During this period, It was viewed by younger Hmong as "old religion" or "superstition." In the West, to wear a spirit-protecting mountain on your jacket felt embarrassing to teenagers trying to blend into American high schools. duab toj siab
The Hmong people historically practiced Ua Neeb (shamanism), believing in a layered universe of wild spirits ( dab qus ), ancestral spirits ( dab pog dab yawm ), and the human soul ( plig ). The plig was fragile. A loud noise, a fright, or an evil spirit could cause it to flee the body, resulting in ua neeb (soul loss). Duab Toj Siab was created specifically to protect the plig . The plig was fragile
Shamans and elder women embroidered Duab Toj Siab onto baby carrier bands ( hlo hnab ) and jacket collars. Why? Because the pattern mimics a sacred mountain—a place where spirits cannot easily ascend. Newborns were considered "not yet fully human," still hovering between the spirit world and the living world. Their souls were like unmoored boats. By sewing Duab Toj Siab on the headflap of a baby carrier, the mother created a spiritual fortress. The steep, jagged steps of the pattern confused evil dab (spirits), who could only travel in straight lines. A spirit attempting to snatch the baby’s soul would see the complex labyrinth, get lost in the false spirals, and fall back down the mountain. The Shaman’s Map For txiv neeb (shaman-priests), Duab Toj Siab represented the journey to the upper world. During trance, the shaman’s soul ascended a mountain to negotiate with the gods. The pattern was often embroidered on the shaman’s roj kab mob (belt) or dawb (white head cloth). The false paths in the design remind the shaman which way not to go, serving as a mnemonic device for the perilous journey between realms. The Evolution: From Sacred Script to Secular Art The Vietnam War (called Tsov Rog by the Hmong) and the subsequent diaspora to the United States, France, Australia, and Canada radically altered the function of Duab Toj Siab. Shamans and elder women embroidered Duab Toj Siab
Whether sewn into a baby carrier in a Laotian highland village, or tattooed onto the forearm of a Hmong lawyer in Minneapolis, the geometry remains the same. Every right angle is a foothold. Every zigzag is a prayer. Every peak is a promise that the soul, protected by the mountain, will find its way home.
But to understand Duab Toj Siab is to look beyond its geometric elegance. It is a visual prayer, a map of the soul, and one of the last remaining links to a pre-literate spiritual world that the Hmong people carried from the highlands of China, through the jungles of Laos, and into the diaspora. At first glance, Duab Toj Siab appears as a complex labyrinth of stacked rectangles, stepped triangles, and zigzagging pathways. Unlike the floral or elephant-foot motifs found in Hmong paj ntaub (flower cloth), Duab Toj Siab is rigid and architectural. It is composed exclusively of straight lines and 90-degree angles.
In the rich tapestry of Hmong textile art, certain patterns transcend decoration to become vehicles for prayer, protection, and identity. Among the most visually striking and spiritually charged of these motifs is Duab Toj Siab (pronounced doo-ah thor- see-ah ). Directly translated from the Hmong language, Duab means "shape" or "picture," Toj means "mountain," and Siab means "liver" or, more poetically, "the seat of emotion and spirit." Thus, Duab Toj Siab is often rendered in English as the "Mountain Spirit Pattern" or the "Heart of the Mountain."
Duab — Toj Siab
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Duab — Toj Siab
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Duab — Toj Siab
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During this period, It was viewed by younger Hmong as "old religion" or "superstition." In the West, to wear a spirit-protecting mountain on your jacket felt embarrassing to teenagers trying to blend into American high schools.
The Hmong people historically practiced Ua Neeb (shamanism), believing in a layered universe of wild spirits ( dab qus ), ancestral spirits ( dab pog dab yawm ), and the human soul ( plig ). The plig was fragile. A loud noise, a fright, or an evil spirit could cause it to flee the body, resulting in ua neeb (soul loss). Duab Toj Siab was created specifically to protect the plig .
Shamans and elder women embroidered Duab Toj Siab onto baby carrier bands ( hlo hnab ) and jacket collars. Why? Because the pattern mimics a sacred mountain—a place where spirits cannot easily ascend. Newborns were considered "not yet fully human," still hovering between the spirit world and the living world. Their souls were like unmoored boats. By sewing Duab Toj Siab on the headflap of a baby carrier, the mother created a spiritual fortress. The steep, jagged steps of the pattern confused evil dab (spirits), who could only travel in straight lines. A spirit attempting to snatch the baby’s soul would see the complex labyrinth, get lost in the false spirals, and fall back down the mountain. The Shaman’s Map For txiv neeb (shaman-priests), Duab Toj Siab represented the journey to the upper world. During trance, the shaman’s soul ascended a mountain to negotiate with the gods. The pattern was often embroidered on the shaman’s roj kab mob (belt) or dawb (white head cloth). The false paths in the design remind the shaman which way not to go, serving as a mnemonic device for the perilous journey between realms. The Evolution: From Sacred Script to Secular Art The Vietnam War (called Tsov Rog by the Hmong) and the subsequent diaspora to the United States, France, Australia, and Canada radically altered the function of Duab Toj Siab.
Whether sewn into a baby carrier in a Laotian highland village, or tattooed onto the forearm of a Hmong lawyer in Minneapolis, the geometry remains the same. Every right angle is a foothold. Every zigzag is a prayer. Every peak is a promise that the soul, protected by the mountain, will find its way home.
But to understand Duab Toj Siab is to look beyond its geometric elegance. It is a visual prayer, a map of the soul, and one of the last remaining links to a pre-literate spiritual world that the Hmong people carried from the highlands of China, through the jungles of Laos, and into the diaspora. At first glance, Duab Toj Siab appears as a complex labyrinth of stacked rectangles, stepped triangles, and zigzagging pathways. Unlike the floral or elephant-foot motifs found in Hmong paj ntaub (flower cloth), Duab Toj Siab is rigid and architectural. It is composed exclusively of straight lines and 90-degree angles.
In the rich tapestry of Hmong textile art, certain patterns transcend decoration to become vehicles for prayer, protection, and identity. Among the most visually striking and spiritually charged of these motifs is Duab Toj Siab (pronounced doo-ah thor- see-ah ). Directly translated from the Hmong language, Duab means "shape" or "picture," Toj means "mountain," and Siab means "liver" or, more poetically, "the seat of emotion and spirit." Thus, Duab Toj Siab is often rendered in English as the "Mountain Spirit Pattern" or the "Heart of the Mountain."
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The Californiana Collection is in closed stacks at the Norwalk Library located at 12350 Imperial Hwy, Norwalk, CA 90650.
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The Californiana Collection consists of over 24,000 books and over 200 magazine and newspaper titles in paper and on microfilm as well as a collection of state documents including state and county budgets. The goal of this collection is to present a complete picture of the history, culture, environment and artistic expression of the people of California and to some extent, the western United States.
Collection Highlights
California Census Schedules from 1850 to 1910
Copies of The Alta California newspaper 1849-1891, as well as dozens of other 19th century newspapers from Gold Rush boomtowns, the Owens Valley and San Francisco
Official city and county histories from the 19th and 20th centuries
Materials on the Donner Party, California water projects, famous California crimes, Hollywood culture, biographies of Californians, pioneer narratives of the early days of California, and histories of the state written over the course of 150 years
