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Grave Desecrations

History of the Hmong

The Hmong history at Wat Tham Krabok cannot be discussed without a short introduction to the Hmong history in Southeast Asia. The history of the Hmong dates back 5000 years when the Hmong were in China. From there, the community migrated to countries in Southeast Asia; Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The Hmong community moved into the mountainous regions of those countries where they farmed and raised animals. Traditionally, they have been a self-sufficient, agrarian society, also skilled in handicrafts such as embroidery, silverwork, carpentry, and basket weaving.

The word Hmong means free. The Han Chinese designated them Miao (barbarians) and determined to wipe them from the face of the earth from the beginning of the Han civilization up to the present. For more than 2000 years of recorded history, they have been persecuted and maligned. Their crime has been an unwillingness to be assimilated into other cultures as slaves or second-class citizens. Wanting only a homeland for themselves, they have settled in the most rugged terrain in order to be left alone.

There are about 5 million Hmong living in southern China, about 90,000 in northern Thailand, 200,000 in Vietnam, and a similar number in Laos where they are the most numerous Lao Sung (Highland Lao) group. A Tibeto-Burmese speaking people who mostly migrated into Laos within the last two centuries, they live on the upper slopes or mountaintops of the northern provinces . Coexisting with Mien (Yao), Akha, Lahu and other related highlanders. They grow rice, corn and opium by shifting cultivation (slash and burn) technique.

The Hmong are an ethnic group who highly value freedom and independence and try to live peacefully wherever they are. Some of the major values held by the Hmong include:

  • Respecting our elders and others
  • Fulfilling one's proper role in society
  • Ensuring the family's welfare and reputation
  • Working hard
  • Avoiding conflicts with others
  • Knowing Hmong customs and appropriate behaviors

For a more detailed history of the Hmong, go to:

Hmong History and Culture
The Hmong: Part 1 Legend and Hstory

For a more information on the Hmong history at Wat Tham Krabok, go to:
History of the Hmong Resettlement Task Force