Metropolitan State University students celebrate Hmong New Year

-- Patricia Carlberg

The Hmong New Year was celebrated at the Excel Energy Center Nov. 25–27, 2005, where approximately 20,000 Hmong family and friends attended the 30th annual Hmong celebration. Among the attendees were students from Metropolitan State University.

"The purpose of the New Year is to celebrate the year’s end in terms of community and gathering among friends and family," said Sam Vang, advisor for the Asian Student Organization (ASO).

"It’s a way for me to see some of my old friends," said True Lao, a Metropolitan State University student.

"I enjoyed the booths the most," said Mai Kou Yang, also a Metropolitan State University student. "I like looking at all the traditional hats and bracelets."

An open market similar to the state fair encouraged many visitors to stop and shop: The booths contained various Asian CD’s, DVD’s, artwork, jewelry and traditional clothing used by Hmong people.

Hmong living in the United States usually wear traditional clothing for two events; funerals and the Hmong New Year. But in Laos, where the Hmong originate from, traditional clothing is worn everyday.

At the celebration, nearly every region of Laos was represented and each region of people could be spotted according to the traditional clothing they were wearing. Men and young boys at the New Year celebration wore bright vests and black silk pants with bright sashes around the waist. The women and young girls wore handsewn skirts and headdresses.

Throughout the festival, everyone could hear jingling sounds coming from suspended silver coins that were a part of each Hmong garment. The clothing is very heavy due to the coins, but the heaviest part of the outfit has to be the necklace; “Man, I can’t believe my sister gave me the heavy one” said Vila Her, a Metropolitan State University student, whose silver choke collar must have weighed two pounds.

Her enjoyed wearing the traditional clothing but she said that the best part of the celebration was the ball toss (“Poy Pob” in Hmong). Tossing ball in the Hmong culture is much different than in the United States. The Hmong ball toss was originally played in Laos by older boys and girls who planned on getting married one day. Opponents would stand 20-50 feet apart and toss a soft ball back and forth with one hand. And if one opponent dropped the ball, a traditional Hmong song would have to be sung or a piece of silver from their traditional clothing would have to be exchanged. At the current celebration, many onlookers could see young men holding purses or jackets belonging to their female opponents.

After a game of ball toss, many people headed to booths where they could find refreshments and Asian cuisine. Chicken and sticky rice were the more popular choices, while Tapioca and Papaya Salad stood in second place.

While the smell of the traditional food was intoxicating, the odor of herbal medicine seemed to overpower the aroma of the food.

Traditional herbal medicine from Laos is still used by many Hmong people. The medicine comes from herbs and plants found in the mountains of Laos and are usually converted to ointments to cure the sick.

Many traditions of the Hmong culture can be learned by going to Hmong New Year. There are new themes added to the celebration every year, and to get a better understanding of Hmong culture students at Metropolitan State University are encouraged to get involved in the ASO; the organization can answer many more questions and students can expect to participate in Asian festivals, dances and fashion shows throughout the year.

ASO serves as an advocate on behalf of Asian American students; promoting higher education in the Asian community and facilitating the process of understanding among all cultures. To learn more about the organization, you can go to http://aso.metrostate.edu, or contact Sam Vang, at sam.vang@metrostate.edu.