Hmong/Mong

Flower Mong in traditional dress at the market in Bac Ha, Vietnam
Total population
4 to 5 million
Regions with significant populations
China	3 million
Vietnam	790,000
Laos	320,000
United States	275,000
Thailand	150,000
France	15,000
French Guiana	1,500
Languages
Hmong/Mong
Religion
Shamanism, Buddhism, Christianity, others

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 (Chinese:苗族) minzu (nationality) along with other related ethnic minorities. Beginning in the 18th-century, Hmong people migrated to Southeast Asia and today live in northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. 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.

Nomenclature

Hmong people have their own term 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 Alphabet, 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 eight 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.^[1]

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 either 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.

Usage of the term "Miao" in Chinese documents dates 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), as by then it had taken on the connotation of "barbarian.". Interchangeable with "man" and "yi, it was used to refer to the indigenous people of the south-western 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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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. "Mèo", or variants thereof, is considered highly derrogatory by many Hmong/Mong people and is infrequently used today outside of Southeast Asia.^[4]

Because the Hmong lived mainly in the highland areas of Southeast Asia and China, the French occupiers of Southeast Asia gave them the name Montagnards or "mountain people," but this should not be confused with the Degar people of Vietnam, who were also referred to as Montagnards.

Controversy over nomenclature

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 practice continued into the twentieth century. Even ethnographers studying the Hmong/Mong people in Southeast Asia often referred to them as Mèo, 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.^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

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 Miao groups living in China. They generally claim that the word "Miao" is a derogatory term, with connotations of barbarism, that probably should not be used at all. The term was later adapted by Tai-speaking groups in Southeast Asia where it took on especially insulting associations for Hmong people despite its official status.^[10] In modern China, the term "Miao" does not carry these negative associations and people of the various sub-groups that constitute this officially recognized nationality freely identify themselves as Miao or Chinese, typically reserving more specific ethnonyms for intra-ethnic communication. During the struggle for political recognition after 1949, it was actually members of these ethnic minorities who campaigned for identification under the umbrella term "Miao" — taking advantage of its familiarity and associations of historical political oppression.^[11]

Contemporary transnational interactions between Hmong in the West and Miao groups in China, following the 1975 Hmong diaspora, have led to the development of a global Hmong identity that includes lilnguistically and culturally related minorities in China that previously had no ethnic affiliation.^[12] Scholarly and commercial exchanges, increasingly communicated via the Internet, have also resulted in an exchange of terminology, including Hmu and A Hmao people identifying as Hmong and, to a lesser extent, Hmong people accepting the designation "Miao," within the context of China. Such realignments of identity, while largely the concern of economically elite community leaders, reflect a trend towards the interchangeability of the terms "Hmong" and "Miao."^[13]

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^[14]. 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.^[15] 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."^[16]

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.^[17]

From July 1919 to March 1921 the Hmong of French Indochina revolted against the colonial authorities in what the French called the War of the Insane (Guerre de Fou).

Geography

While China has the largest population of Hmong people, an exact figure is hard to determine. According to the 1990 census, of the 7.4 million Miao people, 5.4 million were recorded as speaking a Miao language. Of these, around 2 million spoke a dialect of the Hmong language. Currently, based on projected growth rates, along with the inclusion of previously overlooked dialects, the number of speakers of the Hmong language in China has been estimated to be around 2.8 million.^[18]

Figures for Indochina are more concrete:

• Vietnam (1999): 787,600
• Laos (1995): 320,000
• Thailand: 150,000

There is also small population of Hmong people in Myanmar, but no exact figure is available.

