Ntsov thiab Ntxawm
A Hmong Folklore and Analysis by Yaj Lig XaivKhab
Preface
Bride kidnapping was a common practice in the late 1800s-1950s. Back in the motherlands, coming-of-age girls were often warned not to accept gifts from strangers, especially men. If she accepted a gift from a man, it was an unspoken agreement to take his hand in marriage. Often naive daughters from sheltered families would unintentionally accept these gifts without knowing the implied intent thus giving reason for the bride kidnapping to commence. Other times young orphaned girls were targeted because of the lack of parental figures making it easier for these young girls to get kidnapped and forced into marriages and servitude that they did not agree on. On rare occasions, bride kidnapping occurs due to a lover’s quarrel between two suitors wanting to propose to the same girl.
And thus, the story unfolds.
In Hmong folklore, there is a story about a beautiful young maiden named Ntxawm who was bride-napped by a tiger named Ntsov. In the version that I heard, Ntxawm was already betrothal to Nuj Nplhaib before she was abducted.
Ntxawm was known to be the most beautiful maiden in the village. She had long black shiny hair, dark brown eyes that were round like the moon, skin as fair as the wispy clouds swirling in the mountains, and a melodic voice that could swoon all birds and men. Many men courted her, but Nuj Nplhaib was the lucky suitor who won her heart when he decided to perform at the village circle by playing her a tragic love song with his qeej. The tragic love song brought tears to Ntxawm’s eyes and she agreed to marry Nuj Nplhaib that day. A wedding was set to take place in the coming weeks.
The evening before the wedding ceremony began, Ntxawm went out to the forest to forage some herbs, mushrooms, and plants for dinner when she came across Ntsov. Hiding in the green canopy forest was Ntsov’s bright golden eyes following Ntxawm as she sang the same sad tragic love story she heard the day of her proposal. It was love at first sight for Ntsov as he thought she was the most beautiful human he’d ever seen, whose voice was clearer than the skies and rivers, and out sang the tweeting birds that roosted on top of the high canopy. After keeping a close watch on her, Ntsov kidnaps Ntxawm and brings her back to his lair.
The following morning was the day of the wedding ceremony. Nuj Nplhaib arrived at Ntxawm’s parents’ home early that morning only to discover that Ntxawm had disappeared. After hearing rumors that a tiger had abducted his beloved bride-to-be, he immediately ran back home and started packing his bow and arrows and riam hmoob. Infuriated, Nuj Nplhaib was on a mission to hunt down and kill Ntsov, rescue the love of his life, and bring his bride back home.
Nuj Nplhaib start his journey hiking through the forest and the uneven sloped hills until he reached the mountain’s ledge where Ntsov’s lair was located. He climbed up the walls and entered the rocky cave only to find that Ntxawm was happily married to Ntsov and had birthed a litter of four kittens. Enraged by what he saw, Nuj Nplhaib kills Ntsov in his sleepy slumber and takes Ntxawm back home with him leaving the kittens behind.
Years later the kittens had grown up as tigers of the forest. One day the two youngest tigers discussed with their siblings that they wanted to stay in the village where Nuj Nplaib tiab Ntxawm lived. The two eldest thought it was a bad idea when the tiger siblings were still in their animal form. Suspecting that the village would not allow tigers to live among them if they looked like ferocious beasts, the two youngest decided to shape-shifted to humans with fair skin, reddish-orange hair, and light golden eyes. The two eldest tigers remained in their beastly forms and stayed in the forest while the two tiger humans integrated into the village, concealing their tiger heritage with only their complexion as a reminder of their murdered father.
In another oral record, Ntxawm had not given birth to the kittens when Nuj Nplhaib arrived at the cave. After waiting until sundown, Nuj Nplhaib sneak into the cave and murder Tsov in his sleep, rescuing Ntxawm and taking her back home to marry. A few months into the marriage, Ntxawm discover that she was pregnant. Shortly after, Ntxawm suddenly gave birth prematurely to the kittens in secrecy claiming a miscarriage to Nuj Nplaib. This devastated Nuj Nplaib who was looking forward to becoming a father. Eventually, Nuj Nplhaib finds out about the kittens and destroyed three out of the four without realizing that the fourth one got away. The death of Ntxawm’s tiger babies caused a rifted between Nuj Nplhaib tiab Ntxawm and she was not able to conceive again.
