MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports on thousands of people gathering in St. Paul’s RiverCentre to celebrate the Hmong New Year. It's a time of cultural and commercial significance as people visit friends and family, browse Hmong merchandise, and watch performances of both traditional and modern dances. Nyman speaks with various participants at the event.
LYNETTE NYMAN: It's a bit confusing for the uninitiated to figure out the Hmong New Year in Minnesota. The actual turn of the new year was last week. That's when families celebrated in their homes. The Hmong Cultural Center closed for two days. On its door, a posted sign announced The Year of the Rabbit. Next month, there's a celebration planned for Minneapolis. And today at the Saint Paul RiverCenter, a large banner hangs over the main stage [NON-ENGLISH] or happy new year.
The shaman chants as he performs [NON-ENGLISH] a ceremony calling home the souls of the people so they'll have a healthy and wealthy new year. The shaman's work is something generally done in the home, but this is a special occasion. Shaman and elder [INAUDIBLE] tosses animal horns to see if they land face up, a way to welcome home the spirits [INAUDIBLE] says having a good new year is his objective.
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
"The Hmong New Year is important, because people live from year to year. We have to let go of all the bad things that have passed. With the new year, we want better things for our lives and our families."
Other well-wishers and leaders are invited to take the stage throughout the day. Longtime Hmong military and political leader General Vang Pao came from California. There are local leaders, too.
JESSE VENTURA: Hi, nice to meet you. Jesse Ventura, governor elect.
LYNETTE NYMAN: The event has transformed through the years. Marlon Heiss, now retired from the Minnesota Historical Society, says he's seen a lot of change since 1981 when he attended his first Hmong New year. Heiss says people don't restrict their dress to traditional colors and designs, now colorful plastic beads are especially popular. But he says the most noticeable changes are linguistic.
SPEAKER 4: A lot more English is used, and you don't see much English. But I see a lot more English is used than was 10, 15 years ago. So even if speeches and things like that are basically all in Hmong. There are still, to me, a lot more things that are done in English.
LYNETTE NYMAN: Still, many people do speak Hmong, and the new year party is a way to celebrate the old and the new. Many people are like [INAUDIBLE]. She arrived early and plans to stay late into the evening. She brought traditional New Year's food for her family of six-- boiled eggs, boiled chicken, and sticky rice. [INAUDIBLE] says she celebrates the new year at River Seine, because it's special, only once a year, and she says it's a place to meet her friends.
SPEAKER 5: So we come here together to meet each other and [INAUDIBLE] each other.
LYNETTE NYMAN: In Laos, the end of the harvest and the beginning of the waxing moon marks the new year. It's a time when work, for a few days anyway, is done. People from close by villages come together, young people find mates, courtship begins with a coy game of catch using cloth balls, the air in RiverCenter is alive with flying fabric, but whether any brides and grooms are being selected is anyone's guess. I'm Lynette Nyman, Minnesota Public Radio.
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