Week 8

Vrinda Gupta
ASA 141
Week 8

Hmong History and Culture Through Textile Art

The discussion on Hmong history and art was really important to discuss the impact art can have on identity formation of ethnic communities. Creating this art is like a ritual for Hmong women and it was nice to see that this practice helps them bond with their community and preserve their heritage for future generations. It is incredible how the stories and lives of Hmong people are woven into these textiles and are tangible forms of cultural preservation that can travel across the diasporas due to the scattering and displacement of Hmong people. Additionally, the fact that every pattern and design on Hmong traditional clothing has a origin story and meaning, is so significant to their history. Their fashion tells the narratives of their people, their ways of life and culture. I relate this back to a lecture I attended for a Native American Studies course I took in the past. Hmong forms of cultural preservation remind me how Indigenous communities use oral stories to pass down history and information that are very specific to their tribe for generations. Like how Hmong textiles allow Hmong people to be connected with their roots, Indigenous oral histories talk about landscapes and bodies of land that serve as maps for displaced tribes to come back to their home and find their roots again.