I am not sure where to put this thread but maybe the admins can move it or just leave it here. i am hmong and i have a question to the non-hmong yang people or whomever can answer this for me.

in my yang clan we can not eat the heart of any animals is that true for other yang's also this question is for the non hmong yang people.

also in hmong yang clan there are different groups i am not sure how you say it in english so i will try to explain it the best i can. to my knowledge there are 3 types of yangs. according to the story from my grandfather it had to do with one yang man marry 2 wives and to signify which group your in its by how many sons each wife had...one wife had 9 and the other had 5...the third was a 7 which my grandpa never really told me how they became a 7 but just that it was a mix of or that they just became yangs and took on 7. that is just the short of it.

i belong to the 9 ....but i was just wondering if other non-hmong yang people are the same or have heard of the same things. the 9 actually signifies the way we worship or ancestors and how we do things during those ceremony...

thanks for reading not sure if any of these made sense but thanks..

I wish I could help you answer you questions.

Wonder why the Yang family does not eat the heart of animals... in so many cultures to eat the heart is a strong magical or spiritual act of taking on the spirit of that animal. I can understand a taboo against a particular animals heart, but not all.

What you describe is interesting about the 3 divisions of the family. I would like to hear a good explanation for it as well.

i am sorry..let me clarify ...all men in the yang clan can not eat the heart of any animal...the women can eat anything...

the story goes and this is just what my grandpa told me...that back in the day during one of those big village festival of the yang clan...a mentally slow kid was was killed because they thought the kid ate the heart from the stew that was brewing. but only to find out that the heart they were looking for was still in the stew. so from that day on all yang men were cursed and forbidden to eat the heart of any animal. and if you knowingly did then you will go blind...or your family members will be ill and die or they will go blind.

thats the story i got..

Some southern Chinese groups also believe if you have the surname Yang or Yeung. They should never eat lamb meat. Wonder whether any of this superstition is related.

we can't eat lamb meat in the house or cook lamb meat..but someone of another surname can cook it outside a yang's house and the yang can eat it outside only...can't bring it in the house for any reason

Well that custom is fairly easy to figure out why it exists.

Even if the Yang clan does not use the same character as sheep 羊 the name yang still rhymes with it. There is obviously a connection to the clan totum.

I believe all Hmong clans are divided into either the 5 txij, 7 txij or 9 txij divisions. As you have stated, this number dictates how each will worship their ancestors, considering that they are still following the old ways. Our Hmong clans are divided in other ways as well. For example:

01. The Tsab clan is divided into two subgroups: Zawm Plab and Kauv Lev.
02. The Haam clan is divided into two subgroups: Liab Tij and Liab Ntxawg.
03. The Lauj clan is divided into two groups: Tsiab Nqaig and Tsis Tsiab.
04. The Muas clan is divided into two groups: Muas Tab and Muas Phaws.
05. The Thoj clan is divided into two groups: Hua Txhib and Lob Laig.
06. The Vaj clan is divided into two groups: Vaj Hmoob and Vaj Sua.
07. The Vwj clan is divided into two groups: Coj Tauj and Coj Ntseej.
08. The Xyooj clan is divided into two groups: Dais Loj and Dais Me.
09. The Yaj clan is divided into two groups: Yaj Nyoog and Yaj Sua.

Of our 18 clans, 14 of them have at least one additional name. For example, your Yang clan has two additional clan names: Yaj Yawg and Yaj Ncuab and my Lee clan has two additional names as well: Hmoob Cai and Lis Cuab.

As far as taboos and clan prohibitions goes, here are a few:

- Hmoob Yaj caiv tsis noj tej tsiaj txhu lub plawv. (Yang clan prohibited from eating the hearts of animals.)
- Hmoob Lis caiv tsis noj tej tsiaj txhu tus po. (Lee clan prohibited from eating the spleen of animals.)
- Cov ntxhais noj tsis tau tus qaib txi xwm kab. (Daughters are prohibited from eating the sacrificial rooster used for ancestral offerings at the family's altar.)
- Ib txhia Hmoob caiv tsis noj txiv qaub sij hawm taug kev thiab tsis ris txiv hmab txiv ntoo rau hauv lub kawm uas ntim cov mov su rau hauv. (Some Hmong people are prohibited from eating txiv qaub (a type of fruit) while walking and also are prohibited from carrying fruits in their back basket while there is still (prepared) food in the basket.)
- Caiv tsis noj kuav txob thiab zaub hauv lub rooj tshoob. (All Hmong are prohibited from eating peppers and vegetables at a wedding.)
- Caiv tsis noj mov ntse dej, zaub thiab sij nyiaj thaum tsiab peb caug. (All Hmong are prohibited from eating rice with water and vegetable, as well as prohibited from spending money while observing new year rituals.)
- Ib txhia Hmoob caiv tsis noj zaub thaum nyob nruab hlis. (Some Hmong women are prohibited from eating vegetables for a month following giving birth to a child.)
- Me nyuam yaus caiv ntshav ciaj, plab, tis, ntsws thiab ko taw qaib. (Children are prohibited from eating the blood, stomach, wings, liver, and feet of chicken.)
- Caiv txhob zaum txhos caug noj mov. (All Hmong are prohibited from eating while kneeling down.)
- Tus nyab txhob siv tus yawg txoj phuam thiab lub dab ntxuav muag. (The daughter in law is prohibited from using her father in law's wash cloth and water basin.)
- Txhob xaws paj ntaub, xaws ris tsho thiab lwm yam sij hawm yus tus txiv los sis tus tub tab tom mus nyob rau txhav rog. (Women are prohibited from sewing or embroidering while her husband and/or son is on the battlefield.)
- Txhob muab tus khaub rhuab cheb tsev los ntaus me nyuam. (Prohibited from hitting a child with a broomstick.)
- Txhob zaum lub zeb ho uas niaj hnub hov riam hov txuas. (Prohibited from sitting on a sharpening block.)


In the Hmong language, the Yang clan name is spelled "Yaj", which is also the same spelling for 'sheep' in the Hmong language.

I know its Tradition and Culture... but living in the 21st century, I sometime come face to face with "This is Ridiculous" every now and then lol.
But yeah Babylon pretty much clear everything up... Heck even stuff I didn't even know lol.

Hello,

I am a Yang too. Yes I recall why the Hmong Yang boys cannot eat the chicken heart, it's because... well there is many stories... One story I heard was that it was a Yang guy who was nearly dying and lost his heart or it was pierce, and a chicken gave it's heart to him. Or I'll come back when I ask my dad about it.