Hmong ethnic Tet customs

The Black Hmong are best known for their handicraft and traditional indigo blue dress. Flower Hmong, on the other hand, wear more colourful clothing so it is not usually too difficult to pick them out of the crowd on market days.

Known in China as Miao, which is a term used to define all the different ethnic minorities, Hmong mainly come from southern China. They fled during the Ming and Qing dynasties, after they rebelled against Chinese imperialism some 300 hundred years ago.

Subsequently they found asylum in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The history of the Hmong history remains difficult to trace largely because their language is principally, if not for all intents and purposes totally a spoken one.

Nowadays the Hmong in Tua Chua stone plateau are jubilantly preparing for the Tet (New Year Festival) by cleaning altars, houses, making Banh day (round sticky rice cake) and drying beautiful costumes for sale in local markets.

Since national unification some forty years ago, Mong have celebrated the New Year according to lunar calendar whereas previously they followed an agricultural calendar and celebrated it approximately one month earlier in December.

During Tet, all households cook in the wee early morning hours of the day and prepare many special traditional dishes such as Banh Day (sticky rice cake), pork, chicken and wine.

Mong believe that after working hard throughout the year a happy Tet signals a good beginning for a prosperous New Year. During the holiday leisure time they take the liberty to visit relatives.

A day before New Year’s Eve, every Mong family prepares a dinner in honour of their ancestors. The following day, they use a sweep-net made of three branches of a tree or bamboo to clean soot from the chimney and put it in a rattan round-shape basket.

The next morning then ceremoniously toss the soot in the direction of the sunrise at daybreak in commemoration of their ancestors.

After that, they catch a rooster and prepare 12 sticks of incense and 12 small pieces of paper. They burn the incense with the rooster firmly entrenched under the altar.

Vi A Hao, an artisan of Mong ethnicity, said his fellowmen have a new year tradition of ancestor worship and praying for good health, good luck, prosperity and more children.

Giang A Su, an elder statesman in the Muong Bang commune, Tua Chua district in turn said Mong people traditionally also offer four cups of wine and four sticky rice cakes to their ancestors.

In addition they stick paper on agricultural tools in their homes and perform other rituals directed at producing bumper crops in the year to come, Su added.

Mong people also pay due attention to chicken’s feet, eyes and tongue that they consider the most important parts of chicken.

The father is the patriarch and most important person of the family; therefore, he is the first one to eat before inviting other family members and relatives to enjoy the traditional New Year’s meal.