Hmong Culture Analysis

There is no doubt that western developed countries often turn a blind eye to other regions and cultures in the world that are less developed. One such culture that has little recognition is the Hmong, a small tribe in the mountainous region of Laos. After the Vietnam War, the United States experienced a high number of immigrant refugees from Southeast Asia, including the Hmong. A clash of cultures occurred as the Hmong and Americans tried to live together in unity. Perhaps one of the greatest contrasts is the way health is defined. The conceptualization of illness and its treatment in the Hmong community differs greatly from the biomedical model of health in the United States; these differences account for the consequences and inequality between
Their belief in ghosts and spirits also contribute to fear and mental distress in Hmong individuals. One example is a distressed woman who reported that because she had not given her brother a proper burial in Laos, his spirit was haunting her, making her ill (Johnson, 2002). Another example of a depressed individual in the Hmong community is portrayed in the documentary, “The Split Horn”. Paja Thao was a Shaman who, after the Vietnam War, fled from Laos to America with his family, where he experienced the loss of cultural values in his children. Paja Thao’s children adopted American culture and refused to continue the Shaman tradition in their family. Because the significance of family is emphasized in Hmong culture, Paja Thao was extremely upset and sank into depression for over a year. Although this was not explicitly stated in the documentary, they do state that “he cried for the past year”, “got tired and slept on the couch for three months” and also dreamed about going back to Laos (Siegel, "The split horn"). These are all symptoms of depression, however; it is made clear again that the Hmong associate this kind of illness as physical rather than
The diagnosis and treatments provided by the medical professionals were difficult to comprehend and the Hmong were at a loss in most situations. Mental health, in particular, is so stigmatized in Chinese communities that the diagnosis of illnesses such as depression was unacceptable (Kleinman, 2004). However, the Hmong refrained from telling their health care provider that they were not taking medicines as prescribed because they considered it as rude behaviour if they did so. Instead, they politely replied ‘yes’ to acknowledge that they had heard what was said, but this did not necessarily mean that they understood or complied (Johnson,