Laos: Iu-Mein Culture and Ceremonies :: Asia Asian

Laos: Iu-Mein Culture and Ceremonies What is Iu-Mein? Not many people have heard of the ethnicity Iu-Mein. It is a dialect from Laos. One of the traditions that Iu-Mein's have are ceremonies. Ceremonies are done with the sacrificing of a pig or chicken. Certain people may call it weird, and animal rights folks would call it animal cruelty, but in our culture, it is for healing and to pay our respects to our ancestors. The ceremonies are very sacred and are done by a shaman. A shaman in our culture is someone who can speak to spirits like a witch doctor. A pig or chicken is sacrificed depending on whether the ceremony performed is large or small. The shaman sets up the table with incense, paper made with circle imprints (money for the spirits), and a tea set filled with blessed water. After the pig or chicken is cleaned, it is set on the table and the shaman starts chanting or calling down the spirit. With a chicken, the ceremony usually takes about thirty minutes to an hour; with a pig, it can take an hour to an hour and a half. Ceremonies in the Iu-Mein culture are part of our lives. They are done as often as they are needed, but at least once a year. There are different kinds of ceremonies done for healing when someone is sick, for good luck for the year, weddings, and for death. Iu-Mein's believe in both good and bad spirits. Whenever someone is sick, we believe it is due to a hungry spirit. Our ceremony with the pig or chicken is meant to please the spirit by feeding them, paying them by burning paper "money," and by giving them water. There are all kinds of spirits that can touch a person to make them sick, like parents, grandparents, or any relatives who have passed away. There is not much about Iu-Mein culture in our history books, but books have been written about the Iu-Mein people.