No ordinary skirt, the Hmong hidden story.

Every year during the Hmong’s most feastive celebration is the Hmong Noj Tsiab Peb Caug, a time of new year and end of harvest time celebration for the Hmong people around the world. This event usually took place between late November to December every year. When you attend this event, historically you can expect Hmong people to enjoy a feast ful of delicious food items and dishes directly prepared and gathered from their year long harvest gains. The Hmong people also took advantage of this time to be all decked out on their fine “zam” or newly made clothes as they parades for the courting opportunity of meeting new suitors that could end in a permanent relationship and marriage for the young people. However startling these prospects were to all attendees , one thing that will go unnoticeable were the vibrant color and rich details of the Hmong clothes, particularly the Hmong woman’s skirt.

At a first glance, it was a beautifully hand sewn skirt of multi color and intricately woven geometrical patterns and shapes. However, hidden in these patterns and designs, speaks of a long lost written system and history of the Hmong people that dated as far back as five thousand years. It is this hidden legacy that are the most inspiring part of the Hmong past and present celebration of this event. During the Han Dynasties, the Hmong (or Miao as identified in China) kingdom to the south of China was embroiled in many battles to protect their territories from the Han Chinese. As a results, the Hmong we’re slowly being eradicated and inducted into the Chinese rules. It was during these induction periods that the Hmong have lost all rights to their properties, way of life, arts, and languages. The ingenious way for them to retain their arts and history was through preserving their writing system and history in plain sight where the Chinese cannot ruled it out from them, and that was to embroidered it within their clothes. Anyone who refused to assimilate into the Chinese rule and culture was met with futile consequences. Over time, the written system was downgraded into visible symbols and shapes that are the hallmark of today’s visual testimony to the identity of the Hmong people around the world. So, the next time you attend one of this event, you can go with confidence and the knowledge that the Hmong culture are inherently sophisticated and independent in their presence.