Outside of Asia, the United States is home to the largest Hmong population. The 2000 census counted 186,310 persons of Hmong ancestry. This number has been criticized for seriously undercounting the actual population, which has been estimated to be anywhere between 250,000 and 300,000.^[19] Other countries with significant populations include^[20]:

• France: 15,000
• Australia: 2,000
• French Guiana: 1,500
• Canada and Argentina: 600

Within the United States, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Carolina have the highest concentrations of Hmong people.^[21]

Laos

The Secret War

In the early 1960s, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began to recruit the indigenous “Hmong” people in Laos to join fighting the Vietnam War, named as a Special Guerrilla Unit led by General Vang Pao. Over 80% of the Hmong men in Laos were recruited by the CIA to join fighting for the U.S. Secret War in Laos. The CIA used the Special Guerrilla Unit as the counter attack unit to block the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the main military supply route from the north to the south. Hmong soldiers put their lives at risk in the frontline fighting for the United States to block the supply line and to rescue downed American pilots. As a result, the Hmong suffered a very high casualty rate; more than 40,000 Hmong were killed in the frontline, countless men were missing in action, thousands more were injured and disabled.

General Vang Pao led the Region II (MR2) defense against NVA incursion from his headquarters in Long Cheng, also known as Lima Site 20 Alternate (LS 20A).^[22] 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 backgrounds. Long Cheng was a micro-nation operational site with its own bank, airport, school system, officials, and many other facilities and services in addition to its military units. 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 time that the United States became officially involved in the Vietnam War. When the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam in 1975, the Lao kingdom was overthrown by the communists and the Hmong people became targets of retaliation and persecution. While some Hmong people returned to their villages and attempted to resume life under the new regime, thousands more made the trek to and across the Mekong River into Thailand, often under attack. This marked the beginning of a mass exodus of Hmong people from Laos.

Of those Hmong who did not leave, somewhere between two and three thousand were sent to re-education camps where political prisoners served terms of 3-5 years. Many people died in these camps, enduring hard physical labor and harsh conditions.^[23] Thousands more Hmong people, mainly former soldiers and their families, escaped to remote mountain regions - particlarly Phou Bia, the highest (and thus least accessible) mountain peak in Laos. Initially, some Hmong groups staged attacks against Pathet Lao and Vietnamese troops while others remained in hiding to avoid military retaliation and persecution. Spiritual leader Zong Zoua Her rallied his followers in a guerilla resistance movement called Chao Fa (named for the most senior class--technically, three classes--of the Thai royal family after the royal couple). Initial military successes by these small bands led to military counter-attacks by government forces, including aerial bombing and heavy artillery, as well as the use of defoliants and chemical weapons.^[24]

Small groups of Hmong people, many of them second or third generation descendants of former CIA soldiers, remain internally displaced in remote parts of Laos, in fear of government reprisals. Faced with continuing military operations against them by the government and a scarcity of food, some groups have begun coming out of hiding, while others have sought asylum in Thailand and other countries.^[25]

Controversy over repatriation

During the 1990s, many Hmong refugees living in Thailand were forcibly repatriated to Laos by the Thai government. This action, made with general support from UNHCR and the Clinton Administration, became highly controversial. Many Hmong people alleged 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".^[26] 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, thousands of Hmong fled from the jungles of Laos to a temporary refugee camp in the Thai province of Phetchabun.^[27] These Hmong refugees, many of whom are descendants of the former-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.

Filmmaker Rebecca Sommer documented first-hand accounts in her documentary, "Hunted Like Animals"^[28], and in a comprehensive report which includes summaries of claims made by the refugees and was submitted to the U.N. in May 2006. ^[29]

The European Union ^[30], UNHCHR, UNHCR, and international groups have spoken out about the forced repatriation.^[31], ^[32], ^[33] The Thai foreign ministry has said that it will halt deportation of Hmong refugees held in Detention Centers Nong Khai, while talks are underway to resettle them in the Netherlands, Australia, Canada and the United States. ^[34]For the time being, countries willing to resettle the refugees are hindered to proceed with immigration and settlement procedures, as the Thai administration doesn't grant them access to the refugees. Plans to resettle refugees in the United States have been complicated by provisions of the Patriot Act and Real ID Act under which Hmong veterans of the Secret War, who fought on the side of the United States, are classified as terrorists.^[35]

2007: Vang Pao and others arrested in California

In 2007, following a long and extensive federal investigation dating back to the mid-1990s, which federal agencies labeled "Operation Flawed Eagle," numerous warrants were issued by U.S. federal courts ordering the arrest of Hmong military and political leader Vang Pao and nine others, including one American, for alleged efforts to use high-end explosives, including Stinger missiles, Law Rockets, AK-47 automatic machine guns and various other munitions and weapons, in an effort to overthrow the government of Laos. The federal charges issued against Vang Pao and others were over 100 pages long, documenting various meetings in California and other locations in which plans were formulated to overthrow the Laotian government and to utilize explosives in the city's capital to destroy government and military targets and to spark an internal uprising against the Laotian communist regime.

