Calling in the soul: gender and the cycle of life in a Hmong village

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments This book could nothavebeenwrittenwithoutthehelpof manypeople. First I owe a great debt to my Hmong friends, assistants, and “teachers” in the United States and Thailand: to all of them I say, “Ua tsaug ntau kuv cov phooj ywg. Kuv muab phau ntaw no rau nej sawv daws.” Some I must thank by name. In Providence, Rhode Island, Iab Muas (Moua) and Teeb Yaj, Pajkuam Vaj and his wife Nplias Yaj, Tsav Ntaj Thoj, his wife Xab Yaj, their sonXoua(Thao)andhiswifeNtxhiVajgavegenerouslyof theirtime,believed in the value of my research, and encouraged me in my desire to go to the field. Special thanks go to Nploog Thoj and Ntxhi Vaj for assistance with translation, to Chaj Vaj for help with the line drawings, and to Padade Vwj for checking the spelling of Hmong terms. In Flower Village the Vwj family housed and fed me and, along with people in the Hawj and Mouas clans, befriended this stranger in their midst. Many people in the village taught me about the life of the Hmong and shared their food, hospitality, and knowledge about their culture and themselves. The women were especially generous with their time and their stories. I would also like to thank Mee Moua and May Kao Yang, my assistants in the field during my research on hiv/ aids, and Prasit Leepreecha, his wife Patcharaporn, and Songwit Chuamsakul ,whowereinstrumentalinorganizingthehiv/aids projectinThailand. xiii Grants from the Department of Health and Human Services, from Foreign Language and Area Studies at the Southeast Asia Summer Studies Institute , from the Watson Institute for International Studies, as well as the American Foundation for aids Research and the Thai-Australia Northern aids Prevention and Care Program all provided crucial financial support at diªerent stages of my research, for which I am extremely grateful. In Thailand many people oªered help or friendship (or both) and made my fieldwork possible. The patience and expertise of my language teachers David Strekker and Laopov Vaj at the Southeast Asian Summer Studies Institute gave me the foundations of the Hmong language. The National Research Council of Thailand allowed me to work in a sensitive area of the country. Vishai Poshyachinda, Usanee Pengparn, and Vivavat Vannaporn and her daughter Sally gave me a home away from home whenever I was in Bangkok. Colleagues at the Tribal Research Institute in Chiang Mai were always helpful, especially director Khun Wanat Bhruksasri, who helped me find a research site, and Khun Ralana and Khun Manus Maneeprasert, who assisted me with all manner of problems, from dentistry to map making. Susan Darlington and Yoko Hayami were colleagues in the field whose talks kept me sane. In Thailand thanks for support and lasting friendship also must go to Ursula Lowenstein, Otome Hutheesing, Marjorie Muecke, Asue Choopoh and John Hobday, and Sally and Peter Kunstadter, with special thanks to Cornelia Kammerer, a colleague and friend both in the field and in the United States. Before I ever conceived of a research project, I was fortunate to come across faculty at Brown University who not only imparted knowledge but also created an atmosphere of intellectual stimulation, especially William Beeman, Wanni Anderson and Douglas Anderson, Marida Hollos, Richard Gould, George Hicks, Phil Leis, Patrica Rubertone, David Kertzer, and Liza Bakewell. Later on, my dissertation committee—composed of Lucile Newman , Robert Jay, and Lina Fruzzetti—also provided a consistent source of knowledge, theoretical inspiration, and moral support. Their encouragement continued for the years it took me to prepare this book. Other people who contributed comments and advice were Gary Yia Lee; Nicholas Tapp, who read an early draft of the manuscript; my dissertation writing group—Liza Bakewell, Lydia English, Susan Reed, and Donna Searles ; Gayle Hanlon; and the three anonymous reviewers for the University xiv Acknowledgments of Washington Press. The comments and careful readings of all of these people were invaluable in the development of the book. Lorri Hagman at the University of Washington Press believed in this book from the start. A superb editor with an eagle eye, she was on hand for advice and suggestions at every stage of the revision and rethinking process, and I count myself lucky to have had her help. Pamela Summa’s editorial expertise, critical feedback, and endless questions helped test and develop the content of this book. For her unflagging energy and enthusiasm in our eªorts together, and her skilled assistance in turning a rough text into a polished final draft, my thanks are immeasurable. I apologize for any remaining...