General

Achang

Bai

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Dai

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Deang

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The Miao

Name: Miao, Hmong, Meo, etc.

Population: 8,000,000

Habitat: South and southwest China, southeast Asia

 

There is nor doubt that the term Miao as is used in China and abroad designates a specific, although large set of ethnic groups, all from the same linguistic family from which the Hmong of the Indochina Peninsula originate and to which they are intimately related" (Jean Michaud.- From Southwest China into Upper Indochina: an overview of Hmong (Miao) migrations)

Introductory Articles in Ethnic China

Miao embroidery: history and mythology in a piece of cloth: A Miao woman tells the story and myths in a piece of fine embroidery.


Scholars Researches available in the Web

Roger Casas.- Vang Pao, the Hmong, and the "Secret War" in Laos

On June 4, eight ethnic Hmong Lao exiles and a retired US army officer were arrested by California federal authorities under charges of conspiracy to topple the government of Laos. The alleged plotters intended to purchase more than $10 million worth of weapons, including hundreds of AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifles, Stinger missiles, mines, rockets and explosive C-4.

Dia Cha.- The Hmong 'Dab Pog Couple' Story and its Significance in Arriving at an Understanding of Hmong Ritual

Many Hmong continue to believe in the efficacy, and commission the practice by shamans of, some of the more important traditional rituals, such as marriage rites (kab tshoob kev kos), "soul calling" (hu plig), healing rites (ua neeb or khaw koob), worshipping the "house spirit" (teev xwm kab), and funeral rites (kev ploj tuag).

Patrick F. Clarkin.- Hmong Resettlement in French Guiana. Hmong Studies Journal, Volume 6.

Within the Hmong refugee diaspora, the Hmong of French Guiana are fairly unique in that many have achieved economic autonomy through market farming while also residing in rural, ethnically homogeneous villages that help to preserve cultural and linguistic traditions

Joseph Davy.- Por Thao's Funeral

What follows is a personal account of my experience of the traditional three-day funeral which ensued.


John Duffy.- Literacy and L'Armee Clandestine: The Writings of the Hmong Military Scribes

Among the many consequences of this transformation of the Hmong fighters from a guerrilla force into a conventional army was the growth of a large and increasingly complex military bureaucracy.

John Duffy, Roger Harmon, Donald A. Ranard, Bo Thao, and Kou Yang.- The Hmong

It is intended primarily for service providers who will be assisting the refugees in their communities in the United States. But others may find it useful, too. Teachers may use it to educate students about a people whose modern history is closely intertwined with America’s.

Robert Entenmann.- The Myth of Sonom, the Hmong King

This paper discusses the inaccurate designation of Sonom, an important figure in 18th century Chinese history as a Hmong king.

Catherine Falk.- Hmong Funeral in Australia in 1992.

Death is the most important ritual time for the Hmong.(1) Traditionally, an elaborate three day ceremony took place, with further ritual conducted 13 days and again one year after death.

Hao Huang and Bussakorn Sumronthong.- Speaking with spirits: the Hmong Ntoo Xeeb New Year ceremony.

Currently, Hmong New Year celebrations in northern Thailand no longer coincide with the lunar calendar, but have been adapted to fit the Western calendar; also celebrations are not limited to three days, but take place during an entire week.

Vincent K. He.- Hmong Cosmology: Proposed Model, Preliminary Insights

I will show that the Hmong cosmos consists of three separate realms and that these are connected together by the cycle of the human soul.

Deborah G. Helsel, Marilyn Mochel, and Robert Bauer.- Shamans in a Hmong American Community

The data suggest the persistence of the need for the spiritual healing provided by the shamans within this immigrant community. Shamans' rituals affirmed and strengthened connections to family, culture, and community.


Gary Yia Lee.- Diaspora and the Predicament of Origins: Interrogating Hmong Postcolonial History and Identity

This paper examines two basic issues that have been of major concern to the Hmong in the diaspora:. What is their historical and geographic origin; and are the Hmong part of the Miao nationality in China, and should they accept being known under this generic name?

