Everything is Spiritual

Thai Vang was a refugee at Ban Vanai, Thailand, for the first several years of his life. His father had two wives, and he had four sisters and seven brothers. When he was 4 or 5 the spirits started sending him messages through dreams, signaling for him to become a shaman. He had become very sick, and was reborn a shaman. A shaman is a Hmong doctor that heals people with troubles, whether it’s stress, or a car accident or anything. Basically he can just tell if he looks in the victim’s eyes what is their problem, he can also tell whether he’ll be able to help, and if the person will live or die. Even if he knows the patient will die, he still says they’ll be fine, and does his best to heal them. He helps them by going into a trance. He goes into the trance by having helpers beat drums and shake rattles because the instruments will help his body spirits fight the bad spirits. Once he is in the spirit world he makes a deal with the spirits, like “I’ll give you a chicken if so and so is well in 2 days.” And I guess the spirits agree and he comes back. If you are asked by the spirits to be a shaman you must not refuse, but it is such a great gift Thai doubts anyone would.

–Sarah M.

People think that Thai is the youngest shaman in Hmong history. He was 5 when he first became the youngest shaman ever. Usually a shaman is sick before they become a shaman. That happened to Thai. He was so sick, nothing would cure him. Then the spirits told him that if he became a shaman, he would get better. So he became a shaman. Unlike other shamans, he had no tutoring from an older shaman. One of his abilities is being able to find out what happened to the patient even if they don’t tell him. He just looks into their eyes. He can heal non-Hmong, also.

–Izzy L.

Thai Vang is proud to be a shaman, because it is a gift to be a shaman. Thai Vang was born in Thailand, and is very traditional. He has been to the spirit world many times, and I wonder what it is like? If it is a good place or a bad place? And why they go to it? His more recent shaman act was helping a woman give birth to a child.

–Mariah

You have to be a good person to be a shaman. It is a big responsibility because if that person dies it’s your fault. Not all good people become shamans. The spirits choose you and if you don’t accept you will get sick and won’t get better. When he helps someone he knows right away if they will be ok but he isn’t allowed to tell the people. Shamans bring back spirits to people’s bodies. Every person has 12 spirits and the main spirit is the body spirit. The bone spirit never goes away. Sometimes he has to tie the spirit to the body so it won’t go away. He has a net that catches the spirits. After you have it you cover it with the buffalo horns. Shamans think that sicknesses are spirit losses. Shamans work with doctors because sometimes the doctors can’t find anything physically wrong but there might be something mentally wrong.

–Gabby

To become a shaman you must be a good person with a good soul because if you have a bad soul the people you try to heal will only become much sicker. Different shamans have different powers, for instance one shaman may have a stronger soul so that would make them more powerful. The human body is made up of twelve spirits, your ears, your eyes, your nose, your mouth, your body, your arms, your hands, your legs, your feet, your head and your shadow. If you lose your shadow you die. When Thai was 4 or 5 he died and was reborn as a shaman.

–Nate

Thai’s grandma was a shaman who helped people from their sickness. Shamans can be an old person or a young one. There are men and women shamans. The shaman has 12 spirits in the house, I think. The special spirit is the body spirit because it has bones and it can break easily. Some people tie a white or a white and red thread to your hand to make you feel better and sometimes that person has to say something to make you become better.

–Pakou

About one out of one hundred Hmong People are shamans. Most Hmong shamans become shamans when they are over sixty. Every person has twelve spirits. One spirit is your shadow. The main spirit is your body spirit. That’s the one that shamans talk to when they are in a trance. If one of your spirits dies, a shaman tries to make the spirit alive again. All kinds of Hmong people are shamans. You could be a house builder and a shaman. Thai lives in two different worlds: the spirit world and the earth world.

–Emma

Thai has been a shaman since he was 4-5. The spirits came to him and taught him how to be a shaman. A lot of people were shocked to find out about such a young shaman. Thai might be the youngest Hmong shaman in America. He goes to emergencies and also goes to hospitals. He started healing when he first became a shaman. His tools to use in the spirit world are a big ring and buffalo horns. He goes into a trance to get into the spirit world. If he fights a spirit it is hard on his physical body too. He is very glad he is a shaman.

