Folk Stories of the Hmong

NORMA J. LIVO, Professor Emerita, School of Education, University of Colorado at Denver, has written numerous books and articles on storytelling and has a national following as a storyteller. She has served on the board of directors for the National Storytelling Association and received the NSA leadership award for the Western region. She lives in Lakewood, Colorado.DIA CHA is an instructor at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where she teaches courses in cultural anthropology and Hmong culture and history.

• IntroductionList of Color PlatesThe Hmong and Their CultureHistory of the HmongTraditional Beliefs and CustomsAnimal SymbolsFarmingHousesBirth and DeathThe Shaman (Tu-ua-neng)New Year's FestivalMarriage CustomsHmong Folk ArtsJewelryClothingPa Ndau (Flower Cloth)StoryclothsCultural ConflictsPreserving a Cultural HeritageColor PlatesFolk Stories—In the BeginningThe Beginning of the WorldLegend of the Rice SeedHow Seeds Came Again into the World and Why Dogs Eat Feces DroppingsThe Origin of the ShamanAnother Age of HappinessCreation, Flood, Naming StoryHow/Why Folk StoriesWhy Monkey and Man Do Not Live TogetherWhy Animals Cannot TalkWhy People Eat Three Meals a Day and Why Doodle Bugs Roll Balls of DungWhy Farmers Have to Work So HardWhy Birds Are Never HungryWhy Hmong Are Forbidden to Drink Mother's MilkWhy the Hmong Live on MountainsShoa and His FireThe Story of the OwlFolk Stories of Love, Magic, and FunA Bird Couple's VowThe Monkeys and the GrasshoppersSister-in-Law Yer and the Tiger: How a Wise Woman Tricked the TigerZeej Choj Kim, the Lazy ManPumpkin Seed and the SnakeThe Handsome HusbandNgao Nao and Shee NaThe Tiger Steals Nkauj NcoomThe Orphan and the MonkeysThe Orphan Boy and His WifeThe Tigers Steal Nou Plai's Wife, NtxawmGwa and Uo and Their Two Fish WivesBibliographyAbout the Authors