Shamanism In Hmong Culture Essays

Shamanism In Hmong Culture Essays Shamanism In Hmong Culture Paper Shamanism In Hmong Culture Paper Essay Topic: Invisible Man Hmongs began to settle in the United States from Southeast Asia in 1975 but still practice many traditions from their homeland today. In many cultures that migrate to new areas, practices are discontinued over time due to Americanization. Although with many younger generations these traditions may be forgotten about, for many elders they are still practiced on a regular basis today. Healthcare providers need to have an understanding of and respect the practices of other cultures. A large percentage of Hmongs are not familiar with biomedical healthcare and do not feel comfortable with health care procedures used in the U. S. In the Hmong culture the believed source of illness can differ from what U. S. healthcare providers feels the source is. Some of the included sources of illness in the Hmong culture can be soul loss, supernatural or spirit, natural causes, magical causes (illness from cast spelled on patient), or the expiration of ones â€Å"life Visa†. The practices used to cure the illness are traditional and differ from the practices used by healthcare providers in the U. S. One of the most common practices used in the Hmong culture today to cure the ill is bring in a shaman for a seance. A shaman is also known to the Hmongs as the master of ecstasy. The shaman can be either male or female and is thought to have the ability to detach is soul from the body during a heeling seance so he can leave for the â€Å"invisible world† and be in equal standings with the spirits. Not only can the shaman disconnect is soul from its body to interact with the spirits, it can also interact by seeing them, talking to them, touching them, and if necessary can catch them and return them home. In the Hmong culture it is believed that illness can occur when the soul is not satisfied with their current owner. When this happens the soul would attempt to incarnate itself to a new location. An example of how this is though to work is given below. â€Å"It is thought that sometimes souls may not be satisfied with their owner and would therefore try to incarnate themselves elsewhere. Say, for example, that I am a hard-working Hmong farmer. My right hand is wrinkled and callous. Because of an accident that happened while I was at work, my hand is hurt. Close to me there lives a young girl that takes great care of herself. She has a very tender and beautiful hand. One day, the soul of my hand cannot stand it any longer, and it falls, as the Hmong would say. By this it must be understood that the soul of the farmers hand escapes in order to reincarnate itself in the girls hand that is so soft. â€Å" When the soul successfully leaves its owner the body is left mutilated and sick which is why a shaman is called in to contact the spirit and heal the body by bringing back the soul potentially by using force. Hmong people typically belong to a specific clan and for each specific clan they have their own shaman which has been chosen by the spirits. The shaman heals the patient by draping the ills face with a black cloth and leaves their body to enter the invisible world. While in the invisible world the shaman may ask for specific animals to be sacrificed in order to satisfy the spirit who are accountable for the evil and illness. When the shaman is finished satisfying and retrieving the lost soul health is then restored to the patient. The healing process needs to be done in very correct and specific ways in the Hmong culture and before they can seek further medical attention the shaman needs to be brought in to seek the soul first. The process of using a Shaman to restore healing does not only reconnect the soul with its owner it also restores connections that were lost during the illness between the patient, family, and community. Being that many Hmong people living in the Untied States today still practice healing with a Shaman it is important that health care workers understanding what and how a Shaman works. When a Hmong person comes in to seek medical attention or is taken unknowingly (is concounsious or unstable and is brought in by another person or family member) it is important to understand that before a procedure or given medications a Shaman may be needed before this process can happen. In their culture in order to a person to heal the Shaman needs to find the lost soul or health will never be restored. Although this might sound strange or be aggravating to many biohealth believers being respectful and understanding is key to winning their trust. A majority of Hmong people do not feel comfortable seeking health care at hospitals and clinics in the U. S. because the practices vastly differ from the practices in their home land. So as a healthcare professional do your research and have an understanding about cultures other than your own. The Shaman is a necessity in order to heal a person in their beliefs and if medical attention needs to be carried out bring in a Shaman and let them first heal the patient by their beliefs so that the needed surgery or care can take place.

Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu, Anti-Apartheid Activist

Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu, Anti-Apartheid Activist Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (May 18, 1912–May 5, 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and co-founder of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League. He served in prison for 25 years on Robben Island, alongside Nelson Mandela, and he was the second post-apartheid deputy president of the ANC, after Mandela. Fast Facts: Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu Known For:  South African anti-apartheid activist, co-founder of the ANC Youth League, served 25 years alongside Nelson Mandela, post-apartheid deputy president of the ANCAlso Known As:  Walter SisuluBorn:  May 18, 1912 in the eNgcobo area of Transkei, South AfricaParents: Alice Sisulu and Victor DickensonDied:  May 5, 2003 in Johannesburg, South AfricaEducation: Local Anglican Missionary Institute, earned a Bachelors degree while imprisoned on Robben IslandPublished Works: I Will Go Singing:  Walter Sisulu Speaks of His Life and the Struggle for Freedom in South AfricaAwards and Honors: Isitwalandwe SeaparankoeSpouse: Albertina Nontsikelelo TotiweChildren: Max, Anthony Mlungisi, Zwelakhe, Lindiwe, Nonkululeko; adopted children: Jongumzi, Gerald, Beryl, and Samuel  Notable Quote: The people are our strength. In their service we shall face and conquer those who live on the backs of our people. In the history of mankind it is a law of life that problems arise when the condi tions are there for their solution. Early Life Walter Sisulu was born in the eNgcobo area of Transkei on May 18, 1912 (the same year the forerunner of the ANC was formed). Sisulus father was a visiting white foreman supervising a black road-gang and his mother was a local Xhosa woman. Sisulu was raised by his mother and uncle, the local headman. Walter Sisulus mixed heritage and lighter skin were influential in his early social development. He felt distanced from his peers and rejected the deferential attitude his family showed toward South Africas white administration. Sisulu attended the local Anglican Missionary Institute but dropped out in 1927 at age 15 while in fourth grade to find work at a Johannesburg dairy- to help support his family. He returned to the Transkei later that year to attend the Xhosa initiation ceremony and achieve adult status. Working Life and Early Activism During the 1930s, Walter Sisulu had several different jobs: gold miner, domestic worker, factory hand, kitchen worker, and bakers assistant. Through the Orlando Brotherly Society, Sisulu investigated his Xhosa tribal history and debated black economic independence in South Africa. Walter Sisulu was an active trade unionist- he was fired from his bakery job in 1940 for organizing a strike for higher wages. He spent the next two years trying to develop his own real estate agency. In 1940, Sisulu joined the African National Congress (ANC) and allied with those pressing for black African nationalism and actively opposing black involvement in World War II. He gained a reputation as a street vigilante, patrolling his townships streets with a knife. He also obtained his first jail sentence- for punching a train conductor when he confiscated a black mans rail pass. Leadership in the ANC and Founding of the Youth League In the early 1940s, Walter Sisulu developed a talent for leadership and organization and was awarded an executive post in the Transvaal division of the ANC. It was also at this time that he met Albertina Nontsikelelo Totiwe, whom he married in 1944. In the same year, Sisulu, along with his wife and friends Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, formed the ANC Youth League; Sisulu was elected as treasurer. Through the Youth League, Sisulu, Tambo, and Mandela greatly influenced the ANC. When DF Malans  Herenigde Nationale Party  (HNP, Re-united National Party) won the 1948 election, the ANC reacted. By the end of 1949, Sisulus programme of action was adopted and he was elected as secretary-general (a position he retained until 1954). Arrest and Rise to Prominence As one of the organizers of the 1952 Defiance campaign (in collaboration with the South African Indian Congress and the South African Communist Party) Sisulu was arrested under the Suppression of Communism Act. With his 19 co-accused, he was sentenced to nine months hard labor suspended for two years. The political power of the Youth League within the ANC had increased to the stage that they could push for their candidate for president, Chief Albert Luthuli, to be elected. In December 1952, Sisulu was also re-elected as secretary-general. Adoption of Multi-Racial Government Advocacy In 1953, Walter Sisulu spent five months touring Eastern Bloc countries (the Soviet Union and Romania), Israel, China, and Great Britain. His experiences abroad led to a reversal of his black nationalist stance. Sisulu had especially noted the Communist commitment to social development in the USSR but disliked Stalinist rule. Sisulu became an advocate for multi-racial government in South Africa rather than an African nationalistic, blacks-only policy. Banned and Arrested Sisulus increasingly active role in the anti-apartheid struggle led to his repeated banning under the Suppression of Communism Act. In 1954, no longer able to attend public meetings, he resigned as secretary-general and was forced to work in secret. As a moderate, Sisulu was instrumental in organizing the 1955 Congress of People but was unable to participate in the actual event. The Apartheid government reacted by arresting 156 anti-Apartheid leaders in what became known as the  Treason Trial. Sisulu was one of 30 accused who remained under trial until March 1961. In the end, all 156 accused were acquitted. Forming Military Wing and Going Underground Following the  Sharpeville Massacre  in 1960, Sisulu, Mandela and several others formed  Umkonto we Sizwe  (MK, the Spear of the Nation)- the military wing of the ANC. During 1962 and 1963 Sisulu was arrested six times. Only the last arrest- in March 1963, for furthering the aims of the ANC and organizing the May 1961 stay-at-home protest- led to a conviction. Released on bail in April 1963, Sisulu went underground and joined up with the MK. While underground, he delivered weekly broadcasts via a secret ANC radio transmitter. Prison On July 11, 1963, Sisulu was among those arrested at Lilieslief Farm, the secret headquarters of the ANC, and placed in solitary confinement for 88 days. The lengthy Rivonia trial, which started in October 1963, lead to a sentence of life imprisonment (for planning acts of sabotage), handed down on June 12, 1964. Sisulu, Mandela, Govan Mbeki, and four others were sent to Robben Island. During his 25 years behind bars, Sisulu earned a Bachelors degree in art history and anthropology and read more than 100 biographies. In 1982, Sisulu was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison, Cape Town, after a medical examination at Groote Schuur Hospital. He was finally released in October 1989. Post-Apartheid Roles When the ANC was un-banned on February 2, 1990, Sisulu took a prominent role. He was elected deputy president in 1991 and was given the task of restructuring the ANC in South Africa. His biggest immediate challenge was to try to end the violence that erupted between the ANC and the Inkhata Freedom Party. Walter Sisulu finally retired on the eve of South Africas first multi-racial elections in 1994. Death Sisulu lived his last years in the same Soweto house that his family had taken in the 1940s. On May 5, 2003, only 13 days before his 91st birthday, Walter Sisulu died following a long period of ill health with Parkinsons Disease. He received a state funeral in Soweto on May 17, 2003. Legacy As a prominent anti-apartheid leader, Walter Sisulu changed the course of South African history. His advocacy for a multi-racial future for South Africa was one of his most enduring marks. Sources â€Å"Nelson Mandelas Tribute to Walter Sisulu.†Ã‚  BBC News, BBC, 6 May 2003.Beresford, David. â€Å"Obituary: Walter Sisulu.†Ã‚  The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 May 2003.Sisulu, Walter Max, George M. Houser,  Herb Shore. I Will Go Singing:  Walter Sisulu Speaks of His Life and the Struggle for Freedom in South Africa. Robben Island Museum in association with the Africa Fund, 2001.