HMONG

Hmong: translation

Southeast Asian people originating in Laos; many now live inNorth America. Traditionally ananimistculture, the Hmong employ shamans ashealersandmediatorsin disruptive situations.Illnessesand other problems may be understood to result from disruption and lack of cohesion among thesoulsthat inhabit each person’s body. Such souls are supposed to cooperate to form the individual, but may act independently and require a shaman’s attention. Illnesses and bad luck may also be caused by unwantedpossession, which requires shamans tojourneyto theother worldinperformancesthat can be public or seen only by individual clients orpatients. Journeying is supported byhelpers rhythmicallyhitting gongs when guided by the shaman, who wears bell rings on each hand.Divinationusing split buffalo horns may aid understanding of the cause and solution of problems. Shamans also play significant roles in maintaining and developing traditional culture, especially when faced withChristianmissions and the dominance of Western modernist society. Thus, they offer a further illustration of thepoliticaldimensions of shamanism.

See alsoSouth and East Asia.