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Culture

Information

Information - Culture

Here is a little section about my culture - Black Hmong. It’s only a short bit as otherwise could take up many volumes. Here I will tell you about some of our culture, traditions and how we live.

Migration from China

We really should start with how we got here. The migration to Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Thailand started in the 1700s as the dominance of the Han Chinese grew under the Qing Dynasty. Although the Hmong have a strong cultural identity, the semi-nomadic lifestyle meant that they didn’t have any political structure so to speak. This made it hard to resist stronger forces, both Chinese and colonial.

Once settled, Hmong life also changed from a semi-nomadic to resident farming. This was a necessity as China is a huge country and there was just not the space to continue the traditional ways on the smaller pieces of land suitable and available in northern Vietnam.

Ethnicity

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A young Hmong girl with naturally blonde hair. While rare it, there are still many that have this trait. Fairly unique in this part of the world.

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Ying and Sa sporting a similar look in the early 2000s. Im wearing the traditional necklace chain.

There are approximately one million Hmong living in Vietnam today. There are also many different types of Hmong - White Hmong, Green Hmong, Flower Hmong and Black Hmong.

Hmong also have some unique genetics for Asians. You can find people with their green eyes, brown or even naturally blonde hair. My sister had ginger / brown hair when she was a child growing up and that is nothing unusual around here.

Spirituality

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Of course we have the common red & gold paper,but we also have a rare white spirit protection papers in the living room.

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The paper is specially handmade. The purpose is to connect with the families ancestors and to ask them for protection from unwanted spirits.

Hmong have a wide set of spiritual beliefs. While many Black Hmong were converted to Christianity in the 19th century by missionaries, today it is not so clear cut. Shamanism is still popular and many have a belief in both camps. For the other Hmong groups - shamanism is still the way.

For the followers of traditional Hmong spirituality, the shaman is the main communicator with the otherworld, able to see why and how someone got sick. Healing and sickness is seen as supernatural processes linked to cosmic and local supernatural forces. Rituals, which serve as a treatment, might include herbal remedies or offerings of livestock (pig, chicken or duck). Pigs are used for more serious occasions were as chickens are cheaper and used for less critical matters. These rituals also appear often in story telling.

House styles

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This is a more basic house style of 20+ years ago. It contains more wood than today as it was cheaper to make back then. Now wood is the more expensive part...

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This is top of the line hybrid style today - notice that the main timbers do not sit directly on the ground but have concrete pillar to stand on of 50cm.

This has changed over the years of course like many things. Originally houses were designed to be able to be dismantled, taking just the key main timbers which could be dragged along by a water buffalo to the new location. The less essential parts were discarded as they could be easily replaced at the new location.

The layout of the Hmong house even today has a large central area used for eating, drinking and socialising. Cooking also used to be done in the centre of the house, handy for keeping warm in the winter months. Alas with no chimney or smoke extractor - things get rather smokey. The bedrooms typically are very small, just enough for a bed and some personal items. Smaller bedrooms are also easier to keep warm in the colder winter months. No houses have heating or air conditioning.

Just like the Amish though, when building a traditional house, friends and family all come to help with the construction. No payment is given but it is expected that the host provide a ceremonial pig for all the hardworking people as well as other food and drinks. As the houses are of simple construction, it does not take long. Just a few days to get the main frame up and roof on.

Food

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This meal is from the Red Dao tribe, they like it slightly spicier than traditional Hmong.

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Everything here is Hmong style, expect for the spring rolls which are a Vietnamese addition.

Our heritage is hunting so meat features highly in our diet. Black pig is the most popular of the meat selection, especially if it is smoked and later fried. The oil left over is used to fry wasabi spinach and the combination is delicious. Second up on the meat popularity is boiled chicken with herbs. This is traditionally picked apart rather than chopped up to serve.

On the vegetable front we have bamboo shoots which are boiled first and then fried with garlic. The king of vegetables the wasabi spinach though we also love green beans. Fried eggs are also popular but not how you might imagine. We fry them like a huge thin pancake and then add some spring onion and roll it all up. You can see them in Dong Van town as they are everywhere in local restaurants.

We cant of course forget to mention rice. Sticky rice and multi coloured rice are a staple. The multi coloured rice is often made in to cakes. When eating rice, it is common to also add a lot of water - a local taste for sure. No dish is complete without some spices and we love adding chillies to many of our meals. Obviously all this is home grown.

Cooking traditionally was done at home in an fire pit in the centre of the house, but carbon monoxide is a thing, so its moved to a room on the side or outside in a separate area. Cooking with fire is still popular because bamboo is free and fires are hotter than other types. Gas (from a bottle usually under the sink) is also gaining popularity as it is hotter than electric.

