By: Mai Vang, Miggy Cruz, and Hoang Phuong Vy Nguyen
Demystifying Hmong Shamanism depicts an insightful discussion of Shamanism, a practice
that has travelled across borders to help Hmong people maintain cultural
identity and provide solidarity in a place far from their homeland. By
providing a broad range of case examples, Linda A. Gerdner aims to promote the
cultural and spiritual importance that Shamanism continues to play in the lives
of Hmong-Americans.
To understand the central values of a certain culture, one
must acknowledge the history of that ethnic group and recognize the importance
of their religious source. Early written documentations about Hmongs derived
from other cultural groups. They mostly located in isolated high-lands of Laos,
but when the Vietnam war spread into Northeastern Laos, some supported the
Communists, while others served the U.S -- resulting in a diasporic migration
to the U.S. or other Southeast Asian countries when the U.S. withdrew its
soldiers.
For refugees that resided in the U.S., their family and
clan structure provided them support and necessary network for adaptations to
the new life and experience. Family unit is part of a larger clan structure as
that provides the basic social organization for the community. Hmongs heavily
emphasize the concept of interdependence; in families, any life decision that
one member makes can directly or indirectly impact the rest of the family.
Meanwhile, clans interconnect as they practice exogamy; daughters have to marry
outside of their own clan. Gerdner explains that Shamanism plays an integral
role in these spiritual beliefs because as individuals practice spiritual
well-being, they also form a healthier society where “individuals are
interdependent and collaborative working for the greater whole, in contrast to
a “sick” society that is highly individualistic and ruled by competitiveness.”
(Gerdner 18)
Shamanism is placed within a greater context of Hmong
cosmology. Gerdner expresses that “cosmology is divided into yai ceeb
and yeeb ceeb” (Gerdner 11); people are born into the world of
the living, yai ceeb, and is assisted back to yeeb ceeb during the time of
death.
This represents a strong interdependence between the living
and the deceased because as the two desire support for one another; the living
pay homage to the deceased, in return, for protection by his/ her ancestors.
Moreover, the human body is believed to host a number of souls; the isolation
of one or more of these souls can cause spiritual illness. Animals are used as
sacrifices to prevent the separation of these souls as their spiritual makeup
differs from that of human beings; their one and only soul is equivalent to
many of humans', hence, preventing deaths and illnesses. Consequently, sharing
this mutual belief system is what unifies the Hmong community and maintain
their existence in the U.S. Nonetheless, others may be skeptical towards
cosmology as they view this as a form of superstition. Therefore, what is a
superstition? How does it differ from tradition? How do we know where to draw
the line between the two?
Shamans are chosen through spiritual calling that can be
manifested in forms of “symbolic death and resurrection, dream or serious
illness” (Gerdner 20). A few believes that individuals can also make conscious
decisions to become a shaman and “communicate with benevolent spirits to help
the Hmong” (Gerdner 28). Regardless, each new shaman will then be mentored by a
master shaman, whose role is to mentor him in physical aspects such as
preparing tools, setting up and maintaining a permanent altar. During the
initiation ceremony, the new shaman will receive his permanent altar, while
master shaman and his spirit helpers travel to see Siv Yis, the first
shaman, to carefully assign spirit helpers to the new shaman. Although, altars
that belong to Hmong-American shamans may differ from that of shamans living in
Laos, in general, all shaman altars have basic similarities.
Image 1: Two altars: of Hmong-American
shaman (left) and of Hmong shaman living in Laos (right)
Once a Shaman receives his or her spiritual calling, they
“[make] a lifelong commitment to the practice of shamanism” (Plotnikoof,
Numrich, Wu, Yan and Xiong, 2002, cited by Gerdner 57). Gerdner follows the
story of a man who was born in Laos, Mr. T. Mr. T and his family fled Laos in
1975, the same year of the fall of Saigon. They travelled to Thailand and
eventually to the U.S., most specifically to Minnesota, as refugees. The U.S.
welcomes various religions, but most practice Christianity, Catholicism. Mr.
T., after a few years of living in the U.S. converted to Catholicism. Gerdner
discusses the differing opinions of the Hmong population in the U.S. The Hmong
were grateful to the U.S. for opening its doors to them, but how to express
their gratefulness differed within the group. Some felt willing to convert to
Catholicism because they were indebted to do so. Some felt pressured, while
others were “internally motivated to become Christians” (Gerdner 58). She notes
that many were grateful, but the way they would expressed their gratitude.
