Hmong (people)

Hmong
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Flower Hmong women in traditional dress at the market in Bắc Hà, Vietnam
Total population
14 to 15 million
Regions with significant populations
China	~2.7 million
Vietnam	1,068,189 (2009)
Laos	595,028 (2015)
United States	260,073 (2010)
Thailand	250,070 (2015)
Australia	2,190
France (French Guiana)	2,000
Canada	830
Languages
Hmong
Religion
Hmong folk religion, Buddhism, Christianity

The Hmong/Mong (RPA: Hmoob/Moob, Hmong pronunciation: [m̥ɔ̃ŋ]) is an indigenous people in Asia. They are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity (苗族) in China. The Hmong began a gradual southward migration in China in the 18th century due to political unrest and to escape Chinese threats.

Thousands of economic and political refugees have resettled in Western countries in two separate waves. The first wave resettled in the late 1970s, mostly in the United States, after the North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao takeovers of the pro-US governments in South Vietnam and Laos respectively.

Hmong people have their own terms for their subcultural divisions. Hmong Der and Hmong Leng are the terms for two of the largest groups in the United States and Southeast Asia. In the Romanized Popular Alphabet, developed in the 1950s in Laos, these terms are written Hmoob Dawb (White Hmong) and Hoob Leeg (Green Hmong). The final consonants indicate with which of the eight lexical tones the word is pronounced.

White Hmong and Leng Hmong speak mutually intelligible dialects of the Hmong language, with some differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. One of the most characteristic differences is the use of the voiceless /m̥/ in White Hmong, indicated by a preceding "H" in Romanized Popular Alphabet. Voiceless nasals are not found in the Leng Hmong dialect. Hmong groups are often named after the dominant colors or patterns of their traditional clothing, style of head-dress, or the provinces from which they come.

The Hmong groups in Vietnam and Laos, from the 18th century to the present day, are known as Black Hmong (Hmoob Dub), Striped Hmong (Hmoob Txaij), White Hmong (Hmoob Dawb), Leng Hmong (Hmoob Leeg) and Green Hmong (Hmoob Ntsuab). In other places in Asia, groups are also known as Black Hmong (Hmoob Dub or Hmong Dou), Striped Hmong (Hmoob Txaij or Hmoob Quas Npab), Hmong Shi, Hmong Pe, Hmong Pua, and Hmong Xau, Hmong Xanh (Green Hmong), Hmong Do (Red Hmong), Na Mieo and various other subgroups. These include the Flower Hmong or the Variegated Hmong (Hmong Lenh or Hmong Hoa), so named because of the bright colorful embroidery (called pa ndau or paj ntaub, literally "flower cloth").