Oral storytelling serves as a connection to the past, present, and future while preserving history, culture, and traditions.
In Hmong culture, stories are classified as neej neeg, stories of the living, or dab neeg, stories of the dead. Neej neeg are stories that encapsulate life experiences; some are filled with grief, some serve to empower, some document spiritual or supernatural experiences, and many contain life lessons. Dab neeg are fairy tales, folktales, myths, and legends that highlight traditional beliefs, practices, and history. Both genres come together to preserve history by capturing the Hmong experience, past or present, and passing it on to future generations.
A Portrait of Grief and Courage: Hmong Oral Histories and Folktales is a collection of both neej neeg and dab neeg. It goes beyond oral storytelling and documents the stories of the earliest Hmong refugees in Northeastern Wisconsin. To celebrate Hmong Heritage Month, as well as the importance of oral storytelling, the Teaching Press conducted an interview with Ma Lee Lor, A Portrait of Grief and Courage’s transcriber and translator.
Transcriber & translator Ma Lee Lor
What was the process of transcribing Hmong into English like?
The transcribing process was very time-consuming. All the interactive interviews were done verbally and recorded on a tape recorder so many long hours were spent listening, playing, rewinding, and writing the stories word for word. At the time I was working multiple jobs and my children were much younger, so there were many times where I took the tape home and did the translating at home. Most times I would sit in a room at Sandra’s house and translate the material while she typed the completed stories.
Why should anyone read A Portrait of Grief and Courage: Hmong Oral Histories and Folktales?
I would recommend all readers to read A Portrait of Grief and Courage as you will not find any book as unique as this book. You will experience an array of involvement with each person’s stories from firsthand accounts of their lives capturing and reliving their griefs, struggles, and triumphs. You will experience the repetitive language styles of Hmong storytelling in its original tongue.
A Portrait of Grief and Courage: Hmong Oral Histories and Folktales
What does A Portrait of Grief and Courage mean to you? the Hmong community?
A Portrait of Grief and Courage means history to me. It will educate the young Hmong generation about storytelling, enhance their knowledge about how Hmong families strive to simply live, and give them a better understanding about the uniqueness of Hmong oral storytelling. Currently, the Hmong community has not been exposed to this book, as there is no public area to display the book.
How relevant do you think oral storytelling is among the newer generations within the Hmong community?
The newer Hmong generation no longer has that opportunity as our Elders have passed on. When Sandra and I started on this book that was the one fear that I felt; we were going to see it disappear, and we wanted to restore as many stories in the original tongue before it was lost. As families grow and trends of interest shift, our Elders no longer have that opportunity or the time to tell their stories because their grandchildren or children are working outside of the homes, and most importantly the children do not understand the Hmong language anymore.
This interview was conducted and edited for clarity by Press intern Shia Chang.
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