Hmong people

Learn more about Hmong people

The terms Hmong (IPA:[m̥ɔ̃ŋ]) and Mong ([mɔ̃ŋ]) both refer to an Asian ethnic group whose homeland is in the mountainous regions of southern China. There, they remain one of the largest sub-groups in the Miao minzu (nationality) along with other related ethnic minorities. Beginning in the 18th-century, Hmong/Mong people migrated to Southeast Asia and today live in northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma). Following the Communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large number of Hmong/Mong people sought refuge in several Western countries, including the United States, Australia, France, French Guiana, and Canada.

[edit] Nomenclature

Hmong/Mong people have their own terms for the subcultural divisions among themselves, two of the largest being White Hmong (Hmong Der) and Green or Blue Mong (Mong Leng). In the Romanized Popular Script, developed in the 1950s in Laos, these terms are written Hmoob Dawb (White Hmong) and Moob Leeg (Green Mong.) The doubled vowels indicate nasalization and the final consonants indicate with which of the 8 lexical tones the word is pronounced. White Hmong and Green Mong people speak mutually intelligible dialects of the Hmong language with some differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. One of the most obvious differences is the use of the aspirated /m/ in White Hmong (indicated by the letter 'h') not found in the Green Mong dialect. Other groups of Hmong/Mong people include the Black Hmong (Hmoob Dub), Striped Hmong (Hmoob Txaij/Hmoob Quas Npab), Hmong Shi, Hmong Pe, Hmong Pua, and Hmong Xau.<ref>Tapp, Nicholas "Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China: the "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong." Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 61, 2002: 78.</ref>

Since 1949, Miao has been an official term for one of the 55 official minority groups recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China. They live mainly in southern China, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, Hubei and elsewhere in China. According to the 2000 census, the number of 'Miao' in China was estimated to be about 9.6 million. The Miao nationality includes Hmong/Mong people as well as other culturally and linguistically related ethnic groups who do not call themselves Hmong or Mong. These include the Hmu, Kho (Qho) Xiong, and A Hmao. The White Miao (Bai Miao) and Green Miao (Qing Miao) are both Hmong/Mong groups.

The term 'Miao' has a long historical usage in Chinese documents dating back to the Shi Ji (1st century BCE) and the Zhan Guo Ce (late Western Han Dynasty). During this time, it was generally applied to people of the southern regions thought be descendants of the San Miao kingdom (dated to around the 3rd century BCE.) The term does not appear again until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) by which time had taken on the connotation of "barbarian." Interchangeable with 'man' and 'yi', it was used to refer to the indigenous people of the southwestern frontier who refused to submit to imperial rule. During this time, references to Raw (Sheng) and Cooked (Shu) Miao appear, referring to level of assimilation and political cooperation of the two groups. Not until the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) do more finely grained distinctions appear in writing. Even then, discerning which ethnic groups are included in various classifications can be problematic.<ref name = "Diamond">Diamond, Norma "Defining the Miao: Ming, Qing, and Contemporary Views" in Cultural Encounters on China's Ethnic Frontiers, ed. Stevan Harrell. Univ. of Washington Press, Seattle, 1995 (99–101).</ref> This inconsistent usage of 'Miao' makes it difficult to say for sure if Hmong/Mong people are always included in these historical writings. Linguistic evidence, however, places Hmong/Mong people in the same regions of southern China that they inhabit today for at least the past 2,000 years.<ref>Ratliff, Martha. "Vocabulary of environment and subsistence in the Hmong-Mien Proto-Language." in Hmong/Miao in Asia. p: 160.</ref> By the mid-18th century, classifications become specific enough that it is easier to identify references to Hmong/Mong people.

