ASA 141
Week 8
I personally do not know much about the Hmong and reading this article gave me much insight on their rich and colorful history and culture. When Hmong refugees were living in Thailand, they kept with them their pride and roots by creating paj ntaub dab neej, also known as story cloths. These cloths were sewn and stitched together and portrayed the everyday lifestyle of the Hmong. The cloths became a visual storybook of the Hmong, displaying people in traditional Hmong clothing doing mostly agricultural jobs such as raising animals and harvesting crops. The subgroups of the Hmong were identified with a certain color and "uniform." Each subgroup had unofficial colors assigned to them and this was also showed in the cloths. Creating these cloths was hard work as they required special techniques for garment construction and dyeing. These skills were passed down from older women to young girls, even under the age of 5.
The cloths also depicted special Hmong ceremonies and traditional holidays. One example was the celebration after the harvest where all the Hmong subgroups would get together and hold a festival with music, courting, and food. Smaller versions of the cloths were also made when those of Hmong decent got married. The mother of the bride would make a paj ntaub for the couple and they in turn would make ones for their in-laws.
If story cloths were made today to portray the lifestyle in America today, what do you think they would show?
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| https://collectibles.gg/vintage-hmong-story-cloth-paj-ntaub-textile-art-rare-collectibles/ |
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