Hmong New Year 2019 - Chiang Khong

[DavidFL]

A few images from the start of Hmong New Year @ Thung Sai, Chiang Khong.
Some last minute info was received for this event - 45 minutes beforehand, that the governor of Chiang Rai was coming for an official opening of a large event.
Thung Sai is on the Tung Na Noi road west of Chiang Khong, and with Tung Na Noi & Mai Phattana make 3 Hmong villages close by.

The Hmong gathered around a sports ground in Thung Sai

A stage was set up with the army band from Chiang Kham entertaining & directing the Hmong from the stage.

It was good to see the army keeping everyone happy, especially the kids

more to come..

 

[Oddvar]

Are they Thai citizen or are they among the one million plus stateless people living in Thailand?
The International Observatory on Statelessness - Nationalityforall.org

 

[DavidFL]

Are they Thai citizen or are they among the one million plus stateless people living in Thailand?
The International Observatory on Statelessness - Nationalityforall.org

I understand these Hmong have citizenship, but I could be wrong of course. 55

 

[DavidFL]

More images of the spectators & the crowd.

There were some cool characters & people, all with stories to tell no doubt.

a stunning young gal sang a song or two.

She spoke perfect English & was studying English at Rajhabat in Chiang Rai.
We had a lively happy conversation that was all too short.

 

[DavidFL]

Tung Na Noi is another Hmong village few kms up the same road from Thung Sai & the day before the festivities got going the Hmong guys get together for some cock fighting.

We notice there are no women present and ask why? The women don't like it, but are allowed to come, however they don't of course.

There are two rings and a fight goes for 20 minutes.

what we noticed is that eventually one cock tires & spends the rest of his energy running away around the ring.

There were a series of fights with wagers of 500-2,000 baht a fight it seemed, with 10% going to the "ring master," from what I could understand.

In between fights the cocks are carefully, loving, pampered, rubbed down & preened for the next round of fights.
The affection shown by their owners was impressive & it was incredible how passive & tame the cocks were in the hands of their owners.

the cocks are rubbed down with warm water & a warm cloth.

Some lemon grass is burnt lightly on a hot plate, & then the fumes from the burning lemon grass are put near the cocks face to inhale & also around the chest. It seemed a very careful process that obviously is supposed to be beneficial to the weary fighters & perhaps rejuvenate them for the next battle.

Other cocks were fed medicine from a syringe we noticed. Some of the owners had tool box kits with supplies to rejuvenate their fighters.

The experience close up to the care and preparation of the fighting cocks was fascinating. Thank you to the Hmong guys of Tung Na Noi for welcoming us openly into their world at New Year.

 

[DavidFL]

Another visit to the Hmong villages west of Chiang Khong were at thew wrong time so it was time for a saunter down R1155.

Ban Saithong had a big event scheduled throughout the New Year celebrations as mentioned earlier on GTR here Hmong New Year 2019 & indicated by a banner roadside outside the school.

The big show was to kick off around 7PM they claimed, so my presence mid-late afternoon was a bit premature.

The stage was set up in the grounds of the school


There were small groups and couples wandering around the grounds, guys in groups chatting and female couples parading around to show of their finery.
So with the concert starting at 7PM I made a plan to take a few happy snaps, then head off to Chiang Kham for night, hit the Phu Arnmar loop out of Chiang Kham the next morning & return along R1155 to pick up on the New Years day festivities & perhaps a night time show. A master plan that should be a real winner.

Happy snaps from Ban Saithong

The gal on the right with the black outfit spoke reasonable English & came up to me to talk in English. He sister or cousin was living in Australia.

Below, the young gal again on the right spoke fluent English & studied in Chiang Khong. I was astounded when she approached me directly & started speaking perfect English. Amazing Thailand & an amazing Hmong girl.