Retaining spiritual connection. Hmong ‘new year’ recalls ancestral spirits while teaching traditions to new generations. December 2, 2023 at 2:59 a.m.

AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’Orto 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.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — For the annual fall renewal of her shaman spirit, Mee Vang Yang will soon ritually redecorate the tall altar in her living room where she keeps her father’s ring-shaped shaman bells.

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, ... During new year, which is celebrated mostly in November ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The majority of the approximately 300,000 Hmong in the United States are animists and believe that spirits live throughout the physical world. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — For ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — For the annual fall renewal of her shaman spirit, Mee Vang Yang will soon ritually redecorate the tall altar in her living room where she keeps her father’s ring-shaped ...

For the annual fall renewal of her shaman spirit, Mee Vang Yang will soon ritually redecorate the tall altar in her living room where she keeps her father’s ring-shaped shaman bells. She carried ...

Mee Vang Yang holds her father's shaman bells in front of the altar in her living room in St. Paul, Minnesota, Nov. 17, 2023. Vang Yang carried them across the Mekong River as the family fled the ...

During new year, which is celebrated mostly in November and December among Hmong Americans, shamans send off their spirit guides to regenerate their energy for another season of healing. Male heads of ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — For the annual fall renewal of her shaman spirit, Mee Vang Yang will soon ritually redecorate the tall altar in her living room where she keeps her father’s ring-shaped shaman ...