Gary Yia Lee.- Cultural Identity In Post-Modern Society: Reflections on What is a
Hmong?

There is no easy answer to the question of what constitutes the cultural identity of a person or human group.

Mai Na M. Lee.- The Thousand-Year Myth: Construction and Characterization of Hmong

Coined only in the last twenty years, the phrase "Hmong means free" has been thoughtlessly promoted by both Hmong and non-Hmong alike.

Jacques Lemoine.- What is the actual number of the (H)mong in the world?

Jean Michaud.- From Southwest China into Upper Indochina: an overview of Hmong (Miao) migrations:

Groups of Hmong swiddeners were seen migrating during the late 19th and early 20th centuries... Who were they? What was their history before these migrations?

Gayle Morrison.- The Hmong Qeej: Speaking to the Spirit World

This investigation focuses on the unique communicative ability of the Hmong qeej, a free-reed multiple pipe musical instrument.

Jean Mottin.- A Hmong Shaman's Seance:

An interesting depiction of the basic facts about Hmong religion and beliefs, and the main components of their shamanic trance.

Vayong Moua.- Hmong Christianity: Conversion, Consequence, and Conflict

Nothing in this world can rip people apart... like religion. Nothing in this world can unite people... like religion. People have poured out their most intense animosities... for their religion. People have found extraordinary strength to forgive and care... in their religion. Religion releases our most extreme and deepest emotions…

Helda Pinzon-Perez, Neng Moua, Miguel A. Perez.- Understanding Satisfaction with Shamanic Practices among the Hmong in Rural California.

The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in the levels of satisfaction among Hmong clients who use shamans and their services in Fresno County with regard to factors associated with animal sacrifice, gender of the shaman and the practices inside or outside of the client’s home.

Louisa Schein.- The Dynamics of Cultural Revival Among the Miao in Guizhou

Revival is constituted by the convergence of two processes: (1) an unselfconscious resurgence of cultural practice among local people and (2) a deliberate promotion of such practices by state organs.

Nicholas Tapp.- Cultural Accommodations in Southwest China. The "Han Miao" and Problems in the Ethnography of the Hmong.

This paper, based on fieldwork in Sichuan, examines some problems of Hmong ethnography, inquiring why color terms were used for some groups of Hmong, as well as subdivisions of them.

Nicholas Tapp.- A trip to Vietnam.

But there are a number of ethnographic puzzles here which I was reminded of on my visit earlier this year.

Nicholas Tapp.- Hmong Religion.

The Hmong are pantheists, believing in a variety of natural and supernatural spiritual forces living in and animating all things. The Hmong is inhabited by a variety of natural, ancestral, and supernatural spirits or gods.

Paoze Thao and Chimeng Yang.- The Mong and the Hmong

The authors will shed light on the Mong and the Hmong, so that the Mong themselves, the general public, and service providers will have a true picture of the Mong people.

Xee Vang.- The Hmong Language.

For many centuries, the Hmong language was firmly an oral type of communication. There was no alphabet system, no written texts, and no cultural activation to need a literacy system.

Kenneth White.- Kr'ua Ke (Showing the way) A Hmong Initiation of the Dead.

Death is often thought of as a journey. For the Hmong it is seen as a journey to the sources of life. In order to prepare the dead to face this great mystery, it is necessary to give them an explanation of the Creation and its antithesis : Death.

Khou Xiong.- Hmong in France: Assimilation and Adaptation

The following paper looks at the assimilation and adaptation of the Hmong in France into French culture and society.

Nao Xiong.- The Hmong Khaene (Rad Qeej Hmoob)

All life is sound. For life is motion, and motion grows out of sound. Nature itself is full of sound, full of music. But the most remarkable things in life are not always easy to define - love, sadness, joy, imagination

Kao-Ly Yang.- The Meeting with Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. A Case Study of Syncretism in the Hmong System of Beliefs. Hmong Studies Journal, Volume 7

The purpose of this case study is to shed light on the identity of the spirit of fertility called Lady Kaying -Niam Nkauj Kab Yeeb-, its religious origin and the general processes of borrowing her from other cultures within the Hmong culture.

