A look at the Hmong New Year tradition of song poetry
Pang Her Vang, the president of the Mong United Eqauality Association, poses for a portrait in the Kling Public Media Center in St. Paul on Wednesday.
Ellie Roth
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Audio transcript
CHRIS FARRELL: This is "Minnesota Now." I'm Chris Farrell in for Nina Moini. This weekend, the Hmong community in Minnesota will be celebrating the Hmong New Year. This year is significant as 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Hmong-Americans in Minnesota. Hmong folk singing is a form of song poetry that is commonly sung around Hmong New Year and other celebrations.
Here to share more with me in the studio about the tradition is Pang Her Vang, the president of the Hmong United Equality Association. She's a culture expert and Hmong elder here in the community. And Happy New Year, Pang.
PANG HER VANG: Thank you. Happy New Year. Thank you for having me here.
CHRIS FARRELL: So tell us a little bit about this folk singing tradition.
PANG HER VANG: The folk singing tradition which has belonged to Hmong great-grandparents for many thousands years ago, many hundred thousands years ago, that they always do for a celebration during the new year or any other event for fun or for girlfriend and boyfriend. Tossing ball during that time.
CHRIS FARRELL: So it's a way of carrying on a conversation, boyfriend, girlfriend?
PANG HER VANG: Yes, because in our culture, we don't say like American culture, "I love you," "you love me." We cannot say that in our culture. So we sing through many good wording in this song. Talk about if I get married to you, how much I'm going to love you. Or things like what is wonderful that I can meet with you, or how, things like that.
CHRIS FARRELL: And is the singing particularly significant around the Hmong New Year?
PANG HER VANG: Correct. It's mostly is the Hmong New Year, but we sing during, we're using for party, like wedding, and other events. But if a different event, then you use exactly the event. Suppose like people marry and they had a party, then the person singing the folk song talk about the wedding.
CHRIS FARRELL: Ah, OK.
PANG HER VANG: Talk about the groom and the bride.
CHRIS FARRELL: Oh, OK.
PANG HER VANG: Yes.
CHRIS FARRELL: And is there a little bit of-- are people slightly, not making it up is the wrong word, but are they kind of responding to what--
PANG HER VANG: Yeah, they're responding. They're responding to each other exactly how they're going to do it.
CHRIS FARRELL: Ah. Now as I understand it, and correct me if I'm wrong, but there are different dialects that are used with Hmong singing.
PANG HER VANG: Yes.
CHRIS FARRELL: What are those?
PANG HER VANG: Yeah, so if you don't mind, I'm going to sing a couple of words, I mean, a couple of minutes about the different songs.
CHRIS FARRELL: Yeah.
PANG HER VANG: Because in the Hmong Leng dialect is different than the Hmong Daw dialect. Yes, I'm going to sing a couple, two minutes, in a different language.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK, please. Yes.
PANG HER VANG: And this is a great language. This is about the song that for a girl, then they get the parents teach them to marry.
[SINGING IN GREEN HMONG]
This is the Green dialect.
CHRIS FARRELL: So that's the Green dialect.
PANG HER VANG: Yeah. And the White dialect I'm going to sing a little different. This is the northern part of the White dialect.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK.
PANG HER VANG: [SINGING IN WHITE HMONG]
Yeah. And this is the--
CHRIS FARRELL: They really do sound different.
PANG HER VANG: Oh, yeah. It's totally different. And I think two totally different tone. That's totally different.
CHRIS FARRELL: Yeah.
PANG HER VANG: Yeah.
CHRIS FARRELL: So who writes these songs?
PANG HER VANG: The song, it's in the past. Our culture in the past generation that they did not write only the person that they had knowledge singing. But right now, we try to preserve so our organization try to write a book about songs. And we also try to write our language, our learning, beginning language in Hmong dialect. So we made sure that we're not losing our culture and our language.
CHRIS FARRELL: Because the folk singing is critical, it's important to the preservation of the culture.
