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U.S.A. Page 12 n THE ASIAN REPORTER December 4, 2023 In the U.S., Hmong “new year” recalls ancestral spirits while teaching traditions to new generations TEACHING TRADITION. Chad Lee, top photo, explains his role as a Hmong shaman in front of the altars in his house in St. Paul, Minnesota. In the bot- tom photo, Sai Vue, right, and his three sons wait to choose a pig and have it slaughtered at Hogmasters butcher shop in Hugo, Minnesota. The pig is an offer- ing to pay back Vue’s ancestors for answering his re- quest for help, and he brought his boys with him so they would be more familiar with traditional Hmong spiritual customs that often involve sacrificing animals. AP Photo/Mark Vancleave stalls for embroidered clothing, headwear, and jewelry pieces for the new year among the fragrances of herbs and tropical fruits imported from Southeast Asia and California. As she bought pearl strings for dressmaking to take to her grandmother in their small Wisconsin town, Janessa Moua said she’s been studying Hmong since she enrolled at a Twin Cities university. “I’m learning again what things in the house mean,” she said. At a nearby stall full of pleated black- and-pink skirts and vests strung with silver ornaments, Thormee Moua beamed at her son, a freshman lugging bags bulging with new clothes for new year festivities at his school. “I’m so happy they can be Hmong,” Moua said. Educating youth in ancestral culture is a crucial aim of the Hmong Cultural Center just down the street from St. Paul’s capitol, said its director, Txongpao Lee. “They need to learn from parents and prepare for when they have children,” said Lee, who estimates about one third of young Hmong have converted to Christianity. Acceptance of ancestral customs differs among church denominations, he added — his family’s Lutheran and Catholic members vary in participation in new year rituals. Lee leads them for his household, though his wife, Hlee Xiong Lee, has been a shaman since she fell ill when pregnant with the fourth of her seven children. Shamans, like other traditional healers across cultures, often associate the AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’orto Continued from page 11 revelation of their gift with life- threatening sickness, and believe they could die if they refuse the call. Department of Consumer & Business Services Small Business Ombudsman: What we do Xiong Lee’s path to shamanism has been arduous, entailing rigorous training with a shaman mentor to learn how to commu- nicate with the spirit world. But so was her journey to the United States, arriving in a small Minnesota town as a 14-year-old refugee with no English-speaking skills, too embarrassed to ask for help getting a lunch ticket on her first day of school. She’s proud of how her own children wear string bracelets and effortlessly explain to inquisitive teachers or classmates they’re meant to tie the family to protecting spirits. “They’re good at adapting to my tradition and American tradition,” she said. Kevin Lee, a shaman’s son who says he also first started experiencing spiritual energies when he was 5 years old, similarly has had to navigate a regular childhood in St. Paul with his ability to connect with good and bad spirits “on the other side.” “Kids would be like, ‘this guy is weird.’ For me, it was just another day,” he said in front of the three living-room altars in the house he shares with his parents and brother. They will be redecorated with new paper designs for the new year after his father, Chad Lee, finishes helping his shaman mentees and has time to send off his shaman spirit for a much-deserved break — short, though, because up to half a dozen people call for his help each day. Last year, his “angel” only got three days off, the older Lee said. The “spiritual world is confusing, but once you find a path, everything is natural,” Chad Lee said. Associated Press religion coverage receives support through The AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for content. Our office provides free confidential assistance to businesses that have questions about workers' compensation insurance. We provide information about whether you need workers’ compensation insurance, how to buy it, and how much it may cost. Workers’ compensation is a complex system and we can help you navigate the process. 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