–Dylan

Thai is a shaman. There are many shamans but there are not a lot of shamans in Madison. A shaman is a healer. Thai is happy that he is a shaman. Thai has an ordinary life. Shamans use instruments to help them. They use buffalo horns. Shamans sometimes fight the spirits and the music helps them.

–Mark

I never knew shamans are never allowed to say somebody is going to die or that they are very sick. I also had no idea shamans actually communicated with spirits. It’s amazing how shamans go into the spirit world. I wonder how you feel when the spirits talk to you. I wonder what Thai felt, maybe he was very happy or nervous. I would feel excited and worried. Maybe he felt that way. I don’t know.

–Martha

One of the most interesting parts of Hmong. A time to grieve, remember, show respect, talk, visit, even laugh. A time to help the deceased’s spirit to its ancestors… There are four major steps in a Hmong funeral. The first is as follows: The dead body is dressed in traditional Hmong clothes. But not just any traditional clothing, these are funeral clothes… After being dressed the body is placed on a table. (Later it will be put in a coffin.)

–Benjamin

The body would be dressed in traditional clothes made by the family. It would be made completely out of cloth and other disposable materials. If anything in the coffin could not [decompose] it would bring bad luck to the family.

–Alex

People who don’t like the person who died will often put some kind of metal in the coffin so the person’s spirit will not be able to rest in peace.

–Martha

The body lies, dressed in colorful clothing in the center of the stage, not yet in a casket, for the people that attend the funeral to say their goodbyes and offer any objects or words to help the deceased retrace the steps of her life.

–Sarah

One of the points of funerals is to get the spirit of the dead person back to the place of birth to get the placenta, so it can enter the spirit world.

–Abigail

When a baby girl is born, her placenta is put under the bed in the house. When the boy is born, his placenta goes in the center post of the house. A person called the Txiv Taw Kev guides the deceased on a journey to her/his past by going to wherever they came first in America to Thailand to Mekong River to the person’s village in Laos, then they go back to where they were born.

–Gabby

If the person is old, it takes many hours to lead the spirit through all the home of life and to the placenta. But it doesn’t take very long if the person is young.

–Abigail

The second step involves a rooster, a special man (the Txiv Taw Kev), some spirits, and some gifts.

–Benjamin

The Txiv Taw Kev will ask her questions such as, “Are you really dead?” Of course she won’t answer, but somehow the man knows.

–Sarah

The spiritual guide ceremonially tells the spirit of the deceased that they will be going through the locations in her life, backwards. He guides her back through her life to the spot of her birth to get her placenta, which is the afterbirth. The qeej player also helps her with this. The placenta is very important, because without it the deceased cannot enter the underworld.

–Tim

It is the rooster’s spirit that guides the spirit to its ancestors. The person’s spirit takes their placenta, gifts, food, money and a crossbow for protection as they set off to find the ancestors. … The food is to eat, and the money to pass gates.

–Benjamin

Once the rooster crows and the ancestor’s rooster crows to answer it then it has found your true ancestor! Then it is sacrificed to lead the spirit to the ancestor and to be like the spirit’s pet. It’s killed by cutting its neck half way with a knife. Parts like the liver are put in a container to be the spirit’s food.

–Abigail

Usually this takes about two hours, and during that time they are play the qeej… Also during that time, family and friends bless the deceased and ask/wish for good luck or a blessing for them too.

–Emily

The step[s] of killing the rooster [are] hold the rooster very tight so it won’t get away, then you cut the neck to half way, then you take out the rooster liver to cook and then feed to the dead person, and then put the rooster in a box with the person who passed away.

–Pakou

Step 3 involves a qeej (keng), its player, the body, body carriers, a drum and a drummer. A special song on the qeej is played with a drum accompaniment as the body is carried, still in traditional clothes, to the coffin. This song can last up to 2 hours.