Following issuance of the warrants, on June 4, 2007, over 200 federal and local law enforcement officials simultaneously raided Hmong locations throughout the state of California-based, including Hmong locations in Chico, Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Stockton and Woodland, arresting Vang Pao and others. The one American arrested was Harrison Jack, a West Point graduate who had served previously in Southeast Asian operations during the Vietnam War and allegedly was supporting Vang Pao's revolutionary efforts. If convicted, Vang Pao, Jack and the other eight defendants face possible life prison terms for violation of the Neutrality Act and various weapons charges. A 10th suspect has subsequently been arrested, and an extensive investigation, including several federal agencies, is ongoing.

U.S. treatment of the Hmong has been a source of significant debate for over a decade, with various conservative and human rights advocates supporting the Hmong's effort to immigrate to the U.S., and the U.N. and the Clinton administration attempting to repatriate them to Laos. The repatriation effort ultimately was haulted in the late 1990s, following high-level political pressure exerted by U.S. conservatives.

Similarly, the June 4, 2007 arrests were criticized by many Hmong and high-profile U.S. conservatives, who say Vang Pao's status as an important U.S. ally during the Vietnam War and his subsequent efforts to overthrow the communist government in Laos make him a hero, not a criminal. The warrants for the arrests reportedly were issued following several efforts by Vang Pao and his supporters to obtain explosive devices to be used inside Laos[3]. Following their arrest, Vang Pao and the other defendants were denied bail by a California federal judge, who ruled that the defendants each presented likely flight risks.

In the massive June 4 raid of the California locations, which was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and California law enforcement officials, vast quantities of documents were seized, including computers, written plans, videos, and e-mail and written communication, all of which, federal authorities allege, indicated a highly developed plan designed to overthrow the government of Laos[4].

The Americas

Many Hmong/Mong war refugees resettled in the United States 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 of 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 in the U.S., becoming the second-wave of 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), and Wisconsin (33,791). Fresno, Merced, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, and Wausau, Wisconsin have especially high concentrations of Hmong/Mong people. There are also smaller Hmong/Mong populations scattered across the country, including Linda Vista, California, Sacramento, California, Stockton, California, Winooski, Vermont, and 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. 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.

There is also a small community of several thousand Hmong who migrated to French Guyana in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ^[36]

In the US, Hmong/Mong refugees have experienced an unusual number of deaths due to Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome or, more simply, medically unexplained death due to night terrors. While SUNDS strikes other ethnic groups, the rate of death among Hmong/Mong men is significantly higher. ^[37]

Hmong/Mong leaders

See also

Notes

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 (Hmong Njua) of Thailand. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1976.

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.

External links

• Hmong Cultural Center - St. Paul, Minnesota
• Hmong Studies Internet Resource Center
• LearnAboutHmong.org - videos of Hmong traditional arts
• Hmong Studies Journal
• Hmong Contemporary Issues articles in on culture, history, and other topics by Dr. Kao-Ly Yang (English, French, and Hmong language)
• HmongNet.org list of Hmong related websites edited by Mark Pfeifer of the Hmong Cultural Center
• White Hmong-English dictionary.
• HV Hmong World Journal.
• FactFinding.org - information about the Hmong veterans of the Secret War remaining in the jungles of Laos (requires Adobe Flash)
• The Virtual Hilltribe Museum, about the Hmong of Thailand.
• The Hmong in America, by Jeff Lindsay.
• "Mong Literacy (Ntawv Moob)", by Tom Hang, a Mong American teacher.
• "Info on Mong Leng", by Mong Federation, Mong.ws.
• News/Press Archive - Updates on the refugees and Hmong hiding in the jungles of Laos.
• Lao Human Rights Council- information provided by Hmong human rights organization.

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