Hi, I’m Neng.

Txua Hneev Hmoob (HMong Bowyer) is a short documentary and self-filmed study into the craft of traditional bowmaking. This film shows the intricate process, from the shaping of the prod, to the heat activating of the iron nitrate stain, to the actual harvesting of a Wisconsin whitetail deer. The Hmong relationship with the natural world is not only displayed through the detailed wood, bamboo, and iron-working processes, but also notably through the traditional Hmong ritual of laig tim tswv teb chaws, performed before the hunt—the traditional Hmong practice of sharing a meal with the land's guardian spirits before asking them for guidance and protection during a hunt. Watch this film below.