–Benjamin

Lots of animals are sacrificed at a funeral. Almost always a rooster is sacrificed, but if the person is married they have to sacrifice [anything] from a pig to a cow. If they are not married, or are young, they do not have to make much of a sacrifice. A cow is sacrificed by tying a string to it and putting the end of the string in the dead person’s hands.

–Alex

Traditionally, there would be four qeej players, animals would be ceremonially sacrificed at a butcher shop, and the body would be hung on the wall. There will be more than four at this funeral, the animals will be sacrificed at a farm (as there won’t be any butcher shops nearby), and in Madison they can’t hang the body on the walls as it’s going to be done at a funeral parlor. Fue Chou passed around a photo of the cows that will be sacrificed. I noted that they are somewhat shaggy.

–Abigail

There will be soda or liquor in small cups and that will be given to the entire clan/family.

–Nico

Everybody will sit and remember [the deceased]. There might be crying, laughing, people visiting with old friends, and the qeej and drum. It depends how long this lasts. For Tria Thao, it will take longer because she was an elder. This and the spiritual journey are usually one very long part of the 3 or 4 day funeral.

–Emily

To some people a Hmong funeral is a strange thing. But if you actually start to kind of understand them, they are not very strange. I don’t think they sound too strange.

–Mariah

One last thing: If you ever go to a Hmong funeral, don’t be surprised if there is laughter. Hmong funerals are part funeral, part family reunion.

–Emily

Arrival

On Friday, February 14, 2003, my class went to a Hmong funeral. It was my first funeral, same with some other classmates. Dhia Thao was 88 when she died. She died of health problems. She came to America in 1976, and then worked in a pickle factory with her son. Dhia Thao had seven children, 5 boys and 2 girls.

–Mariah

When I first walked in it was exciting, being at a Hmong funeral. It wasn’t at all what culture I knew. It was astonishing to me. I had expected people crying – black – a coffin. Well, that’s not what I found. When I entered the space, where the body was held, I got nervous. A lot of people were staring – looking – glancing, but then I noticed they were all saying welcome.

–Erika

When we got off the bus, I was all happy. We entered the building. I experienced a little bit of culture shock.

–Jeremy

“Our culture is strange to others,” said Fue Chou Thao, a Hmong man at the funeral. The Hmong have very different funerals from you and me. Their funerals are for four days starting at 8 on Friday and going till noon on Monday. How long the different ceremonies are depend on how old the person is when they die. There have been certain changes since the Hmong have moved from Laos to America.

–Izzy

The 3 1/2 days of rituals aren’t all funeral. They are also the graveside ceremonies and the wake all put into one. It’s hard to say how long each part of it is because they are all blended together.

–Sara

How the Room Looked

When we got there, Fue Chou Thao greeted us and gave us seats where the ceremonies would be done.

–Dylan.

I knew this would turn out to be greatly amazing and it was. Chairs for the audience, a carpeted floor, couches, the spiritual guide, the dead body, the qeej player, the drum, the gifts, the spirit money and the coffin. Amazing.

–Benjamin

The woman who had died was lying near the front of the room. She wasn’t in a coffin. She was just on the floor.

–Dylan and Erika

Sitting next to her was a Hmong man. …The man was a (spiritual) guide. …At the table that the man was sitting at were some small pieces of paper with bars of silver on them. They were supposed to work as money in Dhia’s new life. There was also a box next to the table. It had an umbrella and some food and drink that she would need in her next life.

–Sara

A big drum is hung from a pyramid made from wood. They beat the drum and then hang it.

–Emma

There are many pictures of Dhia on the walls of the funeral home.

–Nate

Then Abigail came running up to me saying how Dhia died and all that kind of stuff. So I said “How do you know all that stuff?” She said “Her life is on that paper over there. I went and read it.” So I went and I found out she was a strong women that had seven children and two heart attacks.

–Cristina

In another room there were flowers and wreaths that I am guessing were for the family, to show respect.

