The Hmong are an ethnic group whose historical homeland lies in southern China. Today they live in China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, and in diaspora communities in the United States, France, Australia, and elsewhere. Their traditional religion centres on animist belief in spirits, reverence for ancestors, and the work of shamans. It has no central scripture or priesthood. It was carried in oral tradition, ritual song, and everyday practice, and it is now often practised alongside Christianity or Buddhism. This article introduces Hmong deities, myths, rituals, and arts, using the standard Romanized Popular Alphabet (RPA) spellings and noting where other spellings are common.
Hmong and Miao
Hmong religion is closely related to what is often called Miao folk religion, but the two names are not interchangeable. "Miao" is the Chinese state's name for one of the 56 official nationalities of China, recognized since 1949. The category is an umbrella for several distinct peoples with related but mutually unintelligible languages. The main groups are the Hmong, the Hmao (A Hmao), the Hmu, and the Xong (Qo Xiong). "Hmong" is the self-name of one of these groups, and it is also the name used by the diaspora in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, the United States, and France. See Hmong people for the history of the terms.
Attitudes toward the word differ. Historically, "Miao" and the Southeast Asian variant "Meo" carried strong negative connotations, and many Hmong outside China consider them offensive. Within China, "Miao" is the official and neutral name, and many Chinese Hmong accept it. Hmong folk religion, with its spirits, ancestors, and shamans, is a major strand of Miao folk religion, and scholars sometimes treat the two descriptions together. Miao folk religion is the broader label and varies from one region and people to another, so Hmong practices should not be assumed to apply to every Miao community. The Miao article on this site covers the wider Miao tradition. See also Miao folk religion.
Beliefs
At the core of Hmong tradition is animism, the understanding that people live among many kinds of spirits. Non-human spirits are called dab, and they may live in houses, forests, mountains, rivers, and stones. Some dab are protective and some are dangerous, and people are expected to treat them with care. The word neeb refers to the spirit helpers who work with shamans, and by extension to shamanic practice (ua neeb). Many Hmong describe animism and shamanism as a way of life, built on relationships and obligations, rather than as a religion in the sense of a fixed set of doctrines. Learn Uake gives a Hmong-authored introduction.
Ancestors also matter. In the traditional household, the family altar (xwm kab, honouring the spirit of good fortune) is on the wall facing the main door. The head of the household makes offerings of rice, chicken, and joss paper there. Ancestral spirits are expected to protect their descendants. Hmong cosmology also divides the world into the realm of the living and the spirit realm (yaj ceeb and yeeb ceeb), echoing the Chinese pairing of yang and yin. Miao folk religion (Wikipedia).
The Flood and the Origin of the Clans
A widely told Hmong story explains how the world was repopulated after a great flood. In one version, found in a Hmong-authored account of the clan system, only a brother and sister survived, sealed inside a wooden funeral drum by their parents. When the water reached the sky, the Sky God took pity and pierced the earth so that the flood could drain away. The couple were lonely and eventually had a child with no limbs, shaped like an egg. On the god's instruction they cut it into pieces and buried them among the sheep, pigs, and bamboo. The next day the land was full of people. The first couples found in these places are said to have started the Lee, Moua, and Xiong clans. Learn Uake: Hmong 18 Clans.
There are many versions. In some, the survivor hides in a gourd instead of a drum, and the flood is sent by the thunder god Yawm Xob after a contest with a hero named Jang Vang. Miao folk religion (Wikipedia). The differences between tellings are part of how oral tradition works.
Deities and Mythological Figures
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Yawm Saub (often just Saub): The creator of the world in the Hmong tradition, associated with the healing power of shamans and with saving humanity after the flood. Saub appears mainly in legends and is not usually worshipped directly.
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Ntxwj Nyoog (also written Ntxwg Nyug or Ntxij Nyoog): The lord of death and the underworld. In the stories he spreads disease and takes human souls, and he is Saub's rival. He is also said to judge the dead and decide in which form they will be reborn. Hmong Christians often translate his name as "the Devil".
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Nyuj Vaj Tuam Teem: A second lord of the other world, who is said to grant licences for rebirth. He plays a smaller role in the stories than Ntxwj Nyoog.
