Influence of Long-Term Communist Confrontation on Inducing Changes in Society and Musical Culture of Hmong Ethnic Group in Thailand

The ethnic group ‘Hmong’, the descendants of Chinese ‘Miao’ group who migrated south to reside in Northern Thailand, is known to possess their own unique arts, culture, tradition, and music. However, the influence of social change seemed to largely affect the musical culture of Hmong ethnic, Khao Kho District, Phetchabun Province, in a multifactorial manner. Through different phases of a series of communist wars, the original musical cultures were subjected to the cumulative changes of social contexts, evolving toward modernization, at a great extent. In addition, not only the social changes have had a large impact on the Hmong ethnic’s musical cultures, but also on their ritual performances that require music as its core. This study aimed to elucidate the effect of social changes on musical culture by identifying the key contributing factors that determined Hmong’s musical performances and appreciation based on their historical features.