The reformation of culture: Hmong refugees from laos

Author(s):

Tapp, Nicholas

Format:

Journal article

Citation:

Journal Of Refugee Studies, Volume 1, Issue 1 (1988). pp. 20-37.

Language:

English

Abstract:

This essay demonstrates how an oral tradition may encapsulate certain aspects of changing social circumstance within the context of a felt past. The first part describes the situation of Hmong refugees in a Thai refugee-camp. An examination of the emergence of a revivalist movement among Hmong refugees in Thailand follows. The third part analyses an oral legend in the context of the refugee situation. The final part considers the material problems of Hmong refugees overseas in the light of their cultural traditions. Fieldwork was conducted in a White Hmong village in North Thailand for 18 months in 1981-1982, and subsequently for shorter periods in France and USA. While not representing the fruits of extensive fieldwork in refugee communities, the paper aims to present a compressed and informed account of some problems now confronting Hmong refugees with regard to their cultural traditions, studied more extensively in the village-site. © 1988 Oxford University Press.

ISSN:

09516328 (ISSN)

DOI:

10.1093/jrs/1.1.20

Identifier:

HmongStudies3153