Valdese, NC Hmong Festival

The Hmong (MOWng) people are an ethnic group generally located in southern China. Large concentrations are also found in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. During the American War against Vietnam, some Hmong were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States to attack North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in Vietnam and Laos. Many Hmong fighters were teen-agers and preteens. When America was forced to abandon the war, large numbers of Hmong fled into Thailand and other countries. Approximately 275,000 were brought to the United States. A small number now live in Valdese, a town of about 4,500 people twenty miles west of Hickory, North Carolina.

The Valdese Hmong have begun a yearly festival. Their First Annual Festival was held this year on Sept 20, at the Old Rock School in Valdese and featured traditional Hmong costumes, singing, dancing, art and sports events. I wanted to attend because I was somewhat familiar with the Hmong from my experiences in the American war against Vietnam in which I directed hundreds of B-52 bombing missions into many areas containing Hmong people. When their leader, Vang Pao was airlifted out to the United States, the Hmong were left to face the victorious communist forces and many were massacred. Many other Hmong died in the “killing fields” of Pol Pot.

I was interested to see what the passage of a mere thirty years might have done for these people who, after all, trace their continued existence as a separate group for almost 3.000 years? Remember that they not only crossed a great ocean and traveled to the other side of the globe but also traveled from a jungle/agrarian lifestyle to a modern technological environment. What would we find? We enjoyed some of the music (some was weird!) and all of the dancing was enjoyable. It was very interesting to notice the extremely intricate hand movements used the by women dancers and to contrast that with their very simple foot movements. The craftwork was nice and original and the food was simple, inexpensive and delicious.

© John Womack, 2008. All rights reserved.