Village Story Blanket

Lesson Objective

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to define what a tradition or celebration is and share an example of their own through writing and drawing. In the art activity, students will reflect on their traditions and create a drawing that will be displayed with their peers’ artwork to form a classroom story blanket.

Introduction

Hmong artist Ka Zoua Lee shows us scenes from three different villages on the blanket pictured above. Neatly stitched words tell us that the top two rows are a Hmong village. The next two rows are a Blue Hmong village. And the two rows below that are a Lao village. The artist pictures homes, clothing, and activities typical of each village.

The English words on this blanket suggest that it was made for sale in America. But the blanket also helps preserve the history and traditions of a people uprooted by war.

Warm-Up Questions

• • What are some traditions or celebrations that are important to you?
• • Why are they important?
• • How would you like to remember these traditions?

Background

Women and Needlework

Needlework is an important skill for women in traditional Hmong society. Hmong women have long used colorful thread and fabrics to decorate their clothing. Skirts, hats, baby carriers, and burial cloths are busy with bright patterns and designs. This needlework is called pa ndau [pon-DOW], or “flower cloth.” Girls begin to practice sewing very young, helping their mothers and grandmothers.

In traditional Hmong culture, women make new clothes for their entire family for the celebration of the New Year. A new set of clothes reflects the good fortune of the year before. It also speaks of a hope for success in the year to come. Making new clothes by hand is a great deal of work. When a girl marries, it’s her duty to help her new family make the new clothing. Well-sewn clothing is a source of pride for the whole family.

There are two main groups of Hmong in Laos. Each cultural group wears a unique style of clothing, which gives the group its name. White Hmong women wear a pleated white skirt for their New Year festival. Blue Hmong women (also called Green Hmong) are known for their indigo blue designs.

Patterns and designs can refer to other aspects of life as well. The zigzag border design around the villages on the blue blanket, for example, represents the mountains of Laos. It’s also a symbol of protection from evil spirits.

A Bygone Era

The activities depicted on this story blanket at left recall a vanished way of life. The Hmong settled in Laos in the 1800s, fleeing harsh treatment in China. They farmed land high in the mountains near the Chinese border. Few people lived in this region before their arrival. The Lao preferred to live in the fertile lowlands, where farming was easier.

The way of life shown on this blanket was shattered in the 1960s and 1970s. The Hmong helped the United States fight against communist forces in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. After U.S. troops left the region in 1975, the communist forces in Laos brutally punished the Hmong for their cooperation. Thousands of Hmong families fled to refugee camps in the neighboring country of Thailand.

Ka Zoua Lee sewed this blanket in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1980. By then, the scenes she embroidered on this story blanket were no longer a reality for many Hmong. She was most likely working from her own memories of the life she once had. Some story blankets record scenes of battles and refugee camps. Others, like this one, recall a peaceful way of life before the war.

More Than Storytelling

A story blanket does more than tell stories. Hmong women continued to practice traditional sewing methods in the refugee camps. But they turned their skills to a new type of pa ndau, the story blanket. International aid groups in the camps helped women sell their work in the United States and other countries. Thai traders bought their work to sell in tourist markets.

The new form developed as women discovered that embroidered pictures sold better than their traditional costumes. Story blankets were often a family’s only source of income. They helped the Hmong survive the years of waiting in refugee camps.

Story blankets also became a way to strengthen the bonds among family members and preserve their history. Traditionally, only women had created pa ndau. In the camps, however, everyone had time on their hands. Almost every member of the family might be involved in the process. Men drew the scenes on the blanket. Women used those drawings as guides for creating the embroidery. Young children learned to sew the same way their mothers did by watching and helping their elders. The scenes they sewed helped them get to know a way of life they couldn’t experience.

Many Hmong families now live in Minnesota. These photographs showing Hmong families, celebrations, and traditions by Wing Young Huie were taken in the Frogtown neighborhood of Saint Paul in 1993 and 1994.

Art Activity

Materials

• • Paper (square preferable)
• • Pencils, markers, colored pencils, etc.

Guided Practice

Look closely at the blanket, left to right and top to bottom. What do you see? What more can you find? What questions do you have?

Instructions

1. 1. Ka Zoua Lee combined many scenes of life in Laos in her story blanket. Ask students to reflect on what scenes of daily life they would choose for an artwork. Allow time for them to brainstorm and to write down traditions or celebrations that are important to them. Prompt students to think about all the details around these moments: food, clothing, and chores in preparation for the event.
2. 2. Give students pencils to outline the objects/subjects they wish to include in their drawing.
3. 3. Once they are finished drawing, they can add color using crayons, colored pencils, and/or markers to the drawing.
4. 4. Creative challenges:

• • Use at least three colors in the drawing.
• • Fully fill in the space.
• • Write a sentence on the back of the drawing sharing what the tradition is and why it’s important.

1. 5. Join the students’ drawings together in rows to make a larger picture and create a classroom story blanket.

Optional Art Extension: As a class, add a decorative border around the end of the classroom story blanket for a finishing touch.

Reflection

When students present their drawing to the class, ask them to explain what it shows and share why it’s important to them.

Optional Learning Extensions

Learning About Laos

Skills: Research and Discussion

Examine the trees and animals on the story blanket, both in the central panel and the surrounding border. Make a list of what you find. Then consult a book or a credible online resource about Laos. What trees and animals are found there? Which of them has the artist included? Which animals on the blanket are not actually found in Laos?

A Hmong New Year

Skills: Research and Writing

Use the internet to learn more about traditional Hmong New Year celebrations. What activities do you recognize in this story blanket? What other scenes might Ka Zoua Lee have included? Create a set of drawings based on your research, and write a paragraph explaining each one.

Minnesota State Standards

Social Studies

3.4.18.1: Identify various ways that different cultures have expressed concepts of time and space.

6.5.24.3 Identify how the arts have been a part of strategies, activities, and/or engagement for social and political change.

Visual Arts

5.0.4.7.1–5.9.4.7.1 Respond: Analyze and construct interpretations of artistic work.

5.0.5.9.1–5.5.5.9.1 Connect: Integrate knowledge and personal experiences while responding to, creating, and presenting artistic work. 

Bibliography

Bryan, Nichol. Hmong Americans. Edina, MN: ABDO Publishing Company, 2004.

Cha, Dia. Dia’s Story Cloth: The Hmong People’s Journey of Freedom. New York: Lee & Low Books, 1998.

Millett, Sandra. The Hmong of Southeast Asia. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2002.

Murphy, Nora. A Hmong Family. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 1997.

Shea, Pegi Deitz. The Whispering Cloth. Honesdale, PA: Caroline House, 1995.