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Hmong ring in spiritual new year with song and ceremony

“Noj Peb Caug," translated as "new year," is celebrated mostly in November and December among Hmong Americans.

By Associated Press

Nov. 25, 2023

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VIDEO COURTESY AP
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sai Vue, right, and his three sons wait to choose a pig and have it slaughtered at Hogmasters butcher shop in Hugo, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16. The pig is an offering to pay back Vue's ancestors for answering his request for help, and he brought his boys so they would be more familiar with traditional Hmong spiritual customs that often involve sacrificing animals.
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Sai Vue, right, chooses a pig to have slaughtered at Hogmasters butcher shop in Hugo, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

The three Vue boys, from right ages 6, 4 and 3, look on as their father Sai Vue chooses a pig for slaughter at Hogmasters butcher shop in Hugo, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16. The pig is an offering to pay back Vue's ancestors for answering his request for help, and he brought his boys so they would be more familiar with traditional Hmong spiritual customs that often involve sacrificing animals.
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Shoppers look for pleated skirts and other clothing for Hmong New Year for sale at the stall of Elisa Her, left, in the Hmong Village covered market in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16. The New Year, celebrated at various dates during fall by Hmong Americans, is the most important traditional spiritual celebration for these Southeast Asian refugees who settled in the United States after fighting on its side in the Vietnam War.
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Traditional embroidered vests with jewelry are seen for sale in the Hmong Village covered market in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16. For the New Year celebrations held in the fall, the Hmong, Southeast Asian refugees who settled in the United States after fighting on its side in the Vietnam War, traditionally buy or make new clothes and gather for spiritual ceremonies.
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Alesia Lor tries on traditional Hmong New Year headwear with family members at a stall in the Hmong Village covered market in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16. For the New Year celebrations held in the fall, the Hmong, Southeast Asian refugees who settled in the United States after fighting on its side in the Vietnam War, traditionally buy or make new clothes in addition to holding spiritual ceremonies.
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A mural of the mountains of Southeast Asia is seen in the fresh foods section of the Hmong Village covered market in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16. In the late fall, the market is bustling with families buying clothing and other necessities for the New Year, the most important traditional spiritual celebration for the Hmong refugees who settled here after fleeing in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
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Women buy fruits, vegetables and herbs from Southeast Asia and California in the fresh foods section of the Hmong Village covered market in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16. In late fall, the market is bustling with families buying clothing and other necessities for the New Year, the most important traditional spiritual celebration for the Hmong refugees who settled here after fleeing in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
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Chad Lee explains his role as a Hmong shaman in front of the altars in his house in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Nov. 16. For New Year, the most important traditional spiritual celebration for these Southeast Asian refugees, the altars will be redecorated with new paper designs and Lee will send off his shaman spirit for a much-deserved break, short though, because up to half a dozen people call for his help each day.
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Hlee Xiong Lee discusses her challenging journey to shaman practice at the Hmong Cultural Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Many Hmong who, like her, fled Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War, follow traditional spiritual customs, which culminate in the New Year celebrations in the fall, when shamans send off their spirit guides to regenerate their energy for another season of healing.
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Mee Vang Yang holds her father's ring-shaped shaman bells in front of the altar in her living room in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, Nov. 17. Vang Yang carried them across the Mekong River as the family fled the Communist takeover of her native Laos four decades ago. Today, they facilitate the connection to the spiritual world she needs to help fellow refugees and their American-raised children who seek restoration of lost spirits.
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Nhia Neng Vang conducts a soul-calling ritual at his home in St. Paul, Minn. on Saturday, Nov. 18. In traditional Hmong spirituality, humans are composed of multiple souls, which may become separated over time. The soul-calling ritual returns them for the new year.
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Nhia Neng Vang holds a rooster that will be used in a backyard sweeping ritual in St. Paul, Minn. on Saturday, Nov. 18. The ritual, in which participants walk together in circles, first to the west and then to the east, represents leaving old negative spirits behind and embracing the new year.
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Family, friends and members of the Twin Cities Hmong community gather in the backyard of Nhia Neng Vang for a Hmong New Year sweeping ritual in St. Paul, Minn. on Saturday, Nov. 18. The ritual, in which participants walk together in circles, first to the west and then to the east, represents leaving old negative spirits behind and embracing the new year.
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Anthony Yang​, left, and Nhia Neng Vang , left, and Nhia Neng Vang mark a line representing the separation of the new year from the old with the blood of a rooster after a sweeping ritual in Nhia Neng Vang's backyard in St. Paul, Minn. on Saturday, Nov. 18. New Year is the most important traditional spiritual celebration for the Hmong refugees who settled here after fleeing in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Family, friends and members of the Twin Cities Hmong community gather in the backyard of Nhia Neng Vang for a Hmong New Year sweeping ritual in St. Paul, Minn. on Saturday, Nov. 18. The ritual, in which participants walk together in circles, first to the west and then to the east, represents leaving old negative spirits behind and embracing the new year.

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