Hmong Youth & Parents United

Hmong Youth and Parents United is a non-profit organization, which started in 2004 by Vince Xiong, to help build a strong foundation between Hmong youth and parents. To promote respect, responsibility, character, trust, and education in personal & professional growth. HYPU has 6 different classes to achieve these goals:

1. Communication Development


2. Character Development


3. Leadership Development


4. Hmong Language Literacy


5. Parenting Education


6. Academic Support & Guidance

Communication development focuses on developing skills to allow youth and parents to interact with each other and understand each other’s hopes and expectations. It’s crucial to have communication skills, as it will provide the ability to communicate clearly and with confidence.

Character development teaches youth and parents traits that show respect for one’s self and for others, and about honesty, integrity, effort, pride, responsibility, generosity, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding. (To have a positive outlook on life).

Leadership development is to provide youth and parents the ability to become self-disciplined and committed to one’s self and the team. It’s designed to provide the necessary skill in making important decisions which requires careful planning and execution to accomplish a goal.

Hmong language literacy ensures that all members become proficient in Hmong, which allows them to have a greater understanding in learning English.

Parenting education helps parents to understand children’s challenges with peer pressure, academic disparities, delinquencies, drop outs, and other related issues. Individual sessions are available to work on personal issues related to social, emotional, mental health and well-being.

Academic support and guidance is provided through volunteers from varies college and universities, for one on one tutoring with K-12 students, to provide them the ability to master grade level testing. HYPU goal is to ensure that 100% of their youth members graduate from high school and at least 80% of those graduates continue on to receive their college degrees.

HYPU even has above and beyond activities to bring the members together with learning trips, sports tournaments, camping trips, and community services. Activities to broaden knowledge about the world, and what possibilities await them.

Halloween Nyob Teb Chaws Amesliskas

Back left to right: Mrs. Vang, Koh Vang
Far left to right front row: Mark Lo Vang, Samuel Andrew Vang, Sydney Yee Vang, Nathan Alexander Vang

10/2009

By Darryl Freeman
Translated by Kos Vaj

HMONG VERSION:
Lub holiday ua yog Halloween nyob teb chaws Amesliskas no, sawv dawv tau muab qhuas txog, thiab muaj kev lom zem heev los ntawm ntau haiv phav xam neeg. Ntau ntau zaus, thiab txua lub caij nyoog ua peb pom, thiab hnov. Qhauj nyob rau hau npiv thub nyub, hauv nais xim phee, hauv T.V., thiab tom tej kiab khw ua peb tau mus txog. Txawm li ntawv los Halloween kuj tsis tau yog ib lub holiday ua nom txwv yuav nav thwm thiab muab tso rau hauv txoj kev cai lij choj hauv lub teb chaws no. Vim li no, lub Halloween tseem lom zem thiab muaj nuj nqis npaum li cas rau pej xeem sawv daws los, thiaj tsis muaj nab thib rau cov tub kawm ntawv los yog cov neeg ua hauj lwm tau so hnub ntawv. (Oct. 31)

Keeb kwm chiv los ntawm cov neeg nyob sab qaum teb Europe (Irish). Lawv tseeg hais tias hnub tim 31 lub 10 hli ntawv, yog hnub yaj ceeb thiab yeeb ceeb tau los sib cuag. Lawv thiaj li siv cov mask coj los roos tsej muag, yuav mus ntaus, thiab tiv thaiv tus dab phem dab qus kom yeej. 900 xyoo tom qab yis xus (Jesus Christ) tas sim neej lawm. Cov thawj txiv plig thiaj lis tau muab pauv los rau hnub 11 hlis tim 1 (Nov. 1). Hnub no yog hnub lawv yuav npws thiab pe hawm cov tsuj plig dawb huv thiab ncaj ncees. Tab sis feem coob ziag no kuj muab ob hnub ntawv coj los siv rau lub 10 hli hnub 31 ntawv lawm xwb thiab.

