RE: Interesting tie to this area and Chai Vang
Another fact about their "way of life":
Teenage marriage and polygamy are two dark parts of Hmong culture that have simply got to go. It is
tragically common for young Hmong girls to enter into illegal "marriages" to older men. Girls may be "married"
as early as age 13 to men ranging from age 17 to 35, sometimes twice their age, but more commonly four or
five years older. These are Hmong style "marriages" done by a shaman having no legal authority and, in fact,
typically being against state marriage laws. In many cases, the so-called marriage qualifies as sexual child
abuse, and some of the older men have been prosecuted.
Polygamy is another dark side of Hmong culture in need of cultural repair. A number of Hmong men go find girl
friends, often in other cities, and even enter into bogus second "marriages" with them. One of the terrible things
about this is that the man often gives a large fraction of his income to the new "wife," sometimes leaving the
neglected first wife without enough money to take care of her kids. The first wife is often aware of the new
relationship, and sometimes it is rubbed in her face to make her feel even worse and lower than she already
does. This so-called polygamy is really just adultery, but with the pernicious twist of impoverishing and
degrading the first wife even more than "normal" adultery does. Anglo or Hmong, adultery is for scum. It's a
problem for both cultures, of course. In Hmong culture, since it is more visible, it's especially problematic.
Whole families grow up knowing that their father is married to another woman, and that their mother is either a
neglected first wife or an illicit second wife. It's ugly.
Source: jefflindsay.com -- a Hmong sympathizer yet!! [:-]