Hmong New Year traditions in the U.S. recall ancestral spirits while teaching new generations
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on November 26, 2023
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — For the annual fall renewal of her shaman spirit, Mee Vang Yang will soon ritually redecorate the tall altar in her living room where she keeps her father's ring-shaped shaman bells.
She carried them across the Mekong River as the family fled the Communist takeover of her native Laos four decades ago. Today, they facilitate the connection to the spiritual world she needs to help fellow refugees and their American-raised children who seek restoration of lost spirits.
"Like going to church, you're giving beyond yourself to a . . .