Ntu nruab nrab xyoo 1800 los, cov neeg nyob qaum teb Europe (Irish) tau khiav tuaj rau lub teb chaws Amesliskas. Lawv mam siv lawv tu cwj pwm, thiab tu qauv lawv ib txwm siv thawm lawv nyob qaum teb Europe rau Amesliskas pom. Txij thaum ntawv los Amesliskas thiaj li siv ua ntu zus los txog niaj hnub niam no. Cov neeg ua coj kev cai tsiab, thiab txiv plig. Tseem niaj hnub nav thwm ob hnub no. Xws li hnub hom tseg rau cov tuag (Oct. 31). Thiab hnub fij rau cov tsuj plig dawb huv thiab ncaj ncees (Nov. 1).

Xim dub thiab xim daj liab tseb, nrog rau cov taub dag. Ua rau peb nco txog lub sij hawm me nyuam yaus mus thov khaub noom (trick or treat). Lub sij hawm no, txua tu neeg xav ua tej yam txaus tshai heev. Xws li, nyeem tej phau ntawv txaus tshai. Piav dab neeg txog poj dab. Saib xes nes (movie) phem phem dab dab tuag. Los yog mus ua si tom tej toj ntxas.

Lo lus "trick or treat" txhais tau hais tias, "Muab ab tsi zoo rau peb noj, los yog rau peb yuav, peb thiab tsis ua phem rau koj lub vaj lub tsev." Peb hmoob hais tias, "Ua neeg zoo thiaj tsis raug foom phem" muaj ntau lub zej zog, thiab khub niam txiv coj tej me nyuam mus thov "Trick or Treat" hauv tej kiab khw, thiab kwv tij phooj ywg lawm xwb. Thiaj li tsis raug teeb meem rau teb me tub me nyuam. Tsuas tau txoj kev lom zem xwb.

ENGLISH VERSION:
The holiday of Halloween in the United States is celebrated in many different ways by the many different ethnic groups. Although we see a lot of advertising on television and the department stores about Halloween, it is not an official public holiday. This means that normally students and government workers do not have the day off from work. However, the holiday has been so commercialized as to have the appearance of major holiday.
Originating from the Gaelic culture, many centuries ago, the Celtic people believed that October 31st was a time when spiritual boundary between the living and the dead disappeared. The use of costumes and masks to ward off evil spirits can be traced back to these early Celtic festivals. It eventually became a day of religious festivals in various northern European pagan societies. Around the 9th Century Catholic Popes moved the Christian feast of All Saints Day to November 1st. In modern times both celebrations are often celebrated on the same day, October 31st.
During the mid 1800’s Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America. Since that time Halloween has been commercialized to the point of being considered by most Americans to a sectarian or non-religious holiday. However there are Christian denominations that celebrate spiritual events around this time such as, All Saints Day and The day of the Dead. The day is often associated with the colors orange and black, and is associated with symbols such as the jack-o’-lantern. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting haunted attractions, carving jack-o’-lanterns, reading scary stories, and watching horror movies. Some of these activities such as "Trick or Treating" where children in costume go from house to house, asking for treats such as candy, shouting "Trick or treat?" are largely American traditions. The word "trick" refers to a jokingly threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.
Because in part due to the over commercialization of the holiday and the danger that going door to door in some communities present to children, many communities choose to have Halloween parties at community centers or homes instead of "trick or treating". This is a way for children to have a safe and fun day, under to supervision of their parents.

Tong Pao Lao; Qeej Tradition

Left picture: back row left to right:Sunny Lao, Ge Lao, Kai Thao, B.J. Lao, Hue Lao, Thai Lao, Chong Lao, Frankie Lao, Tong Lao, and Shue Lao
front row left to right: Sia Chao Cha, Tong Pao Lao

10/2009

By: Niam Tswv Kos Vaj

Our outstanding community member of the month is Tong Pao Lao of Sacramento, CA. for his recognized efforts, in teaching our youths to play Hmong’s traditional bamboo instrument, the qeej. Tong Pao was the youngest son in his family, and loved to play the qeej ever since he was 10 years old. His father, Faiv Txiaj Lauj, taught him the basic sounds, rhythms, and songs of the instrument. His enjoyment from playing the qeej, made it easier for him to pick up and learn new songs by ear.

