PebHmong Discussion Forum
General Category => Hmong Culture & History => Funeral Rituals & Customs => Topic started by: Reporter on July 29, 2010, 07:10:27 PM
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All right. The Hmong were an animistic group of people, and so we have come to believe in the existence of spirits. We may not have proof one way or another. Sometimes it's even troubling that some people actually believe something we cannot see or hear. But we all agree that, whether in America or abroad, we Hmong still believe in that today.
There are skeptics, of course. But others are true believers. For example, the majority of Hmong believe in the existence of the tsog--one that comes a night to sit on its victims and they struggle but they cannot move and no one else can hear them yell, no matter how hard they scream. Things of the sort. Tell me true stories that have made you or your friends, relatives or close ones believe in the existence of spirits.
An example: I haven't personally witnessed anyone practicing one. But one very common belief is the finger-blood vow made between two lovers to ensure their romance is permanent. Whether always true or not, the result is believed that the two will never part upon death. Hence, when one has died, that dead person's spirit comes back to take the life of the living counterpart so that they would "go" together.
I take it that the Hmong general take this blood vow to hold water.