Hmong
Spirituality - ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Between Two Worlds: Hmong Shaman in America. Documentary Film.
Directed by Taggart Siegel (2001).
Summary: Recounts the struggle of Hmong refugees in America,
tracing the lives of three Hmong families in America displaced from
their Northern Laotian homeland. Renowned anthropologist, Dwight
Conquergood, narrates the rich history of shamanic rituals and explains
the similarity between Hmong beliefs and those of Aboriginal people of
the Americas.
Cha, Dia, Mai Zong Vue, and Steve Carmen. A Field Guide to Hmong
Culture (Madison: Madison Children’s Museum, 2004).
http://csumc.wisc.edu/cmct/HmongTour/howwedidit/HMONG_FIELD_GUIDE_WEB.pdf
Summary: A comprehensive resource on Hmong culture, beliefs,
and customs created in association with the Madison Children's Museum.
An excellent resource for students and teachers.
Conroy, Paula Wenner, “Hmong Culture and Visual Impairment: Strategies
for Culturally Sensitive Practices” RE:view: Rehabilitation Education
for Blindness and Visual Impairment, Volume 38, No. 2, 2006
Summary: The author discusses possible challenges in providing
services to students living in the United States who are blind and
visually impaired and from a Hmong background. She also provides
suggestions for working through challenges using culturally sensitive
strategies, including an understanding of religious belief.
Downman Andrew Scott. “Intra-Ethnic Conflict and the Hmong in Australia
and Thailand.” Dissertation. Department of International Business and
Asian Studies Griffith University, October 22, 2004,
http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/uploads/approved/adt-QGU20061024.120129/public/02Whole.pdf
Summary: This dissertation examines the issue of intra-ethnic
conflict using the Hmong as a case study in Australia and Thailand.
According to the abstract, “It looks at the causes and impacts of
intra-ethnic conflict within these different contexts and discusses the
impacts of social and religious change in Hmong communities by looking
at a range of issues related to inter-ethnic relations, modernization
and globalization.”
Goetz, Kaomi. “Ua Dab, the Hmong Religion.” Minnesota Public Radio.
Aired August 27, 2001,
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200108/27_goetzk_shaman/sidebar.shtml
Summary: Many Hmong in Minnesota are becoming 'Americanized’
like generations of immigrants before them. However, many Hmong still
practice traditional religious beliefs handed down through many
generations.
Hein, Jeremy.“The Hmong Cultural Repertoire: Explaining Cultural
Variation within an Ethnic Group.” Hmong Studies Journal, 1998.
http://www.hmongstudies.com/HSJ-v2n1_Hein.pdf
Summary: According to Hein’s abstract, “Hmong in Laos and the
United States reveal three types of cultural expertise: performing
spiritual-medical healing; conducting life cycle rituals; and creating
arts and crafts.”
“Hmong People Interact with Christianity” by Kou Seying,
http://www.ctsfw.edu/library/files/pb/811
Summary: The purpose of this essay is to present a basic
understanding of the Hmong people, their traditional beliefs, and how
Christianity interacts with the Hmong culture and belief system.
Lewis, Paul and Anne. Peoples of the Golden Triangle (London:
Thames and Hudson, 1984).
Summary: The authors spent decade living in the region known
as the Golden Triangle, studying the culture, beliefs and customs of the
six culturally distinct peoples: the Karen, Hmong, Mien, Lahu, Akha, and
Lisu.
Mottin, Jean. Allons Faire le Tour du Ciel et de la Terre: Le
Chamanisme des Hmong Vu Dans les Texts (Bangkok, 1983).
Summary: This work examines the practice of Hmong shamanism,
particularly the texts recited during shamanic rituals. Mottin tracks
down information through extensive fieldwork conducted among White Hmong
communities in Thailand.
Moua, Vayong. “Hmong Christianity: Conversion, Consequence, and
Conflict.” The Akha Heritage Foundation, 1995,
www.akha.org .
http://www.akha.org/content/missiondocuments/thehmongreligiousexperience.html
Summary: This article examines the history and impact of
Christian conversion on the Hmong people and culture and attempts to
find avenues of peaceful interaction between believers of traditional
and newer forms of religious belief.
The Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America. Video.
Directed by Taggart Siegel (PBS ,1986)
Summary: A story about a Hmong Shaman and his family living in
Appleton Wisconsin, the film documents the long journey of Paja Thao and
his family from the mountains of Laos to the American Midwest, and his
struggle to maintain traditional family beliefs and practices as his
children are exposed to new ideas and cultural norms.
Tapp, Nicholas. “Hmong Religion.” Asian Folklore Studies, Vol.
48, 1989: 59-94.
http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/afs/pdf/a717.pdf
Summary: An article about the Hmong religious world view,
highlighting that the Hmong world is inhabited by a variety of natural,
ancestral, and supernatural spirits or gods.
Vang, See J. “Hmong Perception and Behaviors Regarding Shamanic Practice
and Western Medicine.” MS thesis, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Nov. 3,
1998.
http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/1998/1998vangs.pdf
Summary: This study explores the attitudes and behaviors of
the Hmong in north central Wisconsin regarding the use of traditional
shamanic practices and western medical practices.
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