PANG HER VANG: Correct.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK.
PANG HER VANG: And one other thing that I'm telling is for the Hmong folk song, for the past many hundred thousand generation, that they did not have the music with only singing, no music. So the different that the folk song people are the audience or who is listening, they know that it's good or bad because of what the other person's saying. If they had good tone, good voice, then is it beautiful. If the person just know the word, that is not so much beautiful.
[LAUGHTER]
CHRIS FARRELL: Now how about the younger generation? Are they embracing these songs? Or what's the relationship there?
PANG HER VANG: I think the younger generation, kind of like when we started to arrive in the US, we kind of focus about our surviving due to we're just like a newborn to the country. But right now, we are trying to go back to restore our culture, things like that, and we write it down and the new generation can learn and also the non-Hmong can learn that, too.
CHRIS FARRELL: And I did want to ask you. What emotions did you feel when you were singing those songs?
PANG HER VANG: I feel very beautiful and happy.
CHRIS FARRELL: And these are celebration songs, songs of celebration?
PANG HER VANG: Yes, yes.
CHRIS FARRELL: Ah. And how do you plan on, you mentioned that they're writing down in a book. So trying to take these oral traditions and these folk songs and get it into print.
PANG HER VANG: Yeah, so we do like in a book, we had a book of songs and different professional author the wrote our book. And we also do karaoke to make sure that people can have the words with the wording, and they can sing.
CHRIS FARRELL: So I have to ask you, how are you going to celebrate the New Year, the Hmong New Year?
PANG HER VANG: Well, the Hmong New Year is no matter if people old or young, they all happy to the new year because they feel like refreshed. And then the year's end, another year is coming. So everybody is happy. When you go to the new year, you see people happy there.
CHRIS FARRELL: Yeah. And is it throughout the community?
PANG HER VANG: Yeah, throughout the community.
CHRIS FARRELL: And everyone gets together?
PANG HER VANG: Get together.
CHRIS FARRELL: Ah, that's great.
PANG HER VANG: Yeah.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, thank you so much for taking your time.
PANG HER VANG: Thank you for having me here, too.
CHRIS FARRELL: That was Hmong United Equality Association President, Pang Her Vang, Hmong elder, and culture expert here in the Twin Cities. And thank you.
Here to share more with me in the studio about the tradition is Pang Her Vang, the president of the Hmong United Equality Association. She's a culture expert and Hmong elder here in the community. And Happy New Year, Pang.
PANG HER VANG: Thank you. Happy New Year. Thank you for having me here.
CHRIS FARRELL: So tell us a little bit about this folk singing tradition.
PANG HER VANG: The folk singing tradition which has belonged to Hmong great-grandparents for many thousands years ago, many hundred thousands years ago, that they always do for a celebration during the new year or any other event for fun or for girlfriend and boyfriend. Tossing ball during that time.
CHRIS FARRELL: So it's a way of carrying on a conversation, boyfriend, girlfriend?
PANG HER VANG: Yes, because in our culture, we don't say like American culture, "I love you," "you love me." We cannot say that in our culture. So we sing through many good wording in this song. Talk about if I get married to you, how much I'm going to love you. Or things like what is wonderful that I can meet with you, or how, things like that.
CHRIS FARRELL: And is the singing particularly significant around the Hmong New Year?
PANG HER VANG: Correct. It's mostly is the Hmong New Year, but we sing during, we're using for party, like wedding, and other events. But if a different event, then you use exactly the event. Suppose like people marry and they had a party, then the person singing the folk song talk about the wedding.
CHRIS FARRELL: Ah, OK.
PANG HER VANG: Talk about the groom and the bride.
CHRIS FARRELL: Oh, OK.
PANG HER VANG: Yes.
CHRIS FARRELL: And is there a little bit of-- are people slightly, not making it up is the wrong word, but are they kind of responding to what--
PANG HER VANG: Yeah, they're responding. They're responding to each other exactly how they're going to do it.
