Chapter 9 Summary and Analysis

When Lia first returned home from her time in foster care, everyone was elated. Her family celebrated by sacrificing a cow and inviting many relatives to rejoice with them. While commonplace in Hmong culture, Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of ritual sacrifice, especially when it is in the public domain. The Hmong killed the animals cleanly and efficiently, offered thanks, and consumed the whole animal, leaving virtually nothing to waste. Despite these efforts, the ritual sacrifices were not appreciated. Therefore, an ordinance was created to ban animal sacrifice within the city limits. This law was difficult to enforce. It would seem easy to be aware of the slaughter of a large animal, such as a cow, but chickens were readily sacrificed with little notice at all.

Although Lia's homecoming was widely celebrated, the Lee's happiness waned as they realized that...