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Siv Yis (also written Shee Yee): The first shaman. In the best-known story, Saub sends Siv Yis, a human healer and warrior, to help humanity when Ntxwj Nyoog's diseases are killing people faster than they are born. Siv Yis defeats the disease spirits, but Ntxwj Nyoog takes his son to the underworld in revenge. Siv Yis then returns to heaven and leaves his tools and healing arts behind, and those who receive them become shamans. Shamans in trance sometimes call themselves Siv Yis. Learn Uake.
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Yaj Yuam: The "Heavenly Archer", comparable to the Chinese Houyi. When twelve suns and twelve moons scorched the earth, he shot down eleven of each. The remaining sun hid in fear, and the animals took turns trying to call it back. The rooster finally succeeded, which is why roosters crow at dawn.
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Nkauj Hnub and Nraug Hlis: Lady Sun and Lord Moon, a divided pair of lovers. They are said to meet briefly during an eclipse, and shamans call on them during the spirit journey.
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Poj Ntxoog: A feared female spirit associated with tigers. Some women are said to ask for her blessing.
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Zaj Laug: The "Old Dragon" or Dragon King, who appears in legends as an opponent for the hero.
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Niam Nkauj Kab Yeeb: A goddess who watches over unborn children. Researchers describe her as a blend of an older Hmong parental spirit, Dab Pog, and the Chinese goddess Guanyin.
Most of these descriptions are summarized from Miao folk religion and are drawn from specific recorded tellings. Names and details differ between regions and dialects.
Souls and the Cycle of Life
Hmong tradition holds that a person has more than one soul (plig). Accounts differ on how many, and one community guide gives the number as thirty-seven. A soul can be frightened or lost, especially after a shock, fall, or illness. This is called poob plig, "soul loss". The remedy is a soul-calling ceremony, hu plig, which uses chant and offerings to invite the soul back. A form of hu plig is also performed for newborn babies on the third day after birth, and at the New Year. St. Olaf: Between Two Worlds; Symonds, Calling in the Soul.
Soul belief shapes the whole life cycle. At death the soul is expected to travel back along the paths of its life to the place of birth. There it recovers the "placenta jacket", the first garment buried at birth, before continuing to the ancestors and, ideally, to rebirth within the same family. Hmong funeral (Wikipedia); Her, "Hmong Cosmology".
Shamans
A Hmong shaman (txiv neeb for a man, niam neeb for a woman) is chosen by the spirits and not by inheritance or application. The calling often begins with a serious illness that doctors cannot explain, known as mob neeb, "shaman sickness". The person is trained by an experienced shaman and has to be confirmed as having spirit helpers before accepting the role. A shaman may first hold a divination session (saib yaig or ua neeb saib). If a spiritual cause is found, a longer healing ceremony (ua neeb kho) follows. In that ceremony the shaman sits on a bench (rooj neeb) that serves as the "spirit horse", and rides it in trance to bargain with spirits for the patient's soul. Common tools include gongs, divination horns, strings, and a veil. Ceremonies also bring relatives together to share food and help. Learn Uake; Miao folk religion.
Funerals and the Qeej
The funeral is the most elaborate Hmong ritual, and music is at its centre. The qeej, a free-reed mouth organ with bamboo pipes, is played at funerals, accompanying the offering of meals to the dead and the carrying of the body out of the house. The ritual song or chant known as Qhuab Ke, often translated "showing the way", gives the soul spoken directions for the journey to the ancestors. Researchers describe the qeej as unusual among instruments in that its players "speak" in words to the spirit world. The deceased is dressed in embroidered funeral clothing so that the ancestors will recognize them. Falk, "Hmong Instructions to the Dead"; Hmong funeral (Wikipedia).
In China, the related lusheng of the Miao plays a similar role in funerals and also in courtship and festivals. It has its own origin legend about luring a hidden sun back with music. Lusheng.
