tswv xyas - Hmong Tiger Spirit

"Kwv txaij, Kwv nraug, Tsov txaij, Nyuj Laug" is a term used to describe and identify the Hmong spirit tiger and dragon. It means "beautifully striped or patterned." The dragon and tiger both have had a huge role in Hmong folklore and even spiritual practice. Both are symbolic natures and powerful entities not to be messed with. There are collections of Hmong stories about tigers abducting beautiful Hmong women, recruiting Hmong men, and transforming people into tigers. In folklore, tigers are accompanied by small female goblins or "poj ntxoog" who cause sickness to people, abduct children, and kidnap skillful and talented people who could be of use to the tiger. People who suddenly disappear without a trace are believed to be abducted by a poj ntxoog. Probably the most famous and well known story of the tiger is tswv xyas (not capitalizing this name to not give power to it). Legend has it that he was a man from the Hmong Lor clan who practiced necromancy and black magic. One forbidden type of magic he was skillful in was shapeshifting. He would put a woven basket with knives on it to turn into a tiger. One day as he shapeshifted to go hunt and bring back meat for his family, his brother was suppose to hit the basket off his head to return him back into human form. But when the ferocious tswv xyas returned from hunting, he brought back a human limb instead of cow meat. The brother was so frightened that tswv xyas had killed and brought back a human, he panicked and failed to reverse the spell. The basket remained on his head and tswv xyas remained a tiger for the rest of days. tswv xyas became the most feared entity in the early 1800s - 1960s, rumored to have consume many Hmong lives. He was so feared that even mentioning his name aloud would bring bad omen and even death. He was only rumored to have died in Laos during the Vietnam War. Today, he still has family in Vietnam and Laos.

In Taiwanese folklore, there is a story called "The Tiger Aunt." Once upon a time, a mom and dad had two daughters. One fall day, the mom and dad had to go to their garden to finish their corn harvest. They said to the daughters, "We shall be back in five days time. Remember children, do not open the door to strangers." Little did the family know, there was an evil tiger spirit, lurking amongst their backyard. So, as mom and dad made their trip, someone comes knocking on the door. At the door was a stranger, with very hairy facial hair and large feet. Niam Tais Tsov (Aunt Tiger) said, "Your mom and dad told me to come stay with you while they are away. I come bearing candies!" So the daughters open the door and invite the tiger aunt in. Later that night, the younger sister was awoken to the crunching sounds of bone, and witnessed red bloody flesh as the tiger aunt was feasting on her older sister. She quietly whispered to the tiger aunt, "before you eat me, let me empty my bladder so I can taste better." The tiger aunt stupidly agreed and the sister climbed up a tree. The tiger aunt demanded she came down instantly, but the sister said, "I will come down as soon as you finish putting peanut oil on me. This way, I'll taste so much better." Stupidly excited, the tiger aunt cooked up some boiling hot peanut oil and tied it on a string to level it up to the sister in the tree. Upon receiving the oil, the sister dropped it on the tiger aunt, burning her whole face and body, fatally killing her.

There are many stories in the Hmong culture of tigers and human relationships, mostly resulting in the death of the human. From a shaman's perspective, the tiger is not a simple entity to negotiate or come across. They are very strong and powerful and almost always vengeful. Being possessed by tswv xyas or a tiger causes someone to be extremely sick, not just physically but psychologically and mentally. It can cause hallucinations and lost of touch with reality, exhibit odd animal like behavior, delusions, mania, malnutrition, and much more. Those possessed by a tiger spirit may slowly start to shapeshift into a tiger near the end of life, first by craving raw meat, to making growling and purring noises, to even growing a tail and tiger-like stripes on their palms and feet. In present time, it is a rare occurrence that someone would be possessed by a tiger spirit or tswv xyas. Tiger spirits are ancient and can shapeshift into human form, disguising as a relative or loved one only to trick humans. Tiger spirits are physically and spiritually strong. They have many minions of goblins that are also skilled in areas of witchcraft, shapeshifting, and can cause spiritual illness. Being possessed by a tiger spirit is a an extremely intense and challenging situation because tiger spirits are skilled in many areas. It is not and should not be romanticized the way many people see in fictional books, anime, or folklore.

As I'm going into my sixth year of being a shaman, I've only slightly had one encounter of confronting a tswv xyas spirit. A Hmong family had reached out in desperation for their adult child. This individual was a very highly educated person, pursing their Doctorates and works in education. For years, this person would faint during a full moon and smell rotting meat in her surrounding. When they fainted, they'd be unconscious for a a period of time. They would say they crave raw bloody meat. The family had called and asked me to saib (do a reading) for them. I had a bad feeling about it already, but they told me they'd exhaust all their options. A tswv xyas spirit was present in my reading and tried to block my way. Later that same night I had a dream a tiger chased me and ended up scratching my legs up. A few days later, I had another dream that a huge tiger chased me. I ran into my uncles home and could still see the tiger walking back and forth outside the house. It transformed into a Hmong man, dressed in Hmong clothes, and stood staring at me through the window. It was a very handsome man. He was very tall, very pale, prominent cheek and bone structure, but very emotionless. It would change back and forth into human and tiger form. From these dreams, I started to experience intense pain in my legs, hands, and migraine.

tswv xyas is a malevolent spirit during our great ancestors and great grandparents generation. These tiger spirits steal the souls of many beautiful and talented people. Hmong people refrained from making any compliments about young children for the fear that tswv xyas will come kidnap or eat them. Hmong people who were skilled at traditional folk singing, playing qeej instrument, or great shamans, dared not show off for the fear that tswv xyas will hear them and kidnap them. During my great grandparents generation in the early 1900s, there was a Hmong woman who's husband died. He came back in a dream and told her that tswv xyas came and kidnapped him to help tswv xyas in the heavenly court. In the dream the husband shared that the person they did a funeral for was not him but rather a goat that tswv xyas switched out for his body and used black magic to cover up. He also revealed that in years to come, tswv xyas will be kidnapping more people to help him win his trial in heavenly court. People who suddenly die from headaches, stomach pain, or in their sleep were thought to have been kidnapped by tswv xyas. Growing up, my parents told us to never put a basket over our head and my grandparents stressed that in everyone as well. Although it now just scary folklore and scary camp stories, the name tswv xyas is still very much feared and forbidden to say aloud. Things like necromancy and black magic have dark sides to them that I am glad majority of our culture and traditional practices have moved away from.

-tfl Hmong shaman