parts of Hmong regions, the word “Dlawb” means innocence or white, but this doesn’t intend to mean that people should understand “Hmong Dlawb” as “White Hmong”. Many scholars from the western countries were misinformed by some Hmong elders, who devoid of education just translated Hmong Dlawb as “White Hmong” and Hmong Ntsuab as “Blue Hmong”.
The Hmong Leeg which happens to be a large group of Hmong in Vietnam and who came earlier than other tribes is misunderstood by many individuals not excluding the Hmong themselves as the “Hmong Ntsuab”. also this name Ntsuab may give two meanings, the first it may literally mean blue or green, while its other meaning is dark or evil. a good example is the phrase “npua ntsuab” which means black pig, and not blue pig or green pig. this example clearly shows that in Hmong tribe, an adjective comes after the noun and each word has a connotation. a good example of this is that instead of “black pig” it is “pig black”, (Robert Cooper).
The Hmong tribe’s people practice the agrarian culture which is also associeted wth other cultures in Vietnam and Indochina, while their religious beliefs are mainly based on animism that include the use of shamans for healing, guidance, and other ceremonies. The Hmong tradition gives great emphasis on the bonds between relatives and other clan members, with value for elders. the rememberance of their predicesors is a vital traditional value, and numerous efforts are made to safeguard the traditional ways and also to keep the memory of the suffering and achievements their ancestors.
Hmong migration to the United States
Research reveals that a greater percentage of the Hmong who migrated to the U.S. came from Laos as refugees and that was after the Vietnam War. a majority of the Hmong people used to live peaceful agrarian lives in the hills of northern Laos, and this was before the CIA recruited them to fight for the USA in the once-secret wars in Laos. During the war, the Hmong fought boldly and endured much causality, but later on the US pulled out of Vietnam and left the Hmong in the lurch. After the US pullout the North Vietnamese and their government in Laos targeted the Hmong for genocidal extinction. Many Hmong lost their lives as they traveled through the jungle and in rivers while they were trying to escape from invaders who were targeting them for extinction, (Hein).
there are more than 150,000 Hmong people who live in the US today and they are, mainly concentrated in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California. The Hmong immigrants in the U.S. make effort with their bizarre ways, though the younger generation of Hmong has fitted in well with American way of life to an extend of losing touch with their traditions. For those who are old, it has been a bit painful for them to adapt to this new culture in the US as compared to the young generation. One of the things that makes it hard for the older Hmong is the language barrier, the reason being that many of them did not go to school and also didn’t have any reading skills before coming to the US. Another instance is like walking through town or going to a store which can be petrifying experiences for the elderly Hmong in the US.
In conclusion, when people refer to the two main languages of Hmong, they are basically referring to the Hmong Dlawb and Hmong Leeg. Because Hmong Ntsuab was mistakenly taken to be the Hmong Leeg and therefore many Hmong Leeg who happen to know the meanings of both Hmong Ntsuab and Hmong Leeg do not acknowledge that they are Hmong Ntsuab i.e. Blue Hmong or Green Hmong but Hmong Leeg. Therefore the Hmong who are referred to as Green Hmong and Blue Hmong in some western countries are in fact Hmong Leeg and they speak Hmong Leeg language. In contrast, Hmong Dlawb i.e. the White Hmong refers to both the language and they dress differently from the Hmong Leeg. Two individuals can converse even though each speaks a different Hmong language. At times they may be perplexed since the way a word is spoken in Hmong Dlawb may mean another thing in Hmong Leeg or vice versa.
Work Cited
A Nairobian’s Perspective. Hmong Tribe-Crimes against Humanity! Web.
Hein, Jeremy. Ethnic origins history, politics, culture, and the adaptation of Cambodian and Hmong refugees in four American cities. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2006.
Robert Cooper. The Hmong: A Guide to Traditional Lifestyles. Web.
Taichiming – CSUF. Who are Hmong? Web.