Tale of Hmong Origin: Flood Story
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No one knows the Hmong origin nor is there any archeological ruin to put our place of birth on earth. We were, however, able to preserve a mythical folklore after the earth had been flooded for seven days and seven nights that survived our people; and this fable has been passed down for generations. The folktale in this book is a composite of the many versions of the great flood tale our people shared, especially by the elders. This is also a fascinating tale that describes the origin of the Hmong last names. Since we did not have a written language until the 1950s, culture, folktales, our parents’ verbal teachings and needlework (or pajntaub) were the essential tools that kept our history and stories alive.
This ‘A Tale of Hmong Origin’ was told by my Aunt Mee Vang when I was eight years old. Young and curious, I had asked her if there was a birthplace to our people’s existence on earth. Her eyes lit up with excitement under the dimmed light that summer evening. “Yes, there is,” she smiled, with wrinkles creasing half of her face, “in our folktale.” Many years have passed, but the story never left me. This fairytale, at least, provides a partial answer to curiosity and conveys the cultural knowledge my Aunt had proudly kept her whole life.
The illustration in this book complements the story with a simple, eloquent interpretation of how the Hmong survived and repopulated after the great flood. This folktale could also be found in our Hmong tapestry or flowery story-cloth.
N. Vang
Minnestoa
2007
01. A long, long time ago a great flood pummeled the lively earth. After seven days and seven nights the raging water had toppled to the sky.
02. When the almighty Sky Lord heard a loud noise thumping between heaven and earth, he sent his servants to check out the matter.
03. There, they saw that the tumultuous flood had destroyed all the living species. They saw a floating wooden gourd, which was causing the aberrant thumping noise between heaven and earth.
04. Tired and exhausted upon their return, the servants told the Sky Lord what had happened on earth, reporting the cause of the irrational noise. And that the earth had been completely swallowed by water. He was very bothered and unhappy when he heard the news.
05. Then the Sky Lord, with all his mighty strength, took his golden spear and drove it deep into the earth to drain the flood away.
06. In seven days and seven nights the water receded and all was quiet again. The heavens were relieved from their agitation. The wooden gourd had descended into a valley surrounded on each side by two gigantic standing mountains.
07. Inside the wooden gourd survived a boy and a girl along with every pair of species the two had taken with them. They released the animals and seeded all the plants among the valleys and mountains.
08. Soon the boy realized that they were alone. All humankind had perished. He proposed to the girl to marry him. She was taken aback, and said, “No.”
09. After numerous attempts, she still rejected him. “No!” she said. “You’re my friend.”
10. The girl also noticed that the earth was empty, without people. Before she consented to the boy’s proposal, she demanded that they perform a test to determine if their union was the wish of the Sky Lord.
11. She pointed to two mountains. She said they each would carry a russet stone to the two opposite mountains and roll the stones into the valley. If the two stones were found piled on top of each other where they were originally standing, then she would marry him. Otherwise, no! The boy readily agreed.
12. The boy and girl, each with a stone in hand, went off to the highest peak of each mountain. The boy, playing smart, knew that there was absolutely no chance the stones would be arranged in such order, and the stones would disappear into the valley mist.
13. That evening, the boy secretly climbed back down to the valley and stacked two similar stones on top of each other where they stood earlier and headed back up the mountain.
14. That evening, the boy secretly climbed back down to the valley and stacked two similar stones on top of each other where they stood earlier and headed back up the mountain.
15. The next noon, they met at the same place. The girl saw the two stones together as she had insisted. They married.
16. By the end of year, all the plants returned in full lush and green and the animals roamed wildly.
17. The couple received the birth of their first child; but they were wholeheartedly appalled that the child had no head, arms, legs or feet. The child was round, like a white egg. By then they were living on one of the mountaintops. They did not know what to do with their child. They decided together to cut the child into eighteen pieces. They tossed the pieces everywhere.
18. With a magic spill by the Sky Lord, a week later the pieces turned into people; and the earth was populated again.
19. Each Hmong last name then was named after wherever the pieces had landed. The pieces that fell into the nkauj tshis (or a goat house) became Lee; the ones that fell into the nkauj npuas (or pig pen) became the Moua; the ones that fell into the rooj vag (or gardens) became Vang and Yang; the pieces that fell into the hav xyoob (or bamboo field) became the Xiong; and so on, until 18 family last names were designated.
20. The couple was very happy that they were no longer the only two people living on earth. THE END