Demystifying Hmong Shamanism

The first sustained account in English of shamanism as Hmong Americans actually practice it. Linda Gerdner works through case examples covering both the making of a shaman, the calling and the initiation, and the range of ceremonies performed across a lifetime for spiritual and physical health. The title's promise matters: txiv neeb have been described in American writing mostly through the eyes of doctors and anthropologists encountering them as an obstacle, and this book treats the practice as a coherent system with its own logic. It pairs directly with The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which many readers encounter first and which leaves them with questions this book is equipped to answer. For healthcare workers, students of religion, and Hmong American readers wanting their own tradition described accurately.