Tribal Fusion Know What You Wear Part 1: The Miáo/

Columbia Fawaala Ibrahim   When I was a teen and young adult, I was obsessed with Tribal Fusion and ATS® (American Tribal Style®). I shopped at many places, such as Red Camel and others that sold “tribal” wear. As Tribal Style dancers consume East Asian jewelry, many do not understand its history or its region. The Miáo are the original Hmong people of the Chinese mountains. The skits that are worn tell a story, and each skirt has many secret messages that were embroidered into it for survival. The Han Chinese hunted the Hmong and tried to kill them off at one point. It is not only a “cool” thing to wear, but also a woman’s journey that non-Miáo/Hmong people can't fully understand. If we wear it, we must know what it means to the original people’s culture.

   The Miáo people are also called the cloud people. They live high in the mountain tops of China. On some cloudy days, it appears that you can walk on the clouds like you are in the heavens above. That is how high the people who reside there live. Many do not have clean water at times and survive very little, unless they are a tourist attraction. Tourists go to the Guizhou region for shows, embroidery, and jewelry. The amount of silver owned is dependent on the wealth of the family and what is passed down after being cleaned up. Brides are highly decorated with their embroidery pieces and their grandmother's collection of silver ornaments. These will be passed down for generations until melting is needed to make another item. This silver can be mined or made from items that are melted down. Silversmithing is a huge trade in the Miao and Hmong cultures.

  The ethnology of the Miáo can be traced possibly to Mesopotamia and migrated to China (Mong Bros Pictures). According to Mong Bros Pictures, their first leader was named Chief Chi You ( Fuab Tais Txiv Yawg). After 2704 B.C., Chi You was executed by the Han Chinese and laid to rest in three pieces, hoping the Hmong would suffer (Mong Bros Pictures). In 2604 B.C., they created a new kingdom called the Three Hmong (Peb Hmoob) (Mong Bros Pictures). After fighting a war with the Han Chinese again, they started to migrate down the Yellow River (Dej Daj) to create new settlements around Yunnan Province (Mong Bros Pictures). From 704-223 B.C., they had a great kingdom that fell in a 200-year-long war, during which the Han Chinese burned all the books containing any language (Mong Bros Pictures). They wrote their stories in their embroidery called Paj Ntaub or Flower Cloth; some fled to Thailand, Burma, Myanmar, and Vietnam (Mong Beros Pictures).

  The term Miáo is sometimes thought to be a slur to some, and to others it is a badge of honor. In Roots&Gaps he goes through the history of the term. Miáo is a Mandarin word for the Hmong ethnic group (Roots&Gaps). Historically, it was thought to be mimicking the sound of casts due to their melodic songs and language. The Han Chinese have a history of dehumanizing the Miáo in China. In the Roots&Gaps video, he says the term Suav is often used to describe the Miáo, along with the terms Miáozú or Yángmiáo (Roots&Gaps).

   Pachia Vang and her friend Shoun give a lot of history on the Hmong-ish podcast. In this episode, they go over a bit of the history of the Hmong/Miáo people. They do acknowledge they are indigenous to China (Hmong-ish). Pachia and Shoun discuss the Miáo stores in the mountains of China in one of the big villages. They have two floors of Miáo attire (Hmong•ish, Ep.3). I would be in heaven there due to the embroidery that the Miáo women do. Shoun does say one of the vendors said they do make clothing for the other Hmong people in America, Thailand, and Laos (Hoong•ish, Ep.3).

   The embroidery aspects of the Miáo/Hmong people are complex. There is very little translation of the motifs due to ethnic erasure. According to Mai Xiong, in their old country, clothing was hand-made and stitched (alvanthro). Xiong also stated that the Paj Ntaub was a badge of pride for many Hmong people (alvanthro). Story cloths were made to tell the stories of the Hmong people while living in Thailand. These cloths are a pictorial history of what many went through post-Vietnam War. I recommend that no one wear it for anything. These are meant to be displayed, not worn on the body. Only certain textiles can be worn for the living, and some are for the dead. It is disappearing with the modernization of the Hmong Communities, and the younger Hmong are not valuing the stories told (alvanthro). These cloths, according to the video by alvanthro, are coded with identification and pride of one’s family lineage. As outsiders, if we choose to wear it, we must respect its history and the story it tells. There are websites of Hmong symbols, so you can sew your own story. It is permissible to do it if you are doing it the right way and purchasing items from Hmong-owned shops. This way, you give back what you borrow. Miáo and Hmong are nice people and welcome all to their culture to enjoy it.