Tong Pao was really popular in his village of Roob Tsawb, when his nephew from a neighboring village in Muas Loob, came on a visit to try and persuade them to move back. His father refused to move back to Muas Loob, and decided to take the family to a refugee camp in Thailand. During the visit, Tong Pao’s nephew began to teach him how to thawg qeej (adding acrobatic moves to his qeej playing), as it was really popular in the village of Muas Loob. With this new added talent to playing the qeej, he became really skilled and talented enough to add many moves of his own.

Around his early 20’s, Tong Pao’s skill became famous all over the refugee camps in Thailand, and even performed in other clan leaders’ villages and neighboring refugee camps. Back in the old days, being a skilled qeejsman would provide him other ways in supporting his family, as well as earn him respect. Many elders would compliment Tong Paos’ dad at having such a talented son, and all the young ladies would come to admire Tong Pao.

Being a skilled qeejsman, they get a share of the sacrificial offering, because his duty is necessary to complete the ceremony. If the family is wealthy, they may even add silver as payment for his time and effort.

Due to the importance of the qeejsman duty during the ceremonies, many elders will pay him much respect. Ceremonies requiring a qeejsman are: funerals, nyuj dab (ancestral offering), and tso plig (reincarnation ceremony).

The qeejsman is needed for the opening ceremony of a traditional three day wake (funeral). The opening ceremony qeej song his dad taught him has 32 parts to it, and lasts ten to twelve hours. Tong Pao has reconstructed the song to having only 25 parts, but still lasts eight to ten hours. The purpose of the qeej song is to lead the spirit to crossover to the other side, away from the living, once the song is finished, then the wake may start.

The ancestral offering requires a qeejsman to guide the wayward spirit to accept the offering. This ceremony is a two day event, but the qeejsman is only needed on the second day.

The reincarnation ceremony is similar to the ancestral offering, except this event is only one day long, and the qeejsman is used to guide the spirit from the resting place to the immediate family’s’ home, and is given a small offering before sending him on his way to reincarnate.

After living in the refugee camps for more than a few years, Tong Pao started to practice less of his qeej skills, as he saw more and more of his peers getting an education instead. So Tong Pao pursued his education, and got married before arriving in the United States.

Hmong communities were scarce as they began to arrive in the U.S., due to being dispersed throughout the country, making it unnecessary to obtain a qeejsman for about 7 to 8 years. During that time, Tong Pao opened up a family owned oriental market in north Sacramento, where he spends a lot of his time tailoring to the community needs. When the Hmong community began to gather in large numbers, in Sacramento, those who knew of Tong Paos’ qeej skills, began to request services from him. Since there was a bigger need for his skills, Tong Pao started to look towards his elders for more qeej songs to add to what he already knew.

Realizing that his fathers’ qeej skills were acclaimed and needed throughout Hmong communities, he felt the need to pass down his knowledge and skills to the younger generation. On top of that, many impressed elders kept asking him to teach their child, so that the traditional will not fade away.

Tong Pao’s first class started in 1998, and consists of 32 students, which he eventually had to split into two groups: 1) Beginners 2) Advanced. The beginners class began on Monday and Wednesday, and the advanced class on Tuesday and Thursday. Tong Pao would then bring them all together again on Friday, to teach the acrobatic part of playing the qeej. Being a successful performer of the acrobatic aspect of this art, he is able to teach the right techniques to this students, enabling them to play and perform much better.

