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1/27/04 Ying Thao ythao0966@webmail.winona.edu The message that was elaborated through the video and this website--gave our friends, caucasians, a brief informational insights what "Hmong" is and its custom. I'm delighted to represent the Hmong race and very proud of it--the video has shown a great deal of what is like for "Hmong", and immigrants residing in their new homes. Moreover, another great informational elaboration on Hmong rituals given in stepped directions were awesome and couldn't be given any clearer. I'd like to thank the producers and directors for bringing to live, the "Hmong" and its rituals that no other human beings had seen prior.  1/17/04 tchieng gurl kail oky..well im here caz i have to study on this kind of these!..well as wat i see is that young teens are making the worng kind of thing to do!..i mean like come on ...u have like alot of years of school, and more things to then..staying home waking up every (*******) day..having kids to take care of..i mean like you cant even see your friends becaues, of waht u did wrong!..maybe if you just use your head more n "THINK"..before waht u do!!!..alos think of waht comes frist if i did this and what well happen at the end?..."well you end up ina good life or a bad life?..."...all that i just got to say is that..young teens who are getting married at a "YOUNG"..age are just missin out of "ALOT" of things!!! 1/9/04 Ka portlandladee503@hotmail.com I believe that shamanic ceremonies have the ability to heal and if possible they should be used along with the traditional medicine. To expose more of the hmong culture, to get the society to understand what hmong is. This could be one of the things that will help. And as for the future generations of Hmong Americans, I'm afraid it will be all forgotten, because of broken family bond. The majority of them will follow other traditions. And for the few, the ones who are left, will still carry this ancestor culture. 12/10/03 Jay Vang Jay_Vangsta_336@hotmail.com I personally doubt that future generations of Hmong-Americans are gonna carry on our culture to the future....I can personally speak from experience. My father fought against the communists and for what? so that our family could be chased out of our homeland to come to America and have his kids reject our culture and traditions. I come from a family of 7 kids. My father was a shaman as well in Laos. Out of us 7 kids, only my oldest brother took on upon himself to learn the shaman ways. My other brothers and sisters know almost nothing about it. My father was eager to share his knowledge with us kids but most of us didn't care about it. Now it is too late, my father passed away last year. Other than my brother and mother, I have no connection to our traditions because I was ignorant to ignore it for the American ways. I took our culture for granted like so many and now I have started to learn our ways and traditions. You know they say a people can survive as long as their culture and traditions are intact. What about us? In 50 years I predict the Hmong culture in America will a memory of the past.
11/14/03 nkauj zhoua vaj kali_cutegurl@hotmail.com how important is it to preserve the cultural tradations of your parents and grandparents? which tradations do you embrace , and which will you leave behind? will its only a matter of personal choice and a sense of belonging that one feels. only oneself can or will make that decision to perserve it or leave it out. i feel that it is important to preserve our cultural, traditions and religion, because even though we were raise here or was born and raise here in the United States, still that doesnt give the right away to neglect our own identity as a person. we may eat hamburgers and drinks pepsi, still rice is in the mix. i feel that only people who are ignorant and selfish, full of stupidity would ever say that they are not hmong but hmong american, whats up with that, because there is no such thing as a "hmong american" we are hmong so dont need to be a stuck up fool and act stupid and see yourself as some thing your not. i feel that now aw day young hmong teens are stupdie r as the moment pass by. many of them would married or supposedly are forced into marriage. because this land is a land of great oppertunity and one becomesselfish thinking that theres food stumps and cash aid to aid them out. many of the young hmong man and woman get married at an early age such as 13 or 14 years old supposenly for the so called woman and the man are old such as 25 and 26. thats mass up because you cant always depend on food stumps and cash aid to help you out. manily hmong people are the most activies when it comes to making kids as one say. i hope that in the near future one will realize that at the age of 14 and 15 your still a baby girl, and marriage is out of the question and education is the question. no wonder many of the young couples get married because they dont know what they want and after been ,married a year or two, especially the young married girl goes out into the world and works, they see money as the issue and seeks rich man and flurts with them at the end they wine up cheating with their husband or running of with their newly found mate. like i say education is the key to unlock all the riches beyond and a degree is whast going to hand you the keys. hmong girls are stupid ignorant and selfish. they tend to think about money mainly and a way to get out of the trouble that they are facing at home so marriage is the only solution to their problems so they run of and get married to some creep who they met for a week or so. thast how dumb hmong girls are they are stupid and uneducated woman the lowest of woman you can think of they dont know what education can bring them and i feel sorry for those who are 14 and wine up marring some creep whose 30 or so..