   Wearing Hmong jewelry started with Masha Archer. While visiting China, Masha often bought Miáo pieces to bring back to adorn herself with. She sold pieces to Bal Anat, as well, and they were loved by Jamila’s dancers. Most of the things would be cuffs, most likely she would sell easier than xauvs. Xauvs are expensive to resell, so it would be rare for her to pick one up fully intact. We see many pieces from the Miáo people in her documentary called “Ritual of the Eye”. She traveled with her husband, Charles Archer, to many places. She started this Belly Dance trend with her troupe, the San Francisco Classic Dance Troupe. In those rare videos, you see many of Masha’s aesthetics displayed. She was earthy and very much like a work of art you would see in a fresco or heritage museum. She was the Queen of Tribal Fusion during her dancing days.

   Are Tribal Fusion dancers appropriating Miáo/Hmong culture? I think it roughly depends on how you wear it. If you do not acknowledge the origins of the culture, then yes, you are doing Cultural Appropriation. This happens when you fail to wear it with respect and proper attention. These silver pieces and the skirts worn have meanings. It does not make you look unique if you are not respecting the hard work that went into the pieces. Hmong people will even agree that the wearing of their culture is not for people who regard it as a piece of ethnic cloth. Each skirt has a tale to tell. It is similar to the backlash Summer Walker got for appropriating Hmong jewelry. Pachia Vang and her co-host Shoun, hosts of the Hmong•ish podcast, discuss it in their video about Summer Walker. They even discuss other Hmong who appropriate Lao and Cambodian dresses at times. The Khmer dancers have also spoken out about the Hmong stealing their dances and culture. Pachia does bring up a good point in the Summer Walker conversation. If the Hmong are appropriating other cultures, what does that say about what is going on in the Hmong communities?

   How can we change that narrative? You will need to read what each piece symbolizes. Studying should be a part of what you do as a dancer. Regardless of what styles of dance you brand yourself as, we must respect every aspect of the cultures we choose to add to our “dance dowry”. I find it okay to add what you enjoy, and you want, but be aware of what the pieces are saying. Each piece should be regarded as an artifact. I am glad we can have these tough conversations in the community. We need to reflect in a positive way to uplift each other. Please keep learning about what you wear. When you see a Hmong person, ask them what things mean if you are lost. Enjoy the Paj Ntaub you rehome. It is a woman’s story that needs to be preserved and told.

References:

- [Mong Bros Pictures]. (2014, October 26). History of the Hmong people | Hmoob | Miao (Short Documentary Film) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dti6qB0r7Ok 

- [Roots&Gaps]. (2025, April 20). What is the relationship between Hmong and Miao? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0xcNeG6PcQ&list=WL&index=2 

- [Hmong-Ish Podcast]. (2022, August 2). Hmong•𝘪𝘴𝘩 S1, Ep3: Our Connection to China Beyond Laos [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyIyqxA-UKE&list=WL&index=4 

- (n.d.). Hmong Motifs & Symbols. Hmong Embroidery. https://www.hmongembroidery.org/symbols.html 

- [alvanthro]. (2021, September 9). Stories In Thread: A Tapestry of Hmong Identity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwxDUZ-QpYw  

- [Mashaarchersf]. (2012, April 15). Ritual of the Eye [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSMLpKm4kKo 

- [Hmong-Ish Podcast]. (2022, August 5). Hmong•𝘪𝘴𝘩 Hot Take: Summer Walker's "Hmong-inspired" Outfit [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilRdI5QOElk