What clothes do Hmong traditionally wear?
Breathing new life into tradition Traditional Hmong clothing is distinctive for its highly embellished needlework known as paj ntaub or flower cloth. Traditional clothing is detailed and painstakingly made, with complicated pleated skirts for women that require a keen ability for fabric manipulation.
How are Hmong clothes made?
Hmong clothes were originally made from hemp. Hemp is a very important plant, and the fibers of the hemp stalk are stripped, spun into fiber threads and woven into cloth. It is then bleached and dyed into black or indigo blue. The undecorated dyed cloth is sewn into jackets and pants.
What are Hmong dresses called?
Paj Ntaub or Flower Cloth These designs are often used to decorate traditional Hmong clothing including skirts, head dresses, shirt collars, and sashes worn by both men and women and other textiles such as baby carriers, pillows, and funerary textiles.
What is the difference between Hmong white and green?
The Hmong language has two dialects: white and green. They are similar to the British and American forms of English. If you’re White Hmong, you speak the White Hmong dialect and vice versa. The names — white and green — refer to the colors and patterns of each group’s traditional clothing.
What do Hmong men wear?
Hmong clothes are made by the women of the family. Girls learn “paj ntaus”, or needle work. Clothing for men is long black fisherman pants with a colorful band. Men wear wrap-around shirts that are embroidered at the neckline and sleeves.
What decorative techniques are commonly used in traditional Hmong textiles?
Techniques they employ include embroidery, applique, reverse applique and batik. Similar to embroidery, batik dye patterns and execution were passed down through generations of women. All Hmong textile art uses symbols to tell stories, many taking a month or more to complete.
What is Hmong story cloth?
“Story cloth” refers to Hmong needlecraft on a flat textile surface (rather than, for instance, as part of a costume), using traditional designs and depicting a scene, event or narrative from Hmong history or culture.
What do the coins on Hmong clothes mean?
The coins are fake aluminum discs because this hlab nyiaj was made for girls as opposed to young Hmong women of courting age. Such a belt would typically be decorated with real silver coins, and worn around the waists of both young men and women.
How many tones does Hmong have?
Hmong is a tone language and makes use of seven (Hmong Daw and Mong Njua) or eight (Dananshan) distinct tones.