Spirit Possession
Spirit possession is more common around the world than people in the West think. It has archives in almost all regions of the world and it is a phenomenon in which a non-living entity is intentionally involved in the control of a human being. According to the Hmong people, spiritual possession may involve many types of spirits. In this short blog, we will explore the types of Hmong spirits, what possession looks like, and the most common symptoms of spirit possession in the Hmong culture. Spirit possession can be linked back to Hmong folklore and most interestingly, many case studies from Laos, Thailand, and even here in America.
To understand why possession happens and what exactly possession is, it's important to have a general idea of what types of spirits there are. In this classification, it can help us find the best route to dealing with situations involving a true possession of the spirit. In the Hmong, spirits can be categorized into six general groups. These groups are subjective and is purely used in a way to better organize and understand these spirits.
The first type of spirits in the Hmong culture are plant spirits. Now there are two sub groups of plant spirits. The first are Anthropomorphic Plant Spirits. The main word here is " Anthropomorphism" which, according to google, is defined as the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. So this means that Anthropomorphic Plant Spirits consists of plants which are possessed spirits in human or animal form. In general, they do not intentionally harm humans but when these plants are disrespected, they can be malicious, and in some cases they may even cause physical and mental anguish or disease. For example, when people accidentally step on them out in nature, cut them, ruin them, or pee on them, they can experience revenge or even possession from this plant. There are many cases in which an individual has ruined a family of plants in their garden and that individual grows weak and sick. Upon a shaman ritual, we discover that the individual destroyed a family of plant spirits and they are angered and wanting to seek revenge. The possession is more so of an attack. People who are possessed from this plant spirit exhibit external symptoms similar to that of rashes, chicken pox, allergy symptoms, and in some cases even fevers and death. The second sub group of plant spirits are known as Amorphous Plant Spirits. Now, these are unique in that the identification of these plants are considered "herbal medicine," meaning plants with herbal healing power. We can see this in the Hmong culture through many shamans and gifted individuals who are given or gain special access to these spirit plants. It's understood that these plants pick the person they want to give this knowledge and healing to. For example, these selected individuals are very knowledgeable with herbal medicine and it comes naturally to them. For some, they may not have to do much but by giving someone an herbal plant, they are giving them a part of that health healing power.
The second type of spirits in the Hmong culture are animal spirits. These are shape-shifting spirits that transfigure as tigers, monkeys, rats, snakes, cats, and many other animals. Because Hmong people are essentially of Chinese origin, the earliest recorded shape-shifting happen in the Han Dynasty 206 B.C. - 220 A.D. The most famous of the Hmong animal spirit was Tswv Xyas. Once a black magic sorcerer, he transformed himself into a tiger in hopes of finding food for his struggling family. He remained a tiger because no one knew the incantations to turn him back and from there on he's been rumored to have taken hundred of Hmong lives in Laos and Thailand in the early 1900s to mid 1900s. Possession of an animal spirit often begins with psychological attacks. First the individual loses their mind. They begin to see things that other people do not, perhaps they see other tragic spirits. They develop paranoia. Then, the person's energy decreases by strength and in turn physically makes the person sick. They'll lose appetite. They get so sick to the point of malnutrition and starvation. Other symptoms include constant fainting, losing consciousness, infertility, and change in mood and behavior when night falls. They become hostile or senile. People possessed by animal spirits will begin to act like the animal, most of the time the tiger. Their diet may even change and become more like the animal. For example, if a person was possessed by a tiger spirit, that person may crave raw meat. There are stories of individuals sneaking off at night and eating the family livestock, uncooked and raw. Other types of spirit possession is that of the snake. Snake spirits causes a person to become deathly ill and will often reside close to the home of that person they are seeking.
