Hmong Music Glossary Project

This glossary is a collection of musical terms from both my own field research and the writings of others. Due to the flexibile nature of Hmong music vocabulary, it is likely that these words will not be known or used consistently across musicians. This glossary attempts to represent a wide range of terms and usage.

To the Glossary

Notes

- Words in parenthesis following a term or phrase indicate the associated classifier. [Note that in speaking or writing, classifiers precede the term they modify]
- H(page number) indicates a definition taken from E. Heimbach's White Hmong Dictionary
- SH indicates a definition taken from the SATHMONG online dictionary
- JX indicates a definition taken from Jay Xiong's Lus Hmoob Txhais

Sources

Catlin, Amy. "Puzzling the Text: Thought-Songs, Secret Languages, and Archaic Tones in Hmong Music." The World of Music: Journal of the Department of Ethnomusicology, Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg 39, no. 2 (1997): 69-81.

Heimbach, Ernest H. White Hmong-English Dictionary [White Meo-English Dictionary]. 2003 ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications, 1969.

Morrison, Gayle. "The Hmong Qeej: Speaking to the Spirit World." Hmong Studies Journal 2, no. 2 (Spring, 1998), http://hmongstudies.com/HSJv2n1_ Morrison.pdf (accessed March 25, 2005).

Saint Paul Public Schools English Language Learners Programs. English-White Hmong and White-Hmong English Dictionary. http://ww2.saturn.stpaul.k12.mn.us/Hmong/sathmong.html (accessed November 30, 2005).

Xiong, Jay. Lus Hmoob Txhais (Hmong Dictionary). Version 1.02.03e, 2003. (website)

Copyright

Copyright of quoted sources remains that of the copyright holders. Definitions without citations are mine and are free for use with proper attribution (including my name, the date, and the url of the website).