H L O U ★ Y A N G

MARRIAGE

WEDDINGS

• Traditionally, when a boy wants to marry a girl, he will "zij" (snatch / kidnap) her. It's a symbolic kidnapping
• Those who practice Christianity can still have traditional weddings, they just don't "hu plig" or "lawm qaib"
• After the wedding, the bride is given many gifts and clothes from her parents

RULES THE BRIDE HAS TO FOLLOW

• When leaving the bride's house, she must not look back
• During the ceremony, there should be no pepper dish, it's believed that it will make the marriage bitter
• An elder will come and ask the bride if she has any gifts from previous boyfriends, they have to be given back
• Superstition: if the gifts/items from the boyfriend are not given back, he will die early and haunt her children

HOLIDAYS

HMONG NEW YEAR

• A traditional activity people do at Hmong New Year is "Ball Tossing"
• It is considered "taboo" to ball toss with a person of the same clan
• People dress in traditional clothing and enjoy Hmong traditional foods, music and dance
• Frequently occurs between November to December

JULY 4TH TOURNAMENT

• The July 4th tournament lasts for three days
• There are different kinds of booths aligned around the area
• People sometimes bring umbrellas for shade

LANGUAGE

GREEN AND WHITE HMONG [HMOOB NTSUAJ/HMOOB DAWB]

• Green and White Hmong have different pronunciations
• It's like comparing British English to American English
• Green Hmong is the first type of the Hmong language
• In white Hmong, "D" would most times be "Cl" in Green
• Example : (Water) White Hmong = Day ; Green Hmong = Clay

FUNERALS/DEATH

FUNERALS

• It is believed that folded paper boats are money for the deceased when they leave
• Funerals usually last up to a minimum of 3 days in a row
• At funerals, family members kneel in front of the casket and bow while holding incenses
• For the burial, many kinds of goods are given along with sacrificed oxen
• After death, Hmong people believe that the soul reincarnates into a human, animal, or plants

DATING

CLANS

• Each clan consists of people of the same last name
• People from the same clan / with the same last name cannot date
• Hmong people consider it like dating your own brother or sister

INTER RACIAL DATING

Untitled Slide

• It's usually traditional to date other Hmong people
• Nowadays, there are more inter racial relationships in the Hmong culture
• A lot of the elders prefer to have their children marry the traditional way; with a Hmong guy/girl
• Some believe that marrying people of a different race can give more complications