Names
The Iu Mien - 12 Clans
When talking about the original twelve clans, it is difficult for almost any Mien to name all of them since a few of the clans got lost or left behind when escaping from mainland China many generations ago. Another complicating factor is that the names that the Thais gave to each clan (which are the basis for today's Mien surnames in Thailand and the United States) not only depended on what each Thai interviewer heard their clan name to be, but also differs from the names that Miens call themselves. For instance, Ann (Saefung) and Laosan (Saefong) spell their official last names differently, yet each will identify themselves as a member of the Bungz (pronounced Bpung) clan. Notice that when Ann introduces herself, she first says her Thai name, then her Mien clan (in this case calling it La Bpung), then finally her Mien given name.
Read more about this topic: Iu Mien American
Famous quotes containing the word names:
“A knowledge that people live close by is,
I think, enough. And even if only first names are ever exchanged
The people who own them seem rock-true and marvelously self-sufficient.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“I do not see why, since America and her autumn woods have been discovered, our leaves should not compete with the precious stones in giving names to colors; and, indeed, I believe that in course of time the names of some of our trees and shrubs, as well as flowers, will get into our popular chromatic nomenclature.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The world is a puzzling place today. All these banks sending us credit cards, with our names on them. Well, we didn’t order any credit cards! We don’t spend what we don’t have. So we just cut them in half and throw them out, just as soon as we open them in the mail. Imagine a bank sending credit cards to two ladies over a hundred years old! What are those folks thinking?”
—Sarah Louise Delany (b. 1889)