–Dylan

As we walked in the door, we were welcomed by people who were sitting, chatting, enjoying themselves. It didn’t really seem like a funeral at all except for the body of 88-yr old Dhia Thao, dressed in colorful clothes and her family and in-laws at her side.

–Abigail

Most were totally open to having a dead person in the room.

–Izzy

Most of the people around us were men. They were talking and laughing happily with each other. The women were in two different places. They were in the far side of the room hanging up paper string and folded paper that looked like boats. There were thousands of these hanging up in an X-shape across the ceiling. The center point of the X was directly above the body of the deceased, Dhia Tao. We later found that the paper objects were a form on money. … (the other place were the women were) was a room very similar to the one where the funeral was being held that was reserved for women to go and talk to each other.

–Sarah

I saw no one crying but I bet as the days go on there will be more emotional behavior because it getting to the point where they have to say goodbye.

–Izzy

The Ceremonies and Traditions: The Spirit’s Journey

The Hmong believe in spirits and reincarnation. I don’t really understand what a spirit is, but the whole funeral is basically about helping the spirit get back to its ancestors so it can live again.

–Sara

The Hmong have a belief that in order to get into the spirit world, the spirit has to go through all of the places it lived in, and finally get to the place of birth to get the placenta so it can show the placenta to his/her ancestors and pass into the spirit world. The spiritual guide tells her/him where to go and what to do.

–Abigail

…A man plays the qeej. They are instructed by the qeej music to go find their placenta. At birth a girl’s placenta is put under the bed and a boy’s is put near the center pole. So there is a rooster present and a man talks to the person and guides them to all the places they have lived and then when they finally get to the place they were born and get their placenta they can go to their ancestors and the rooster guides them to their ancestors. Depending how old the person is it takes longer because they have been to more places than someone that died younger.

–Izzy

After the spiritual guide has gotten her/him to the placenta, a rooster is brought in to the body’s presence. When it crows, that tells the spirit “I have found your true ancestor,” and it tells the way. After it crows, it is sacrificed, to be like the pet of the spirit.

–Abigail

When we were there, the rooster was killed outside. From then on the rooster will serve as her guide. When Dhia Thao comes across a spirit she will not know if he/she is here ancestor or not. So, the rooster gives his Cock-a-Doodle-Doo call, and if the spirit’s rooster answers, that means Yes, the spirit is a true ancestor.

–Sarah

The liver and other parts are given to the spirit as food, buried beside the coffin.

–Abigail

From the moment a Hmong person is born, there is a house spirit that lives in the house and protects her. When the Hmong person dies, she will have to leave the house and make her journey. The Txiv Taw Kev guides her through this part. (The twix taw kev is the spiritual guide.) The spirit will try to keep her in the house.

–Sarah

If the spirit in the house says that you can’t go, then you’ll have to pay and say that I am dead now and I have to leave this house. I don’t belong here any more, I belong in the spirit world with my ancestors. If you don’t let me go, I’ll pay you.

–Pao

Music, Ceremonies and Rituals

When the spiritual guide does his ceremony 80-90% of it is specially designed for her (the deceased). The other 10%-20% that’s left is used in every Hmong funeral.

–Erika

“There is a spirit man who talks to the dead person on the first day of the funeral. He tells the spirit to go to the other world.”

–Pao

The (spiritual) guide started singing and throwing a bamboo stick split in half to make two. While he was singing he was asking her questions or something and if he threw them and …

–Sara

…If both are face down, it means no and the spirits are happy. If two of them are face up, it means the humans are happy and no. But if one is face down and one is face up, it means the both spirits and humans are happy and it means yes.

–Pao

Whenever one was up and one down the family members kneeling by the coffin holding incense would bow twice in a sign of thanks.

–Izzy

Cows and pigs were also sacrificed to act as food and something to carry things on. The sacrificed rooster’s liver is fed to the Spirit. While the larger animals are being sacrificed, there is a rope or string connecting the body to the animal. Many people will often hold the rope or string. My class did not see any of the sacrifices happening. The rooster was killed outside and the cows at a farm.

