Shamans

“Most household heads are able to perform the common rituals. However, to contact the spiritual world in emergencies shamans are consulted.”

 A Hmong shaman is a male or female healer whose job is communicating with the world of spirits to bring back lost souls to their body; or provide necessities for their ancestors in the spirit world (Blair O’ Connor 97).

In every village there is at least one shaman. To be a shaman one is chosen by the spirits. It doesn’t matter what age or sex to become a shaman. When chosen the person goes through a long illness and must accept his/her fate as a shaman. If s/he refuses s/he will remain ill. Each shaman has ‘teacher spirits’ who instruct him or her how to perform (Lewis 132).

When a shaman cures a sick person s/he goes into a trance and veils his eyes with a black cloth to see the spirits. S/he sits on a bench and faces the altar. Then calls his/her teacher spirits to come cure the patient. (Lewis 132).

A sickness can be caused when one’s soul is lost, captured by evil spirits, or offending an ancestral spirit. The shaman will discuss with ancestral spirits who may have been offended by the sick person and see what the spirits will ask for from the living. Shamans may bargain and struggle with wild spirits who have captured the patient’s soul, or locate the lost soul and persuade or force the soul back to its body.

Helping spirits differ in power and abilities. So when a shaman is unable to help the family they will look for a more powerful shaman. Hiring a shaman can be very expensive and cost the family a large portion of their resources (Blair O’ Connor 98).