Miao folk religion
Miao folk religion or Hmong folk religion is the common ethnic religion of Miao peoples, primarily consisting in the practice of kev dab qhuas. The religion is also called Hmongism by a Hmong American church established in 2012 to organise it among Hmong people in the United States.
It has an animistic theology, centered on worship of deities and progenitors of the Miao peoples. Throughout its history it has incorporated theoretical and ritual elements from Taoism, and broader Chinese religion, especially the emphasis on the pattern of the forces of the natural universe and the need of human life to be in accordance with these forces.
Most Hmong continue to practice the traditional religion, although many Hmong in Asia have converted to Buddhism or have mixed it with Buddhism, and many Hmong Americans and Hmong Australians have adopted Christianity or Buddhism.
Theory
Deities and world
The highest god of Hmong traditional religion is called Saub or Yawm Saub , who endows the shamans with their abilities. The Saub god may be called in times of need and he can manifest in points of crisis throughout the course of history. The first shaman was Siv Yis : Hmong shamans refer to themselves as "Siv Yis" when they are in ecstasy. The gods of cosmic nature are simply called dab , while dab neeb or qhua neeb are shamanic spirits that float through the worlds and work with the shamans operating within a specific sphere which is their domain. The shamanic spirits include wild spirits of untamed nature and the tamed and friendly spirits of the house. Ancestral spirits who reside in the world of the dead form another category, though also involved in shamanic practice.The frog god Nplooj Lwg is considered the creator of humans. Ntxwj Nyug and Nyuj Vaj Tuam Teem are the lords of the other world, determining life, death and reincarnation or rest in heaven. While Ntxwj Nyug is an indigenous deity, Nyuj Vaj Tuam Teem is thought to derive from the Jade Lord of Taoism. Every house has an altar for the Dab Xwm Kab . Dab Pog is the goddess of babies. Zaj Laug is the "Old Dragon" or "Dragon King". Poj Ntxoog is a fearful female spirit associated with the tiger. Yaj Yuam is an ancestral hero, the "Heavenly Archer", corresponding to the Chinese Houyi. Other gods are of nature, such as Xob , the god of thunder and lightning, and Nkauj Hnub and Nraug Hlis , "Lady Sun" and "Lord Moon". Chiyou is worshipped as an ancestral god of the Hmong nation.
The Hmong house is a reflection of the cosmos. It is constructed around a central post representing the world tree, axis of the spirits, which god is Dab Ncej Tas. The roofs represent the heaven and the floor symbolises nature. The axis of the building represents the male head of the household and his ancestral spirit, the ancestral unity. Man is in the between of heaven and earth. The Hmong believe in various household spirits called dab nyeg , meaning "tamed spirits", such as Dab Qhovcub, Dab Qhovtxos, Dab Nthab, Dab Roog. The Dab Txhiaj Meej is the god of wealth and richness. Spirits of nature are called dab qus, "wild spirits".
Yeeb and Yaj
"Yeeb and Yaj" is the Hmong equivalent of the yin and yang found in Chinese traditional religion and Taoism. Differently from the context of Chinese thought, the Hmong "yeeb and yaj" is not represented by symbols such as the taijitu. The concept represents the world of the living and the world of the gods: yeeb ceeb is the spiritual world, while yaj ceeb is the world of material nature. The Hmong also practice looj mem, the Chinese feng shui.Structure and practices
The shaman
practice is called ua neeb, while the shaman is called txiv neeb, meaning "father of the neeb".The position of a shaman is not inherited as shamans are chosen by the neeb class of gods, manifesting through trails experienced by those chosen. Chosen people are guided by elder shamans until they are able to perform the healing rituals themselves. A shaman has control on his spirits helpers.
In the spirit journey, the shaman calls on his helpers who are spirits to guide or assist him in the spirit world. He moves and sing on a spiritual horse represented in the living world by a shaman's bench. He also calls on the forces of the cosmos to help him, such as the highest god Saub, the First Couple, Pog Ntxoog, Lady Sun and Lord Moon, the seven stars of the Pleiades, and many animal spirits. Divination horns is one form or means of communication with the gods, and they are used in many rituals.
The shamans perform two sessions of healing rituals: the diagnostic rituals and subsequently the healing rituals, only if the patient shows no signs of recovery after the first ritual.
House altar
The Hmong household altar is dedicated primarily to the Dab Xwm Kab. It is placed on the wall of the main room of the house. On the altar people make offerings of rice, chicken, soup and rice served in bamboo, with incense and joss paper. Txi dab is the general term for the sacrifice to the gods, while laib dab is the ritual of sacrifice to the ancestors. On the last day of the Old Year rice is offered to the ancestors, with a sacrificed chicken, and a soul-calling ritual is held.The shaman's altar is a special hanging or standing altar, with two or three tiers depending on the status of the shaman. It is believed to represent Siv Yis' grotto near the top of the holy mountain, above a pool near of which grows the flower of immortality. This pool is represented by a bowl of water placed upon the altar. From the altar depart several cotton threads resulting attached to the central housepost, and it is along these threads that the neeb travel when they visit the altar.
A third type of Hmong altar is devoted to a special category of gods known as the dab tshuaj, or gods of medicine, which are generally worshipped by women, since in Hmong culture they specialise in the knowledge of herbalism.
Joss papers are a central element of Hmong altars. There are both joss paper used as offerings and decorative joss papers. The second ones are used as symbols connecting with the gods, and they are usually composed of large white sheets, with smaller yellow or silver sheets, and sometimes little red squares.
Rituals and psychology
Miao religious rituals involving the worship of gods and ancestors are performed by the patriarch of each family or the spiritual leader of a clan or a cluster of male relatives. More difficult ceremonies such as soul-calling are performed by ritual experts the shaman for spiritual healing, and various experts in funeral rites like the reed pipe player, the soul chanter and the blessing singers. The soul is believed to continue to exist in an afterlife in the ancestral spirit world or sometimes decide to reincarnate. The body is a microcosm believed to be constructed by a number of soul parts that mirror the macrocosm.Hmong religion includes specific rituals for the milestones of the life cycle: there are rituals for birth and baby naming, marriage, rename after marriage, trauma and sickness, extending the mandate of life for sick elderly, death and funeral. There are also festivals with corresponding ceremonies: the New Year in mid-November, Nyuj Dab, Dab Roog and Npua Tai.