Dab Tos Kuv Mus Ua Neeb Lawm - I Left with Them

2/11/24

These strange Hmong men came knocking on my door in the middle of the night. I let them in, and they said, "Koj txiv neeb txiv yaig os, peb tuaj tos koj mus ua neeb kho peb kwv, peb tij." Which translates to, "Dear shaman, we are here to pick you up to go heal our elder brother." They continued,

"Peb kwv ces txaij npab liab lawm muaj, peb tij ces txaij tw dub lawm tiag." Which translates to, "Our elder brother has striped arms, our elder brother has a black tail."

I packed my shaman tools, and without thinking, I left with them. I was already in my Hmong clothes. The two men, carrying my shaman bench. It felt like going through a long tunnel because there was no light, it was extremely dark and eerie. It felt enclosed like a tunnel cave. It felt humid and damp. We could only see directly in front of us from using the candlelight the two men were holding. They were barefoot, wearing traditional Hmong clothes. We finally made it out of this tunnel, and we arrived in a village. Everything was so quiet and dark; I could hear the crickets and cicada bugs. Just like old times, there, the Hmong people lived in huts, houses that were made from hay and banana leaves.

The men led the way to a family's home. The sick person was cornered against a wall by relatives. He was growling and moaning like a ferocious tiger. Laughing, spitting, and sticking its tongue out. His teeth were sharp like that of a tiger. As I start my shaman trance, I could hear him screaming, cursing, and the amount of chaos happening in the background. Family members shouting, children crying from fear, and women yelling. I jumped down from the bench, grabbed my two shaman swords, and backed him into the corner. I forced upon one of my swords on his neck, while hitting it with the other sword in my other hand. I was still in complete trance yet was yelling mantras and chants. His face grew with orange and black fur, eyes turned yellow like that of a cat. He grew a long tail and big paws. He had transformed into an upright walking tiger.

My two swords holding him up against the wall, he pushed through with this beastly strength. He escaped my hold and climbed the walls. He was growling like a tiger, spitting blood at everyone. I lifted my shamanic veil and saw that everyone looked like walking zombies. Their skin was purple and black like they had been dead for years. Some of them with loose eyelids and fallen jaws. They had cricked and backwards feet and hands. Black liquid blood flowing from their mouths and eyes. Loose Hmong clothes, red and green Hmong belts ripped. The tiger man, still upside-down crawling on the walls, pacing itself back and forth. Its shoulder blades going left, right, left, right, while still making direct eye contact with me. I looked around and didn't have my partner. I didn't see my dad. Or my uncles. It was just me and a bunch of dead people and a demon tiger. I had both shaman swords in my hands, ready to kill this motherfucker if it dared attack.

I woke up.

Time. 3:43am

There have been many times in my life where I've had to ua neeb (perform shamanic healing) for spirits on the other side. But this one was just fucked up.

Dear Tiger Spirit,

Please leave your death trails away from me. Do not dare come near me with your bad news. Do not unload sickness, death, misfortune, or troubles with me. I am just one man, a simple man, a healer for many. But just a simple man. Please leave your death trails away from me.

TFL Hmong Shaman