Lia Moua

Introduction

The nex person I interviewed was my mother. Differently from Bao and Washoua, my mother and my father are becoming Hmong Shamans sometime later in their life. Already my mom has a dab tshuaj (healing altar) for some years now. As I am older now, I remember seeing my mother give herbal medicine to people. Along with her, we would pack herbal medicine into bags growing. I also saw her and my father conduct the  “khi tes” ritual - tying a red string to someone’s wrist and ankle. Recently, she has also learn how to “hu plig,” soul-calling from my grandma. My mother and father also know how to interpret, listen to the chants of Hmong shamans and know how “ua neeb” works. My father is also becoming a shaman later in his life. He falls into the category of “magical healers.” He has “dab khawv koob,” spirit helpers then led him to have the healing power to chant and bless illnesses such as baby nocturnal crying to stop. I have seen him do this ritual for babies numerous of time growing up. He would use a newspaper, magazine or piece of paper to use it like a fan. He would do this movement over a bowl of water with quarters in it. He would then chant. He also knew how to “hu plig,” before my mom and also know how to “khi tes.”

Her Shaman journey started out very young. When she was young, she became very ill one time. She explains the story like this,

Kuv mob heev heev ces cov kuv plaub hau lev tag nas. Ces thaum ntawm kuv li xa hlau ces tsis nco qab. Kuv niam thiab li hais tias, ‘oh mob mob ces, tsis paub yuav ua li cas.” Thaum qhov nyob tiv Thaib teb mas mus tsev kho mob nyuaj nyuaj. Ces kuv niam lawm thiab li mus hu ib tus yawg txiv neeb tuaj ua neeb. Kuv pw hauv lub txaj, kuv yeej tsis feel anything. Lawm hais lub los kuv yeej tsis sawv. Nws ua ua neeb. Yus tsaug zog li nos ces thaum yus yuav sawv, yus yeej hnov lub suab. Yus hnov nws lub tswb neeb (I was very ill to the point where all of hair fell out. I fainted and so I didn’t remember anything. My mom was very concerned and didn’t know what to do because in Thailand it was difficult to go to a hospital. Therefore, my mom ask a Hmong shaman to come “ua neeb,” for me. I slept on the bed, not feeling anything. Whoever spoke to me, I wouldn’t wake up. While he was in his trance and I was going to come to senses and wake up, I can hear his finger bells coming to get my soul and return it to my body).

She further explained how later, she heard her dab neeb, spiritual healers, talking to her in her dream. In her dreams, the spiritual healers told her that she must eat the root of a tamarind tree in order to get better. My mother told my grandmother that, she was told by the spiritual healers that, that is what she has to eat in order to get well. My grandmother refuses because she was afraid eating the root of a tamarind tree while being sick, would cause harm to my mother. Despite her hesitation, she dug up the root and gave it to my mother. My mother got well afterward.

My mother explains to me that this incident of her life is when she really began to believe that “ua neeb,” shamanism is real and can cure people spiritually. She tells me that, “Yog tig neeg tseeb tias ua neeb pab ces nws yeej pab. Yog nws tsis tseeb ces ua neeb los, yeej tsis pab,” (If you believe that shamanism can help then after “ua neeb,” you will get better, if you don’t believe it, then shamanism doesn’t help you).