Who could be born more fashionable than Flower Hmong babies. In this Vietnamese culture, babies are decorated in beautiful, embroidered garments to be disguised as flowers. They believe that the disguise will keep evil spirits away and that the wearing of hats will prevents one spirit from being distracted and leaving the body. A beautiful book about this culture is "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" which details the life of an epileptic Hmong girl and her family whose culture clashes with that of California.
Hmong women are the best embroiderers in the world and will often being sought by suitors for their sewing skills..highly prized in their culture. Their word for baby is also used for flower...what could be more beautiful than flowers and babies. All cultures love babies but how magical is it to live in a culture that decorates babies as flowers with hours of needlework and love.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
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