Animals in healing rituals

For the Hmong shamans that use animals as sacrifices, the animal plays an important part in the process. Animals are used as sacrifices during healing rituals to protect, mend, and replace a person's soul. In a sense, it can be used as a deal; a pig for a soul. Each animal will then be held in that place for one whole year and when the time comes, the shaman must go back and release all the animals that they used as sacrifices. This explains why some shamans keep the jaws of the pigs so that at the end of the year they can burn these jaws and release them. They can then be reborn. The most common animal that is used is the pig. Another animal that is used can be a chicken, goat, and least commonly the dog, cat, and duck. An important note to know is that the cow cannot be used in healing rituals because they serve a greater purpose during the funeral process and the dead. In more present time, shamans today are using non-living items such as fruits, rocks, vases trees, and clay like animal figures. In the spirit world, the shaman can then use these non-living items and build an animal out from it.

Shamans have specific names for some animals they use for sacrifices. These are their traditional names that they were given at the beginning of time. Shamans will use these names during rituals. The story of the pig is that at the beginning of time, the pig said to Saub (creator, all knowing being) that they agree to be used as a sacrifice to retrieve a person's soul, but in return all pigs must live an easy life, they must only eat and play in mud and dirt until they are used to retrieve a lost soul. But that they can only do that for one year at which point the shaman or healer must then release them to the afterlife. The story of the chicken is that they have the power to raise the sun up, which in return causes all ghosts and evil spirits to return to their land.

English Hmong Shaman Term

Pig Npua Xyooj Tswb

Chicken Qaib Xyooj Cib

Goat Mes Es Pwg Nag or Yaj dub Yaj ntsuab

Dog Au Xyooj Kawv

Cat Miv Miv

Rock Pob Zeb Pob Zeb Dub or Nkauj Zeb Dub Txiv Nraug Tsuas

Tree Ntoo Ntoo