Kao-Ly Yang.- Hmong Traditional Systems of Measuring and of Weighing in Laos.

Kou Yang.- Research Notes from the Field: Tracing the Path of The Ancestors. A Visit to the Hmong in China.

This paper consists of personal research notes collected by a Hmong-American scholar during a 2004 visit to Miao communities in China. The author provides his personal observations related to conditions in Miao villages and cultural and social exchanges between Hmong-Americans and Miao.

Zhang Xiao.- Common Basis and Characteristics of the Miao and Hmong Identity

The origin of the Miao people is still an unsolved problem. For the past five thousands years, the sequences are rather clear, partly because the Chinese historical Annals. There are also rich historical legends among Miao people's culture.


In French Language

Philippe Klein.- Le messianisme hmong

L’identité miao/Hmong acéphale a été toujours confrontée à des Etats qui par leurs puissances ont tenté de l’annihiler.

Alykhanhthi Lynhiavu.- "Fictions et vérités" : l'orientalisme à travers les écrits sur les Miao-Hmong.

Loque qui a pour thème " Anthropologie et écritures, aujourd'hui ", je me suis interrogée sur les raisons pour lesquelles une image perdure des anciens Miao, ces montagnards du sud de la Chine dépeints comme de farouches " guerriers ".

Jean Michaud, Christian Culas.- Les Hmong de la péninsule indochinoise: migrations et histoire.

On ne peut parler de l'Indochine et de ses organisations sociales sans aborder la question des sociétés montagnardes.

Barbara Niederer.- La langue Hmong

La langue Hmong est parlé par environ 2,5 millions de personnes.


Free Thesis and dissertations about the Miao/Hmong Nationality.

Nathan Augustus Badenoch.- Social Networks in Natural Resource Governance in a Multi-Ethnic Watershed of Northern Thailand

Scott Andrew Downman.- Intra-Ethnic Conflict and the Hmong in Australia and Thailand

Song Evellyn Lee.- Hmong Women Issues: Identity and Mental Health

One of the main goals was to examine associations among mental health,
perceptions, behaviors, and demographic variables. A second main goal of the study was to examine whether perceptions of the participants were similar to their reported behaviors.

Judith A. Lewis.- Hmong Visual, Oral, and Social Design: Innovation within a Frame of the Familiar

Dengnoi Reineke.- The Lao State and Hmong Relationship

Wong, Chau Ying.- Participation and Empowerment: An Ethnography of Miao women in rural China. Hong Kong, 2003

Books and references

Free books about the Miao

Jean Mottin.- History of the Hmong

David Strecker and Lapao Vang.- White Hmong dialogues.

Miao March festival in 1894 - At a given signal the lads played a few bars, and then waving their flutes in unison, each little group moved sideways on a few steps, the lassies taking the lead until they stopped, when the lads would play another few bars and then the group moved again.

Basic Bibliography of the Miao
Chinese Bibliography of the Miao

Photo Exhibitions

Ethnic China photo exhibitions
More Photo exhibitions

Music

Miao music
A guide to download their music

Films and Video

Documentary Films about the Miao
Available dvds and vcds about the Miao
Image of the the Miao in the cinema

Art and Handicrafts

The Miao in the art: The Miao are a favorite theme of many Chinese artists in search of the exoticism of the life of the Chinese Minorities. There are hundreds of painters that depicted in some moment of his career the life and costumes of the Miao women.

The paintings of Zhao Chun: searching for the goddess in the Miao women - A Chinese artist whose late works depict all the mythic magic of the Miao women

Art Exhibitions

Travel

Travel to Miao lands

Wiki Ethnic China

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