Tuag Hlub Summary

Tuag Hlub Summary

**Spoiler Alert**

Yis Hawj (Leem Lis) was betrothed to her sickly maternal cousin, Kim Lis (Xeeb Lis), when she was only three years old. From that time onward, she lived with her fiancé's family, though she occasionally returned to visit her biological mother.

Yis, however, had no love for her fiancé. She was also constantly irritated by Kim's older brother, Teem Lis (Vej Lis), whose persistent teasing and pestering often got on her nerves.

One day, while Yis was on her way to visit her mother, she tripped and fell near a bamboo-pipe water system. A young man named Kuab Yaj (Ceeb Hawj), who happened to be nearby, immediately rushed over to help her.

Seeing that Yis had twisted her ankle, Kuab worried that it might swell badly. He quickly searched for a medicinal herb, chewed it in his mouth, and carefully placed the crushed herb around her injured ankle. He then tore a piece of cloth from the sleeve of his hemp shirt and used it to wrap the herb securely around her ankle.

Before Kuab left, Yis asked him to give her some drinking water.

As they spoke, the two found themselves drawn to one another. Although their encounter was brief, there was an unmistakable warmth between them, and both seemed reluctant to part.

Anayi Movie Recaps

Since I am kind of slow in terms of undating my writings, I have been contemplating on whether I should post Hmong movies summaries/recaps.  In the end, I decided to start with the Miao movie, Anayi.  For those of you who may not be familiar or who are confused, I just wanted to clarify that the term "Miao" used in China encompasses the Hmong and does not mean cat, like the derogatory "Meo" term used in Southeast Asia to label the Hmong in the past.  "Miao" in Chinese is equated with rice seedling, hinting to a possible fact that the Miao were the first people to cultivate rice in the world.  Miaozu, or Miao nationality, are divided into three subbranches (Western, Central, and Eastern) based on dialects and the Hmong outside the China mainland are considered to be in the Far Western group, nonethless still part of the Western Miao branch.  With this said, even though Anayi is about the Central Miao, it is nonetheless a Miao/Hmong movie and that is the reason why I decided to summarize it.  (Note: For those who are curious and don't know, the Eastern Miao are the ones in the poster for "A Candlelight Dream.")

This film was made in 2005 and starred Chouchou (also the director, screenwriter, and co-producer--she graduated from Beijing Art Academy) as the leading protagonist Anayi, Cheng Xiaodong as Ahan, and Wang Xuefeng as Abao.  Chouchou is half Miao, half Dong (an ethnic group who lives near the Miao but in lower elevations near rivers and streams, and who belongs to the same language family as the Thai/Lao), Cheng Xiaodong is Dong, and Wang Xuefeng is Miao.