References:

"Countries and Their Cultures." Kammu. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Japan-to-Mali/Kammu.html#b>.

"Khmu of Laos | OMF." Khmu of Laos | OMF. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://www.omf.org/omf/us/peoples_and_>

"Khmu people." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmu_people>.

"Kids of Courage." Khmu Food and a Recipe «. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://www.kidsofcourage.com/?p=5461>.

"Lao-pedia - Facts About The Khmu People." Lao-pedia - Facts About The Khmu People. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://www.greendiscoverylaos.com/travel-info/wiki/item/177-facts-about-the-khmu-people>.

"List of birds of Laos." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds

"Oral histories of livelihoods and migration under socialism and post socialism in Northern Laos."Academia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://www.academia.edu/2039490/Oral_

*pictures resources are listed below each photo along with video clips*

Khmu Cultural Survival:

 The Khmu peoples are ones who in recent times have adjusted easily to socio-political organizations (greendiscoverlaos.com). As noted before, they work well with their surrounding neighbors and villages in order to meet each others needs. However, such quick adaptations can have the Khmuic people lose their traditions within their culture, which means that the Khmu may risk losing their cultural identity all together. As it is, the Khmu culture is already viewed as vanishing according to some texts. Overall, the Khmu peoples need to find an adaptation system that enhances but still keeps important aspects of their culture alive.

Khmu Cooking:

kidsofcourage.com

     Khmu food is primarily based on sticky rice and small game. Rice is served at almost every meal and they almost never buy food. What is placed on the table is what is caught either fishing or hunting. In order to preparing meat and fish, they are smoked and cooked on top of large fires located near the males huts. The men typically do the hunting and fishing, while the females collect plants and grains such as rice and mushrooms. Special foods consist of eggs and black sticky rice fro "wife-givers" (such as the mates father) and ceremonies (everyculture.com). Lastly, there is not many ingredients used in cooking. Usually the meal is simply seasoned with salt and chili (other spices may include ginger and garlic). 

**Fun fact from everyculture.com: Black rice also symbolizes safety and is carried around in a small pouch when they travel. 

-the-chicken-chick.com

fussfreecooking.com

Music of the Khmu:

www.youtube.com

     The Khmu's music consisted of handmade and carved instruments including a bronze drum and w carved wooden flute. It is similar to the music in the rest of southeast asia as portrayed in the video above. The video includes pictures of the Khmu culture along with a traditional Khmuic song.

Khmu Migrations and Diaspora:

     The area of northern Laos has been subjected to an a series of wars and air raids from the late 1940s to the mid 1970s. Therefore, many people fled to the highlands and the outskirts, already where the Khmu resided for almost 400 years. The Khmu are only a mere 11% of the total population in all of Laos, but the largest minority. In Nam Tha valley, they compile around 80% of the local population. They are classified as being extremely poor in relation to income in comparison to the other people of Laos and other countries. This is often blamed by their traditional agricultural practices ad other traditional practices because it holds them back from developing their villages and some of their cultural practices. However, this is beginning to change and they are becoming more used to developing and change.

The Khmu and their Neighbors:

The Khmu people typically live in rural villages so a good connection with their surrounding neighbors is tough, but they do manage to be involved. In past times, neighboring villages have been afraid of the Khmu and their spiritual practices since their land is considered sacred. However, in more recent times they do tend to barter and trade more with other villages involving crops, cloth, and so on. The Khmuic people will also look for work when necessary in other villages. Good relations with their neighbors is important in their culture and lifestyle because each others services is depended upon by one another. Below is a video of a Khmu village and their daily tasks to portray their village and surrounding areas.

                                                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edvfiJNIwKU

Birds and the Khmu:

     The Khmuic people of Laos from what I have researched do not have anything specific in common, nor any specific special meaning. The only thing I came across was that during the New Year Celebration the people of Laos will sometimes buy birds in cages and then set them free to celebrate the incoming year ; there is a video link below. There are hundreds of birds located in Laos and the region of the Khmu. To list a few there are the Black Bitterns, Purple Herons, Eastern Great Egrets, Painted Stork, Garganey, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Besra, Amur Falcon, Red Junglefowl, Wood Snipe, and many more: Birds of Laos. There is also a section in Laos devoted to preservation known as Phou Khao Khouay National Protected Area which is displayed in the first video below.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZKpHjE0xY4

www.birdforum.net

www.youtube.com

Khmu Cosmos:

     The Khmu follow multiple religions including their main religion Animism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Under the main religion of Animism, there are spirits known as "hrooy" and  "hrooy hoo", which are refered to as the house spirit and the most powerful jungle spirit (omf.org). Most Khmu believe in multiple gods, not a single God, such as the gods of the rocks and mountains. Taboo is a key concept of this main religion and breaking this will result in angry spirits. Activities that involve breaking the taboo of the Khmu people include birth ceremonies celebrating children born feet first and  walking into one's house without the owners consent. If the child is born feet first, the family must sacrifice a pig, but if the child is born head first the pig is referred to as sacred.These are characteristics of most Mon-Khmur groups.

www.mediahex.com

World of the Khmu:

     The Khmuic people make a living from their surrounding environment and their individual cultural ways. They practice the ways of slash and burn farming and their main intake is through agriculture accompanied by gathering, hunting, trapping, and fishing. Rice is a main staple in their diet, but bananas and sugar cane is also an important part of their diet. Regarding their source of income and trade, the rural villages of the Khmu people in Laos are often just below the poverty line. Some villages make a living by producing silver tobacco pipes, knives, straw baskets, wood bowls, and so on. Others sell tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, tea, and taro.
     When it comes to shelter and village development there are many different traditions; some followed today and others are ones of the past. The village is designed to fit up to 150 families and are settled on slanted sloped hundereds of meters above sea-level surrounded by fences. Houses are built so they never intersected the direction of the sun and lie east to west. Khmu cemeteries are traditionally divided into four sections; one for natural deaths, one for accidental deaths, one for children, and one for those who died away from home. The leaders of a typical Khmuic village include the shaman (spiritual medicine), medicine man (herbal medicine), priest, and village headman (chosen by Laotian government) (wikipedia). 
     Regarding celebrations, the Khmu practice 4 major festivals: crop planting, harvesting, new year, and get rid of sin festival. Today, the new year festival is hardly practiced, but when it is it is combined with the harvesting festival (wikipedia). Also, recovery ceremonies are practiced in times of diseases and natural disasters. During the recovery ceremony, sacrifices of livestock (particularly buffalo) occur frequently. 

www.superstock.com

The Khmu's Homeland of Laos:

     Laos, the home of many Khmu, is located in Southeast Asia and is bordered by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.

http://en.lonelyplanet.com 

                                                                      

                                                                                 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmu_language                                                          

     The most heavily populated area where the Khmu people call home is the area of northern Laos. Northern provinences of Luang Prabang, Xieng Khouang, Oudomxay, and north of Vientiane are the more provident of the Khmu villages. They tend to prefer to reside in the valleys of such regions at an altitude of 400-800 meters above sea level accompanied by a slope basin, which is ideal for their settlements and basic way of life. The river is a main staple in the Khmu villages in order to perform bathing, hunting, and to gain water access.

    

Village Basin and Traditional Khmu Village

http://www.greendiscoverylaos.com/travel-info/wiki/item/177-facts-about-the-khmu-people
http://alien-heartbeat.com/tag/poverty/

History of the Khmu:

     The Khmu, or also known as Khamu or Kammu, are a subdivision of the greater Khmuic peoples and are known as being the first to settle into the Indo-China Peninsular around 40,000 B.C. To define the Khmu and its people, they are Austro-Asiatic people and believed to of resided in what is currently known as the Peoples Republic of China all the way to their destination of origin, Indo-China Peninsula. The people of Laos, where most Khmu are currently present, refer to the Khmu as Kah, Austro-Asiatic people, which has a central meaning of slave. They are also referred to as the hill people within the same region using the name Lao Theung and known as the first indigenous people of Laos. However,in the Peoples Republic of China they are placed under the category of undistinguished ethnic groups due to the fact that they are not recognized officially as a separate ethnic group. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmu_people

Intro/Index:

     The Khmu are one of the most largest ethnic groups based in the country of Laos. The estimated population 541,000 people, mostly associated in the northern regions. They are divided among many different sraengs including the following: Khmu, Khmu Khrong, Khmu Mae, and Khmu Ou. The language they use is in the Khmuic language family and belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family (wikipedia). Their culture relies on being passed down from the elders along the fire late at night and the use of tattooing is prevalent to represent each individuals stories and/or religious reasons. Most crops are basic agriculture, most popular being rice, and rely on the meat of small livestock. The Khmu also believe in taboo and the consequences that go along with breaking it. Overall, the Khmu people of Laos are a large part in ethnicity in Laos and keep true to their traditions, but alter them when necessary. 

• History of the Khmu
• Homeland of the Khmu
• World of the Khmu
• Khmu Cosmos
• Birds of the Khmu
• Khmu and their Neighbors
• Khmu Migrations and Diaspora
• Music of the Khmu
• Khmu Cooking
• Khmu Cultural Survival
• References