Hmong/Mong people are referred to by other names in Southeast Asia, including: Vietnamese: Mèo or H'Mông; Thai: แม้ว (Maew) or ม้ง (Mong); Burmese: mun lu-myo. 'Meo,' or variants thereof, is considered highly derrogatory by many Hmong/Mong people and is infrequently used today outside of Southeast Asia.<ref> For example: Dao Yang, Hmong At the Turning Point (Minneapolis: WorldBridge Associates, Ltd., 1993), footnote 1, p. xvi.</ref>

Because the Hmong lived mainly in the highland areas of Southeast Asia and China, the French occupiers of Southeast Asia game them the name Montagnards or "mountain people".

[edit] Controversy over nomenclature

[edit] Hmong and Mong

When Western authors came in contact with Hmong and Mong people, beginning in the eighteenth-century, they referred to them in writing by ethnonyms assigned by the Chinese (i.e. Miao, or variants). This practiced continued into the twentieth-century. Even ethnographers studying the Hmong/Mong people in Southeast Asia often referred to them as Meo, a corruption of Miao applied by Thai and Lao people to the Hmong/Mong. (As noted above, this term is considered to be highly derogatory by many Hmong/Mong people.) In the middle of the twentieth-century, a concerted effort was made to refer to Hmong/Mong by their own ethnonyms in scholarly literature. By the 1970s, it became standard to refer to the entire ethnic group as "Hmong". This was reinforced during the influx of Hmong/Mong immigrants to the United States after 1975. Research proliferated, much of it being directed toward the American Hmong Der community. Several states with Hmong/Mong populations issued official translations only in the Hmong Der dialect. At the same time, more Mong Leng people voiced concerns that the supposed inclusive term "Hmong" only served to exclude them from the national discourse.

The issue came to a head during the passage of California State Assembly Bill (AB) 78, in the 2003–2004 season. Introduced by Assembly Member Sarah Reyes, District 31 (Fresno), the bill encouraged changes in secondary education curriculum to include information about the Secret War and the role of Hmong/Mong people in the war. Furthermore, the bill called for the use of oral histories and first hand accounts from Hmong/Mong people who had participated in the war and who were caught up in the aftermath. Originally, the language of the bill mentioned only "Hmong" people, intending to include the entire community. A number of Mong Leng activists, led by Dr. Paoze Thao (Professor of Linguistics and Education at California State University, Monterey Bay), drew attention the problems associated with omitting "Mong" from the language of the bill. They noted that despite nearly equally numbers of Hmong Der and Mong Leng in the United States, resources are disproportionately directed toward the Hmong Der community. This includes not only scholarly research, but also the translation of materials, potentially including curriculum proposed by the bill.<ref>Romney, Lee. "Bill spurs bitter debate over Hmong identity." L.A. Times, May 24, 2003.</ref> Despite these arguments, "Mong" was not added to the bill. In the version that passed the assembly, "Hmong" was replaced by "Southeast Asians," a more broadly inclusive term.

Dr. Paoze Thao and others feel strongly that "Hmong" can refer only to Hmong Der people and does not include Mong Leng people. He feels that the usage of "Hmong" in reference to both groups perpetuates the marginalization of Mong Leng language and culture. Thus, he advocates the usage of both "Hmong" and "Mong" when referring to the entire ethnic group.<ref>Thao, Paoze and Chimeng Yang. "The Mong and the Hmong." Mong Journal, vol. 1 (June 2004).</ref> Other scholars, including anthropologist Dr. Gary Yia Lee (a Hmong Der person), suggest that "Hmong" has been used for the past 30 years to refer to the entire community and that the inclusion of Mong Leng people is understood.<ref>Lee, Gary and Nicholas Tapp. "Current Hmong Issues: 12-point Statement."</ref> Some argue that such distinctions create unnecessary divisions within the global community and will only confuse non-Hmong/Mong people trying to learn more about Hmong/Mong history and culture.<ref>Duffy, John, Roger Harmon, Donald A. Ranard, Bo Thao, and Kou Yang. "People." In The Hmong: An Introduction to their history and culture. The Center for Applied Linguistics, Culture Profile No. 18 (June 2004): 3.</ref>