The Hmong practice animism, or the belief that one cannot
separate the spirit from the body, even after death, which proves why the Hmong
practice interdependence, not just with their family, but also with their
deceased family members. Mr. T. practiced Catholicism for thirty years, until
he began feeling bodily pain. This incident caused Mr. T. to return to his
shamanistic ways. He contacted a Master Shaman to conduct the induction
ceremony. Gerdner goes into a great deal of discussion about the steps it takes
to be a Shaman. There is a delicacy in the way a Shaman is blessed. The tools
used and the people involved in the induction are particular. During Mr. T.’s
induction ceremony, the Master Shaman gave each family member a task that each
must perform prior to the ceremony, during, and after. Sacrificial animals are
involved, and the entire ceremony is spiritually, emotionally, and most of all
physically demanding. Moreover, the construction and placement of the altar is
most important. Master Shaman Xiong “warned the new shaman that an altar should
never be placed on the lower level of a home where persons walk on the floor
directly above” (Gerdner 59). Shaman T. placed his altar in their basement,
unwavering to the previous warning by Master Xiong. It was only after he fell
ill again did he finally move the altar to the second floor of their home.
There are five ways in which a shaman can be chosen,
spiritual calling. In all five ceremonies the master shaman must either write
the name of the candidate or chant it. The ceremonies also include rice and a
balance egg in the vertical position on top of an inverted glass cup. The
shaman performs the selection ceremony three times. Certain severe illness
require special physicians, which is why in Western medicine there are
specialists such as oncologists and neurologists, to name a few. Similarly,
there are also special shamans who perform particular ceremonies for problems
identified by the individual and the family members. There are a number of
ceremonies, and the most common is the Ua Neeb Kho, or the healing ceremony.
The healing ceremony is particular to those receiving the spiritual help, and
it also involved animal sacrifice (Gerdner 75).
Furthermore, Gerdner discusses two case studies where a
shaman had to perform more than one ceremony to the ill in order to relieve
them of their pains. The ceremonies performed takes hours and hours. The
preparation itself is extensive and truly a labor.One case study relied purely
on shamanism, while the second managed to incorporate shamanism and western
medicine at the same time. Note that combining shamanism and western practices
is decided by the family. In fact, many of the ceremonies cannot be performed
in a hospital setting and must be done by the shaman in their home with a piece
of clothing from the patient. Still the Hmong-American community rely heavily
on these rituals for healing.
The most interesting was the fact that calling for a shaman
to heal costs a good sum of money. For instance, in one of the case studies the
family and the shaman made an agreement that the family would pay the shaman
$1500. That came as a shock, but also understandable because by Gerdner’s
research on how the ceremonies were performed and executed, the tools used and
the labor is quite extensive. In particular the shamans, and in general, the
Hmong culture, is very particular on their textile. The clothing of a shaman is
very symbolic. The color and weaving patterns present in the clothing of a
shaman indicate certain things about the shaman. For example, if a shaman were
wearing a red hood, the primary spirit helper would be male (Gerdner 111). Both
the physical and spiritual health of the Hmong people is important to them, and
practicing interdependence means they value their family living or passed.
Image 2: Female Shaman practicing healing ritual in her
home.
Shamanism still exist today because of the belief that our
world is surrounded by the spirit realm. From conception, a life is protected
by the shaman. As Gerdner had observed, “the shaman plays a critical role in
the spiritual health of the mother and child throughout the pregnancy.”
(Gerdner 127) Through case examples, the readers are given a detailed
illustration of the setup and events that occurs during the ceremony.
Throughout the passage we are introduced to the sacrifice of animals such as
pigs and chickens as offerings to provide the safeguard of the child.
During the ceremony, a live pig is placed in front of the shaman’s altar.
Through chantings and the use of the divining horns, the shaman seeks to ask
for the pig’s life and in return, the shaman will send the pig toward
reincarnation. It is a belief that when an animal dies, they are reborn as
humans. The pig’s consent to sacrifice his life is known when the divining horn
is thrown and face the same direction three times.