Tong Pao has taken his students to showcase their talent at various important events, and received numerous awards for their performance. Past qeej contests at the Hmong New Years, have resulted with Tong Pao’s students winning many of the awards. His fame became known throughout California, that some parents in other cities even send their child to learn from him on a weekly basis. The students from Stockton and Oroville attend his Friday night classes for the acrobatic aspect.

With his busy schedule of running the market, and playing important roles as a qeejsman for the community, Tong Pao also finds time to teach his students, because of his strong conviction to preserving the Hmong traditions and culture for many years to come.

Hmong Fashion Evolved

Mr. & Mrs Jua & Michael Her dressed in modern Hmong Dawb outfits.

Written by: Niam Twsv Kos Vaj

Historically, the style of clothing that a Hmong woman or man wears, would be how one can tell what ethnic group or province they are from. Around the early 1900’s there was known to have five different ethnic groups of Hmong: Hmong Dawb (White Hmong), Hmong Ntsuab (Green Hmong), Hmong Dub (Black Hmong), Hmong Lia (Red Hmong), and Hmong Paj (Flowery Hmong). The easiest way to tell one from another is in the clothing worn by the men and women. For the women, it is identified by the type of skirt worn, and for the men it is by the pants and shirt.

Hmong Dub is identified by their pleated black skirt, and black straight legged pants and full length black shirt for men. Hmong Ntsuab is identifiable by their colorful green/red striped pleated skirt and wide baggy black pants for men. Hmong Lia, by the red headdress worn by both the men and women, and by the dyed blue skirt with red embroidered fabric. Hmong Paj (flower Hmong) have the most exquisite and colorful skirts and tops. Hmong Dawb are distinguished by their pleated white skirts, and black straight legged pants and mid high black shirts for the men, with a white collar shirt generally worn underneath.

The importance of recognizing from which group a Hmong person is associated with, comes down to communication, due to the differences in dialects.

For example:

The word: Rice

Hmong Dawb
"Txuv"

Hmong Ntsuab

"Ntsiab"

With the Hmong Dawb, there are many different sub-categories. For instance, if the arms of the womens’ shirt is striped and wears an embroidered headwrap, that means they are Hmong Txaij (Stripe Hmong), or if the headdress is a purple turban wrap with a black and white striped ribbon, then they are Hmong Xeev (Hmong Seng). Xeev is the root word defined by the black and white ribbon, on the headwrap. Here is where the province differences comes in: Hmong Txaij are known to live in the northern provinces and the Hmong Xeev are known to live in the southern province.

It was easy to distinguish a Hmong person’s ancestral village or province, because historically, most residents will help one another with making or trading cloths to make their outfits more colorful, with the resources they have. Due to the secret war in Vietnam, villages were split and dispersed to various different countries around the world, providing them the opportunity to have outfits premade and custom designed. Since it became more convenient to buy an outfit than make one, many Hmong want to order the more fashionable and newer designs than old fashioned traditional ones. So Hmong clothing gradually evolved itself to adapt to, the country’s latest fashion trend, into their outfits. The photos below illustrate the evolution to Hmong outfits.

With October being the beginning of Hmong New Years in California until the end of December, many vendors and merchants alike are stocking up on their supply of the latest trendy style. At the Wednesday Galt Market, 2 young ladies looking to buy some custom made Hmong jewelry from one vendor, said that "the most poplar style now would be the halter top one".

Halter tops is fasionable and trendy in the younger American society, and have evolved it’s way into modern day Hmong outfits. Traditionally, showing skin in Hmong culture would be considered taboo, but with todays liberal society in America, young adults feel free to express themselves.

The same goes for other countries like China and Thailand. Hmong outfits have adapted the Chinese fashion into their traditional clothing by adding beads, and the Thailand fashion by adding more triangular designs.

So as you can see in this collage of pictures, Hmong fashion has evolved from many societies and has it’s own unique multicultrual history.

Even though our fashions are different in many ways, and speak many different dialects, in the end, we are still all HMONG. Brave enough to take on a change, and proud enough to hold true to our heritage and traditions.