In our living room, my father tells the story of what he knows about the xauv (silver necklace). Back in My father estimated the creation of the xauv to be around 5,000 years old. The stories says that we originated in China and was separated all over the place due to war and conflicts. According to my father, the Hmong people were slaves of the Chinese people and was given the name “Miao” which is the voice of a cat when it makes a noise. Not before long, war broke out the Chinese people were trying to persecute the Hmong people and extinct their group from this planet. But the Hmong people were very intelligent and migrated to IndoChina: Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Burma.  Today the xauv isn’t as pure as it used to be. Blacksmiths made a lot of variations of the xauv, and made it lighter using less material.  They also add a lot of new xauv designs to attract the younger generations. The xauv are sold at most Hmong jewelry stores at many different prices. Remember that the cheaper ones are not made with pure silver.  You get what you pay for.  In addition, the size of the xauv today isn’t as big or heavy as it used to be.  You’re lucky if you own an authentic one.This artifact is such an important item to the Hmong people because it shows where we came from and our history. The xauv is now worn everywhere at every Hmong festival and New Year celebrations! This piece of history shows that, we are strong even when separated. 

– Vong

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child