Anthropology 5 Spring 2008 Wednesday Evening

Cultural Observations – with your guide and guided by “When the Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down”

Fadiman presents a picture of Lia Lee and her family and Hmong culture through this story, told in a “Fish Soup” sort of style. We are going to touch on some aspects of the Hmong experience, the experience of your guide, as well as your own experience in a similar way. As we see, everything is linked to everything else. There are some factors that are more causative, but nothing is isolated. There are no isolated people; there are no isolated events. The purpose of these explorations is, hopefully, to get you to think a little more about the Hmong experience and what is going on in our world today.

Choose one (1) of these questions to explore with your guide (Immigration or World View and Healing) and write an Observation - Due April 30

Immigration

Fadiman talks about the Hmong coming to this country. She makes mention of it piece by piece and then tells the story of the war. But first there are the stories of where the Hmong originated from thousands of years ago. What people think about themselves and their history, shapes how they approach life.

For you and your guide:

Immigration is a very important question today as people on the individual level or in groups respond to the inequities of the world. People are pushed from their homes by many factors. The forces of underdevelopment and exploitation (sometimes today referred to as “globalization” or maybe imperialism) which result in desperate poverty or war often push people from their places. In an effort to survive or take care of their people, they are pushed or pulled to the countries that are the source of the problems they confront.

Other immigrants are pulled from their lands by the same forces but are not in such desperate conditions. They may have the benefit of having relatives or maybe the prospect of marriage to someone who can help them travel to the new county legally. Or they may have had the advantage of an education that provides skills that are desired by those who make the decisions about who may or may not cross the border. These people may be able to travel “legally” to the countries that have blocked their hopes for the future in their own places.

What is your guide’s experience with immigration? Does he or she have a “story” to tell, a personal account or a family story? Or do they have more of a perspective on this question to share – views toward immigration and immigrants and their impact?

And you? What is your “story”? Your “views”? What do you think about this question of immigration, in the U.S., not in some other part of the world?

World View, Religion or Cosmology

One human universal is the attempt explain things: where we came from, why things are the way they are; what causes things to happen that we cannot see clear causal elements at play; what causes illness; how do we maintain our health? Our reading is full of Hmong explanations of the world as Fadiman attempts to get us to understand the Hmong culture.

We all have these explanations – surrounding birth and death. What needs to be done to ensure the health of the infant. What needs to be done when someone’s life ends. And what do we do in between to maintain health, cure illness and live life the best way we know how.

Our world view conditions and shapes of understanding of the world we live in. This extends to our understanding and interpretation of the forces that surround us. Our belief systems – based on a god or gods, spirits, natural and super-natural forces, or what we call “science” serve as our guide to understanding our experiences. It serves as a guide to maintaining our health and wellness as well as our morality.

These are difficult question to approach in many ways. And it is best not to try to explore it head-on. It is often better to ask questions “around” the central question to get an understanding of your guide’s world views. Otherwise you will hear a presentation or defense of beliefs.

Depending on your relationship, you might want to talk about illness and healing – their experiences with this – did they simply rely on the doctor or use other interventions – prayer, traditional medicines etc. Do they have any “favorite remedies” for various illnesses or afflictions? Do they have suggestions for avoiding getting sick –for instance, not going out when it is cold, with wet hair.

Do their beliefs play a role in guiding them in other aspects of their lives? If so, what and how….? In other words, try to get an understanding of how this person looks at and intervenes in the world, using these ideas. Do not expect everything to “make sense”. We often think we make sense, but most of us are a bundle of contradictions.

And you? Yes, don’t forget your self in this as well. What are your views? Remedies? Approaches to this life?