Cultural Conflict between Hmongs and American Culture

This entry book† spirit catches you and you fall down† is talking about the cultural conflict between the Hmongs culture and American culture. These differences are brought by the strong beliefs in the Hmongs culture, and the difficulties to accept a new culture. There is a lot of misunderstanding/conflicts between these two cultures in the book. Usually, when the doctors are trying to convince the Lees family about Lias treatments, the Lees are stuck in their ways and really hard to accept what the doctors have to say about their beloved daughter. They believe in their own ways, even if it is helpful or not. They refuse to accept the doctors ideas, and because the treatments that the doctors give are based on the scientific experiences, so the doctors believe that the Hmongs ideas are unreasonable or even stupid .However, when the culture conflicts face the love, these cultural differences become meaningless, which lead me to think that love is the only way that bring th ese cultures to connect. The Hmong cultural/religious belief in shamanistic animism claim that wicked spirits are continually searching human souls, mostly those of defenseless or unappreciated children. For Hmong culture, epilepsy is known as qaug dab peg which means, the spirit catches you and you fall down in English (Fadiman 1997), which epileptic invasions are seen as affirmation of the epileptics capability to enter and stay temporarily into the spirit world (unconsciousness). In HmongShow MoreRelatedThe Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down968 Words   |  4 PagesResponse to The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down â€Å"Medicine was religion. Religion was society. Society was medicine† (Fadiman, 1997). To the Hmong’s, this is a way of life. Everything in their culture is interrelated and represents a holistic view. As Americans, we try to incorporate the holistic approach into our health care system, but heavily rely on medications and science to treat illness. Arthur Kelinman developed the explanatory model of illness which incorporates a series of questionsRead MoreMedicine Was Religion : A Holistic Approach Into Our Health Care System992 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Medicine was religion. Religion was society. Society was medicine† (Fadiman, 1997). To the Hmong’s, this is a way of life. Everything in their culture is interrelated and represents a holistic view. As Americans, we try to incorporate the holistic approach into our health care system, but heavily rely on medications and science to treat illness. Arthur Kelinman developed the explanatory model of illness which incorporates a series of questions that is unique to a patient’s illness to developRead MoreDifferences in Health Care Illustrated in Anne Fadimans The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down1683 Words   |  7 Pagespoints out, the values and ideals of the Hmong culture and the United States health care system are not always the same and sometimes come into great conflict with each other. Lia Lee was unfortunately the person stuck in the middle of this great conflict. The two Hmong cultural values that were demonstrated by the Lee family are portrayed by their belief and view about the cause and method of cure for an illness. The Lee family comes from a culture that believes in holistic healing. They have anRead MoreCross-Cultural Misunderstanding in Anne Fadimans In the Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down1483 Words   |  6 Pagessubject of cross cultural misunderstanding. This she effectively portrays using Lia, a Hmong, her medical history, the misunderstandings created by obstacles of communication, the religious background, the battle with modernized medical science and cultural anachronisms. Handling an epileptic child, in a strange land in a manner very unlike the shamanistic animism they were accustomed to, generated many problems for her parents. The author dwells on the radically different cultures to highlight theRead MoreTraditionally, A Common Hmong’S Custom Is That A Soul Can1180 Words   |  5 PagesTraditionally, a commo n Hmong’s custom is that a soul can separate from its body and a shaman possesses power to control spiritual forces. Therefore, a shaman is capable of healing illnesses at the spiritual level. The Hmong have a belief that ancestral spirits, including the spirits of shamans are reincarnated into the same family tree. The Hmong’s believe in their Shaman more than western doctors. They prefer to perform their treatment by hosting their rituals to save and cure their sicknessesRead MoreSpirit Catches You and You Fall Down2969 Words   |  12 Pagesat an early age). Foua is the mother and wife. In the first chapter Nao gives birth to Lia Lee in an American hospital, their first child to be born in a hospital. Lia was born July 19, 1982. The baby appeared to be healthy and was released from the hospital 3 days later. The main focus of this chapter is comparing the birth of the children in Laos (where Nao and Foua were from) to the American birthing traditions Chapter 2 - Fish Soup This chapter explains different people’s perspectives of theRead MoreIdeas And Methods Of Illness And Healing1268 Words   |  6 Pagesmethods of illness and healing, respectively, vary within divergent socio-cultural systems. Therefore, the clash due to migration of populations often generates conflict, jeopardizing the patient at hand. The Hmong are an ethnic group originally from Southeast China, who have since migrated in large scale to the United States in search of greater quality of life. Due to their society’s close relationship to religion, Shamanism, American health practitioners have encountered difficulties when treating HmongRead MoreThe Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down1434 Words   |  6 PagesThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a piece of journalism that demonstrates the clash between western medical practices and that of the Hmong culture. Both the physicians and Lia’s family are trying to do their best to improve Lia’s medica l condition but the two cultures’ idea of treating her epilepsy contradict each others. Additionally, western medical culture and Hmong culture have different definitions for Lia’s illness. The western definition of her illness is epilepsy meaning a disruptionRead MoreThe Spirit Catches You and You Call Down Essay4621 Words   |  19 Pages09/09/2013 Assignment 1 1. What do you think of traditional Hmong birth practices (pp. 3-5)? Compare them to the techniques used when Lia was born (p. 7). How do Hmong and American birth practices differ? I find the traditional birth practices peculiar and very unsafe. The conceiving of a child should be done in a sterile environment by professionals, so that the risks of negative effects like infections, wounds, etc. is minimized. Nevertheless I think the tradition, that the placenta is buriedRead MoreThe Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down1907 Words   |  8 Pagesrelationships with cultural beliefs. She challenges readers to consider what is known about western medicinal practices and beliefs, based on science, and recognize its effectiveness when paired with cultural understanding. This novel portrays some of the greatest medicinal and health challenges and cultural failures of western societies. There were several cultural competency themes integrated throughout the book, however, it surprised me at how distant western practices and the Hmong’s healing methods