–Martha

Music

In Hmong funerals, you have to have four qeej players along with some drum players. The job for the qeej players and the drum player are to send the dead person to the other world. The qeej is saying “go to the other world, we don’t want you to stay so you don’t scare us, go to your ancestors.

–Pao

The qeej playing is a very important part of the funeral. There are many many different songs played. The songs can last an hour or two hours, and that might seem very long, but it really isn’t because the funeral ceremonies last for 3+ days!!! Many of the songs the qeej plays are to thank mother earth, the relative and friends of the deceased and all the spirits that have helped her in her life.

–Sarah

When the qeej players play, they play stories. Some about the sun and moon, others about mother earth and the sky.

–Sara

The twix taw kev will sing for a very long time in the funerals, with the sons and daughters of the deceased mourning and bowing to the corpse of their old, wise mother.

–Nate

Family Members

Right next to Dhia Thao her family was blowing with incense because they were wishing themselves good blessings.

–Mariah

Her family members would be around her protecting her.

–Mark

When people brought a gift, the family would come and bow and say thanks and the people who gave the gift would repeat.

–Gabby

The Body and Clothes

Dhia was dressed in special “funeral clothes” that had been prepared for her years earlier.

–Benjamin

Dhia is dressed for all seasons with show shoes, a traditional Hmong coat, an umbrella and a crossbow. The coat and snow shoes are for winter, the umbrella if for rainy times and the crossbow for hunting and killing animals to eat.

–Nate

…the body (was) covered with the beautiful clothes of the traditional clothing of the Hmong. She had a black and white polka-dotted “turban” around her head. The upper part of the body had mostly blues and a little bit of white and black in some places near the arms. The lower par of the body in my perspective was a lot prettier than the upper part. It had pink, orange, blue and a lot of other colors. The feet had grass woven soles and supports.

–Jeremy

The outfit she wears has never been worn before. Also the shoes are made especially for snow because it is cold in China where she will end up.

–Gabby

(The shoes were) purple with the toes curled up. There were pieces of rope on the bottom, to make the shoes serve as show shoes in case of bad weather on her journey through the spiritual world back to her birthplace.

–Sarah

What was neat was that people would come up and fix something. It the shoe was coming off, they’d slip it on. If a button was undone, they’d come and button it.

–Erika

Coffin

Her coffin was made out of a tree found in Laos that is like a pine tree. The coffin was made in Laos, her homeland.

–Jeremy

The wood came all the way from a cedar tree in Laos and smelled really good and fresh.

–Sarah

The coffin … was put together with wood nails. This is a tradition. No metal things can be put in the coffin because it brings bad luck to the person in their next life or the relatives that are still alive. So, on Saturday all of the family members guard the coffin to make sure no one puts any metal in.

–Izzy

Fue Chou explained to us that there are many different kinds of coffins. Some are very fancy, with lots of swirls and such carved in. The one there was standard, not too fancy and not too plain.

–Alex

Spirit Money

Hanging from the ceiling were paper boats with gold and silver foil on them. These represent gold and silver bars for wealth in the other world. The paper boats are made by the family of the one who has died. They can begin making the boats as soon as the person has died.

–Unknown

Spirit money is money that is burned after the dead person’s spirit has finished its journey. Some money is taken by the spirit to pay as it passes through the gate. The money in Laos was actually gold and silver bars. Here, because we don’t use that, they use pieces of paper that are folded into the shape of a boat they have painted gold for gold bars and silver for silver bars.

–Benjamin

Even the spirits need money.

–Abigail

Lasting Impressions

When we got on the bus, I felt proud I decided to come to the funeral, but half of me said to stay, so I got kind of scared I made the wrong decision. When my class and I got there, I felt very scared because of the dead body. I want to explore a new culture because of the exciting activities, food, etc. But in the other way, I wanted to stay at school. … Then we went in where the dead body was and sat in that room. I kept on telling Melissa “I’m scared, are you scared …” … So I just opened my Hmong Culture notebook and wrote what people were doing. We went in to the room where the dead body was. Then everyone looked at us and got us and said “Here are some chairs you can sit on. … They were very nice. I felt right at home with different styles and the dead body.

