- [Susan] So mom, whenever you wear Hmong clothes, what does that represent for you?

How do you feel?

- I am Hmong.

- (laughing) Why're you gonna cry?

- I know.

(laughing) - We're just starting.

(whimsical music) I bet you're probably staring at the screen right now, wondering, "What in the world is a Paj Ntaub?"

Well, let me tell you.

(record scratching) Wait a minute.

Let's establish who I am first.

I'm Susan and if you haven't caught on, I'm the host of this series.

Now that we have that cleared let's continue, shall we?

(tape whirring) Paj Ntaub is this.

(coins jingling) Not this whole belt right here, but these tiny, geometric stitches.

Here.

This is what Hmong people, my people, call a traditional Paj Ntaub design and it's been a part of the Hmong fashion for centuries.

But during the Vietnam War, well lots of things changed during the Vietnam War.

(guns firing and people yelling) At that time, because Hmong villagers knew the land, they were recruited by the United States to fight alongside them and against the communist armies.

(melancholy music) But following the war and after the United States withdrew their troops, Hmong people were left defenseless, and in many cases, murdered.

So in fear of persecution, the Hmongs, like my mom, had to seek refuge in another country.

(whimsical music) (sequins jingling) - [Susan] Hmong clothes are usually adorned with a textile art called Paj Ntaub which traditionally is defined by its use of different stitching techniques, vibrant colors, and geometric patterns.

- The whole set.

That's it.

- Traditionally Hmong girls were taught how to Paj Ntaub at a young age.

Usually by their mother or a female relative.

(woman speaking in Hmong) Knowing how to work a needle was a very desired skill to have.

Mainly, because one, it is a form of expression - an art.

The second reason and probably the most prominent was to grab the attention of their suitors.

The better the needle work, the more likely you'll be seen as wifey material.

So do you like try to wear your best Hmong clothes so that to impress the... - Yeah.

You see how she's finishing it up?

She turned to the back.

- This Paj Ntaub style basically means Hmong cross stitch.

This is a very original Hmong style of stitches.

Very, very basic but it's the most important one to start with.

- Chuayi Yang and Suzanne Thao is a mother-daughter duo who heads up Project Paj Ntaub.

Together they create a space where people of all ages can learn the history and art of Paj Ntaub.

- So Paj Ntaub, how it's literally defined, right if you just say Paj Ntaub, it's like flower cloth.

Hmong Paj Ntaub is probably the most original Hmong-constructed art.

It really goes back thousands of years and it started with the Hmong people.

I think we need to really be clear that our story started before the Vietnam war.

- [Susan] Before the Vietnam war, Paj Ntaub was used to make clothing for families to wear.

But after the war, it was used to finance their stay in the refugee camps.

As a result, new forms of Paj Ntaub emerged.

(whimsical music) One example - the story cloth.

Essentially an embroidered tapestry, it is the most well-known form of Paj Ntaub today.

- What happened was they were in contact with a lot of Westerners that were bringing in food that were coming in to provide different services.

And so, what they were seeing was that Hmong people who were very skilled in doing Paj Ntaub like embroidery stitches.

And so, they introduced this concept of story cloth.

- Is there a difference between how each are designed, between you know like what's on your traditional Hmong outfit versus what's on the story cloth?

- For Hmong people, especially Hmong Paj Ntaub makers, I think for them it's really about putting a design that looks attractive.

Not necessarily telling a message.

- It's more about the art versus a scientific or historical message.

- Right, right.

If you look at traditional Hmong Paj Ntaub, it's really hard, I think, for foreigners to make sense of them.

It looks like geometrical shapes but they don't really understand the concept of it.

And so, I think there's definitely was this foreign Western influence into how story cloth were being made.

To really be more visually designed to make profits in such a way that Westerners can understand what they're were creating.

- What did come out of the story cloth is a recording of the Hmong history.

From daily life in the refugee camps, to the Vietnam war, to life before the war, the Hmongs who had always been an oral community we're able to use Paj Ntaub as a tool to communicate with others.

The drawback of the story cloth and many of the postwar designs was that it began shifting the value of Paj Ntaub.

It was still valuable, yes, but from a consumerism standpoint.

Essentially a price tag drove its worth.

- This knowledge around Paj Ntaub, the skills that we've always passed on, that we seeas valuable, as status driven.

It wasn't passed on any more.

Priority came to how do we survive.

How do we adapt to this country?

That was the result of a lot of the post-war destruction and disruption to our community.

(gentle music) I think Hmong people are very resilient, and intelligent, and creative, and so, I really think that, you know, we do this work because as simple as a thread and a needle and a piece of fabric, it actually, like, reconnects them with this part of who they are that they've forgotten.

We had many, many things going for us even before the Vietnam war.

So let's remember that.

Like let's not start our story with a tragedy.

- As for me, the daughter of a Hmong family, I will proudly wear my Hmong clothes, layers, coins, and all.

For my mom who cried three days just so she could receive her first outfit.

For my family who I've never gotten to meet.

And for my ancestors who fought to keep our Paj Ntaub traditions alive.

'Cause like Suzanne says, Paj Ntaub and our traditional outfits are the few possessions left that really truly is Hmong.