The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down

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In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, it is evident that the Hmong people, through their culture, deem the human body and its purposes very different from Western cultures. However, most importantly, the Hmong recognize the application of modern medical treatment to be vastly diverse from their own. Understanding, or at least cognizant, of these differences has an impact on how prosperous medical treatment will be. The biggest difference, resides in the Hmong’s daily lifestyle practices which contain many spiritual and physical connections. By offering two very specific examples, the book utilizes Nao Kao and Foua Lee to exemplify these differences. Throughout the birth of Hmong babies, an exact order of events takes place this is described in the first example. While squatting, the mother Foua draws the infant out with her own hands, making sure to catch the baby before it drops on the filthy surface underneath. “She was so quiet that although most of her babies were born at night, her older children slept undisturbed on a communal bamboo pallet a few feet away, and woke only when they heard the cry of their new brother or sister” (Fadiman, 1997, p. 3-4). “After each birth, Nao Kao cut the umbilical cord with heated scissors and tied it with a string.” (Fadiman, 1997, p. 4 Burial responsibilities of the placenta, also resided with Nao Kao. Under the parents’ bed is the burial site for female placentas, and for males, their placenta is buried under the “central wooden pillar” in charge of looking after the house’s residents. The Hmong consider the placenta very important, often referring to the placenta as the “jacket” because “it is considered one’s first and finest garment.” (Fadiman, 1997, p. 5) The placenta also carries significance with the soul, because after death the soul journeys back to the house where the placenta was buried. The soul, once found,
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