Abstract:

"This classic film documents the Hmong refugees who have been transplanted from their agrarian mountain villages in northern Laos to cities in the U.S. Often living in high-rise tenements, they bring their ancient shamanic rituals and ceremonies to urban America. In such unlikely settings, trance-like healing and animal offerings are practiced as if they were back home. The documentary captures rare and dramatic footage of the Hmong buying and sacrificing a cow in rural Illinois to save a sick baby in a metropolitan hospital. It shows the attempt of a missionary to convert a traditional Hmong family. It also explores an unexplained phenomenon (SUNDS) in which young Hmong men have died in their sleep for no apparent medical cause. Anthropologist Dwight Conquergood, well-known for his work with the Hmong, points out the similarity between their beliefs and those of the Native Americans."