Music Codes of the Hmong

 

Perhaps the people who fascinated me the most in Laos were the Hmong (or ‘Meo’ as we called them then). Like the Yao, they were relative newcomers, having only reached Laos during the 19th century, after being forced south by the Han Chinese. Where they came from originally is unknown but one oral myth describes a land of ice and snow where days and nights lasted six months. The Hmong had a Book that told them how to cross to the Other World after death. There was only one Book and it was very valuable. During the trek south, it rained very hard and the Book was soaked. The Hmong opened it out to dry. That night, the cows began to eat the Book, and in the morning there was very little left. The Hmong hid the remains in the roof of a house, but in the morning they found the rats had eaten all.

They appealed to the Spirit Lord Siv Yig for help. He showed six brothers how to make six pipes from bamboo and tie them together to make music. The music from this instrument, the kheng, could guide the souls of the dead to their ancestral village. It could also be used to tell stories. Words were no longer necessary. Many Hmong were preliterate in terms of interpreting written words, but eminently literate in interpreting musical sounds.

The Hmong were refugee tribespeople. They were still being forced south, and now they had come to the end of the mountains. Uncertain where to pledge their allegiance in the civil war, about half of them joined General Vang Pao under the American wing, and the rest joined the Pathet Lao. Both sides offered them autonomy.