Within the chapters read between my team and I, there are some key factors identified.
These factors included shamanism (
txiv neeb)
, Hmong sacrifice rituals, opium cultivation,
portability, extended family and community, and language/communication barriers. Within my
chapter, the key factors that applied were shamanism, Hmong sacrifice, importance of extended
family and community, and language/communication barriers. In chapter 8, Anne learns about
several of these factors by speaking to Lia’s mother and father, Foua and Nao Kao. In the
beginning of the chapter, Anne is told about the barriers she will experience when it comes to the
Hmong’s beliefs as well as with communication. To solve the issue of language/communication,
Anne speaks with Dr. Sukey Waller who informs her that she will need to find a “cultural
broker.” Anne then found a “cultural broker” who ended up being extended family to the Lee’s.
May’s, the broker, husband’s family was from the same clan as the Lees. This led to Foua and
Nao Kao treating May like a long-lost niece. Later, Anne is given some background of the
Hmong by Foua. She tells her that the soul is like a shadow and can wander off like a butterfly
sometimes. The Hmong believe this will occur when an individual is sad. This occurrence causes
the individual to become ill. If the soul returns, the sick individual will become well again
(Fadiman, 2007). She then tells Anne of
neeb
and
txiv neeb
. Hmong believe in
neeb
, or the
healing spirit.
Neeb
is an animal sacrifice in which the animal’s soul is traded for the wandering
soul of the sick. May’s father was a
txiv neeb
or shaman. Shamans are revered by the Hmong as
spirit mediums. It is believed that shamans can determine the cause of the illness in the sick
individual and search for and deliver the soul back to them which will, in turn, lead to recovery
(Vorreiter, 2021). All of these factors will impact the differences in disparities between United
States health care and the Hmong in California because it makes it difficult for a medical
professional to assist in the care of the patient due to the beliefs of the Hmong. One of the most
