Object Record
Images
Metadata
Artist |
Unknown |
Nationality or Tribal Affiliation |
Hmong |
Title |
Legend of the Vegetables Coming to the Farmer's Home |
Type of Object |
Needlework |
Date |
ca. 1977 - 1985 |
Medium |
Cotton/Thread |
Dimensions |
H-78 W-84.5 cm |
Collection |
Missoula Art Museum Collection |
How acquired |
Gift of Susan Lindbergh Miller in honor of Montana's Hmong Community |
Object ID |
2011.10.09 |
Statement about this object |
This story cloth tells the popular Hmong legend of plants harvesting themselves. As the legend goes, long ago people and plants made a pact to help each other. Humans protected plants from wild animals and freed their roots from weeds. Plants, in return, harvested themselves and brought crops to people. But the man, being lazy, failed to build a granary. When the crops arrived, they had no place to go. Sadly, the crops returned to the fields. Now people must carry their harvest home laboriously in baskets on their backs. Story cloths were unique products of the camps. Men, who received formal education, contributed to the design and writing, while women performed the hand sewing. These cloths were exported to relatives overseas and sold to generate income for those still in the camps. Once the camps closed, the primary support system for making and selling story cloths dissolved. This cloth was made in Thailand and collected in Missoula, MT in the late 1980s. |
Subjects |
Legends Farming Farmers Corn Harvesting |