Hmong Cosmos

Contemporary Hmong people cannot be characterized as subscribing to a single religion. Missionaries to Southeast Asia converted many Hmong people to Christianity beginning in the 19th-century and many more have become Christian since immigrating from Southeast Asia to the West. However most Hmong people today continue to maintain traditional spiritual practices that include Shamanism and Christianity.

Shamanism is one of the most practiced religions by the Hmong people.  These Shamanistic spiritual beliefs are combined with their beliefs related to health and illness. In traditional Hmong spiritual practices, one does not separate the physical well-being of a person from their spiritual health. According to these beliefs, everything possesses a spirit, both animate and inanimate objects. When doing my research on the Hmong, i found this to be quite interesting. . The spirits of deceased ancestors are thought to influence the welfare and health of the living as well. Hmong perform rituals which include the offering of food and spirit money and burning incense to appease the dead and living spirits and earn their favor in the real world.