11/13/03 lees76@uwosh.edu I love this website... and of course I've been brought up the Shaman way and I love it. I feel in the future... it's going to fade away which is going to be VERY sad. As far as I can see and from what I've been observing, so many Hmongs are converting themselves into the American way and their culture, I guess I don't have anything aganist them but I still feel we need to keep the Hmong culture alive and show what we can do as being a Hmong. So many people "OUT THERE" don't even know what Hmong means and they usually get confused when it comes to our religion... it doesn't make sense to them and it looks too "fake" because we are using animals to bring back spirits and such. They just don't know how it feels to be a Hmong... for me... being a Hmong means being free and being true to your culture. I've learned so much from this website, because there are things that are so confused to explain in English, but this site made it so much easier to explain. Thank you so much for doing this and letting the word out about Hmong people. I am proud to say that kuv yog ib tus Hmoob! Ua tsuag!
11/10/03 yangvue@hotmail.com I think that it is great that you guys actually did a story about the Hmong. But, i dont think that Shaminism is what we "do". I feel as though it is another religion and since i am a Christian, there is no reason at all to practice that, when I know that God is by my side. thanks!
10/24/03 yangvue@hotmail.com I was born in america and brought up toward shamanism. I believe we all should teach our culture to our children. That is what makes us diverse. The shaman ritual has been with us for many cenuries. It does have the ability to heal...I am only 21 yrs, but I have seen many types of ritual performed. It's scary but I love the beauty of it. It reassures me about our tradition. Although for some, if the ritual did not help heal, I have seen them turn to christianity and also found success there. We do not need to believe in shamanism-IT IS WHAT WE DO, it is our way of healing the soul, the mind, and the body. I think most of the generation now will probaly not embrace our ancestors culture. It does have very much to do with the parents as well-they themselves are the ones who are parting the culture first. Everyone needs to involve their children. Take them to the ceromonies if you have too so you will have the ability to promote it and your children will be more aware of it as well as being comfortable around it. Stop leaving your kids at home. And also to, we hmong americans as of right now are the first generations to be here in america as well as our parents, if you really consider it, it is much of the parents (who was first brought to america in the late 1970's) fault of to why the generation now act and is brought up the way it is. We haven't been here that long and we have such a dramatic change over! Well, I hope we all carry the culture on. Even though I was born in America, I love the beauty of being different, having a different culture and many people who are interested asking me, " how does it feel to be different and have such a unique culture? " especially when they ask the question: " what is hmong? "
10/10/03 robert roger_xiong@yahoo.com i just want to thank the people who put this film together and PBS for airing it. it was not new all new to me but sill it was a great film. i believe that my generation (1980-90)is very igorenant. i know so because i see so. it's no secret. the majority are trying to be americanize. how embarrassing is it really to be hmong? i truely feel sad for those who don't know about our culture but for those who won't accept it because they want to be americanize, they are just plain pathetic and should not be critizing the rest. shamanism is part of our culture and i know i will continue to carry my parent's tradition because i am proud of them and foremost my hereitage. yes, i was born here. and yes i am an HMONG american. born as an "american" gives me the freedom to roam america. it does not define who i am. i am hmong and proud. i also want to thank Lee Dan Yang for clarifying the statement another person typed which i too, found offensive. and last but not least to all the Hmong young adults, try to be your self, learn more about your culture, don't be BIAS, and be open minded because you just might be able to fill it up with some HMONG PRIDE.
