H'Mông Women's Earrings of the Nation

Vietnam's northwestern region is famous not only for its breathtaking landscapes, but also for the unique, one-of-a-kind ornaments adorning the clothing, homes and jewelry of the mountain peoples living here. The earrings of women belonging to the H'Mông ethnic minority are a real highlight.

For H'Mông women, earrings are not just an ornament. In these discs of silver are reflected, as in a mirror, the customs and mores of their ancestors that have been cultivated for centuries. They are a symbol of a nation's cultural distinctiveness. Almost all silver earrings are circular in shape. They are engraved with designs of the sun and moon and images of the H'Mông gods. One resident of Bắc Yên county in Sơn La province says this about her earrings:

"I started wearing them while still a child. When I was 4 or 5 years old my parents had my ears pierced. I've been wearing my earrings since I was 14. We always wear earrings, even when we work in the fields, weave cloth or go to the market. Earrings are connected to our daily life. We are proud of this jewelry of our nation. When we wear them, everyone can see that we belong to the H'Mông. "In addition to round earrings, H'Mông women also wear ear ornaments in the shape of a spiral, question mark or crescent moon. Some women wear two earrings in one ear. The beautiful designs reflect the emotional world of the women, closely linked to the nature of the mountain landscape. The simplest ones can be made in 1-2 days; others require up to several weeks of work. This is no ordinary ornament, in the European sense. One can tell from the H'Mông earrings whether the woman wearing them is wealthy or rather poor; industrious or less diligent. The owner of the large discs is certainly industrious and wealthy. In addition, earrings, according to legends, protect women from evil spirits.

As it turns out, earrings can be not only a small work of art and a decoration of a woman's face, but also a symbol of national identity, and on top of that, protection from evil forces.