[edit] Hmong, Mong, and Miao

Some non-Chinese Hmong advocate that the term Hmong or Mong be used not only for designating their dialect group, but also for the other groups living in China. They generally claim that the word "Miao" is a derogatory term which should not be used at all. Instead the term Hmong or Mong is to be used to designate all groups of the people. However this can also be a result of confusing denotation with connotation. The Chinese expeditioners and invaders gave to the Hmong/Mong the appellation "Miao", which later became "Meo" and "Man". The latter term means the southern "barbarian". The word 'miao' has been taken over by other peoples in Southeast Asia, Vietnamese, Lao, Thai etc. in the form Meo. Though many of the speakers of those languages (and of Chinese) undoubtedly consider the Miao to be barbarians, this by no means proves that the word itself has that denotation. It is, of course, also possible that the speakers of Lao, Thai and Vietnamese, who have taken over the word "miao" from Chinese, have lost the word's original meaning, "seedling," and use it only to designate a people whom they consider to be barbarian. If pronounced with the wrong tone in Thai or a high tone in Cantonese the word means "cat" (which is possibly of onomatopoeic origin). Also, the literal Vietnamese translation for Mèo is "cat". This might explain the strong resentment against the term 'miao' among the Hmong/Mong groups in Southeast Asia.

In China, however, the situation is different for two main reasons. The Miao groups have different self-designations and only a small proportion use the word "Hmong." The rest have no feeling that Hmong is in any way preferable to Miao as a common designator. Since the official classification of the minorities in the 1950s some minority groups have complained about the word used in Chinese to designate them and have asked for the government to change the official usage. The Miao groups of China have, according to a 1992 article in the Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter [TYPN 1992], voiced no such concern. The second reason is purely pragmatic: it is impossible to introduce the word 'hmong' into Chinese as this syllable does not exist in the Chinese language. As a matter of fact, this is also the case for the English language, as few speakers are able to pronounce an unvoiced nasal.

[edit] Demographics

Note: The Miao areas of Sichuan province became part of the newly created Chongqing Municipality in 1997.

Most Hmong currently live in China. Miao population growth in China:

• 1953: 2,510,000
• 1964: 2,780,000
• 1982: 5,030,000
• 1990: 7,390,000

3,600,000 Miao, about half of the entire Chinese Miao population, were in Guizhou in 1990. The Guizhou Miao and those in the following six provinces make up over 98% of all Chinese Miao:

• Hunan: 1,550,000
• Yunnan: 890,000
• Sichuan: 530,000
• Guangxi: 420,000
• Hubei: 200,000
• Hainan: 50,000 (known as Miao but ethnically Yao)

In the above provinces, there are 6 Miao autonomous prefectures (shared officially with one other ethnic minority):

• Qiandongnan Miao and Tong Autonomous Prefecture (黔东南 : Qiándōngnán), Guizhou
• Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (黔南 : Qiánnán), Guizhou
• Qianxinan Buyi abd Miao Autonomous Prefecture (黔西南 : Qiánxīnán), Guizhou
• Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (湘西 : Xiāngxī), Hunan
• Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (文山 : Wénshān), Yunnan
• Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (恩施 : Ēnshī), Hubei

There are in addition 23 Miao autonomous counties:

• Hunan: Mayang (麻阳 : Máyáng), Jingzhou (靖州 : Jīngzhōu), and Chengbu (城步 : Chéngbù)
• Guizhou: Songtao (松桃 : Sōngtáo), Yingjiang (印江 : Yìnjiāng), Wuchuan (务川 : Wùchuān), Daozhen (道真 : Dǎozhēn), Zhenning (镇宁 : Zhènníng), Ziyun (紫云 : Zǐyún), Guanling (关岭 : Guānlíng), and Weining (威宁 : Wēiníng)
• Yunnan: Pingbian (屏边 : Píngbiān), Jinping (金平 : Jīnpíng), and Luquan (禄劝 : Lùquàn)
• ChongQing: Xiushan (秀山 : Xiùshān), Youyang (酉阳 : Yǒuyáng), Qianjiang (黔江 : Qiánjiāng), and Pengshui (彭水 : Péngshuǐ)
• Guangxi: Rongshui (融水 : Róngshuǐ), Longsheng (龙胜 : Lóngshēng), and Longlin (隆林 : Lōnglín)
• Hainan: Qiong (琼中 : Qióngzhōng) and Baoting (保亭 : Bǎotíng)

Most Miao reside in hills or on mountains, such as

• Wuling Mountain by the Qianxiang River (湘黔川边的武陵山 : Xiāngqián Chuān Biān Dí Wǔlíng Shān)
• Miao Mountain (苗岭 : Miáo Líng), Qiandongnan
• Yueliang Mountain (月亮山 : Yuèliàng Shān), Qiandongnan
• Greater and Lesser Ma Mountain (大小麻山 : Dà Xiǎo Má Shān), Qiannan
• Greater Miao Mountain (大苗山 : Dà Miáo Shān), Guangxi
• Wumeng Mountain by the Tianqian River (滇黔川边的乌蒙山 : Tiánqián Chuān Biān Dí Wūmēng Shān)

Several thousands of Miao left their homeland move to larger cities like Guangzhou and Beijing. There are also 2,000,000 Miao, especially in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Taiwan, Cambodia and on other continents. 174,000 live in Thailand, where they are one of the six main hill tribes.

[edit] History

The early history of the Hmong is difficult to trace, but theories that place the origin of the Hmong/Mong people in Mesopotamia, Siberia, or Mongolia have been discredited. Linguistic evidence suggests that they have occupied the same areas of southern China for at least the past 2,000 years<ref>Ratliff, Martha. "Vocabulary of Environment and Subsistence in Proto-language," p. 160.</ref>. Evidence from mitochondrial DNA in Hmong-Mien/Miao-Yao language speaking populations supports the southern origins of maternal lineages even further back in time, although Hmong/Miao speaking populations show more contact with northeast Asians (i.e. northern Han) than Mien/Yao populations.<ref>Bo Wen, et al. "Genetic Structure of Hmong-Mien Speaking Populations in East Asia as Revealed by mtDNA Lineages." Molecular Biology and Evolution 2005 22(3):725–734.</ref> This is consistent with historical Chinese documents that describe that area being inhabited by 'Miao' people, a group with whom Hmong people are often identified.

Yet, the history of the 'Miao' cannot be equated with the history of the Hmong. Although the term 'Miao' is used today by the Chinese government to denote a group of linguistically and culturally related people (including the Hmong, Hmu, Kho Xiong, and A Hmao), it has been used inconsistently in the past. Throughout the written history of China, it was applied to a variety of peoples considered to be marginal to Han society, including many who are unrelated to contemporary Hmong/Mong people. Christian Culas and Jean Michaud note: "In all these early accounts, then, until roughly the middle of the nineteenth century, there is perpetual confusion about the exact identity of the population groups designated by the term Miao. We should therefore be cautious with respect to the historical value of any early associations."<ref>Culas, Christian and Jean Michaud. "A Contribution to the Study of Hmong (Miao)." In: Hmong/Miao in Asia. Ed. Nicholas Tapp, et al. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2004: 64.</ref>

Conflict between Miao groups and newly arrived settlers increased during the eighteenth-century under repressive economic and cultural reforms imposed by the Qing Dynasty. This led to armed conflict and large-scale migrations continuing into the late nineteenth-century, the period during which most Hmong people emigrated to Southeast Asia. The process began as early as the late-seventeenth-century, before the time of major social unrest, when small groups went in search of better agricultural opportunities.<ref>Culas & Michaud, 68–74.</ref>

[edit] Hmong/Mong in Laos

In 1960, many Hmong in Laos were recruited by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as part of a plan to defend Laos against the massive and disciplined North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Communist Pathet Lao movement in that country and to otherwise assist the U.S. in its Southeast Asia war efforts. The efforts of the Hmong came to be known as the Secret War.