8/12/03 llee I have not seen the film. I know it has been out awhile. The film has some very positive reviews. I hope to see it soon. DVD?? There are currently about 200K Hmong living in the US. That's less than 0.007 % (not a typo) of the US population as a whole. We are in an ocean of whites. Films and documentaries like this should help make other people around us get a better picture of us and understand our way of life. Local authories will take us to court for sacraficing animals in our own home. It's a constitutional right! Freedom of religion. Funny story to Shanmanism: Neighbors called Animal Control on us after we had a shamanism ritual in good old Broomfield, CO. The neighbors' kids saw the pig we were going to sacrafice. Of course, what was funny about the whole thing was that by the time animal control got to our place, the pig was already in our stomach. No evidence. I mean KFC and Boston Market kill millions of chicken a day, no animal control there. By that little incident and other related experiences, I have become more proud of being Hmong. I tried to speak Hmong at work to my Hmong peers..loud and clear...'can you hear me now?' I know some of my non-Hmong co workers dislike that. I'm not going to let them suppress my Hmongness! I second to what the earlier messages - Hmong all day everyday. Someone should make a movie base on the flight of the Hmong after they were abandoned by the CIA (after helping down US pilots) and left to the mercy of the Pathet Lao. In that secret war, it is estimated that over 20K Hmong died. That's like 1000 Hmong for one down US pilot in Laos. Talking about sacrafices! Thousands perished on their desperate escapes to Thailand from the genocidal communist regime. Of course, when the Hmong got to Thailand, they were abused, placed in 'interment' camps. Thousands died there too. Of course, when we arrived here, we learned that a decade ago, the US was the most segregated and suppressed society in the world, just like Laos. Justice will be done when the US knows who we are, why we are here, and recognizes out sacrafices.
5/29/03 well i think is that people can think whatever they want and believe in what ever will cure you! But the most improtant part is that we hmong people will alway love each others! The movie was preety good but one thing is that the movie didn't really give us a clear explanation on the tools that The Shamen used! Well other than that it was really nice!I enjoyed it!
5/20/03 Jenny Stengle i think split horn was a great video to show everybody how hmongs culture is so different from ours. I thought that the things they did was really weird. I think that i think it was weird because im not used to it. The father really wanted the children to keep up the traditions. It means alot to the father that they do it. thank you.
5/20/03 Tio Yang Well, I believe in shamanism. Never the less most of the people i know are into the shaman thing. One thing i can see around us young hmong peoples are that we aren't listening too much to our mothers and fathers side of their story. i mean that, since we live in America now, life is alot easier than when it was back at laos. My dad would tell me stories of how hard they'd have to work for food. because there weren't really to much jobs around and the most popular way to find food was to farm for them. It'd take hard work but as we now know in december, they'd harvest and have a great time about last years farming. This was what made the hmong children learn about shamanism and learned about what their culture was about. They had to help there mothers and fathers to watch the farm, the house, and the live stocks. And then the war came to Laos, most people in America don't even know about what happened back there and how many of our fallen brothers, sisters, mothers,fathers, etc had died trying to keep Laos free. Then, they had nowhere else to go but scater across the surface of Earth. I know of families in Australia, America, Canda, and in some places in Europe where hmongs had fled trying to run from the North Viets. Because of the war most hmong people out of Laos has pretty much forgoten about their culture. From the rate of the future and the rate of infinite freedom, the culture won't last much very longer... I know it's pretty hard to accept it... I mean that, alot of hmongs have seen how shamanism works. The effects normally works and the person would get better, unless they are too deep in losing their soul. Then they are pretty much can't be helped... It's just how medicine works you know? Like if you got CANCER, there's no cure to most cancer diseases. Or like the SARS virus you have a 98% of dieing. You got to accept the facts you know? I just like staying where i am right now. With shamanism. It's not because of the things we do you know? I used to go to church too. One thing my dad told me was that ever since he went to church ever since he got to Am-a-li-ca (Spelt the MMT's way)(you'll know if you are hmong) he had bad luck. Even though, I've seen alot of people who likes to go, and don't like to go to church. Everyone has there reasons. Church peoples have something to talk about how god this, Moeses that etc. And they need your money to run the church too! Like that thing with the you have 10 cents, you give 10% to god. LOL that's like for the church and for them to run the church. That's what i hear from the Shaman people's side. Church people don't like the old way of Shamanism anymore. Takes too long, they are lazy, or they just want a different belief. They want to go somewhere more trusting such as heaven. And heaven will have everyone there waiting for them that has passed on. I can see this from alot of people and since I have families and friends that both do Shaman and go to church, I can agree with both sides. It's just that one side wants some to come on there side and some wants some to come to their side. Some people are haters and some are not. Some people are hard headed and want to complain like dorks and some are not. It's quite simple on how religion is worked out.
