By Saulkdi Yangh
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Land Cultural Practices and Influences
Introduction
This article will explore the importance of agricultural and land relations in Hmong culture and livelihood. The importance of agricultural traditions will be highlighted as well as the social, economic, and personal relationships that Hmong people have to farming and land. It will look at agriculture in different Hmong settlements and how they have both adapted and retained their relationship with the land.
Hmong Farming
Since the earliest documentations of Hmong history, going as far back as ancient China, the Hmong have been associated with farming and agriculture. Traditionally, the Hmong used a mixture of slash and burn, irrigation, and terraced farming techniques. They would farm an area for a few years then relocate to new lands, making them nomadic farmers. Because of these agricultural practices, entire families and communities would commonly move together or split apart to create new villages.
Hmong culture and society was–and in certain places still are–dependent on agriculture and cash crops to make a living. In ancient China, the Miao-Hmong would harvest vegetables like rice, corn, buckwheat, taro, kaoliang, or beans and use them for trade and personal consumption.
Over time, the Hmong also learned how to cultivate poppy (or opium) from the Chinese. Scholars estimate that the Miao/Hmong started to cultivate poppies along a similar timeline as Ancient Chinese farmers (A.D 600 – 900). With the gradual increase in demand for opium–its recorded peak being in the 1800s–poppy became a major cash crop for the Miao/Hmong and was brought with them when they fled Southern China to Southeast Asia (later 1800s). It continued to be a major cash crop that influenced their relations with Laos, Thailand, and France as these countries tried to control opium production and taxation in the 1900s. The heavy taxation and attempt to control Hmong opium production would lead to rebellion against the French from 1918 to 1921 (called Vue Pa Chay’s Revolt or “Madman’s War”/“War of the Insane”).
The US Central Intelligence Agency was also involved in the opium trade with the Hmong during the Secret War. General Vang Pao managed the Hmong-Lao opium trade with the US and collaborated with the CIA to have it fund the Secret War effort. Airplanes would airdrop rice bags to remote villages and then return with kilos of opium that were transported between Hmong villages and the CIA base in Long Tieng, Laos. The opium would then be transported to other areas of Southeast Asia and even America. American, Lao, and Hmong soldiers and officials confirmed the loading of the opium into air carriers. Head of CIA from 1973-1976 William Colby admitted the “Hmong grew opium which was turned into heroin and flown to Vietnam where it was sold to American Troops, and then some of it was sent to the US.”
Along with farming, the Hmong participated in extensive hunting and scavenging activities. As the Hmong were pushed further south by the Chinese, they had to change their agricultural, hunting, and gathering techniques to fit their new environments. This included changing the crops and herbs being grown and expanding into new hunting grounds. Each time they migrated, they would go deeper south following the mountains for refuge and safety, hence being called “Mountain People.” By the time that the Hmong migrated into Southeast Asia (specifically Northern Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand), the main crops grown had become rice, corn, medicinal herbs, and opium.
For many who grew up in Southeast Asia, farming is a way of life. It was a necessity in order to survive and to make a living. Families would wake up before the sun and begin heading to the fields, typically going in groups. When venturing off to the fields, they would carry a woven basket (kawm), various simple farming tools (scythe/liaj, farming hoe/hlaus, ax/taus, knife/riam, chisel/txuag, or digger/tuam txhob), seeds (noob), and a day’s worth of food. It isn’t uncommon to spend the entire day (or days) in the field so there is usually a farm or hunter shed that families use for rest and breaks.
Even with the hardships of working the land, there is also fondness in these experiences. A Hmong elder by the name of Xongseng featured in the documentary Among the Mountain by Neng Now shares, “When the Hmong lived in the mountains, you didn’t have to boil water before drinking it because when we lived in the mountains, we drank water from the heart of the bamboo and trees, from the plants that grew in the mountains. It was like the forest’s natural life medicine. . . We didn’t use any pesticides on our crops, so they were clean and pure. They gave us a lot of energy to run fast, to track and hunt.”
