2. We Americans live in a culture where we have full access to top of the line doctors, tests and medicines. This is sometimes referred to as Western Medicine. As a developed country we have much more advanced technologies than much of the world.
3. Many countries in eastern Asia, such as Thailand and Laos are developing countries. These countries lack the resources for modern medicine. Many of the cultures within these countries practice their own forms of medicine.
4. In Hmong culture a Shaman is called upon when someone becomes ill or is hurt Shaman literally means “master/father of spirits” (Pbs)
5. In The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang’s Grandmother was a Hmong woman who had healing powers. Some may even refer to her as a Shaman. She could contact spirits and offer them sacrifices. She also knew how to make healing remedies out of roots, nuts and plants. She had inherited her skills from her mother’s sister in Laos. She knew how to heal.
6. “Grandma was the type of woman that looked like she knew things, and did, people came to her for medicinal remedies frequently” – TheLatehomecomer,Page 69 In traditional Hmong Medicine illness is categorized in two ways. It is considered spiritual or non-spiritual. These two different categories require different healing methods. In some cases, for the Hmong that reside in the United States, they may pair western medicine practices with their own. Some of their traditional practices are illustrated in The Latehomecomer.
7. On page 59 of The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang tells a story of a time her sister fell ill. She explained how her grandmother called upon the spirits, ”My grandmother talked with the spirit world and offered the lives of chickens and pigs – she promised to find the animals if Dawb got better.”
8.
9. When an animal is sacrificed it is thought to protect the human soul.
10.
11.
12. With her Shaman’s tools in their hands, she looked into the spirit world, and was lost in a spiritual chant.
19. Works Cited "Hmong Culture and Medical Traditions.“ Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, July 18, 2009 http://www.childrensmn.org/Web/ClinicsAndDepts/025019.asp “The Split Horn” PBS, July 18, 2009 http://www.pbs.org/splithorn/shamanism1.html Yang, Kao Kalia. The Latehomecomer. Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 2008. Print
