What does The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down mean in Hmong culture?

What does The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down mean in Hmong culture?

an epileptic seizure
‘The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down’ is the literal translation of the Hmong terminology for an epileptic seizure. The journalist Anne Fadiman takes you through the maddeningly frustrating journey of a loving Hmong family and their dedicated western doctors.

Is the spirit catches you and you fall down a real story?

The story of Lia, the severely brain-damaged daughter of Hmong refugees who had resettled in California, became the subject of Ms. Fadiman’s first book, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down,” published in 1997.

What happened to Lia in the spirit catches you?

Ms. Lee was born July 19, 1982. The day before Thanksgiving in 1986, she suffered her near-fatal seizure at the family’s kitchen table. Her father declared, “When the spirit catches you, you fall down,” meaning a powerful spirit was locked inside her body, Mai Lee said.

What does QUAG dab peg mean?

Her parents referred to this as “quag dab peg” meaning “‘the spirit catches you and you fall down. ‘ The spirit referred to in this phrase is a soul-stealing dab; peg means to catch or hit; and quag means to fall over with one’s roots still in the ground…” (Fadiman, 1997, pg 6).

What do you feel is the most important lesson that you learned from reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down?

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a moving story that highlights the importance of acknowledging and respecting people’s beliefs as part of their health care — in other words, cultural competence. And thanks in part to this book, cultural competence is now a required lesson in many medical schools.

What are the Hmong people’s beliefs?

The Hmong are animist, people who believe in souls or spirits, in their practice of religion. The Hmong believe that the spiritual world coexist with the physical world. The spirit world consists of many types of spirits that influences the human life.

How does Hmong view epilepsy?

But for traditional Hmong who have retained their animistic beliefs, epilepsy (qaug dab peg, literally translated as “the spirit catches you and you fall down,” which became the title of my book) is caused by a malevolent spirit called a dab, who captures someone’s soul and makes him or her sick.

What difficulties does the Merced Medical Center face treating the Hmong community and Lia specifically?

What were problems with the way Lia’s parents were treated in the Merced hospital? – failure to work within the traditional Hmong hierarchy of male/elders making decisions lead to confusion because information was being relayed to people that could not act on it.

When you fail one Hmong patient you fail the whole community?

Dan Murphy once told the author that when you fail one Hmong family, you fail the whole community. “Lia’s case had confirmed the Hmong community’s worse prejudices about the medical profession and the medical community’s worst prejudices about the Hmong.”

What difficulties does the Merced medical Center face treating the Hmong community and Lia specifically?

What do Hmong believe that epileptics often become?

Epilepsy is recognized as a serious illness that can cause great suffering, but it is also seen as a distinguished affliction, since (as in many cultures) Hmong epileptics often grow up to become shamans.

How do Hmong treat epilepsy?

Amongst the Hmong, the epileptic become shamans, helping those in need of physical and emotional aid. The American standards of treating the ill falls out of place, replaced by the herbs, chants, and other more spiritual acts for healing.

What are the most important aspects of the Hmong culture?

Some important aspects of Hmong culture are respectfulness, politeness, the pride that lacks arrogance, and lack of jealous of the outsiders (Chiu 7). These important aspects have made the Hmong community survive under pressure of more powerful nations for many years.

What is a TXIV Neeb In Hmong culture?

Soul-Calling At the center of Hmong culture is the Txiv Neeb, the shaman (literally, “father/master of spirits”). According to Hmong cosmology, the human body is the host for a number of souls. The isolation and separation of one or more of these souls from the body can cause disease, depression and death.

Which state has the highest percentage of Hmong?

The states with the largest number of Hmong immigrants are California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. According to Census 2000, 84 percent of Hmong immigrants are concentrated in three states: 41,133 (or 40 percent) live in California, 26,234 (or 26 percent) in Minnesota, and 19,349 (or 19 percent) in Wisconsin.

What event occurred to the philps that made Peggy realize that sorrow of motherhood cut through all cultural barriers?

When Foua heard about their son’s disease, she hugged Peggy, and they shed a few tears. “Sorrow of motherhood cut through all cultural barriers.”

How does the greatest of all Hmong folktales the story of how Shee Yee fought with nine evil DAB Brothers P 170 reflect the life and culture of the Hmong?

How does the greatest of all Hmong folktales, the story of how Shee Yee fought with nine evil dab brothers (p. 170) reflect the life and culture of the Hmong? Demonstrates how the Hmong get out of tight spots- shee yee was attacked by 9 evil dab brothers.

What is a TXIV Neeb?