UCIHSA

Hmong Student Association at UCI

The Hmong Student Association at the University of California, Irvine, is a cultural club aimed to spread Hmong cultural awareness and to bring together all Hmong anteaters. Due to inactivity in previous years, HSA was revived in the Fall of 2011.

HSA's objective is to preserve the Hmong culture, tradition, and values while emphasizing on education, building relationships and networking, as well as raising leaders.

Become a Member

Membership isn't just limited to Hmong students or current UC Irvine students. Anyone can become a member; however, you will have to fill out a document abiding to our club rules and regulations. Club membership lasts for only a school year term. Therefore, membership renewal will happen in the beginning of each school year. If you are interested in becoming an HSA members, please contact one of the officers in the "Officers/Members" tab above or come to one of our HSA's general meetings.

What is Hmong and Who Are We?

Being Hmong Means Being Free

Who are we? To simply put it, Hmong people are an ethnic minority group living among the isolated foothills throughout Southeast Asia. Since the 1970s, the Hmong people were singled out by the communist government of Laos for their role in fighting the Pathet Lao during the Vietnam War. As a result, large numbers of Hmong refugees have made their way to the United States, many of them settling down in the West Coast and Midwest which are primarily California and Minnesota, respectively.

Custom and Tradition

Wikipedia

The Secret War

Embroidery and Clothing

Hmong Embroidery

Hmong Clothing

Hmong Music

Hmong music is an important part of the culture. Because the Hmong language is tonal, there is a close connection between Hmong music and the spoken language. Music is an important part of Hmong life, played for entertainment, for welcoming guests, and at weddings and funerals. Hmong musical instruments includes flutes such as the dra, leaves also called nblaw, and the qeej or gaeng, a type of mouth organ.

Click HERE to find out more about the Hmong instruments.

As Hmong people continues to assimilate and adapt into the Western world, the instruments and style of hmong music has also changed over time.

Hmong Cuisine

The Hmong cuisine varies somewhat depending on the region because the Lao,Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese influences. Like with many Asian cultures, the staple food in any Hmong cusine is white rice. The pictures on the right are just some of the most spectacular and well known Hmong food.