5/6/03 merkali cute boi kaliboi209@hotmail.com ok..the reason why im hea is because i have to do a research on this..no offense but i think that hmong people need to let go the old tradition and begin a new life..which is christianty!! yupz..i was raised up as a christian all my life..and the sounds of the gong freaks me out..lols..im not use to that kinda krap you know..and one thing..see when i die imma go rite heaven..as for you folks..i dunt know where ya folks are leading to..so yeah..come experience christianity!! if u have any comments..jux e-mail me.. ..JESUS TO THE HMONG PEOPLE...
4/14/03 Tim Lee sonicjune@yahoo.com I can't believe it's been nearly 2 years since I've submitted an initial review of this film, not to mention, this TALKBACK website has filled up with many reviews from different Hmong persons as well as non Hmongs who have something to reflect about. You know, first of all, we have to stop citing Shamanism and ancestral worship as being something that is unique to the Hmong - it isn't. It's actually something that spawns from Chinese beliefs. Where ultimately, its roots is in Taoist ideals. In Hmong, we say "Tswv Yim," but in Mandarin it's "Ch'i." (literally "CHOO-YEE" in Hmong, and "CH'YEE" in Chinese). Chi is rooted in Fung Sheui beliefs. The Hmong are nomadic people, as there are four common theories to where Hmong people came from: a) Russia, b) Tibet c) Persia or d) They were always there before the Chinese came. Because the Hmong are nomadic, it's natural that the Hmong will accept and take from beliefs around them. Therefore the question I've answered is, acceptance of new ideas is part of being Hmong. Obviously there is a caucasoid root for the Hmong, as one in a hundred Hmong have the reddish or dirty blonde recessive hair gene. One in a thousand have the recessive blue eye gene. Look no further than the Chinese kingdoms for having caused Genocide against the Hmong, perhaps for conquest reasons. My point is simple - the Hmong are nomadic people who share traditions and assimilate into the cultures that they move into. From the Chinese, to the Thai, and now, the Americas, Hmong means 'FREE.' The problem with the Hmong identity is, many Hmong see nothing more than what is presented to them. But look pass the obvious Chinese legacy, and you begin to see an Arabic or Persian root. Whether it's the style of "Pa Ndao" or the head dress and wear of northern Thailand tribes, there is an ancient influence that defines us as 'FREE.' Free from being kept. Free from being closed. Free from ignorance. Future generations of Hmong Americans are not assimilating into 'White culture' (a ! concept fueled by asian professors and the asian rights movement) rather they are fusioning into the asian ideal of rejecting their Asiatics (highlighting their hair, wearing fake blue contacts, dating other ethnic groups). An idea spawned from the non-glorification of asian male actors other than white man in a yellow suit Russel Wong, or kung 'fueled' Jackie Chan and Jet Li. There is no scientific evidence other than placebo to support shamanistic healing powers. These shamanite ideas again are constructed by beliefs assimulated from Chinese culture. I find Chinese medicine as well as European/American placeboes (such as Xenadrine - an expensive caffeine pill) to be just as outrageous. It's VERY important to preserve the Hmong cultural traditions. But the question remains: Where did WE COME FROM? Was it Persia? India? Tibet? China? Russia's Lake Bilal? What's ultimately most important is, where we'll go. Information about the Hmong: http://www.hmongcenter.org/briefhisofhm.html
4/7/03 Mrs xiong suayaj2002@yahoo.com kuv coj ke cia qub, tiam sis ua neeg nyob txawm yuav coj kev cai qub thiab tshaib los ua neeg yeej yuav los tau txoj kev tuag xwb tiaj li tag. No one can predict reality.