–Cristina

I am glad I went to the funeral. It was a powerful experience for me. I appreciate them letting us come and see their culture.

–Emma

…And:

There was a spiritual guide at the funeral. He sang the whole time! His voice must have been tired at the end.

–Mariah

I’ll never forget this funeral. It was really a good experience. I can’t wait to go to another.

–Abigail

On a gloomy, rainy morning our class drove down Park Street to Bayview. Bayview is a big group of apartments where a lot of Asian-American, African-American, Caucasian, Latino-American, and Native American people live. It is a really neat, diverse place, and it would have been cool to look at apartments of all the different ethnicities, but we were there to study Hmong homes. . . . We split into 4 groups, and set off to tour [4] Bayview Hmong homes.

–Sara

We got on the bus, headed to the Bayview apartments. When I just got on the bus, the bus driver looked at me and said “Hola.” He just looked at me and right away knew that I was Mexican. It felt kind of good having someone else who speaks the same language like me.. . . Mark [a Hmong student in the class who lives at Bayview] always was taking us where to go next because he knows where we are going and practically knows everybody so he is a good help in our group. He even had to translate for us. For him it got a little bit hard to translate because it’s hard to translate from one language to another.

–Cristina

Two things the homes had in common were: #1: they all had flowers (fake) for decoration. #2: They all have photos of family. Oh, wait! They all have gardens outside their doors. And they all have big families (Mark has 10 siblings!) 2 have altars and are shamans, 1 grows bamboo, 1 comes from a family of ministers, and 1 has a picture of General Vang Pao. So similar yet so different!

–Abigail

Each home was organized differently. Space organization is not at all the same because of culture. There is however one exception, the shamanic altar. All of the altars have rice, egg yolk separated into four cups, an egg in a bin of rice, the shamanic bells, and the traditional instruments (bells, horns, knife, gong, drums, etc.)

–Erika

In the house it was dark. All the lights were off because Mrs. Thao only uses them when she needs them. I think it reminds her of Laos a little bit. In the kitchen there was a rice cooker and a rice steamer. The family eats rice three times a day.

–Maggie

A very common decoration I saw was certificates for the men to prove they were in the Vietnam war. Some houses had certificates for the women saying they had lost their husbands in the war.

In three of the houses we went to there were shamans’ altars. Every house also had a bridge of string and sticks leading from the altar to the door. Mrs. Yang said that “if it weren’t for this bridge the spirits wouldn’t be able to come in and if it weren’t for the corn on the door bad spirits would be able to get in and either make the shaman sick or another member of the family.” On every altar there was food like egg and rice and water to feed the spirits. Whenever incense is lit it calls the spirits to the house or apartment. Paper is cut into patterns as some cut snowflakes and is used on the altar. Every year at the end of the year the paper has to be taken down and re-done and every day the food has to be replaced for the spirits. On the wall there was also a design made from folded paper to honor the spirits. These designs are usually made by men and the blood of the rooster is used in making two dots on each side.

–Izzy S.

Neng Leeyang is also a Shaman. She has some strings set up so the spirits can come in and out, a shaman drum, and a shaker, some buffalo horns, and lots of different kinds of medicine plants. She has a garden but only plants healing plants. There are flowers hanging from the ceiling of her house but they are just for decoration.

–Nico B.

The traditional way of how a shaman gets a taller altar is as follows: you have 1 level when you start being a shaman. After 10 years, you add another level. Then, after 30 years, you add the third level. On her shaman’s alter were incense, a knife, a gong, and modern medicines.

The next house we visited was the home of Xee Lee, another shaman. She has photos of people, family, the military, and Laos. She doesn’t believe in the altar levels thing, she’s been a shaman since the late 60s and only has 1.

