Life at the top is the niche in which the Hmong have specialized. Master popy growers, they exploit higher land and steeper slopes than other mountain peoples and move more frequently-often over considerable distances-in quest of big stands of virgin forest in which to clear large fields. Clever, curious, and hard working, they are ready to take advantage of new opportunities and techniques but resist attempts to infringe upon their interests. Though widely scattered insmall communities over terrain that makes communication extremely difficult, they maintain contact and share a consciousness of their distinctiveness as a people, rarely intermarrying with non-Hmong.

Name And Language

     The Blue Hmong call themselved Hmong Njua, Njua meaning “green,” while the white Hmong call themselves Hmong Doew, or “White Hmong.” These are but two among many sub-groups inhabiting a range extending from Thailand though Laos and Vietnam northward to the Yangtze Rever basin in China .
      The diverse dialects spoken by these sub-groups are classified in the Miao-Yao-Pateng family. Several Hmong scripts have been devised but none is much used in Thailand . In addition to their own dialect, Hmong men are often able to speak Yunnanese, some from of Tai, and languages of non-Hmong hill peoples.
     In Thai, the Hmong are called Mong or Maeo, the latter derived from the Chineses name for the group, Miao, which in English is sometimes written Meo. In Chinese writings, and character Miao has long been used to designate groups of intractables, but the first time it seems to have been applied unambiguously to Hmong is in the 12 th century account of tribes on the Hunan-Guizhou border, which distinguishes hmong from Iu Nien, Tai, and other groups

Migration

     Until the 17 th century, the mountainous south was governed by native rulers, among whom no doubt were hmong “kings,” subject to the emperor of China . However, as the Manchu (Qing) pushed their authority southward, they instituted direct control exercised by ethnic Chinese officials. With increasing frequency through the 18 th and 19 th centuries, dissatisfaction among local peoples led to insurrections, which brought harsh repression, stimulating further uprisings more violently quelled. This, together with the prospect of prosperity opened by opium production, sent Hong pioneers further south

Attire

     Blue Hmong women wear a knee-length, pleated skirt of batik cloth with and embroidered or appliqu?d lower border. The batik is made by applying molten wax to cloth with a metal tool to form the negative of the design and then, after dyeing the unwaed areas to the desired shade, removing the wax from the cloth by boiling.
      Puttees are worn on the calves, and the long narrow apron covering the front of the skiert is secured at the waist with a wide sashof red, pink, or orange cloth. At times, additional sashes are wound about the waist, giving the wearer a hefty appearance.
      The upper garment is a long-sleeved, waist-length jacket in clack with elaborate embroidery along the opening in front and on the rectangular or swallow-tailed callar flap in back.
      The hair is worn in a bun. This may be enlarged by the addition of a hairpiece to cover the crown of the head. On festive occasions, a headdress made of many pieces of black and white plaid cloth folded and drawn to a high peak in front may be worn. Whith Hmong women wear long, loose trousers. The callar flaps
      On their jackets are rectangular, and the hair is drawn into a bun over the forehead. On special occasions, a pleated white skirt replaces the trousers and a high, cylindrical turban covers the head.
      In both sub-groups, men's clothing consists of very ample, low-crotched, ankle-length trousers and a long-sleeved jacket heavily embroidered on the panel which closes across the chest. Some jackets reach to the hips, others only to the abdomen. The waist is girded with a sash whose brightly embroidered ends drape in front. On the head, often partially or completely shaved, may be worn a cap with a red pompom.