4/3/03 Alma Galesic galesicalma@msn.com I'm from Bosnia but I live in California for five years now. I never heard about Hmong untill few weeks ago when our english teacher told us to read the book called " The spirit catches you and you fall down" by Anne Fadiman. I would like to recomend that book to all of you. It is about collision of Hmong and American culture. It is very interesting and you won't be able to go of the book untill you read it. I read most of the messages on this web site and it is sad to see how one culture is falling apart. No one can be blaimed for this. Hmongs born in America, shouldn't be called less Hmongs, however one must admit real Hmongs are your parents and those people who came to America. I can see that next generations of Hmongs will be more Americans. One day they will say, "My grandparents were Hmongs" I'm too unwilingly lousing my culture and tradition. I guess I just want to say that there shouldn't be any arguing about who is more Hmong. Those who are mad at those Hmongs who are ashamed of their culture, shouldn't be. One day Your child might be ashamed of your culture. I truly believe in shamans ability to heal. We all have a soul. We all know when we feel down, we feel sick. When we feel that everything is under control we feel happy, we feel like jumping :). What ever makes one person happy should be used with medicine. I hope no one will be mad at me since I'm not Hmong and know so little about Hmongs compearing to you guys. My english is bad too :). I'm looking forward to learn more about your culture and traditions and make some Hmong friends. I wish you all good life and happyness in being who you are.
3/27/03 1.I don't see why future generations of Hmong Americans will NOT embrace their ancestors' culture. As transcends across many cultures, if you really dig down to the bottom of things, our parents basically want us to be responsible and caring not only for ourselves, but our family, community and society. Certainly, we have different ways of capturing these values and our ways is what make us unique as Hmong. Regardless of what we do, our ancestral cultural values of responsibility, respect and dignity will continue. We'll find other ways to get that message across and we will. Maybe it will not be in the traditional way of Shamanistic values or traditional rituals and community duties--but we'll find the way. I guarantee that it will be lost. There's too much pride and dignity--they didn't know any other way so they created a cultural system that many of us are having a difficult time with, which is good. We must grow and change but the message remains the same. It is the same with our culture--must change. All of us are responsible for that change! 2. Let's be realistic here. Shamanism does not have the ability to heal a physical wound but indirectly, it provides emotional relief and a sense of security. I have two elders that have liver and hear problems. They felt Shamanism would care their illness. I wasn't about to them that we were not going to invite a shaman--we did knowing that we would provide with a sense of relief. Regardless of how minimal the effects will be, I felt it was my duty to make certain that their wishes come true. I made feel better and for me that was worth the sacrifice. Would it heal their liver and heart problems...NO. Sometimes we do things even when we know the outcome has nothing related to the problem. Definitely, shamanism should be used with traditional medicine but for something to go well--after it is diagnosed and re-diagnosed--see for medical assistance. 3. Again, deep down at the roots of what my parents were doing was to establish responsiblity, respect and dignity for the family and community. When someone dies, we go and help--responsibility and commitment to your community. When someone gets stressed out or depressed, we find ways to solve the problems. We had no trained counselors, psychologists or psychiatrists--let's go the shaman or ask ancestors for support (sacrifice a few animals if necessary). To really have a firm grasp of our culture and truly get the issues, we must examine things from all perspectives. We'll never have or find a perfect solution or understanding and that's the joy of living and seeking for truth about ourselves, our ways of life and what the future holds. "Evil will triumph only if one necessary thing doesn't happen--good men don't do anytthing" "Do the things that people want you do and you will achieve them regardless of your race." Race is not a factor...maybe you won't accomplish this in lifetime, but please live it everyday.
3/21/03 missyvanghs Grammars? Who's here to talk about that? The question regards to the culture embrace, not to BS about other's message. Besides letting Mr. Whoever not to judge or worries too much about grammar issues here on the site. Oh! Look at your own writing and correct your grammar too. Talking about which tradition, I feel that it wouldn't matter which tradition you practice. It's all about knowing that you're Hmong and just know how to speak the language.
