Personal Reflection

I grew up listening to stories from my parents and my grandma. My mom told me that the Hmong people passed down their stories through story-telling because only a few Hmong knew how to read and write in Hmong. One of story that repeated in my family was the journey to America. My father ran through the jungle of Laos when he was nine years old and my mother was seven. For three years, my father’s family ran through the jungle of Laos. He never explained the historical context that was happening. All he said was that the “Nplog liab,” also known as the Viet Cong were prosecuting the Hmong in Laos because we have helped the CIA of the United States. That was all I really knew back then. Not until I was older that I realized that the stories from my grandparents and my parents were memories that defined our identities, culture and religion. Their memories and stories were the only way they connect and remember their past. Oral story-telling was the only way they can tell their children the history of the Hmong and the personal account of their lives.

I believe that the Hmong history is so vital in understanding how the Hmong people have practice their religious belief for years. Because of relocating to new homes due to wars throughout history, the religious practices, rituals and traditions of Hmong Shamanism has been changed throughout the years. Hmong Shamanism have and will continue to transform and change American society. It may be preserved in that the population of the Hmong population is also increasing.  In addition, Because the Hmong people are over the world, Hmong Shamanism has also been transform differently and similarly in other countries as well. Not only have Hmong Shamanism transformed, other religion in America has also converted many Hmong people in America as well. Thus, providing a more religious perspectives to the Hmong community. However, traditional Hmong religion, Hmong Shamanism, is unique in that it is the “original,” or “first,” religion that the Hmong practices and even today in America.