–Benjamin

To become a shaman, the spirits come to you in a dream and tell you you have to do or else you will die, not everyone can become a shaman. A shaman is like a doctor, a special kind of doctor. The tools that she has are from Laos.

–Gabby

Nhia Cha and Mayhoua Yang opened the butcher shop because there are still Hmong refugees coming to America, and most of them are very poor. Nhia and Mayhoua have been down that path before, and they didn’t want other refugees to suffer the way they did. So they have very low prices—like a hundred pounds of meat for only ten dollars…

Mayhoua is the secretary at the Butcher Shop. Being the secretary isn’t an easy job. You have to sign in the people, take them outside to look for the animal they want, give them a coupon (receipt?) for the animal they want, go out and watch the animal get killed and degutted, then give the animal to the [customer]—all for only a very small amount of money…

A Shaman comes to tell the animal it will be killed and…sent with a person who died…to guide him to his or her new life.

–Nate

You can get the blood with the animal. The blood is important for the Shaman to use in a ritual. When a pig dies, it becomes the guide for the spirit of a dead person, guiding it through all the places it has been to, and all the things it did. The pig is a guide because animals have a better instinct of where home is.

–Dylan

They ask you how you want the animal killed, by one electrical shock, or in the traditional way. They butcher an average of eleven animals a day, three of those in the traditional way.

–Alex

The pigs were in a cage about two feet tall. There was a big chain that hung down above a blue bucket. A worker attached the chain to one of the pig’s legs and pressed a green button and the pig went up. The pig was screeching and thrashing. After about a minute, it started to calm down. We walked out, but I had my head turned and she brought a knife and passed it through the pig’s flesh into the heart. Blood poured against the bucket like an explosion from a water balloon hitting the cement. Now the pig was screeching as loud as a fog horn.

–Nico

I was staring at a hog as long as me, cut in half. It was hanging by its hooves from chains in the ceiling. Its ears were flopping down, its eyes were closed, and its tongue was lolling out. On a table nearby there was another hog’s head. I got so grossed out, I went to the house…. At the house, there was a qeej player named Nhia Vou. He had recently come from Laos and was staying with Mayhoua and her husband for a year. Mr. Vou knew one INCREDIBLY useful word of English: “Hi.” He was extremely good at playing the qeej. The music was soothing. Whenever we had a question, we’d ask John, one of Mayhoua’s thirteen children. Mayhoua and her husband were very hospitable. Before we left, they gave us food and juice.

–Abigail

When we entered the butcher shop we were greeted by the smell of blood. Everywhere. I nearly couldn’t stand it. We met Mayhoua Yang, who is the butcher shop’s secretary… She led us to the pig pen and told us about the procedure for butchering. First, the customer comes into the shop and checks in. Then they go to the pen and pick the pig they want butchered. The pig is brought into a smaller pen where it will stay until it gets butchered. The pig is picked up by one leg and hung on a chain. Once it is up, it is killed. After that, they flip the pig over into hot water, and then onto a drying rack. Once it is dry, it is hung up by its hind legs.

–Benjamin

Mayhoua showed us two horns. One was bigger than the other. It was a bull’s horn. She told us that the longer the horn, the better…. Once the ivory is worn off a bull’s horn, it is good for many purposes. You can use it as a bugle, for decoration, to draw on, and countless other ways. Mayhoua set the bull’s horn into a wooden box, with some other horns dripping with blood. Next she showed us a goat’s horn, also good for many different purposes. It is very good for curing fever. You get a horn without ivory, and put water in it. Then the sick person drinks it and it keeps the fever away. If a Hmong child’s soul is weak, they will cut off the tip of a goat’s horn and use it as a pendant. If you want to be powerful and magical, use a goat’s horn. Many Hmong people have it hanging in their home. Its stench also keeps away roaches.

–Izzy L.

