Matthew Averill

July 6, 2018

Hmong Religion
The religion of the Hmong is comprised mainly of animism, or, “the attribution of a

soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.” In other words, the Hmong

generally believe that all animate and inanimate objects have a spirit that is constantly

interacting with the world around it. These spirits have a large effect on a person’s

personal health, and those recruited to facilitate the healing of one’s spirits (and

therefore their physical health) are the Txiv Neeb, shamans that are chosen early on

due to their apparent connection with the spirit world. In this essay I will closely examine

the spiritual beliefs of the Hmong and how it is integrated into their daily lives.

While Hmong Religion is very interconnected with one’s personal health, it follows

the pattern that most other religions do and attempts to explain the world around us

through sacred narratives. It describes the creation of our species as the workings of

Nplooj Lwg, bad weather the result of Xob, and the universe itself as a house of sorts,

the floor being our Earth, and the ceiling being Heaven. There are many less significant

deities that have power over natural occurrences or ideas, such as the sun and moon,

or related to animals. This form of polytheism is very common among early

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Mediterranean religions as well, and provides a convenient and easily explained

worldview that elders can describe to children.

The religious leaders of the Hmong are the Txiv Neeb, shamans that are

necessary for a community’s health and wellbeing. They are responsible for performing

various rituals to aid somebody through almost any scenario they could be in. Almost all

of these rituals involve communicating with spirits while the shaman is in a trance, and

usually aim to ward of evil spirits, known as dab, or guide one’s soul back to their body.

One such ritual is a shamanic trance followed by the String-Tying ritual. If one’s soul

has left their body, one way to call the spirit back is for a shaman to go into a trance and

search the spirit world for the missing soul. Upon finding it, they may have to win the

soul back from the God of Death in a wrestling match. If this is accomplished, the

shaman and family members will tie strings around the afflicted person’s wrist,

symbolizing that their soul has returned and held into place with the strings, while also

being guarded from any other evil spirits.

Another common ritual among the Hmong is animal sacrifice. Another ritual

performed when one is ill, a shaman will sacrifice an animal, usually a pig, cow, or

chicken, to protect and guide one’s soul as they attempt to find an ancestor’s soul or

reclaim their own. Usually these rituals will also include a communal feast of the

sacrificed animal, and this can be seen in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

when Lia’s birth ceremony, her hu plig, was ended with the sacrifice of two chickens in

order to welcome an ancestor’s spirit to be reborn in her body.

Magic is also present in Hmong religion, and often seems to be used to curse

others for whatever purpose the user sees, however it can also take the form of a

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benevolent spell aimed to benefit the user or receiver. It takes the form of “casting a

spell”, and can be facilitated through the use of charms or tokens provided by a

shaman. Magic rituals aren’t well documented but are said to be ineffective outside of

traditional Hmong homelands, or not something to worry about at all in general. Often

stories of black magic are told as a warning to young children to respect their elders,

who may not have converted to Christianity like many Hmong have upon coming to the

US and might still be able to cast curses.

Primarily, Hmong religion bridges the gap between the physical body and its 12

souls. If the souls are in disarray or if they are missing, the physical body will contract

an illness. This relation between health and religion makes for a tightly wound set of

traditions and customs, and ensure that one’s ancestors’ souls and their own are where

they should be and protected from evil dab.

In conclusion, the Hmong religion is a polytheistic, animistic religion centered

around personal health guided with the aid of shamans called Txiv Neeb, and is

comprised of various forms of ritual and sacrifice. It is necessary to protect your soul

from harmful dab, and to keep your ancestors’ souls pleased. Magic is performed often

with the intent to harm, but is not well documented and not often taken completely

seriously. Though many native Hmong were converted to Christianity early on in the

Hmong migration to the United States, the religion continues through traditions and

customs passed down from natives to foreign-born children.