Hmong Culture Research Paper

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The Hmong culture is considered one of the most hierarchical cultures of nearly any modern day culture. Males hold an inherent dominance over females and thus, a father figure is considered the patriarch or leader of each household. Although the idea of gender dominance is not as intense as those in the Middle East, it is however just as apparent. Modern Hmong people can not be characterized by subscribing to a single religious belief, nevertheless, missionaries scattered all throughout Southeastern Asia very much helped convert people convert to Christianity starting in the 19th century, and continuing today. In contrast, many Hmong people endorse a belief of spiritual balance, by that, Hmong people believe it is extremely important to respect…show more content…
In which the Hmong were living in the mountains of China in between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, during the 1700s the Han Chinese government began imposing incredibly heavy taxes on only the Hmong population. Initially the Hmong tried to pay the taxes, however, it quickly left the Hmong in extreme poverty. As a result, the Hmong began to retaliate the heavy tax, soon enough the Han began systematically killing the Hmong and placing them in death camps, the Hmong had no choice but to seek refuge in Southeastern Asia. The diffusion was extremely contagious in a way that the idea of fleeing south to save one’s well being spread like wildfire, a process of a mass migration took place, followed by a steady stream of chain…show more content…
A power struggle took place when France began colonizing all throughout Southeastern Asia during the early 19th century, the communist rebels began fighting back. Instead of helping in guerilla warfare with the rebels, the Hmong helped the French hoping to one day be recognized as an independent nation and placed their independence very high on their list of priorities. When the dust began to settle and the French stopped trying to colonize the Hmong were treated brutally, almost as a form of punishment, this was just the beginning of the conflict between the Laotian/Vietnamese government and the Hmong. When the communist movement joined the Laotian government, the CIA decided to recruit the Hmong as guerrilla fighters to keep the Pathet Lao from helping their communist allies in the neighboring country of Vietnam. When the CIA decided to recruit the Hmong for their secret war, the agency sent a few agents into the Laotian highlands to train and organize the Hmong guerrilla forces. However, it was already too late. The idea of communism had spilled over into Vietnam and the Vietnam War was in full swing, lasting a painfully long twenty years (1955-1975) the Hmong had no place to call home. Following the war, the United States government gave refuge to the Hmong as a thanks for the help in the

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