After the birth of the child, another ceremony is performed
to protect the child from danger. The soul-locking necklace is an object that
is used for spiritual protection. During this ceremony, a rooster is used as an
offering to enhance the protective power of the necklace. Like how the pig
consented through the divine horn, the rooster shows the same consent. When the
pigs and chicken has been sacrificed, the shaman send with them spirit money to
help them in the spirit world. The necklace is a string that is tied to the
child by the shaman and is to be left on for three days. The string necklace
can later be replaced by a silver necklace for protection. Overall, this
ceremony is meant for protection, blessing, and providing the child additional
bondage to the extended family.
As a Hmong reader, I am amazed by the information and
purpose that the author has provided for the audience. Raised in the ways of
the shaman, I have yet to see these kind of rituals but I have seen rituals
similar to these. As I know, a ceremony is performed before the birth of the
child only when the mother sense complications or uneasiness with the
pregnancy. As for the soul-locking necklace, this rituals seems to be
practice less. But a ritual is performed after the birth, hu plig, to ensure
the health of the child. Instead tying strings to the neck, strings are tied to
the wrist. The meaning behind the soul-lock necklace and the wrist seems to be
the same.
Shamanism is powerful to those who believe in it. In a case
study, Gerdner provided the authenticity of the shaman’s power. A family was
concern about their son who doesn’t speak. While the shaman was away, the family
went to the shaman’s home and left 3 joss stick on the shaman’s altar. When the
shaman returned to find the joss stick, he was able to determine the family’s
concern. In performing a ritual, he was able to find the root of the problem.
It went back to the great grandfather or the child who had died in Laos. His
spiritual guidance has allowed him to see that an error had occurred during the
grandfather’s burial where the family members forgot to take the coin out of
the deceased mouth. The mute son was the result of this punishment. Another
reason was that the boy did not like his selected name. When a child is born,
they are given a name by the people in yaj ceeb. If the child did not like the
name given, they will often become sick or cry very often. After the ceremony,
there was a follow up. The child improved on his speaking skills but plateau
after three years and was diagnosed with autism. Here we see that the shaman
was able to give voice to the child even though it did not last long.
Shamans also play a role when a new year comes around. This
new year is often celebrated between October to December and the Hmong calls
it, Lwm Qaib. This is a ritual performed to drive out evil spirits with
the new year. Family and extended families come together for this event. Those
who are unable to attend will have their family members bring a piece of their
clothing to represent them there, spiritually. The set-up is often
outside where there are two poles with enough distance for people to walk
around. Attach to the poles is a vine, often made from the leaves of
lemongrass. While the shaman is chanting, the families walk under the vine
counter-clockwise three times to release evil spirits. Once the shaman gives a
note to move again, the families transition to clockwise to bring in good luck.
From my personal experience, Lwm Qaib, is pretty scary. The
author did not mentioned this but during the walk, after every chants, the
shaman sprays water through his mouth and it usually gets on the family
members. We always tried to stay away from the sprays. Once the walking and
chanting is done, before we are able to dispersed, the shaman slice the
chicken’s neck to kill it for offering and throws the chicken above our
heads. Sometimes the blood gets on us too. When this is done, we are to return
home directly and enter through the back door, but before we do, our parents
will have to call our spirits to go with us.
Hmong Shamanism has survived throughout history, despite
the changes in geographic location. Particularly those residing in urban
centers of the United States, their access to education and advanced college
degrees put them at a greater risk of losing core aspects of their spiritual
and cultural heritage. However, these external influences does not seem to have
stopped them from maintaining traditional spiritual beliefs of animism and
ancestor worship. Thus, Shamanism remains relatively strong. This is because
Shamanism fulfills the people's spiritual yearning to participate in a sacred
drama that makes life meaningful -- something Western medicine can never do.
Works Cited
Book:
Gerdner,
Linda, and Shoua V. Xiong. Demystifying Hmong Shamanism: Practice and Use by
Hmong Americans Across the Lifespan. N.p.: Bauu Institute, 2015. Print.
Images:
1.
Gerdner, Linda A. Photo
4-1 and Photo 4-2. N.d. Demystifying Hmong Shamanism. Demystifying Hmong
Shamanism: Practice and Use by Hmong Americans Across the Lifespan. N.p.:
Bauu Institute, 2015. 30-34. Print.
2.
Unknown Artist.
Female Shaman practicing healing ritual in her home. “What is Shamanism?
Where did it come from?” The world of Medical Anthropology. n.p. n.d.
Web. 4 March 2016.
Awesome blog. Thank you for sharing.
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