[edit] Secret War

General Vang Pao was a Hmong soldier handpicked by the CIA to lead what was labeled the northern Military Region II (MR2) defense against NVA incursion. General Vang Pao's headquarters was in Long Cheng, also known as Lima Site 20 Alternate (LS 20A). At the height of its activity, Long Cheng became the second largest city in Laos, estimated at 300,000, with 200,000 ethnic Hmong and 100,000 people of other ethnic background (Secret Army). Long Cheng was a micro-nation operational site with its own bank, airport, school system, military units, officials, and many other facilities and services. Before the end of the Secret War, Long Cheng would fall in and out of General Vang Pao's control.

The Secret War began around the same time that the United States became officially involved in the Vietnam War. Ultimately, the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam and also evacuated General Vang Pao into Thailand. Many Hmong in Laos, who had assisted the U.S. in the Secret War, found themselves targeted for retribution by the Laos' communist government. An estimated 300,000 Hmong fled to neighboring Thailand, eventually forming refugee camps. For some Hmong who stayed behind, fierce fighting continued to rage on under the Chao Fa group. The Chao Fa fighters had ambitious geopolitical goals, including establishing a sovereign nation for the Hmong people. However, the Chao Fa never received U.S. or other support that would have permitted them to succeed militarily and politically.

[edit] Repatriation debate

During the 1990s, the United Nations, with general support from the Clinton Administration, began to forcibly return many Hmong refugees to Laos. The decision to do so became highly controversial, with many Hmong alleging that they were persecuted by the Laotian regime upon their return.

The forced return of the Hmong was staunchly opposed by many American conservatives and human rights activists. In a 1995 National Review article, Michael Johns labeled the decision to return Hmong veterans to Laos a "betrayal".<ref name = "FindArticles">[1]</ref> Pressure built on the Clinton administration to alter its repatriation policy and, in a significant political victory for the Hmong, most refugees were subsequently resettled to other countries, with many moving to the United States. The last major resettlement of about 15,000 Hmong from the Wat Tham Krabok camp began in 2004.

In 2004 and 2005, hundreds of Hmong relocated from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of Phetchabun. These Hmong refugees, many of whom are descendants of the ex-CIA Secret Army and their relatives, claim that they have been attacked by both the Lao and Vietnamese military forces operating inside Laos as recently as June 2006. The refugees claim that attacks against them have continued almost unabated since the war officially ended in 1975, and have become more intense in recent years. Dozens of first-hand accounts are documented in a report submitted to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in May 2006.<ref name = "EarthPeoples">Earth Peoples.</ref> The Hmong in Phetchabun are seeking official refugee status.

[edit] Hmong/Mong in the United States

Main article: Hmong/Mong American

Many Hmong/Mong war refugees fled to America after the Vietnam War. Beginning in December 1975, the first Hmong/Mong refugees arrived in the U.S., mainly from refugee camps in Thailand; however, only 3,466 were granted asylum at this time under the Refugee Assistance Act of 1975. In May 1976 another 11,000 were allowed to enter the United States, and by 1978 some 30,000 Hmong/Mong people had immigrated. This first wave was made up predominantly of men directly associated with General Vang Pao's secret army. It was not until the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980 that families were able to come to America, becoming the second-wave Hmong/Mong immigrants. Today, approximately 270,000 Hmong/Mong people reside in the United States, the majority of whom live in California (65,095 according to the 2000 U.S. census), Minnesota (41,800), Wisconsin (33,791), and North Carolina (7,093). Fresno, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee, and LaCrosse, WI have especially high concentrations of Hmong/Mong people. There are also smaller Hmong/Mong populations scattered across the country, including Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, centered around the towns of Ephrata, Pennsylvania and Denver, Pennsylvania.

