The shaman Chứ Nênh/Nả Nênh in the Hmong perspective

In the Hmong language, txiv means father, and nam means mother; thus, txiv neeb means father of neeb, and nam neeb means mother of neeb. If we translate neeb into Vietnamese as "cúng" (offering), we see that the original meaning of txiv neeb and nam neeb is father and mother of the offering, rather than shaman. To understand why shamans are considered the father and mother of neeb, we need to understand what neeb is, where they come from, and how they came about.

The cosmology of the Hmong people

The Hmong believe that the world was created by Yawm Saub (Puj Saub) and consists of three parallel realms: the realm of the living (yaaj ceeb) – where living beings have both a body and a soul; the realm of the dead (yeeb ceeb) – where living beings lack a body and are governed by Ntxwg Nyoos; and the upper realm (saum ntuj) – where gods reside and souls are reborn into the realm of the living or banished to the realm of the dead. These three realms interact fundamentally with each other to maintain a state of balance. If this balance is not maintained, the universe cannot exist.

A shaman (wearing a headscarf) performs a ritual during a longevity celebration in Nam Can commune, Ky Son district. (Photo courtesy of BNA)

The origin of ancestral worship

The god Nyoos (Ntxwg Nyoos) is a deity who possesses a large herd of livestock and poultry; he always needs a sufficient workforce to raise them, and therefore, he constantly seeks ways to transport souls from the realm of the living (yaaj ceeb) to the realm of the dead (yeeb ceeb). Meanwhile, many people in the realm of the living do not fully understand life in the realm of the dead and frequently offend and disrespect this realm, causing chaos in the world.

To restore balance to the world, Puj Saub (Yawm Saub) decided to send their youngest son, Siv Yis, directly to the mortal realm to live as a human. Siv Yis was given a force of diligent, faceless celestial beings called Qhua Neeb to handle his interdimensional affairs. With the help of the Qhua Neeb, Siv Yis quickly restored balance to the world through his ability to provide healing (muab tshuaj) and to mediate conflicts between realms through rituals (ua neeb).

Life in the mortal realm was very peaceful for the God of War. He married, had children, and lived a tranquil life alongside his duty to maintain peace and balance in the world. Then, one day, the people of the mortal realm betrayed the God of War. It is believed that many people in the mortal realm climbed the ladder connecting the mortal realm and the higher realms, created by the God of War. This overloaded the higher realms, forcing the God of War to return to the higher realms to deal with those from the mortal realm.

Another perspective suggests that the beings in the mortal realm did not regard the God Sì Dì and his family as ordinary people. Once, they killed the God Sì Dì's son, enraging him and causing him to fly back to the celestial realm. Whatever the reason, the ultimate outcome was the God Sì Dì returning to the celestial realm and, from above, throwing his knowledge (txuj ci neeb) down to the mortal realm, leaving the Khua Nênh to eke out a living existence in many small, dissimilar groups.

Those fortunate individuals in the realm of the living and with good character will inadvertently acquire the knowledge of the Divine Serpent and, through training by the Neebs, become the new leaders of this group of Neebs. They can then guide the Neebs through the realms and, to some extent, continue the work of healing and resolving conflicts between individuals from different realms, as taught by the Divine Serpent. These chosen individuals will be called the Neeb's father or mother (txiv neeb/nam neeb).

Gongs and handmade paper offerings are essential items for shamans to perform rituals. (Photo courtesy of BNA)

Onionthe process of becoming Chu Nenh/Na Nenh

According to Hmong beliefs, the human body consists of three basic parts: the physical body (lub cev), the mind, and the soul (ntsuj plig). When a person is chosen to become a shaman, the soul (ntsuj plig) is tested and taught by Khua Nenh. Because the soul is often separate from the body, the chosen person frequently suffers from illness and disease throughout the training process.

If, due to family reasons or the chosen person's own ignorance, they inadvertently harm or offend the Khua Nenh, their soul may not only fail to be trained to control the Khua Nenh, but may also become detached from their body, leading to the chosen person's death. This training process is called Mo Nenh (Mob Neeb), and its duration depends on the individual and the specific journey required by each Khua Nenh group.

During training, Mo Nenh will have many dreams, always encountering one or a group of people who lead them to strange places such as super-high cliffs, super-wide gorges, or dense, dark forests. These guides often teach the chosen one how to communicate with individuals from other realms. This is explained by the fact that, because the soul has accompanied the Khua Nenh on their training, the person feels as if they are dreaming.

This Mo Nênh journey will continue until the chosen person has learned enough skills to control Khua Nênh. At that point, the chosen person and their family (possibly with additional companions, especially those with similar abilities and who have become shamans) will need to hold a Chang Thàng (Tsaa Thaaj) ceremony to set up an altar next to the altar of the Sử Cang (Xwm Kaab) household deity, in the center of the house, so that Khua Nênh officially has a place to reside in the chosen person's house and will accompany them under the control of Chứ Nênh or Nả Nênh.

The Hmong believe that the shaman's abilities depend entirely on the abilities of the Khua Nenh group that serves them. And because this group is never as complete as the group of Than Si Di, there will never be an all-powerful shaman; there are only shamans with supernatural, extraordinary abilities, but not all-powerful ones.

Healing through rituals

The Hmong believe that illness is caused by problems in the body, mind, and soul. If the illness is physical, it is treated with medicine and modern medical interventions. If the illness is due to mental distress, people may seek mental health care or participate in rituals and ceremonies called ua neeb saib. If the illness is due to spiritual distress (Ntsuj plig), a ritual is needed to invoke the power of the Na Nenh or Chu Nenh to connect the realms and bring about reconciliation through the command of Khua Nenh. Thus, healing through rituals among the Hmong both encompasses and transcends the concept of mental health care.