The third type of spirits in the Hmong culture are Nature Spirits. These are spirits of a specific sight in nature that is attached to an object or place. This includes areas like a lake, river, mountain, cave, or forest. Forest and mountain spirits live in the deep forests and they can either be ghosts or protectors of the land. When a person is possessed by a forest spirit, they are possessed by the evil type. The person will exhibit hot and cold like fevers, stomach pains, faint and be in and out of consciousness, and sometimes even death. Nature spirits that are protectors do not usually do harm to humans. In fact, the Hmong often give food offerings and ask these protectors of nature to watch over them and guide them on their journey in nature. Now, water spirits are also a part of nature spirits. These types of spirits inhabit the seas, rivers, and streams. The common belief is that they are mostly the souls of drowned victims. Because such victims are not usually given a proper funeral, the water must serve as their coffin. These ghosts roam the seas, cold and fearful, and can cause problems for the living. Of Water Spirits, it is said that having spent some time in being stuck in limbo, they can only be redeemed by substitution and therefore wait in ambush, waiting for victims to draw into the water to take their place. Until they can leave and reincarnate, they will have to find a substitution in their place. This accounts to why some lakes and rivers have such a high death toll. Therefore, Water Spirits are believed to cause individuals to fall into and drown in rivers, lakes, and streams. Additionally, they are believed to be the cause of water paralysis (swimmer's cramps) and drowning swimmers. Possession of water spirits can exhibit the same symptoms of dragon spirits. The person's stomach can be seen as big and fulled with water. In addition, women may have a hard time conceiving if they are under possession of a water spirit. In general, nature spirits avoid human contact (at least not actively trying to possess them) and will only cause problems under one circumstance. When humans move into areas that are occupied by the Nature Spirit and disturb them. In this situation there can be several problems and a solution must be found to placate the spirit entities in order to live in harmony, or else the area should be vacated.
The fourth type of spirits in the Hmong culture are seductive spirits. While these spirits, and in general all spirits, are gender neutral, they can be be categorized into two. The first are incubus spirits or in categorical terms, "male demons." The second are succubus spirits or "female demons." These spirits manifest primarily in dreams during the hypnagogic state or between wake and sleep stage. Also, this can occur during stage four of REM sleep where we dream and also experience sleep paralysis. These dreams can be love making dreams, dates with random attractive people, or they can be violent dreams like rape and hostility, domestic violence, and sexual assault. They consume a person’s energy, making them lose the ability to control their muscles or movement. When this occurs, the victim feels incredibly weak and their vitality is extremely drained. Although these are only dreams, people can feel the effects of these dreams when we are awake. For example, we may be constantly tired, exhausted, lifeless, and sometime angry, jealous, sad, and have thoughts of suicide or longing for that "person" in our dreams. The Hmong have a term known as "tso tsuam" which can be generally translated to sleep paralysis. A tso is a type of seductive spirit in that feeds off your energy. They are a type of spirit from nature but have seductive effects. In Hmong culture there are stories of ghost girlfriends and boyfriends that gain the trust of the person and cause the person to be sick and unwell to the point of near death. These are seductive spirits. Possession of this spirit can cause sleep paralysis, hallucinations, intense fevers, night terrors, intense exhaustion, infertility, epilepsy, loss of consciousness, and starvation.
The fifth type of spirits in the Hmong culture are Elemental Spirits. These are divine spirits, typically superior to spirits here on Earth, that have special elements to them. The most common is the Thunder Spirit. Some of these powerful spirits are commonly used in rituals and become involved in important shamanic rituals. The Thunder Spirit is commonly summoned in rituals for protection. Most shaman spirits and guides are elemental spirits.
The sixth and last type of spirit in the Hmong culture are human spirits and ancestral spirits. The Hmong believe in household spirits that help watch the home and protect the family member. Upon death, the Hmong believe the deceased person's spirit must make its way back to the land of the ancestors. These spirits can sometimes become angry spirits. When this happens, the family will experience bad luck, misfortune, miscarriage, diseases, and curses. Possession of human spirits are possible but happen to a very few selected individuals. These individuals are usually shamans or people who possess a special gift to communicate to spirits. Possession is typically a "one time" deal and does not usually have long term effects. When possession happens, the shaman loses their ability of control and their body becomes a vessel to that spirit. A spirit does not just come back to say hi. It comes back bearing important information and the family member must follow through or else worse consequences will follow. In some cases, restless spirits are a result of a person not receiving a proper funeral. In other cases a spirit is in "spirit court" and needs help from family members. Human and ancestral spirits are very complex. An old and traditional Hmong shaman ritual known as "poj qhe" allows the shaman to enter into the land of the dead, which often times involve the shaman allowing their body to become a vessel so spirits can possess them and speak directly to family members on Earth.
