Transformative History of Hmong Dress, Music, and Dance Nengher N. Vang, Ph.D Elizabeth City State University Introduction This paper explores the complex history of Hmong dance from Southeast Asia to the United States. It examines, in particular, the transformation of Hmong dancing through their migration, encounter, and interaction with outside groups, including the Chinese, the Lao, the Thai, the French, and the Americans. To examine the transformative history of Hmong dancing, however, one also has to examine the changing history of Hmong dress style and music because the change of Hmong dress style and particularly Hmong music significantly affected the transformation of Hmong dance. In what follows, the transformative history of Hmong dance is analyzed following a brief history of the Hmong from China to the United States, a discussion of their clans and sub-groups, and an exploration of their changing dress styles and music. The paper shows that, throughout their long history of immigration, the Hmong have appropriated dress styles, music, dance, and other artistic expressions from outside groups and cultures to create their own dress, music, and dance. Today, especially at New Year celebrations in places such as St. Paul, Minnesota, and Fresno, California, Hmong men and women in a variety of dress style can be seen dancing to music and in dance style appropriated from a variety of cultures. Hmong History The Hmong have had a very long and complex history of resistance, resilience, immigration, and transformation. Much of the early history of the Hmong and their origin are obscure and unknown. Chinese annals placed a people known as the Miao, who may or may not be the Hmong, on the plains of the Yellow River in the third century B.C.E. (Geddes, 1976: 3). Today, virtually all Hmong say that their ancestors came from China, and they point to sources such the Hmong qhuake, or “guiding the way” ceremony, which they perform during the funeral to guide the soul of the deceased back to the presumed ancestral land of China, and their famous proverb, “Tsis pom dej dag siab tsis nqis,” which literally translates to “One is not content unless one sees the Yellow River,” as evidences of their origin in China. Many also claim that the Hmong are the descendants of the Miao king named Chi You and the San Miao kingdom in ancient Chinese history. Others, however, question the veracity of these claims. For them, the Hmong and the Miao of past and present China are not necessarily the same people. “Miao” carried different meanings over time, and it always encompassed multiple groups. At present, “Miao” still refers to four different groups in China, namely the Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Qhao Xiong (Tapp, 2004: 18-20; Lemoine, 2008; Lee, 2007; Schein, 2004; Diamond, 1995). Page | 1