Hmong Music in Portage County
- Cheyenne Witzeling
- 11 minutes ago
- 7 min read
As part of our PCHS feature exhibit, each month through December of 2026 we will share a new piece of music history. Be sure to come back to learn more about the music that makes Portage County so great!
Hmong History in Portage County
Hmong music in Portage County has a deep cultural history. The songs and dances connect the newest generations to their ancestors and keep cultural traditions alive. To understand the impact of Hmong music in Portage County, you must understand the history that brought the Hmong people here.
The three waves of Hmong immigration from the 1980s-2000s has had the largest cultural impact on Portage County since the original era of colonization. The ancestors to our local Hmong people lived in China for more than 4,000 years. Strongly independent, some families chose to leave China and move south to preserve their customs. Some Hmong did stay in China, and still strike a tenuous balance between both cultures today. Hmong family groups are larger than the traditional nuclear family in the west and are called clans. Clans moved from China to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Clans have merged and split in the past, and there are currently around 18 identified clans in Laos and Vietnam. During the Vietnam War the United States recruited many Hmong to secretly help them fight the Vietnamese. After the United States retreated from the country, the Vietnamese government began to hunt down the Hmong they believed had betrayed them. It was from this immediate threat that Hmong families began to leave Vietnam and seek resettlement.
When the first wave of Hmong immigration occurred, Portage County was composed of primarily Polish and German families and was the whitest congressional district in the nation. Moving to the United States was terrifying for many of the first refugees. They had left clan members behind and had no idea who had survived. Many had lost children while hiding from soldiers or had seen family members drown in the Mekong River. Now in Wisconsin, sometimes arriving in the deepest parts of winter, traditional foods were impossible to find and acclimating to a new language and culture was difficult. The longing for missing family and traditional activities, and the nightmares of persecution gave birth to the paj ntaub, also known as Hmong story cloths; a form of quilting that tells a story or recreates a lost scene.
The Hmong worked with local churches and host families to begin adjusting to the culture in Portage County, but they faced prejudice. Many Hmong ended up working in factories or on farms. They were not always treated fairly, but were afraid to speak up since their host families and neighbors had fought to get them the positions. First generation children struggled in school; they did not speak English and there were no translation services available. Families felt judged for using their home language, cooking traditional foods, and for looking different than their neighbors. In the first decade of adjustment, Hmong culture felt hidden.
Local ESL teachers began to try and bring Hmong culture into the schools to help students feel more connected. One Portage County teacher, Deb Aeby, bought multiple story cloths for her use and for the library to display. She explained that people just didn’t understand the trauma that forced migration caused, and that it felt like the story cloths were the best way to begin sharing the truth with the community. CAP Services in Portage County also stepped up to provide much-needed support to the Hmong refugees. One employee there, Mary Cayford, began working closely with the Hmong community and wanted to help other locals understand the new culture that was here. In 1992 the first Portage County Cultural Festival was held on the riverfront in downtown Stevens Point. At first, the crowds that came to the festival avoided the Hmong cultural booths and seemed to prefer the traditional German and Polish booths they could visit. After 32 years of annual festival work, the Hmong booths and food stands are now some of the most popular spots for visitors. The work of dedicated volunteers helped to change public fear of the new cultures.
Hmong Music Traditions
The Hmong culture has no monolith. There is no “top” clan that controls the culture of such a far-flung group of people. Hmong language is traditionally oral and was only transcribed relatively recently, in the 1950s. With each new wave of Hmong immigration the Americanized Hmong culture has changed as well. As the previous generation becomes more Americanized, new refugees have arrived and have brought the same struggles that the previous generation had moved on from. Families attempt to emigrate to the same areas that their clans have already settled in. In Vietnam or Laos, a traditional Hmong household would have many members of the clan living under the same roof. In America, this form of multi-generational living has led to prejudice. The newest generations of Hmong in America have become cultural translators for their peers and their elders. Hmong children who want to participate in school programs have performed traditional songs and formed dance troops. Traditional instruments are still held in reverence and can be found in use at weddings and funerals. Currently, the musical culture of the Hmong is going through a revolution.
Hmong music was not recorded before the mid-1970s and is traditionally a live performance. This is due to the personal nature that the music represents. Songs often use a specific form of lyric organization to let listeners know what topic the song will focus on. Vocal songs may be storytelling songs (kwv txhiaj), engagement songs (zaj tshoob), wishing songs (ntau txhuv), invitation songs (laig dab), or weeping songs (nyiav), among others. It is not uncommon for songs to be unaccompanied by instruments, because instruments represent their own forms of music.
The Hmong reed pipe, or qeej, is a collection of multiple bamboo pipes of varying lengths. It is used by male performers who often dance or swing the instrument while playing. It is played during traditional marriage customs, religious observances, and during funerals to release the souls of the dead from suffering. It is more than just an instrument; the music it plays is like an extension of the Hmong language. The songs played on a qeej can represent full stories, with the notes bringing back the memories of the original storytelling. Other pipes, called raj, are small wind instruments used for entertainment purposes. The tonal qualities of both the qeej and the raj are similar to the tones found in the Hmong language, giving these pipes a way to speak in a new voice. Another traditional instrument is the jaw harp, or ncas. It is played by both men and women and is played with the lips instead of the teeth like other forms of jaw harps. Both the ncas and raj are used during courtship as a way to communicate intentions.
Traditional Hmong music includes wedding singing and funeral chants. It can be difficult to find a funeral home that allows the full, traditional funeral rites, but Shuda Funeral Home in Plover is one that hosts Hmong funerals from across the state. These funerals highlight the use of the full-size reed pipe; the qeej. Played by two or more instrumentalists during the funeral, there are many tunes played to signify the various parts of death. The songs explain life expiring and the journey to death, with each note of the qeej representing a different word or phrase in Hmong. Thus, without needing to add voices, the explanation of death is passed on to the listeners. Traditional singing occurs at weddings, during courtship, and between friends. Often unaccompanied, many Hmong songs have “free” verses for the singer to fill, with the goal of having the most touching lyrics with the best rhymes. Hmong singing has been compared to jazz due to the importance of improvisation. In the past, the way a singer performed scales or formed rhymes would tell you where they were from. Hmong churches and performing groups have translated songs into Hmong for performances and there has been a rise in Hmong pop music popularity.
Hmong music uses a variety of instrument and vocal techniques to tell stories and communicate. The fun, regular improvisation keeps brains sharp and listeners engaged. While traditional music is still best experienced in-person, some songs have been captured on YouTube for curious listeners. The music and dance of the Hmong culture can be found in Hmong language churches and cultural centers, and at culture exchange fairs like the Portage County Cultural Festival.
Would you like to learn more about the Hmong experience and music traditions? Use this link to view additional resources.
Thank you for reading this music history, presented together with the Portage County Historical Society's feature exhibit!
Be sure to visit the exhibit in-person during open hours and check out the digital collection of local music history.
