Hmong Customs and Culture - Spirituality

Spirituality

Contemporary Hmong people cannot be characterized as subscribing to a single belief system. Missionaries to Southeast Asia converted many Hmong people to Christianity beginning in the 19th-century and many more have become Christian since immigrating from Southeast Asia to the West. However, most Hmong people, both in Asia and the West, continue to maintain traditional spiritual practices that include shamanism, and ancestor veneration.

These spiritual beliefs are combined with their beliefs related to health and illness. In traditional Hmong spiritual practices, one does not separate the physical well-being of a person from their spiritual health; the spiritual realm is highly influential and dictates what happens in the physical world. According to these beliefs, everything possesses a spirit, both animate and inanimate objects. There is a delicate balance between these two worlds, thus the necessity to revere and honor the ancestors for guidance and protection. The spirits of deceased ancestors are thought to influence the welfare and health of the living. Individuals perform rituals which include the offering of food and spirit money, pouring libation, and burning incense to appease the spirits and earn their favor.

Role of the male head of the household does the worshipping of ancestral spirits. However, it is not surprising to find women also partake in this role. Rituals performed by the head of the household “in honor of the ancestral spirits” is for individual benefits which are usually done during Hmong New Year celebrations. It is mainly to call upon the spirits of the house to protect the house.

Each person is thought to have several souls (between three and seven, depending on the tradition.) These souls must remain in harmony to remain healthy. Some souls have specific roles. The main soul is reincarnated after death while another soul returns to the home of the ancestors. Another soul stays near the grave of the deceased. The souls of the living can fall into disharmony and may even leave the body. The loss of a soul or souls (poob plig) can cause serious illness. The number of souls lost determines how serious the illness. A soul calling ceremony (hu plig) can be performed by shamans, when the soul has been frightened away, within the community to entice the soul home with chanting and offerings of food. Shamans perform rituals because they are the ones who have special access to go in contact with souls or spirits, or in other words, the otherworld. Rituals are usually performed to restore the health of an individual, or family, and call one’s wandering spirit back home. For soul calling, there are a couple of different ceremonies; One done usually done by the head of the household and one by the shaman.

For example: When a baby is born, within the first couple of days, his/her soul must be called home. Usually, the head of the household would be the one to call the baby's soul home as a sign of welcoming it to their family. However, that's not the end to the process of welcoming a new baby into their home. There is still the ritual the shaman must perform. The shaman performs this ritual, which usually happens after a month or two after the baby is born, to notify the ancestors of the arrival of a new baby. The shaman tells the ancestral spirits that they must protect the baby's soul in the spirit world for he/she is a new member to the family.