Even in unfamiliar terrain, Hmong people still maintained strong connections and reliance on their agricultural roots. This is especially true for Hmong refugees who were resettled to French Guiana after the Secret War. They were brought there by the French to farm and to increase the population of the colony. A Hmong-French Guianan elder shares, “Since we were stateless people, we had to farm here to survive. [The local population] protested when we first arrived. They wanted to stop us from leaving the plane.”
The Hmong refugees were resettled to dense jungle areas without any clear fields and had to work hard to clear everything away with simple tools before they could grow crops. The village of Cacao would be founded from one of these settlements with the majority of the residents being Hmong farmers.
In French Guiana, the majority of the Hmong make their living from farming and have learned to grow new crops: bananas, cherries, coconut, oranges, and passion fruits. In the early 2000s, a study showed that Hmong people in French Guiana provided 60-90% of all of the country’s fruits and vegetables (this number may have changed as there is no current research about this figure). Despite their small numbers and being initially unwelcomed by some, the Hmong there have ingrained themselves into the economy and maintain cultural and economic autonomy through farming.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMf-FRl3fpI
Similar to their Hmong-French Guiana kin, Hmong-Americans have adapted and incorporated their cultural and historic land practices across the US. More often than not, Hmong-American households would grow vegetable and herb gardens in the backyard. They continue the practice of adapting their agricultural skills and techniques to grow crops suitable to the land they resettled in. Many grow Asian vegetables and herbs (mustard greens, Thai chili peppers, coriander, lemon grass, bitter melon, etc.) but some Hmong farmers have branched out. In Washington, California, and Minnesota, Hmong farmers grow flowers and have vast floral farms that they harvest, arrange, and sell at farmer’s markets like Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market.
Hmong-Americans also started to grow local or popular crops in their regional areas to appeal to their new audience. Hard work, adaptability, ancestral agricultural knowledge, and cash cropping has made Hmong-Americans a staple to multiple farmers markets and food marketers across the country. In the Twin Cities metro area alone, Hmong-Americans make up 50% of farmers market vendors.
Coming to the US as refugees, many weren’t equipped with the necessary skills and background to succeed in the country. The Hmong struggled to adjust to urban life. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the percentage of Hmong-Americans living under the poverty level was higher than the national average of most other minorities and had some of the highest illiteracy rates in the country. At the time, nearly 60% of Hmong-Americans 25 or older had less than a high school education. A big contributing factor to this was the lack of systemic social, cultural, political, and economic infrastructures to support the incoming refugees.
In addition to the lack of infrastructural support, Hmong-Americans also experienced racism and xenophobia. In the first few decades of resettlement here in America, there were countless stories and experiences of discrimination and prejudice shared within the Hmong-American community. Comments telling them to go back to their country or mocking their physical attributes were common occurrences. Physical harassment against Hmong youth and elders by non-Hmong communities also happened frequently, pushing the new refugees to move closer to each other for support and protection. Their inability to understand or speak English made it more difficult to advocate for themselves.
Farming was a way to combat societal oppression and bridge the gap between helplessness and independence. It was something that the Hmong had always excelled in. Leaning back on their agricultural roots was seen as a way to succeed and build security for themselves and their families.
At first, Hmong-American farmers primarily grew vegetables and crops that they were familiar with. These crops would be used for personal consumption or small-scale cash cropping. New horticultural skills and products would slowly be cultivated to meet the demands of their new American customers. Over time, as more Hmong businesses, farmers markets, intermediaries, and economic organizations emerged in the US, farming would become a profitable profession. Hmong farmers would also go on to potentially build new relations with non-Hmong communities in the US by their various interactions with different people at farmers markets or farming fields. Building these relationships and accumulating financial independence gave farmers a sense of pride in their work. A Hmong farmer in North Carolina stated, “When you build that relationship between you and your customer, you bring your produce to them, and they come back to thank you for what you do. You know it’s that feeling that you bring something good to the society. That’s what made me want to grow more.”
In an interview with the HmongStory 40 Project, Mao Thao shares that when the Hmong first came to Northern California “…everyone came to farm. The elders know of farming so being able to farm made them happy.”
