A man sits looking at a collection of empty Beer Lao and Miranda bottles in a tent at a rural Hmong New Year ceremony
Image details
Contributor:
Neil Harris / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
B7GABTFile size:
49.6 MB (1.9 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
5100 x 3400 px | 43.2 x 28.8 cm | 17 x 11.3 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
1 December 2008Location:
Kiokacham, between Luang Prabang and Phou Khoun, northern Laos.More information:
The Hmong ball tossing game (pov pob) takes place during the month long Hmong New Year celebration. Boys and girls form two parallel lines facing one another. It is OK for girls to toss the ball to other girls or to a boy, but boys cannot toss the ball to other boys. The ball must not be tossed to a someone of the same clan. The cloth ball (now often a tennis ball) is tossed back and forth, until someone drops the ball. If a participant drops or misses the ball, a present is given to the other player in the pair. These presents are recovered by singing love songs (hais kwv txhiaj) to the other player. Under an awning a line of beer bottles had accumulated. This was taking place in a small town on the road from Luang Parbang to Phonsavan.