Hmong History with Story Cloths

Reanna Lao
ASA141

When someone tells me something about their ethnicity, I can't help but to associate them with a place or a country. I recall the last time I met a person of Hmong descent. I remember the introduction which involved a very lengthy explanation of the migrant Hmong population. With no doubt I was left with many questions. How could a comparatively significant population have no country of their own? How is it possible that these people have their own language and writing system? Most importantly, I wanted to know the true origins of these people. 

In the article Speaking through Cloth: Teaching Hmong History and Culture, some of my unanswered questions have been answered. I was surprised to learn that the culture revolved around the making of flower cloths. I have seen traditional Hmong clothing on TV before, but I have never heard anything about how clothes making is deeply rooted in the culture of Hmong people. I was fascinated to learn that Hmong people were involved in every process of the textile making. I am amazed not only by the fact that the Hmong people grown their own hemp, but also by the fact that they also grow plants for dyes. In the making of a new form of Hmong textile, the story cloth, historical background is presented in embroidered pictures. I thought that the story cloths is quite symbolic given that the culture has always been about visuals. I admire that the Hmong people use cloths instead of books to teach children about history. One of the questions that I had after the reading is why there is not a lot of people who know about the Hmong textile culture. I think many people will learn to appreciate clothes more if they knew how much work goes into it.