3/14/03 Xao Xiong We live in the United States where we have the opportunity to learn, yet we slack off and become low life SOB! We turn around and blame the society and our parents! WTF?!!! Just look at the writings on this opinion board -how sad. Please do not post if you lack grammer. People, go to school and learn how to write properly -that is what the education system is for; our future depends on it. And stop nagging -the war is over 29 years ago. Lets stop blaming the Americans for our failure in the U.S.A. Ohhh get over it!
3/12/03 i think that our religion is highly complex. i beleive that we first need to evaluate the situation here. i don't think a lot of people really know the english term for our religion. we know what we know, its a religion passed down by word of mouth. therefore, it can easily be misinterpreted. honestly, i believe that our relgion is ANIMISM..its important that young hmong adults understand that. of course we have shamans, but our religions is animism with an INFLUENCE of shamanism. does that make sense?...our religion has been around for ages, way before christianity. we need to hold on to what we beleive in, be open minded. what we also need is to understand that american culture is interwoven in our everyday lives and it would be difficult for hmong people to not convert to christianity. no matter what, we all still have something in common..and thats being HMONG.
3/10/03 Khue Xiong hi, I just would like to comment to those who don't believe in shamanism I think that you just don't know who u really are yet that is why you choose to not take intrest in shamanism. Personally I am the last son of my family and both my parents are shamans my dads been a shaman ever cince he was bout 15 and my mom just started bout 4 years ago. I know that its your life and no one can make your decision for you in your life but you also got to remember who you are and where u came from.(no offense to those christians out there but) I think that christianity is like selling out. I mean we are hmong are we not? and hmong peoples only have two differnt religon and orginally hmong people were shamans so therefore if your a christian then your a sell out. That is just my opinion so u dont have to take it like that but I think that it is true. Hmong people is said to orginated form China or Mongolia which one no one really knows do to the fact that we have to written histroy and all our history is oral so words get mixed up and switched around but me looking up where shamanism orginated form mongolia. I think it is weird how christians have so many differnt type of christians out there and they always seem to think that their better than others. I just want to know a couple things "Why is it that Christians mostly or usually think that they are better than shamans?" Just to inform you to those who do think like that don't think like that becuase your not better then us cuzz most of the shaman people probaly know more about your religon then youknow bout your own religion. Also to christians out there" Why do u believe in things you hear instead of things you see with your own eyes? I mean shaman people the reason why we mostly believe in shamanism is that growing up our parents perform many miricles (if thats wat you wanna call it) and we are their usually to witness it for ourself, so in other words why believe in the words of others and not yourself, if it is your life that your living then believe in yourself and what you see not what u hear from others. That is all I have to say cause if I want I can talk about it forever. If anyone can answer my Q? then email me at www.goodboi15@hotmail.com
2/19/03 XyoojBoi its up to wat the person wanna belief tho.. but i said we hmong gotta stop hurtin eachother especially them gangstas.. all them shootings killings.. wssup wit that? americans have alrdy seeing us in a low level alrdy.. why cant us hmong prove it that we could do better.. oh wellz everyone got their own reason their own thoughts.. but never let down ur hmong pride.. HMONG PRIDE TO THE FULLEST
2/6/03 betty vang i feel that many hmong american teens are falling out of their league. their forgetting who they really are. as a daughter of a shaman and a daughter in law of a christian, i truly believe that i belong to both. why should we pick sides and say this is who we are and what we are going to represent. if in that case how would i represent who i am. i'm stuck in between. many may say it is my fault that i went that way, but just because somebody paid for me doesn't mean i'm going to dis own my birth parents. i think we all should have an identity. if god created us, he wouldn't be upset for how he made us. he would be happy that we all learn how to communicate with life and the people we love. that's what he wants right for everyone to love. so people just have to stop saying that one way is better than the other. we're all the same. i am hmong, i belong to a shaman. i am a wife and i belong to my christiam husband. no matter where i go that's who i'll be. and nobody can say i should be th is or that or act this way, because i have made up my mind.
