Up in the hills

The H’mong ethnic minority – also known as Mong or Meo – is closely associated with Vietnam’s mountainous north along the Chinese and Laotian borders.
In total there is a population of some 900,000 H’mong, scattered across the provinces of Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Thanh Hoa and Nghe An.
H’mong are divided into a number of sub-groups – Flower H’mong, White H’mong, Black H’mong, Red H’mong and Blue H’mong.
There are twelve family lineages, the largest of which are Giang, Lu, Ly, Sung, Tan, Thao, Then, Trang and Vang. Ties within family clans are particularly strong – even for families that have traversed the globe and relocated in the US or Australia! If a H’mong person meets someone with the same surname, they will instantly call each other brother or sisters as they share the same blood. They can live and work in the other person’s house or help the clan however they can.
Traditional ways
H’mong communities in Asia are greatly experienced in slash-and-burn cultivation and commonly plant rice, maize and fruit. H’mong families are patrilineal and villages patriarchal. Men are typically considered superior to women and are the rulers and decision makers in any household.
H’mong tribes are well known for their handicrafts, in particular their stunning embroidery. Even if they buy the fibres at a local market, they still typically weave and embroider the fabric themselves. Many people still cultivate and dye their clothes, using local indigo plants. From newborn kids to the recently deceased, the H’mong are always dressed in their finest garments.
As they live in remote mountainous locations, H’mong people are obviously close to nature. This can readily be seen in the symbols they use. Snails are an important symbol for H’mong people who admire the creature’s good-natured and relaxed pace. So snails are used as decorations on collars or on their clothing.
Other noteworthy crafts include silversmithing and bronze jewelry. Silver is a bona fide currency for H’mong. Instrument making is also a highly developed craft in H’mong society. You can find pan-pipes and lip organs (Jew’s Harp), which are frequently played at festivals.
H’mong people’s spiritual life and customes are also influenced by Chinese religions such as Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Likewise, the H’mong, who are noted for their extensive knowledge of the natural world, have a vast knowledge of herbal medicines and natural remedies.
Love and marriage
Although the H’mong do not allow marriage within the same clans, in former times cousins were often married off. But marriage is a custom undergoing change. Where polygamy was once common, monogamy is now the norm. The custom of a widow marrying her dead husband’s younger brother (even if he already has one or more wives) is disappearing.
Also less commonly practiced now is marriage-by-abduction! A custom called “hay pu” in H’mong. Hard as it may be for us to imagine, this involves a man, and his friends, literally kidnapping the woman he wishes to marry, sometimes even if the woman refused to accept the man’s advances. More commonly couples used the practice if the woman’s parents did not approve of the relationship. In more recent times the custom has become a more tongue-in-cheek courtship ritual.
Traditionally a man abducted his lover on a prearranged day. She would pretend to resist and shout for help. Otherwise she would dishonour her family. After spending one night at her lover’s house, the woman would not be allowed to return to her family as according to a H’mong custom, she had already become his wife by staying in his house. After three days, the groom’s family would approach the bride’s family.
If there was any element of doubt on where she had stayed, the groom’s family would show off the couples’ keepsakes to prove she had slept at their house. As long as everyone accepted the situation a simple wedding would be held and the husband’s family would present the bride’s family with a generous dowry.
Mostly nowadays marriage is voluntary and based on love. However, recently in Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district, Nghe An province, a young H’mong woman allegedly committed suicide as she was forced to marry someone she didn’t love.
Modern Ways
In recent times, lifestyles have changed in other ways. H’mong people in Lao Cai’s Sapa town were traditionally farmers but now they make money from selling handicrafts, working as tour guides or from offering homestay accommodation.
Nowhere is this more prevalent than Sapa, originally a Black H’mong settlement but discovered by Europeans when a Jesuit missionary visited the area in 1918. Like Dalat, it served as a retreat for French administrators when the heat of the plains became unbearable. Today it serves as gateway into Vietnam’s mountainous north. Over the past nearly 10 years, the area has seen a rapid rise in tourism.
Interestingly the H’mong have been the first to seize the commercial opportunities presented by tourism. Throughout the town H’mong teenagers are engaging but persistent vendors of hand-loomed indigo cloth and handicrafts.
These girls are striking in their ability to pick up English with no formal education – their English often surpassing their ability in Vietnamese.