| † The Forgotten History of Hmong People | Oct. 26, 2005 |
What many Hmong Americans do not know?
The mystical history of our people...
The Hmong, also known as Miao, are an Asian ethnic group speaking the Hmong Language, whose homeland is in the mountainous regions of southern China that cross into northern Southeast Asia, primarily northern Vietnam and Laos. Today, they form the fifth largest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.
The two terms, Miao and Hmong, are both currently used to refer to one of the aboriginal peoples of China. They live mainly in southern China, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi and Hubei. According to the 2000 census, the number of Miao in China was estimated to be about 9.6 million. Outside China they live in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar due to migrations starting in the 18th century, and also in the United States, French Guiana, France and Australia as a result of recent migrations in the aftermath of the Indochina and Vietnam wars between 1949 and 1975.
The Miao themselves use various self-designations and the Chinese traditionally classified them according to the most characteristic colour of the women's clothes. Hence, the origin of Red Miao, Black Miao, Green Miao, White Miao, Small Flowery Miao and Big Flowery Miao. Furthermore, only the White and Green Miao uses the term Hmong. Only the Hmong have speakers living outside China. It is the non-Chinese Hmong who advocate that the term Hmong be used not only for designating their dialect group, but also for the other groups living in China. They generally claim that the word Miao is a derogatory term which should not be used at all. Instead the term Hmong is to be used to designate all groups of the people. However this can also be a result of confusing denotation with connotation.
It is because the majority of the Hmong living in America are from Laos and Thailand that the truth of these facts get mixed up amongst their generations. The majority of Hmong people still live in China and their origins possibly date back as far as the Ice Age, then onto the Han Dynasty (hint: Dynasty Warriors, to you videogame fans). This also explains the vast simularity of names, grammer, and even physical appearance with the Chinese.
. . : : KINGDOM OF HMONG PEOPLE : : . .
In China, the first recorded Hmong kingdom was called Jiuli, and its ruler, had the title Chiyou or Txiv Yawg in Hmong. Chiyou's ancestors are thought to be the Liangzhu people. Jiuli was said to have jurisdiction over nine tribes and 81 clans. In some circles of thought, the Koreans also regard Chiyou as an ethnic ancestor. Furthermore, under the present ethnic unification policy of the PRC, Chiyou is now also regarded as one of China's forefathers alongside the ethnic Han ancestors, Huangdi and Yandi.
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong
"Some Creationists believe the Miautso (Hmong) people are decendants of the Bible patriarchs, because the names of the Miautso kings in the lineage sound very similar to the names of the biblical kings, and in the same order. For example : Se-teh = Seth, Lama = Lamech, Nuah = Noah, etc."
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