@tshabher — 11/28/2020
NYOB ZOO XYOO TSHAB! — HAPPY HMONG NEW YEAR!
Hmong folks across social media are celebrating the Hmong New Year. I love the collective joy and pride for our culture and heritage as people who have a long history of forced migration and genocide. As I sit here reading posts and liking photos of folks in their traditional Hmong clothes, I don’t feel connected to this event and have been processing why.
My Hmongness has been filtered through Western Christianity.
I started to write my thoughts and feelings about this sentence, tracing back to my grandma who was the first to convert to Christianity in my family. But words kept failing me as I tried spacing out my thoughts and realized that I am constantly bombarded by the weight of cultural erasure and loss of ancestral connections rooted in displacement.
What is Hmong culture? Is it the traditions and rituals that have been passed down from generations? Is it the stories that are shared to remind us of where we’ve been and how we’re doing today? Is it the color of our skin and length of our hair? Is it the music we create with bamboo instruments, leaves, and our voices? Is it the shared trauma of persecution and not having a country to call ours? How do we experience our Hmong body and presence through the diversity of our community?
There is no one way to be Hmong and although I'm re-traumatized everyday by my conservative upbringing, I am reminded that my experiences are one of many unique stories of the Hmong diaspora. The authenticity and purity of culture I am constantly pitting myself against is rooted in white supremacy. I have looked at myself through the lens of othering, questioning my belonging when I just AM. The toxicity of white supremacy has been felt for generations, but will not stop me from evolving and resisting with the guidance of those who came before me and those who are doing the work today.
As we navigate and celebrate our Hmong-American identity, may we create radical change in ourselves so that our children and their children have a fighting chance to thrive fully in their Hmongness.
#hmong #hmongamerican #hmongnewyear
P.S. — Tshab means “new” 🙂