A young Hmong girl in traditional costume at a Hmong New Year celebration at a small rural town in Northern Laos.
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. This was taking place in Kiokacham in northern Laos.
Size: 3400px × 5100px
Location: Kiokacham, between Luang Prabang and Phou Khoun, northern Laos.
Photo credit: © Neil Harris / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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