Years later and the fourth kitten, Tub Tsov, grows up in solitude with only one mission on his mind: to avenge Nuj Nplhaib for the massacre of his siblings. With years of training and becoming the largest beast in the forest, Tub Tsov finally confronts an older Nuj Nplhaib during one of his walks to the farmland. Tub Tsov was fueled by vengeance as he recalled what happened to him as a young kitten and the loss he felt the day when he saw what Nuj Nplhaib did to his siblings. Rumors quickly spread about this encounter and got to Ntxawm. Feeling distraught, Ntxawm ran to the farmlands and plead with Nuj Nplhaib to not harm her tiger child. She try to stop the brawl, but chaos ensued.
In some version of this oral record, Nuj Nplaib spares Tub Ntsov’s life and adopts the orphan into his home after not having any children of his own. Tub Tsov eventually marries a young woman from the village and cares for Nuj Nplaib tiab Ntxawm as they progress to old age.
In other versions, Tub Ntsov successfully avenges his siblings’ deaths and goes back into the forest leaving Ntxawm a widow. Years later, Tub Tsov finds a maiden who was foraging for herbs and plants in the forest and decides to marry her. Tub Tsov transforms into a human with a fair complexion and lives with the maiden in her village eight mountains and six valleys away from Ntxawm’s village. Tub Tsov ends up having a family of his own and slowly starts forgetting about the atrocities he saw as a young kitten.
Writer’s Thoughts
Growing up in America, I did not care much about Hmong folklore, but as I became an adult I recognized that some of these stories are pivotal to Hmong Culture and how we view our societal norms. Many of these stories teach us about the ugly and beautiful side of love, marriage, family, death, and the spiritual world.
Many motifs that exist within Hmong Folklore include orphans, love and romance, beginnings and endings, tigers, dragons, and evil spirits. Many of our stories incorporate spiritual mythicism relating to our spiritual awareness of the natural world and what lies beyond the mountains and forests in a Hmong village.
Unlike zaj, which are purely grandeur spiritual creatures that are created by a mirage, ntsov are real threatening beasts that live outside of a village. Many Hmongs who lived in the motherlands before the Hmong Diaspora have horror stories about wandering children getting mauled by one of these beasts inside the forest when they don’t take precautions. Man is not immune to this horror either so when there is a story of a warrior killing a horrible beast, he is seen as a hero to be celebrated.
The stories of these creatures depict our human instinct to fight certain aspects of nature and the consequences of those occurrences involving human actions and emotions. Whether zaj are made up in our heads (a mental spiritual illness) or a tsov physically attacking and hurting a person (war and cruelty), this is all part of the human condition. It is only human to feel fear, loneliness, sadness, love, acceptance, vengeance, and forgiveness toward others who have created a crater in our physical and spiritual world. The actions we take and how we heal from these turmoils will define us as who we are.
All humans are capable of evil and destruction, but they are also capable of good and kindness. Which path would you take?
Disclosure: This story is an adaptation of the stories I heard growing up and the movies I saw as a young child. In the oral tradition, many details are often added, reiterated, or left out to convey a better message to their listeners and viewers. This is my adaptation.
Hmong Words:
Dab (dah) – evil spirit, sickness
Kho (ko) – to heal, to fix
Kwv Txhiaj (kuh zeeah) – a type of Paj Huab depicting themes of hardships and perseverance
Nplaib (ply) – engagement ring
Ntsov (chaw) – tiger
Ntxawm (zer) – youngest daughter, young maiden
Nuj (new) – debt; a masculine prefix added to a male name
Paj Huab (pa houa) – poetry, spoken words in a melodic tune
Plig (plee) – spirit, mental awareness
Qeej (king) – a curved seven piped bamboo instrument that plays sounds by inhaling and exhaling into a single narrow tubular mouth piece that connects to the base of the hollowed pipes; this Hmong instrument is only played during ceremonial celebrations and funerals
Tub (too) – son, a young boy, a masculine adolescent prefix or suffix added to a male name
Zaj (jah) – dragon, rainbow
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