Mayhoua said that when you die, you will be reborn. If you have a big, big goat horn, when you die you will be reborn and be rich and strong. If you wear a goat horn, you’ll be very safe. Spirits cannot come and get your soul.

–Pao

The Hmong do not have a big special person like Jesus or God in their religion. The Hmong also do not go to church or a temple.

–Nate

From sacrificing a cow at a funeral to shamanic healing, most traditional Hmong culture has a basis in the religious. Traditional qeej playing, weddings, funerals, they all are a part of the Hmong religion.

–Tim

At May Houa’s house, they showed us a special wall called the Buddha wall. They told us that you pray to the spirits when you want something, and if you get it, you must burn “spirit money.”

–Abigail

A shaman is like a doctor. People go to the shaman when they feel bad. The shaman can bring back your spirit or chase away bad ones. While the shaman’s spirit is in the spirit world, the helper beats drums and plays instruments loudly and the shaman chants.

–Gabby

About half of the Hmong are Christian and half have traditional beliefs. Christian Hmong still do Hmong things, though. Vue Yang is Christian, but he plays qeej at his church.

–Sara K.

My mom has an altar in our new house. It protects my brothers who sleep in the new house.

–Mark

At New Year’s everyone needs bright new clothes. If you go to New Year’s in dull, old clothes, people know that your mother is lazy and she doesn’t sew for the new year.

–Izzy L.

The first stop on the Hmong Cultural tour was at a Hmong Christian Church in Wausau. Reverend Herr told us that the first Hmong people were converted to Christianity in 1950 in Laos. He had been raised Christian in Laos. When the Hmong converted, they kept the traditions of New Year’s and the annual Harvest festival. They also still do traditional sewing and needlework, and keep the same clan rules as traditional Hmong have.

In the normal services they use instruments like the guitar and drums and piano, and sing a lot of songs like “Amazing Grace” and “The More We Get Together.” They have Sunday school. The main room where they preach and pray and hold ceremonies is a lot like any other church’s main room I have been to.

Their traditional services are mostly done in Hmong. Reverend Herr said a lot of the elders attend the traditional services. The church still sends out missionaries to countries like Laos and Thailand. The missionaries are the ones who translated the songs they sing into the Hmong language.

One banner at the front of the main room says “The Christians are the Light of the World.” It seems like Reverend Herr likes being Christian a lot, and also respects the traditional Hmong culture.

–Dylan

When Hmong people convert to Christianity, most of them think it’s absolute (and so did I) meaning that they thought if they converted they couldn’t practice anything traditional. Not so. The church even has a Hmong New Year. The church has two services—one traditional and one contemporary. Most of the older action goes to the traditional service. The traditional service is given in Hmong and has a slower pace. The contemporary services are given in English and have a faster pace.

–Tim

Many Hmong in Wisconsin are members of this church, as it was the first Hmong Christian church. After converting a person to Christianity, the church tries to slowly let go of the beliefs and traditions of traditional Hmong. For example, the belief in spirits is replaced with the belief in God. Even so, the church still celebrates Hmong New Year, because that’s a tradition that just cannot be let go of.

Reverend Herr told us about two different services. The traditional service has more praying and moves at a slower pace, and is usually done in Hmong. The contemporary service, on the other hand, is completely in English, sings American songs, and moves at a faster pace. Reverend Herr says the number of people who attend each is the same but that older people tend to go to the traditional service. Aside from the two main services, they have Sunday school, a time where kids can come and learn about being Christian. They have videos about God and Jesus and curriculum pages like “a place in God’s plan.” The kids all do a lesson and sometimes they watch videos, sing songs, or play games.

Adults sing songs, too, such as “Amazing Grace.” The contemporary Service usually sings them in English, while the songs are translated into Hmong at the traditional service.

This experience helped me understand that Hmong can be all kinds of religions other than Hmong, including Jewish, Christian, and even others. Even if they aren’t playing the keng or talking with spirits through Shamanism, the Hmong can still get together and sing and pray, be it to spirits in traditional Hmong culture or to God in Christian culture.

–Sarah M.