CHRIS FARRELL: Ah. Now as I understand it, and correct me if I'm wrong, but there are different dialects that are used with Hmong singing.
PANG HER VANG: Yes.
CHRIS FARRELL: What are those?
PANG HER VANG: Yeah, so if you don't mind, I'm going to sing a couple of words, I mean, a couple of minutes about the different songs.
CHRIS FARRELL: Yeah.
PANG HER VANG: Because in the Hmong Leng dialect is different than the Hmong Daw dialect. Yes, I'm going to sing a couple, two minutes, in a different language.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK, please. Yes.
PANG HER VANG: And this is a great language. This is about the song that for a girl, then they get the parents teach them to marry.
[SINGING IN GREEN HMONG]
This is the Green dialect.
CHRIS FARRELL: So that's the Green dialect.
PANG HER VANG: Yeah. And the White dialect I'm going to sing a little different. This is the northern part of the White dialect.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK.
PANG HER VANG: [SINGING IN WHITE HMONG]
Yeah. And this is the--
CHRIS FARRELL: They really do sound different.
PANG HER VANG: Oh, yeah. It's totally different. And I think two totally different tone. That's totally different.
CHRIS FARRELL: Yeah.
PANG HER VANG: Yeah.
CHRIS FARRELL: So who writes these songs?
PANG HER VANG: The song, it's in the past. Our culture in the past generation that they did not write only the person that they had knowledge singing. But right now, we try to preserve so our organization try to write a book about songs. And we also try to write our language, our learning, beginning language in Hmong dialect. So we made sure that we're not losing our culture and our language.
CHRIS FARRELL: Because the folk singing is critical, it's important to the preservation of the culture.
PANG HER VANG: Correct.
CHRIS FARRELL: OK.
PANG HER VANG: And one other thing that I'm telling is for the Hmong folk song, for the past many hundred thousand generation, that they did not have the music with only singing, no music. So the different that the folk song people are the audience or who is listening, they know that it's good or bad because of what the other person's saying. If they had good tone, good voice, then is it beautiful. If the person just know the word, that is not so much beautiful.
[LAUGHTER]
CHRIS FARRELL: Now how about the younger generation? Are they embracing these songs? Or what's the relationship there?
PANG HER VANG: I think the younger generation, kind of like when we started to arrive in the US, we kind of focus about our surviving due to we're just like a newborn to the country. But right now, we are trying to go back to restore our culture, things like that, and we write it down and the new generation can learn and also the non-Hmong can learn that, too.
CHRIS FARRELL: And I did want to ask you. What emotions did you feel when you were singing those songs?
PANG HER VANG: I feel very beautiful and happy.
CHRIS FARRELL: And these are celebration songs, songs of celebration?
PANG HER VANG: Yes, yes.
CHRIS FARRELL: Ah. And how do you plan on, you mentioned that they're writing down in a book. So trying to take these oral traditions and these folk songs and get it into print.
PANG HER VANG: Yeah, so we do like in a book, we had a book of songs and different professional author the wrote our book. And we also do karaoke to make sure that people can have the words with the wording, and they can sing.
CHRIS FARRELL: So I have to ask you, how are you going to celebrate the New Year, the Hmong New Year?
PANG HER VANG: Well, the Hmong New Year is no matter if people old or young, they all happy to the new year because they feel like refreshed. And then the year's end, another year is coming. So everybody is happy. When you go to the new year, you see people happy there.
CHRIS FARRELL: Yeah. And is it throughout the community?
PANG HER VANG: Yeah, throughout the community.
CHRIS FARRELL: And everyone gets together?
PANG HER VANG: Get together.
CHRIS FARRELL: Ah, that's great.
PANG HER VANG: Yeah.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, thank you so much for taking your time.
PANG HER VANG: Thank you for having me here, too.
CHRIS FARRELL: That was Hmong United Equality Association President, Pang Her Vang, Hmong elder, and culture expert here in the Twin Cities. And thank you.
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