Hmong American New Year rituals: generational bonds through dress

Lynch, Annette; Detzner, Daniel T.; Eicher, Joanne

article

Hmong American New Year rituals: generational bonds through dress

Clothing and textiles research journal • 13 (2) • Published In 1995 • Pages: 111-120

By: Lynch, Annette, Detzner, Daniel T., Eicher, Joanne.

Abstract
Within performed ritual, Hmong Americans use dress as a medium to express a vision of cultural life responsive to both their cultural past and their new American context. This article is a part of a larger research project focused on the role of dress in the formulation of Hmong American cultural life. This paper focuses on how dress is used within two different New Year performances to make sense of the position of the Hmong in America. Public and private Hmong American New Year rituals are arenas wherein dress is used to express the struggle for reconciliation between the older and younger generation, the old and new ways, and Hmong and American cultures. Separate and differently focused New Year celebrations formally acknowledge the valued roles of Hmong elders as links to the Hmong past and Hmong youth as links to an American future. Both celebrations incorporate a recognition of the core problem of reconciling Hmong and American cultures. Both use dress to give voice to the young and the old as they struggle for cultural definition in the United State (p. 111).

Interviewing in research

Acculturation and culture contact

Sociocultural trends

Normal garb

Rest days and holidays

Age stratification

Organized ceremonial

North American Hmong

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

North America