Belief : Black Megic

The Hmong have a tradition of relying on black magic to help in correctly diagnosing and treating various sicknesses and ailments. The Hmong believe sickness and pain is caused by spirits. If one's actions manage to upset the spirits, then the spirits will take revenge, inflicting sickness and pain. Thus, the spirits must be appealed to and appeased in order for the sick person to become well again. For instance, if a spirit medium reports that the patient is sick because his spirit has run away, a special ceremony must be done to call that person's spirit back to his/her body. There are many different ceremonies involved in performing black magic. Some of these ceremonies are exceptionally complex and difficult to perform, but the Hmong perservere, performing each step of the ceremony with attention to every last minute detail. The Hmong believe that having a sound and healthy body is essential to being happy in life. Therefore, they are willing to invest a great deal of energy into keeping themselves in good standing with the spirits. There is a special and distinct ceremony for every type of ailment one can imagine. When a patient goes to see the spirit doctor, a thorough diagnosis of the symptoms will be done and it will then be determine which method of remedy should be employed. Below are some examples:

1. Working with spirits (Oo-ah Neng) This is one type of healing which the Hmong employ. Oo-ah neng basically means working with spirits, and is divided into three different categories: Oo-ah neng kauy choo-ah, oo-ah neng gray taang, oo-ah neng sai yai. Each is distinct in the method for healing it employs. Oo-ah neng can be used when someone in the family falls ill and no one knows the root cause. The Hmong believe sickness results from a person's spirit leaving their body. It may be that the patient's spirit has disappeared of its own accord or it may have been taken away by a ghost. Either way, the Oo-ah neng ceremony is performed in order to call the spirit of the sick person back to their body. Method of treatment: The oo-ah neng spirit doctor sits down on a stool and begins incanting a black magic spell. The spirit doctor will attempt to communicate with the spirits. If communication between the spirit doctor and the spirits is successful, then a pig will be killed. Before killing the pig, the sick patient must first come and sit behind the spirit doctor. String bracelets will be tied around their wrists, calling the patient's spirit back to their body, seeking protection from the spirits, and binding the sick person to his family. Following this the pig will be placed behind the sick patient and the spirit doctor will order it to be slaughtered. The person who kills the pig must act as the right-hand man for the spirit doctor. This assistant to the spirit doctor must be able to understand the special language used in oo-ah neng, and know what the spirit doctor needs at any given moment and be able to respond. For instance, if the spirit doctor gives instructions to the family of the sick patient, the assistant must immediately help explain how to carry out those instructions and help the family do so. When the pig is slaughtered, the goo-ah (instruments used in performing oo-ah neng) must be dipped in the pig's blood and then struck lightly against the back of the sick person. The spirit doctor will then utter a magical spell for the patient. Afterwards, the goo-ah will be dipped in blood once again and then used to pay respect and homage to the walls of the housing the sacred instruments (goo-ah).

2. Treating a startled person (sai jeng) Sai jeng is performed when a patient's body is cold--e.g. cold feet, cold ears, cold hands. The Hmong believe the person's spirit has either fallen out of the person's body or has frightened a ghost causing the ghost to retaliate against the person, and making them ill. Method of treatment: The spirit doctor massages the person's nerves with ginger. First the spirit doctor begins around the end of the nose, then to the forehead, and then moves to the ears. He will go back and forth between the forehead and ears three times before moving on. Next, he will move on to the nerves on the hands. He will start from the fingertips and massage his way down to the wrists, repeating for each finger, until done. Then he massages all around the wrists. As he is massaging the spirit doctor recites a spell. Finally, he will massage the soles of the patient's feet, repeating all movements three times. Sai jeng is performed over the course of three days. In the event that, following treatment, the patient does not fully recover, other methods may be employed, such as oo-ah neng or hoo-bpree.

3. Treatment done by blowing water (Cheur dae) The cheur dae method of treatment is used when someone in the family is sick and cries without ceasing, and/or the person acts exceptionally distressed and no one can figure out why. Often, the sick person seems to see things that startle and frighten them. Method of treatment: The spirit doctor (either a man or woman) will begin by having the sick person sit down close to the fire or stove. Next, the spirit doctor will take a small cup, fill it with water and then set it down next to him/herself. Using a pair of chopsticks, the healer will grab a red-hot ember from the fire and blow on it, then begin reciting an incantation. The spirit doctor will then wave the hot coal around the head of the sick patient while continuing to recite an incantation. When the incantation is complete the coal will be placed in the cup of water next to the spirit doctor and then a cover will be placed over it. This process will be repeated three more times. When the ceremony is completed, the spirit doctor will hold the hands of the patient and recite one more spell. Then, the spirit doctor will dip his hands into the water and rub down the patient's face or arms. After the ceremony has been completed the patient should begin to feel relief immediately. The Hmong continue to use this method of treatment to this day for people who are exceptionally startled. In some cases, when the symptoms are particularly severe and using cheur dae has been unsuccessful, the patient must be taken to the hospital.

4. Calling the spirit back to the body (hoo bpree) Hoo bpree is used when someone in the family is sick or ill. The Hmong believe that sickness results when a person's spirit leaves the body or disappears. In order for the person to recover their spirit must be called back to their body. This process of calling the spirit back to the body is known as hoo bpree. Sometimes, the patients condition improves immediately after performing hoo bpree. In other cases, however, the condition persists, in which case the Hmong will often wait and then try hoo bpree again. After all this, if the patient still does not show signs of recovery, then the full process of oo-ah neng will be employed. The materials needed to perform hoo bpree are: 1 chicken, 1 egg, and a pair of goo-ah (fortune sticks used to determine whether the spirits will or will not listen to one's pleas). In the event the patient is a woman, a male chicken will be used. In the event the patient is a man, a female chicken will be used.

5. Sweeping away bad things (gaan or suu) This ceremony is part of the new year's celebrations. In the course of a year, a family will experience both good and bad things. Gaan or suu is used to sweep away all those bad things--sickness, disaster, and pain; to wipe it out of the home and out of the individuals within it. This prepares everyone to welcome in the new year and all the good things that it will bring. When this ceremony is held, all members of the family must be present. If someone in the family can't be present because they have gone off to work in another province, then at the least, a shirt of that person's must be taken out to join in the ceremony. If this is not done, it is believed that the bad things from the past year will continue to haunt the family in the new year and it will hinder the progress of the family.

6. Pig spirit gate (Oo-ah Boo-ah Jawng) This ceremony is performed as a treatment for the whole family, setting all members of the household free from accident and disease. The pig spirit gate ceremony must be performed at night. The most important part of the ceremony is the formal announcement of the closing and opening of the gate. Once the announcement has been made that the gate is open, a pig will be slaughtered and boiled. When this is done the closing of the gate will be announced and the cooked pig will be cut into tiny pieces with the various parts being separated into 9 dishes as follows: Dish #1: Put in the left hoof and right side of the head of the pig Dish #2: Put in the right leg and left side of the head of the pig Dish #3: Put in the left leg and left side of the chin of the pig Dish #4: Put in the right hoof and the right side of the chin of the pig Dish #5: Put in the left hoof of the pig Dish #6: Put in the right leg of the pig Dish #7: Put in the right leg and five pieces of the pig's ear Dish #8: Put in the right hoof of the pig Dish #9: Put in the snout and tail of the pig