Some taboos of the Hmong people

(Baonghean)Taboos are quite common among many communities, including the Kinh people. In ethnic minority communities in the highlands, these taboos sometimes seem difficult to understand, but behind them lie interesting stories related to the process of establishing villages and communities...

The New Year's grave visitation ceremony of the Hmong people of Na Ngoi - Ky Son.

In the highlands, each clan has its own unique taboos. Among the Thai people, the Luong clan avoids eating tiger and cat meat, considering them their ancestors. The Vi clan avoids eating water beetles. The Ngan clan avoids snake meat. Among the Khmu people, the Moong clan avoids eating weasel meat… These stories all relate to the clan's founding ancestors, those who led their descendants from distant lands to establish new villages and settlements. The Ha clan avoids eating bittern meat. Regarding this taboo, there's a story that goes: While searching for new land in the deep forest, the clan's ancestor fell and broke his leg. That night, the forest spirit appeared in a dream, instructing him to break the leg of a bittern and observe its healing method to learn how to recover quickly. The Ha clan's ancestor followed the advice and his bone healed, allowing him to continue his work. These taboos of the Thai and Khmu people have been discussed extensively in newspapers, research papers, and other publications.

For the Hmong community in Ky Son, Tuong Duong, and Que Phong districts, there are also some taboos that are rarely mentioned. Like the Thai and Khmu people, many Hmong clans have rather unusual taboos.

Na Ngoi commune (Kỳ Sơn district) has 19 villages, 17 of which are inhabited by the Hmong people. The commune has six clans: Xồng (the most numerous), Lầu, Mùa, Vừ, Gia, and Hạ. These clans are usually concentrated in one village. Here, there are three clans: Xồng, Mùa, and Hạ. Besides the common Hmong taboos, there are no other particularly unusual customs.

In Na Ngoi, the Lau, Vu, and Gia clans observe a custom of taboo. The Lau clan is concentrated in the villages of Ka Duoi and Ka Tren. This clan is also among the largest in this border commune between Vietnam and Laos. For the Hmong people in general, and the Lau clan in particular, men over 40 years old are well-versed in their ethnic customs. Teacher Lau Ba Co, a resident of Ka Tren village, said that the Lau clan has a custom of forbidding daughters-in-law from entering their parents-in-law's bedroom throughout their lives in their husband's home, no matter what happens. Cleaning is done by the parents-in-law or other family members. Conversely, the parents-in-law are not allowed to enter their daughter-in-law's bedroom for any reason.

Before bringing his daughter-in-law home, the father-in-law might go into the forest to cut wood to build a partition to create a bedroom for his son and daughter-in-law. But once the daughter-in-law is home, the bedroom becomes a "forbidden zone" for the parents-in-law. As for the Vừ clan, married women are not allowed to step onto any stairs, even the stairs leading to the granary. Therefore, Vừ women rarely go up to the granary in the fields. This taboo is perhaps unique to the Hmong people?!

We are unsure of the origins of these taboos. However, the Già clan in Huồi Xai village has a custom of abstaining from eating animal hearts. Whether it's the heart of a chicken, duck, fish, or any large animal they hunt, they discard it or share it with people of other ethnic groups or clans. The Già clan believes that eating animal hearts will cause blindness or deafness. Regarding this taboo, there is a legend: Long ago, when the Hmong people first fled from the North, they were driven out by the indigenous people. After the battle, the Già clan emerged victorious. The clan leader slaughtered a cow to feast the villagers and, first and foremost, to offer to the spirits. The cow was slaughtered and boiled. The master of ceremonies searched and searched but couldn't find the animal's heart. No one knew what it was. At this point, the entire village focused their suspicion on a young man. No matter how much they questioned him, he refused to confess. This young man had been mute since childhood and couldn't defend himself.

At this point, the villagers' rage had reached its peak. There was no greater crime than desecrating an offering to the gods. "Since you've already eaten the cow's heart, take your own!" shouted the chief of the ceremony, who was also the village leader. Then the villagers slaughtered the innocent young man, took his heart, and placed it on the offering tray. After the ceremony was over, they discovered the heart of the cow offered to the gods had fallen into the stream. Perhaps the villagers had been careless during the slaughtering process. Only then did they understand the injustice suffered by the mute young man!

After the ceremony, the village chief, who was also the chief of the Già clan, gathered the villagers together to take an oath. From now on, anyone belonging to the Già clan was forbidden from eating the heart of any animal. Violating this would result in blindness and muteness, like the innocent son who had just died unjustly.

From then on, the Già family never touched the heart of an animal with their chopsticks. When attending feasts with other families, if they accidentally picked up one, they would immediately put it down and pray to the gods for forgiveness for this unintentional mistake...

Huu Vi