When my son was born almost two years ago, we held a small hu plig or “soul-calling” ceremony to welcome his spirit to the world and into our family. The shaman my parents appointed for the ceremony, a Hmong man from Laos, was both a friend of the family and kin on my mother’s side. A gregarious and exuberant man, he stood at the front door and chanted for my son’s spirit to come home while the…
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