Clans
Hmong society is organized into patrilineal clans (xeem), with eighteen commonly recognized among the Hmong of Laos and their descendants. Members of a clan regard one another as kwv tij, brothers, and give each other practical help. Traditionally, marriage within one's own clan is forbidden. Clan elders settle disputes, negotiate marriages, and lead rituals. Clan identity also governs some taboos and ritual duties, which vary a great deal between families. Learn Uake: Hmong 18 Clans.
Rituals
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Soul-calling (Hu Plig): Described above. It can be performed for illness, shock, or at important transitions.
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Shamanic healing (Ua Neeb): The practice of consulting and healing with shaman spirit helpers.
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Household offerings (Txi Dab and Laig Dab): Txi dab is the general term for offerings to spirits, and laig dab is the offering to ancestors. On the last day of the old year, rice and a chicken are offered to the ancestors, and a soul-calling ritual is held.
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Hmong New Year (Noj Peb Caug): A festival held after the harvest, with dates that vary by place from autumn to early winter. The name noj peb caug means "eating the thirtieth", from the thirtieth day of the lunar month on which it has traditionally been held. Families honour their ancestors and the harvest, put on new clothes, and take part in music, song, and games. A well-known game is ball tossing (pov pob), in which young people toss a ball back and forth and use it as an opportunity to talk and court. Many of the clothes worn at the New Year are embroidered and adorned with silver. Hmong New Year.
Paj Ntaub and Story Cloths
Paj ntaub, "flower cloth", is the Hmong embroidery tradition, practised by women. It uses cross-stitch, appliqué, and batik among other techniques, and its geometric patterns are worn on skirts, collars, sashes, and baby carriers. Girls begin learning as children, and skill with the needle has long been valued. Paj ntaub also has a spiritual side. Funeral robes, pillows, and shoes are embroidered in advance so that ancestors will recognize the wearer in the spirit world, and some patterns, such as the cross on the back collar, are interpreted as protection against harmful spirits. Scholars agree that there is no single fixed meaning for each motif, as interpretations vary by region and family. Hmong textile art.
The story cloth is a newer form that grew out of paj ntaub. Story cloths began in the 1970s, made by Hmong women in refugee camps in Thailand. They use figures and narrative scenes instead of abstract patterns. Early story cloths show war, flight, and life in Laos, and many others depict folktales, creation stories, and village life. They have become important records of Hmong history and memory. One example held by a North Carolina library depicts the folktale of Ntxawm and the Tiger. Hmong textile art; Folk Tale Story Cloth, Wikimedia Commons.
Oral Tradition
Before the Romanized Popular Alphabet was devised in the 1950s, Hmong tradition was largely oral. Origin stories, ritual chants, and the dab neeg (folktales, many featuring tigers, orphans, and clever heroes) were handed down by telling. Courtship was traditionally conducted through sung poetry (kwv txhiaj), sometimes with a leaf flute. Kwv txhiaj is also performed at New Year gatherings and weddings, and it carries history and stories between generations. Hmong music. A popular legend says that the Hmong once had a written language that was lost or destroyed, and that its signs survive hidden in embroidery. This is a story told within the community, not a documented fact. Hmong writing; Hmong textile art.
Change and Continuity
Since the middle of the twentieth century, missionary work, war, resettlement, and migration have changed how Hmong people practise their beliefs. Many Hmong in Asia have taken up Buddhism, and many Hmong Americans and Hmong Australians have converted to Christianity or Buddhism. Others combine traditions, and Hmong Christians often read Ntxwj Nyoog as the Devil. Some families still keep a household altar and call a shaman for illness, and funeral and sacrifice practices in the diaspora have changed in response to local laws and living conditions. A Hmong American organization, the Temple of Hmongism, was founded in 2012 to give traditional practice a formal institutional shape. Miao folk religion; Hmong people.
Beliefs About Rebirth
Reincarnation is a pillar of Hmong funeral practice. The ideal outcome is for the soul to be reborn into the same family, which is why funeral rites aim at guiding the soul along the correct route and not at mourning alone. If the rites are not performed properly, the soul may be reborn in a lesser form or in another family. Some traditions say that people can be reborn as animals or other beings, and that actions in life shape the next. Among the Hmong, respect for animals, trees, and the land is tied to this wider view that souls are connected to the world around them. Hmong funeral; Learn Uake.