Even though most Hmong/Mong families speak a language other than English at home, many Hmong/Mong Americans are rapidly blending into mainstream American society, and many young people are losing aspects of their cultural identity at a fast pace. Because of this, the Hmong/Mong community has set up associations and media that encourage people to maintain language and culture. These associations and media include the Hmong National Development and the Hmong Times newspaper. The Hmong National Development (HND) is a national, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization. The goal of HND is to build capacity, develop leadership, and to empower the Hmong American community. HND works along side with local and national organizations, public and private entities, and individuals to encourage educational opportunities, to increase community capacity, and to develop resources for the well-being, growth, and full participation of Hmong in society. There is an annual HND conference which usually takes part during the month of April and is held in a different state each year. The Hmong Times publishes communications products for the Hmong community. These products are designed to provide important information to the Hmong community, as well as tools to promote unity in the Hmong community. The Hmong Times also informs the general community about the Hmong community. Having a newspaper like the Hmong Times creates a source for businesses, organizations, and schools to connect with the Hmong community.

[edit] See also

• Degar
• Ethnic groups in Chinese history
• History of China
• Hmong/Mong American
• Hmong/Mong customs and culture
• Hmong/Mong language
• Languages of China
• Laos Memorial
• List of ethnic groups in Vietnam
• List of Hmong/Mong surnames
• Sheboygan Hmong Memorial
• List of Hmong Population in year 2005

[edit] Notes

[edit] Famous leaders

• Pa Chay Vue
• Pa Kao Her
• Vang Pao
• Zong Zoua Her
• Lo Bliayao
• Touby Leefoung
• Lee Tuoger
• Lee Tuolia

[edit] External links

• The Genocide Continues
• Hmong Cultural Center
• Hmong Studies Internet Resource Center
• Hmong Studies Journal
• Hmong Contemporary Issues
• Hmong-American Partnership.
• Hmong-English dictionary.
• HmongNet.org.
• Hmong Portal.
• HV Hmong World Journal.
• Lao Family Community.
• LearnAboutHmong.org.
• The Hmong in America, by Jeff Lindsay.
• The Hmong Times.
• The Virtual Hilltribe Museum.
• "Acts of Betrayal", by Michael Johns, National Review, October 23, 1995.
• "She's a Hmong Physician", by Dr. May Yeu Heu, Science Museum of Minnesota.
• "The Hmong Tribe and Opium", by Rob Wood, Rehabology.com.
• "Traditional Hmong Religion", by Paoze Thao, Hmong Center.
• "Mong Literacy (Ntawv Moob)", by Tom Hang, a Mong American teacher.
• "Info on Mong Leng", by Mong Federation, Mong.ws.

[edit] References

• Fadiman, Anne (1997). The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures.. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-26781-2.
• [TYPN 1992] The section on nomenclature draws heavily on Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter, Number 17, June 1992, Department of Anthropology, Australian National University. Material from that newsletter may be freely reproduced with due acknowledgement.
• W.R. Geddes. Migrants of the Mountains: The Cultural Ecology of the Blue Miao (Mong Njua) of Thailand. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1976.

[edit] Earlier books

• Edkins, The Miau-tsi Tribes. Foochow: 1870.
• Henry, Lingnam. London: 1886.
• Bourne, Journey in Southwest China. London: 1888.
• A. H. Keaw, Man: Past and Present. Cambridge: 1900.
• Merritt, Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942–1992. Indiana: 1999.

de:Miao es:Miao fr:Hmong (ethnie) ko:먀오족 id:Suku Miao it:Hmong nl:Hmong ja:ミャオ族 ru:Мяо sh:Hmong fi:Hmongit sv:Miao vi:H'Mông zh:苗族