Farming

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Rice bundles ready to be planted. My brothers house in the background there.

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Planting rice is a family affair. No excuses, everyone family member is involved.

This is a relatively new thing for us. As we said above, we are more traditionally hunters. Growing rice is something that really only happened in the last 100-200 years. up until 50 years ago opium was the crop of choice as it was very profitable. As the legal status has changed we mostly grow rice and corn.

We farm pigs, chicken, ducks, goats as well as now salmon (we have all that freshwater from the mountain you see). We have to be careful about wild foxes that are also interested in our chickens and ducks! This is why we keep dogs to protect the animals (they are not for eating). We also have buffalo, but they are really working animals rather than for food as an adult buffalo can cost $2500.

The rice terraces of the region were previously for family requirements rather than cash sale historically. This is because the region was very remote back then and without real roads, shipping things was not the usual way. Grow your own at home was the way.

One thing that is interesting to many westerners is that we grow upwards of a thousand hectares of hemp (looks like cannabis but the other sex of the plant that does not get you feeling jiggly). Hemp clothing is a tradition that goes back many centuries for us as it is a very hard wearing fabric and can grow even in suboptimal soil conditions.

Today as always, farming it is a family affair. Everyone helps out, no matter if it’s their land or not. Blood is blood here.

Ethnic Festival - Ta Van

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Held once a year we have a Dao festival in Ta Van where everyone from all different tribes get dressed up to come.

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Its a great day out for the whole family. There is food and traditional games going on to entertain everyone.

To keep the ethnic culture alive and celebrate our identity we have special events during the year. They are not really for outsiders as the events are in local ethnic language’s and more family affairs. Everyone gets dressed up for the occasion in their home made traditional clothing. A few villages have them in the Muong Hoa Valley now. Usually hosted by the dominant tribe of the village.

Games

• Crossbow - formerly used for hunting, now used in shooting competitions.

• Spin-Top - Played on a large field, players must fling their tops as the opposing teams using a thread and 60cm stick to earn points. There are eight sets to a game.

Clothing

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Me and Sa in out 'sunday best' as it were. People used to dress up like this every day, but now it's more for occasion.

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These ladies are from the White Hmong tribe. Market day is important as you can see by the special headdress. This is not everyday ware.

Black Hmong, like the name suggests wear clothing that is dominated by the colour black. The batik process is quite straightforward. The material of choice is hemp as it grows in austere conditions and is hard wearing.

Patterns are drawn on clothing with wax, the material then dyed in indigo plant based dye. The dying process is repeated to the desired level of darkness. Once satisfied, the items are then put in boiling hot water to melt away the wax.

During times of celebrations, women often wear elaborate headdresses. It also used to be that people would renew their clothes each year, but this is now less as traditional clothing is more reserved for special occasions.

Popularity of the traditional style is fast fading in the last 10 years. If you see photos of everyone dressed up traditional style for a holiday advertisement, its usually from around this period. Its not how things look today. Just like the Ao Dai that was the standard in Vietnam for women in 1990 and now completely gone, the same is happening to the Hmong. It is understandable as the traditional wear takes a lot of time and effort to make.

Changes since the 1990s

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This is Bac Ha market in 1990. Quite a difference to what it is today. Back then the region was closed to outsiders.

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Photo of Sapa in the early 1990s. Everyone is wearing headdress in this one, even the men here.

A lot has changed in the Sapa area. Back then there were no motorbikes, we had two horses for the family to get around on. Going to Lao Cai (the big town at the bottom of the mountain) even though 40km away was a days ride each way. There was no electricity either. Kerosene lamps were the order of the day and the area was closed to anyone not from the region unless they had special paperwork. In fact even till a few years ago foreigners needed government permission and to pay a fee to enter the valley at Ta Van.

As for traditional clothing, up until 2010-2015, most people wore the traditional clothing as they just did not have the money to buy store clothing. Now it is more reserved for special occasion or worn by older people who are just used to their traditional ways. There are still many traditional people up here. Most of the houses are still built in the traditional style - though the hard woods required for the main timbers are harder and far more expensive to get hold of so “hybrid” styles have started to appear. Newer homestays adhere to building regulations so use modern materials but with a traditional skin.

Sapa was also a very small town at the top of the valley. Things have changed there so much, I can hardly recognise the place. It gives some members of my family good jobs there though and the pay is much better than for farming. While it might not be to everyone’s taste, it’s been great to see new money and real opportunities for us. Back in the 1990s many people lived in poverty and thats not something I have an nostalgia for.

Story telling

It’s super popular. Really really popular. Come on tour with me and I will tell you some of my favourite stories.