Chue and Tou Lee, Hmong-American farm owners located in North Carolina, shared a similar sentiment about farming and the land. “The thing with the Hmong people is, you know, you do have the reminiscence of how life used to be in the old world that you came from. The majority of the older families who came here, they look at the [North Carolina] mountains, and that’s what it was like in the old homeland.”
Scholar and Hmong Studies Director at University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, Dr. Mai See Thao, writes about the connection between Hmong agriculture, memory, and healing. She posits that the circulation of transnational herbs and plants and returning to Laos helps heal the cultural, social, and physical wounds of displacement that came with the Secret War.
Unlike the Hmong in French Guiana, Hmong-Americans primarily rented or leased land to farm. They would also face certain political, economic, social, and legal restrictions which would eventually lead to the emergence of organizations such as National Hmong American Farmers (CA), Hmong American Farmers Association (MN), Farmers Legal Advocacy Group (MN), and Washington Hmong Farmers Cooperative (WA). All these organizations hold different visions and offerings for Hmong-American farmers but they stand united in providing services and advocacy. The Hmong American Farmers Association in particular has made history by being the first Hmong-American fully owned and operated farm in the US.
Hmong farms and gardens aren’t just plots of lands to be worked but active agents in preserving culture, identity, economic opportunity, and pride to a diasporic people.
Bustling Hmong farmers markets such as Hmong Village (MN), Hmong Town (MN), or those in Brooklyn Park, MN would become social hubs where family, friends, and Hmong kin connected. These spaces would quasi act as a mini-Hmong village at the heart of a foreign country.
Hmong farmers offered regional products (flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs), organic produce, fair food economy, and cultural diversity to the agricultural landscape of wherever they’ve resettled. This offered them economic independence and pride in their work. It also gave them autonomy to navigate foreign systems and diets by growing familiar plants that could be used to make Hmong food and medicines. This was especially important for elders who prefer traditional Hmong diets.
Although there has not been any extensive agricultural research on resettled-Hmong people in other countries outside of the US and French Guiana, oral stories and lived experiences shared by Hmong people throughout the diaspora have shown that Hmong people also farm and garden everywhere they land. Explore the different ways the Hmong diaspora have brought their agricultural skills with them to their new resettled countries by watching the videos and vlogs below:
- Hmong Vietnam
- Hmong Laos
- Hmong Thailand
- Hmong Australia
- Hmong United States: Washington
- Hmong United States: Minnesota
- Hmong United States: California
Hmong Herbalism
Medicinal plants and herbs have always been a part of Hmong culture and remain relevant to this day. The closest title for herbalist in the Hmong language is kws tshuaj and the term for herbal medicine is tshuaj ntsuab. A kws tshuaj is someone with extensive education on different medicinal herbal properties and provides health care to those who seek it. They generally have a garden filled with a rich diversity of plant-life that can be used to treat physical or spiritual illnesses. Usually, it is an elder or niam/txis neeb (shaman) who holds this role or title. These individuals have had a lifetime of experience identifying herbs and diagnosing symptoms and been designated as healers for the community. The title isn’t commonly used anymore, yet there are still many people who carry these traditional and cultural knowledge.
Even though they weren’t a kws tshuaj, Hmong women also would carry pouches with herbal medicines to help treat family members. This tradition was still practiced when the Hmong first arrived in the US and is still in certain families but has declined with the rise of western healthcare advocacy.
Becoming a recognized and trusted Hmong herbalist isn’t easy and requires dedication and patience. There are hundreds of plants used by the Hmong for healing and not all of their healing properties are recorded or found in textbooks. Because of this, one must rely on verbage and experience. The two current known ways to become a Hmong herbalist or kws tshuaj are:
- Inherit the skills through oral education, apprenticeship, and/or experience. Hmong tshuaj nstuab knowledge tends to be kept within the family and passed down with each generation. If there are no interests or potential candidates for the role, then the herbal master may not pass their skills to anyone leaving the lineage to end with them.
- An individual has nstuab qhua (medicinal spirit guides) who can help them identify and understand the healing properties of a plant. You don’t necessarily have to be a niam/txis neeb to have nstuab qhua and not all niam/txis neeb have these types of qhua (spirit guides). Those who do work with nstuab qhua would usually set up a thaj nstuab (medicinal shrine) to honor and venerate the spirits for their service and expertise. This way of becoming a herbalist of kws thuaj is closely tied to Hmong animist and shamanic belief where plant-life has sentience and can share their knowledge via spirit.
