Embroidered clothing is an essential part of the Yao's cultural identity. The women embroider colourful geometric patterns on their homespun garments and accessories. Mothers make hats like this for babies and small children. The brightly coloured wool pompoms on children's hats look like flowers. The pompoms probably serve as a protective talisman against evil spirits. The Mien or Yao as they are often called, probably lived in southern China about 2,000 years ago and are related to the Hmong. They write in Chinese and speak a language derived from the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The Yao migrated during the mid 19th century from Laos to Thailand.
