Hmong people

The Hmong (Hmoob), counted in China as Miao kin, people the mountains of Guizhou, Yunnan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, with diaspora from Minnesota to French Guiana. Shifting cultivators of rice and maize, silver-smiths and embroiderers of story cloths, they order life by clan exogamy, shamanism and the qeej mouth organ's breath. Chinese rebellions, French taxes, the Secret War in Laos that armed Hmong soldiers, and refugee camps scattered the mountains; Saint Paul, Fresno and Sydney now hold the largest Hmong cities. Pahawh and Nyiakeng Puachue scripts, invented for a toneless hope, carry the language; New Year ball-toss courts and shaman altars keep Hmongness choosing itself. Southwestern China's mountains hold the greatest Hmong towns. Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar villages share the New Year. American, Australian and French diasporas keep the songs. South American Hmong farm the Guianese forest. Miao cousins share the festivals in China. Hmong is heard in four Southeast Asian nations.