2/6/03 maikey moua hey everybody...well i guess i readed most of what everybody had said..wow..so many comments and questions..and answers...i really enjoy the positives and negatives of what everybody had to say... but hey i am a student attending the university of california davis (or UCD or UC Davis) yeah, its my first year... and through the hmong student Union up in here...(the hmong club) i have learn alot...i came into the university with no knowledge the hmong cultural aspect because i never really pay attention to becuase how i grew up or how ignorant some hmong folks can be...but what i am trying to say is that there is a HMONG STRUGGLE out there and encourage our hmong youth especially college students to support for we can make a difference..for as i told other people...there is going to be three types of hmong attitudes out there.. 1) hmong who had learn or already know the stuuggle we are in and are passionate to help out 2) hmong who knows about the strugge but still stay neutral and do nothing 3) hmong who knows about the struggle but just don't kare To me...i have learn so much and i am very passionate to help..out...so i believe the cross cultural between assimilating to this this american society and retaining our hmong cultural is hard but we can overcome and direct ourselves by knowing our history, and most of all our cultural as hmong americans. In the HMONG STRUGGLE, us hmong people our such a minority that our voices are not heard...and then there are many stereotypes out there about hmong folks..besides plus the asian stereotypes..too... people may say hmong people are living of the government (as living on welfare) or using the execuse that we fought on the american side during the vietnam war,we should have special privilege or be given money for our services...there many more others but those are some of the examples of the stereotype that has come about to the hmong people. So as you see even if your cultural beliefs as change from traditional to new beliefs as you assimilate. do not abandon your cultural and help out the struggle. this movie the "split horn" is an example of our struggle to make people understand how hard it is for us to make a living and to understand this american society especially our parents...so i hope that everyone here understands the struggle ...and i hope if you have any questions or comments please feel free to get me back on my email...for here at UC davis where we are the university where we have the most hmong student population and are very active on helping out our community. ONe of big promotions we do is we go out to high schools and teach our hmong kids about varies issues in the hmong community and to teach to strive for higher education...so sorry for the advertisment instead of comment but i do hope the passionate hmong folks our out there..to help out.. thanks for all your times..and everybody who reads...the comments... the HMONG STRUGGLE CONTINUES... Maikey Moua, UC Davis CA! ALL DAY!!!
1/23/03 Seng Thao It dosen't matter what you think we all warship the same GOD it's just that Shamanism is an older way and Christianity is the newer way. GOD is still GOD no mather how you warship it. Who is to tell me that my way it the wrong way. I believe in Shamanism, it's how I warship GOD. Everyone thinks that I warship the Devil (not true). Don't hate or blind yourself. Shamanism is just the old way to warship GOD.
1/6/03 ming lor okay. i think that either you are born i n america or born in laos, thailand, whatever, it dont matter. you still have to learn it. and know the customs of your roots. for me, sometimes my parents teach me this stuff, and i dont want to hear about it. but in any case, i know that i have to know the traditions in order to teach my kids. even though im a christian, i know as much as a person that believes in shamanism. so i say that no matter what you beleive in sha thing or GOD, you still have to learn. once my parents told me that in the hmong culture, they say if you stole something, and you dont admit it, they have to burn your hands to see if you are innocent. if nothing happens, then you are innocent, but if it does burn, then you are guilty. anyways, i say it dont matter what you believe in. i just want to know one thing. is against GOD if you just kick with the people that believe in the shamanism while they are doing that ceremony? if anybody has an answer to my Q, the em ail me at spiderman55103@yagoo.com. okay see ya -Ming-
1/3/03 G.Vang i think that the younger generations will probably not know what shamanism is or how it even works because everybody is so into the "New" culture and traditions that most likely it's going to loose it's name and purpose. i think that shamanic ceremonies do have the ability to heal because it has worked with my family. It's a if you believe it than it works, just like a person praying to GOD for help. It's very important to embrace the cultural traditions because it is what makes up a CULTURE. How can one say that they represent a culture if they don't even know the traditions. I would embrace the TRADITIONAL Hmong Way because it's what I was born into and grew up with. Why not teach the future Hmong generations about their real/true identity rather than teach them about something that one just learned?This is one of the reasons why the Hmong Culture is slowly disappearing. Elders trying to teach the young ones but nobody wants to listen because they want to fit in and find themselves in this "NEW" world. But this was a great educational video. I liked it and learned a lot more from it.
