Video: Between Two Worlds: The Hmong Shaman in American
March 5, 2013
Part 1: 9:33. Look for the other two parts on YouTube. They were unavailable at the time of this post.
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CJS-360 Diversity Issues 
The video was really informative and I enjoyed watching it. The only complaint I have is that there was a lot lost in translation from what was said during the parts that the person was speakng and what was subtitled.
There was a part in the video that angered me; the pastor says “these people here, they come to America and don’t have any beliefs and they’re waiting for someone to show them how to believe. There’s a void they need filled…” He doesn’t at all acknowledge that the Hmong people already had their own religous beliefs, it seems as if he is just trying to impose Christianity on to the Hmong people that he was working with, with out learning about the Hmong people first. I think that if there was an understanding of the Hmong culture and the people he could better teach the ideology of Christianity without alienating the Hmong person like he did when asked the shaman if he thinks that he has sinned then telling the shaman man that he has sinned.
This segment was interesting and like Tou said very informative about the Shamans in the Hmong culture. I also agree with Tou about missionary John’s comment when he said refugees come to America with no beliefs, they’re waiting to be shown what to believe in. He also said he enjoys teaching new immigrants/refugees about the true son of God and that Buddhism is an ancient history. Obviously, people do come with their own cultural beliefs and values.
This ties back to the class context because it relates to chapter 16 in the book Investigating differences. The chapter, “In Whose God We Trust?” is about religious differences. Just as there are socially constructed standards in society, there are religions that are seen as acceptable and unacceptable. Native Americans and Jews have faced persecution because their religion was different. Likewise, refugees/immigrants are being pushed to convert to Christianity after moving to a different country because their own religion is seen as different.
Coming from a Christian Hmong family, I never had much knowledge of the Shaman beliefs. This video was very educational and taught me a lot about the belief. I remember going up, my mom always told me stories about the Shaman beliefs and her experiences with it back in her home town. It’s very interesting to finely learn about Shaman and the Hmong Culture from a different point of view other than my mothers. It’s interesting to hear that a chicken and a cow value are different when it comes to a sacrifice. Even though my parents raised me as a Christian, learning about the Shaman belief was very interesting. This video was very interesting and full of knowledge about the Shaman belief.