The Bird Song Story Cloth

Paj Ntaub Da Neeg, or story cloth, is a narrative textile artform that depicts scenes, events, and stories. Created mainly to sale as a means to supplement income in the refugee camps, paj ntaub da neeg illustrates traditional Hmong life in Laos, folktales, combat in the Secret War, the treacherous journey across the Mekong River Delta, Thai refugee camps, and their exodus out of Southeast Asia. 

Scene depiction: A variation of the folktale The Bird Song

Context: Animists believe in reincarnation and The Bird Song tells the story of how two lovers reunited in another life.

Transcribed for clarity:

Once upon a time, there was a family of birds in a forest. One day, the husband bird went to find food for the family. While he was gone, a fire burned the forest. His wife and his baby chicks died. [Context] The husband bird fell into a flower during the fire and was protected from the flames.

 The next morning, the flower opened and the husband bird came back. He was very sad. He said, “Next life I must be her husband again.” Then he flew to the fire also.

In the second life, the wife was born as a princess. But she didn’t speak to any male, not even her father. [Context] The wife was born mute. The king named her Yer. The husband was born as a poor man. His name was Drow Choua.

One day, the king made an announcement to all his kingdom. [Context] Any man who can elicit a verbal response from Yer may have her hand in marriage. All the men could not make Yer speak. The king went to ask Drow Choua to try to speak to Yer. 

Drow Choua said, “Long ago, there was a family of birds in a forest. Then the bird [the wife] ran away and a fire killed the father bird with the chicks.” Yer heard that and she was very angry and said, “The male bird is really the one who went out and let his family die.” [Context] They realize that they were past lovers and spouses.

Drow Choua immediately asked the king, “Can I marry her?” The king approved. The next morning, they had the wedding ceremony and they lived happily ever after.  

Source: https://www.hmongembroidery.org/embroiderystories.html

Other variations: https://hmongtimes.com/the-bird-song-a-retelling-of-a-hmong-folktale-part-1/25710/

122x87 cm