As mentioned, the medicinal knowledge and usage of plants is still used in the Hmong community and some Hmong-Americans would sometimes prefer using herbal medicine over western medications. It is not unheard of for some Hmong-Americans to go to Thailand or Laos to receive holistic herbal treatment as a form of healthcare. Some individuals trust traditional healing herbs over western supplements and may ask relatives in Thailand or Laos to send plants and herbs to help soothe the body and spirit. Typically herbs are used when a medicinal diet is required or when people experience serious illnesses. A popular herbal dish and diet is boiled chicken with herbs called tshuab rau qaib. There can be a variety of tshuab rau qiab depending on symptoms and purpose with each varying in herbs used.
Reader Interaction:
There are hundreds of medicinal plant and herbal recipes used by Hmong people. If you’re interested in learning more about the type of herbal plants, you can find an official book here. If you’re interested in buying herbal plants and don’t have access to any Hmong farmers market, you can find some here. A popular medical herb dish is tshuab rau qaib (chicken medicinal soup). The herbs used are specifically for those who’ve recently given birth and are in their postpartum period and some Hmong Americans eat it as a comfort dish during times of sickness and health.
Land Cultural Practices and Influences
Land relations are deeply ingrained in Hmong traditions. Here are some ways that they show up:
Environmental Conservation: Traditional Hmong animism and shamanism believed that plants, trees, rocks, and land have souls and that many spirits (dab) reside in nature such as a spiritual landowner (tswv), deceased persons, dragons (zaj), tigers (tsov), and more. Not wanting to disturb these residents, Hmong people treat the land with respect and caution. This could take the form of avoiding swimming in lakes or rivers, minimizing environmental footprints when hunting and farming, land acknowledgement (examples listed in Hmong Animism and Shamanism reading), not polluting nature, and taking care of sacred environmental sites.
Hmong New Year: Hmong New Year is a global holiday season for Hmong people everywhere and is typically celebrated at the end of the harvest. For this reason, Hmong New Year is traditionally called “Noj Peb Caug” (eat for thirty days) and is a celebration of abundance and a marker for the end of the harvest year.
Burials: Mountains (rooj) are considered sacred in Hmong animism and shamanism because they hold wealth in the minerals found in them; represent power and life; generate fresh air and water; and are revered for their spiritual abundance. Because of this, the Hmong in Laos would incorporate a funeral practice called looj mem where they would have an elder and a shaman (niam/txis neeb) pick a site near the mountain to bury the dead. Burying the dead by the mountain is believed to bring respect to the deceased one as people would often show respect and appreciation whenever entering or facing a mountain.
Conclusion
Nature has always played a critical role to the Hmong people. It still resonates today in the modern Hmong person with the popularity of farming, camping, hunting and fishing being integral parts of Hmong society.
Nature is interwoven not only into Hmong lore, but also in Hmong history like the Red and Green rivers of ancient Hmong history or the Mekong River during the Secret War or the Mississippi River in modern Hmong resettlement. When the Hmong were being persecuted by the Chinese, it was the jungles and mountains that provided them coverage and protection. During the Secret War, it was the cover of the Lao jungles at night and the Mekong River water border that helped the Hmong escape death. It is believed that when a Hmong person dies, their spirit must visit all the places and lands that they called home, acknowledging the care of the land and its necessity for life. When a Hmong person is born, they are sometimes named after landscapes and natural phenomena (Suab Nag/“Sound of Rain”, Gao Hnu/“Beautiful Sun”, Ge/”Stone”, Blong/“Leaf”, Hli/”Moon”, etc.) as these things behold life and beauty.
No matter where the Hmong resettled, it has always been their relationship with the land that provided economic opportunity, autonomy, cultural identity preservation, and healing. Even here in the US, far from their ancestral home, this tradition and land relations still stands to be true.
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Contributing Editor: Yia Vue
Illustrator: Alex Yang