The thesis is concerned with a controversial change between the concepts of equality and stratum, which is unique in theory and practice for the Hmong. The so-called fluctuation between absolute power and democracy has been observed throughout the highlands of Southeast Asia. The author believes that, to understand the Hmong’s concepts, we must look at their historical relationships. Their worlds are divided into two parts: light and darkness. The classification is according to the differences between day time, which is about human beings, and night time, which is about the mystery of the spirit world. The first part of the work provides details of history and economic systems of three Hmong villages in Thailand. It examines the long history of contact with China and changes in the economic relationship with people in low-lying areas. The author expects to get a framework from the Hmong’s viewpoints. The second part looks at the world of spirits through the Hmong’s rituals, e.g., homage to their ancestors, funerals, mythology, and mediums. The author points out that the difference between a community of extended families and kin-related rituals and the individuality of the mediums and the access to the spiritual world signifies a change between personal needs of social equality and the needs to get a hierarchical government. The two worlds complement each other. The concept of the spiritual world would be translated to a state-like world of lowland people. The author believes that, for the Hmong to change themselves from an ethnic group relying on subsistence and agriculture with extended families being a minority group of perpetual losers to a group with their own government, there must be a civil war and turbulence in their society. Finally, the author argues that the existence of ethnic identity is not perceived separately from the wider social relationships. Furthermore, he also compares their ethnic consciousness with the consciousness of capitalist stratification (p. III).