Forming the shape and structure of society, religion is a fundamental aspect in any culture. It is religion that you look towards for spiritual advice when all else fails, especially in a time of dire circumstances. Mircea Eliade noted this concept of religion, a sacred model of life orientation, in The Sacred and Profane. Theorizing the origins of religion, Eliade makes connections to religious man and the ordered existence of religious man’s universe(the cosmos). Eliade’s ideas coincide with Hmong culture, a society influenced by practices of socialization, tightness of culture, adaptation of the world around their society, and their unique language(Lor, Teaching Techniques, 359). In connection to Lia Lee’s struggle of survival, Eliade’s
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Epilepsy commonly referred to as quag dab peg, translated “the spirit catches you and you fall down”(Fadiman, 3, 20). Experiencing quag dab peg means that you most likely have what it takes to be a shaman, a very high honor in the Hmong culture(Fadiman, 3, 21-23). The shaman has the power to travel from the visible world to the unseen (Dubois, 1, 3). Shamen thus have the ability- in relation to Eliade’s religious theory- to travel from the cosmos -religious man’s ordered sacred universe- to chaos-the unordered universe(Eliade 1, 20-23). This is a strong idea Eliade is credited to, for it gives justification as to why the Lees refrained from fully embracing the medical advice given to treat her epilepsy: Lia’s spiritual calling to the …show more content…
The Hmong worldview believes in the shamanistic power to retrieve a person’s lost soul through the therapeutic triangle of healer, patient, and community(Dubois 8, 135). The ill patient, will come seek a shaman who acts as a healer. Through spiritual intervention, the shaman seeks to speak to the spirits of the different unordered world, hoping that they will allow them to return the patient’s missing soul to the cosmic world(Dubois 1, 3). Lia would then be able to act as an axis mundi for her hmong community and heal others through her shamanistic ability.
The Lee family blamed Lia’s medical crisis on their moving to a new hut, in which someone had been previously buried. The deceased individual’s soul, they claimed,may have wished harm on the new residence. So when Lia’s sister slammed the door of her room, this lead to Lia’s sickness(Fadiman, 3, 20-23). This is an example of what Eliade would call a heirophany, a meaning of sacred or holy that means to reveal itself. The slamming of the house door supposedly leading the Lia’s epilepsy could be a heirophany from the house spirit, revealing that they are on the fixed point of the burial
Epilepsy commonly referred to as quag dab peg, translated “the spirit catches you and you fall down”(Fadiman, 3, 20). Experiencing quag dab peg means that you most likely have what it takes to be a shaman, a very high honor in the Hmong culture(Fadiman, 3, 21-23). The shaman has the power to travel from the visible world to the unseen (Dubois, 1, 3). Shamen thus have the ability- in relation to Eliade’s religious theory- to travel from the cosmos -religious man’s ordered sacred universe- to chaos-the unordered universe(Eliade 1, 20-23). This is a strong idea Eliade is credited to, for it gives justification as to why the Lees refrained from fully embracing the medical advice given to treat her epilepsy: Lia’s spiritual calling to the …show more content…
The Hmong worldview believes in the shamanistic power to retrieve a person’s lost soul through the therapeutic triangle of healer, patient, and community(Dubois 8, 135). The ill patient, will come seek a shaman who acts as a healer. Through spiritual intervention, the shaman seeks to speak to the spirits of the different unordered world, hoping that they will allow them to return the patient’s missing soul to the cosmic world(Dubois 1, 3). Lia would then be able to act as an axis mundi for her hmong community and heal others through her shamanistic ability.
The Lee family blamed Lia’s medical crisis on their moving to a new hut, in which someone had been previously buried. The deceased individual’s soul, they claimed,may have wished harm on the new residence. So when Lia’s sister slammed the door of her room, this lead to Lia’s sickness(Fadiman, 3, 20-23). This is an example of what Eliade would call a heirophany, a meaning of sacred or holy that means to reveal itself. The slamming of the house door supposedly leading the Lia’s epilepsy could be a heirophany from the house spirit, revealing that they are on the fixed point of the burial