Date: 2002/01/26 18:35
From: The Webfairy <webfairy@enteract.com>
To: cia-drugs@yahoogroups.com
> The fact that opium is black, the same as Hmong textiles, means they do not
> draw attention from customs officials at checkpoints, he said.
I am doubting who ever wrote this has ever seen Hmong textiles.
I worked in a textile gallery at the time the Hmong came to Chicago, and
had the privilege and honor of handling many Hmong textiles.
Their traditional work is applique of remarkable complexity, much like
mola.
I have also seen batiks which do have black dyed over their colors, but
Hmong batiks take months to accomplish, and the finished product has a
certain feel from the waxings which is unmistakable and could not
convievably be replaced with opium.
http://www.lib.uci.edu/rrsc/hmong.html is the only Hmong textile source
I could find online.
Many I have seen in person were probably made locally. They were
brighter and more pictorial and had scenes of their village life, some
with scenes of the destruction they had suffered. The needlework was
incredibly fine.
Some had stitching of mixed quality, like an entire family took part in
the sewing, but even the lesser work was as well sewn as a decent
American quilt.
This article looks to me like disinformation designed to justify
genocide against them and confiscation of their textiles, which are
valued by discriminating collectors.
--
Patriotism means you care enough about your country to fight for
justice.
http://emperors-clothes.com
-- Jared Israel
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