12/17/02 watson you broadcast not, iam here to recent. not what you felt, land stalk can't recent thing not flow in their. The shaman's healing rituals provide existence with a moral interpretation and meaningfulness. According to anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, the function of a shaman is to reproduce and restore belief, not physical health.
12/17/02 Lee Dan Yang This message is for the person who said shaman worship devil or (ntxwgnyoog). The sad part about your comments is you criticized your own people's religion and culture. I don't think a true Christian would make such comments toward other people's culture or religion the way you did. I've a lot of friends who are christian and they don't talk that way. They are strongly believe in God, but at the same time they also have respect for other people's belief, cultures, and religions. In your talkback msg. you wrote down three very good point and I'll try to explain them for you. 1. You said you don't think future generations will even know their own ancester? I think that only people like you would not remember or know who your ancesters are, because you don't care. As a matter of fact, I do know who my ancersters are because I care and I learn about them. I even know the history of my family and where they came from, dating back to my ancesters years in China and escape to Vietnam before they settled in Laos. I suggest that you should pay more attention to your root and teach your children or grand children about your history(qhia koj cov me tub me nyuam txog koj tej keeb kwm)so they won't forget who they are. 2.You said, it all depends on what you believe. Well, to answer your question, it's very simple. Because most Hmong believe in shamanism. It's true that shaman can't heal cancer and brain disease, but so is God. God can't cure disease, only physician can. If God can, then so many Christian would not have die due to their cancer or disease. But their are so many thing out there that shaman and God can heal. That's why we believe in them. As a Hmong man I strongly believe in shaman. I know what they can do for me or my family when we're sick. If you are a smart christian man, you should know what God can do for you. 3. You said there are certain thing that the Hmong culture can not be drop. Well, shamanism is one of them, along with same last name can't be married. It doesn't matter if you are a christian, Bahaii, Muslim, Catholic, Budhist, or any other religion that I might've miss you should respect other people's religion and culture. Fifty years from now, a hundred years from now, we might all be dead but we should teach our kids about our tradtions and cultures. They should teach their kids about it and pass it on from one generation to the next, so it will not be forget. Thank you and I hope you'll understand and learn more about the Hmong culture and tradition as you grow older. With all the respect, god bless you and your family. Best regard to PBS for your excellent job. Thank you and I hope you'll continue to provide more information about the Hmong people for other people to see.
12/17/02 Jacque I really liked this movie, it helped me to get a better understanding of the Hmong culture. The area in which I live in is highly populated with Hmongs, so I can relate with them in some ways and just have a whole new outlook on things. Living in the United States, it's easy to get cought up in our way of life. This is why, I think it's important that the Hmongs keep their culture alive. Culture is something that should be very important in everyone's life. I think that it's important for the Hmongs to keep their culture alive as well as everyone else. Americans should also try to understand their culture and set aside all of the things they've heard until they've really learned about their way of life. I do really find it interesting and learned quite a bit from watching this video.
12/17/02 Samantha Nelson I really enjoyed your movie on Hmongs. We watched it in a class at school and it really opened up my understanding of their culture and historical background. It was interesting to see how others celebrate and what types of cerimonies they preform. I was glad that you broght up the subject. I think that a lot of people have the wrong idea about their culture and maybe this can help to clarify some of the misperception.
12/17/02 Katara The Pope I really enjoyed the movie because it gave me a better insight on things, such as why Hmongs moved here and what types of traditions they participate in. I thought some of them were weird, but a good weird,. I just never seen them before and thought they were interesting. I think that the family was very close even though not everyone decided to stay home and follow all the traditions. I think carrying on tradition is a good thing but on the same token it is good to relate to others and pick up new customs and traditions. More... |
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