What sensations can attribute to the presence of spirits? How do we know when there's a spirit near or around us? We rely on our limited senses to detect paranormal that are sometimes out of our ability to sense them. But there are a few ways in which we know there's a spirit in our presence. The first are sounds. Spirits have the ability to move things around, bang on the walls, crackling of the dishes at night, break house hold items like mirrors or glass, and even knocking or banging on doors. For some Hmong, we report hearing funeral drums and qeej during sleep paralysis and other times we hear a buzzing noise, ringing noise, or voices. Our ability to see spirits are somewhat limited although spirits have been known to show themselves to us. We may see the spirit in its regular form or we may see the spirit in an animal form, we just didn't know we did. In other times a spirit comes as a light, a floating bulb, a bubble, and sometimes even a bug. Most of the time spirits present themselves to us in dreams. It's easier for them to show themselves to us in dreams than to physically show us during waking state. During dreams we can experience sudden and spontaneous images or visions. Awhile ago I remember getting flashes and visions of a Hmong woman and her child hiding from, I assume, her abusive husband. He had an axe in his hands trying to break down the door. She screamed and tried running passed him. He swung, missed, and then she and her daughter ran out. She was running in the middle of the forest, screaming in bloody terror calling for help. I was in and out of sleep and every time I closed my eyes or fell slightly asleep, I'd go back to her. Another time, I kept getting flashes of two Hmong girls, probably 7 or 8 years old, dressed in a white Hmong outfit, long hair, crooked feet and hands, jumping up and trying to catch butterflies by a stream. They were covered in blood. One of them laughing hysterically. Midway down her arm was broken. It was literally broken in half and as she jumped trying to catch butterflies, her arm swung around in circles, barely hanging on.
Frequent night terrors and nightmares are an indication that a person may be experiencing the beginning stages of spirit possession. The goal of these night terrors and nightmares are to gain enough control where a spirit doesn't have to come only in dreams. They want to frighten the individual to the core to the point of physical exhaustion. Especially true in children, many spirits cause night terrors and nightmares in children and then present themselves as imaginary friends, a friend to comfort them during these night terrors. What that does is build a trust and connection between the child and the spirit. The spirit then uses a "reward and punishment" system, telling the child what to do and will punish the child if they don't get what they want.
There are many unseen spiritual forces that affect our lives, in both positive and negative ways. So why do spirits interact with us? One of the main reasons spirits interact with us is because living beings can provide a source of food and shelter to spirits. This is true for spirits that are "hungry" and did not receive a proper burial. In addition, the Hmong believe seductive spirits recruit partners to join them in their realm (ghost wives and husbands). Also, if humans are entangled or commit unintentional interactions, a spirit can strike revenge. For example, a person accidentally steps on a spirit plant, causing it to die. This will anger the spirit and it will want to seek revenge by causing the person to fall ill and even cause them to die. These attacks from spirits are a gateway into possession. There are a few reasons to why a spirit will attack or possess an individual.
Reasons for a spirit to attack or possess:
They need energy. All earthbound spirits, nature spirits, and demonic entities must have energy to exist. One of the simplest forms of ingesting energy is through vampirism wherein the spirit entity envelops and feeds off of the life force energy of their victims. This is where Hmong people may get the term “vampire” from. An example of this spirit is known as a "tso" in the Hmong community.
Energy bleeding: this is especially true to individuals who are shamans, people who play the qeej for Hmong funerals, people who sang kwv txhiab, and more. There is energy that releases from a person who plays an important role in funerals or healing. This discharge in energy can attract spirits. This is why Hmong people say don’t sing kwv txhiab in the middle of night, in the middle of nowhere. In addition, shamans are healers. They unintentionally leak out energy that attract spirits. Think of it like a shark in the ocean. As a living breathing human being, you go swimming in the middle of the ocean and a hungry shark will want to eat you. Or if you drop a pile of blood into the ocean, it’s going to attract sharks.
The vulnerability of a person’s health or life. Old people and young babies, especially new borns, are vulnerable. They are less likely able to communicate when something is wrong and they are the most physically weak. Spirits who are hungry will feed off the old and newborn babies.
Vengeance and revenge. This has two parts. If the spirit of a person was killed or wrongfully treated when they were alive, they may come back and attack or possess their wrong doer. The second is vengeance from a powerful sorcerer. Hmong sorcerers can use black magic as a way to harm someone.
Wrong place, wrong time! Some spirits are just vicious and a person can just be at a wrong place at the wrong time. They’ll latch onto a person just because they were there at the right time and the spirit was able to pierce through their vulnerability
Whether or not we believe in spirits and spirit possession, we cannot deny that it has played a huge part in religion, culture, and society. Especially true for the Hmong culture, spirit possession is something we do not deny but we also do not talk about. Western ideology is that it is a mental illness and with certain drugs and therapy, it can cure a person. Shamanism provides alternative answers to people facing challenging situations like spirit possession. We give an option and provide a course that can bring results. When the mind and the body seem fine, but the actions, personality, and behavior of a person changes negatively without explanation, wouldn't you want to explore all the options there are? Medicine can cure the body's illness, but what about a spiritual illness?
-tfl
p.s: I do not own any of the photos used above. They are a collection of archives from various owners on social media, pinterest, and other blogs.