Chapter 19 Summary and Analysis

Chapter nineteen opens with the Lee family preparing for a txiv neeb healing ceremony they requested for Lia. The pig to be sacrificed cost two hundred and twenty five dollars. The txiv neeb accepts no payment, but will join them for the feast after the ceremony. A wooden altar is set up in the Lee's living room, and the txiv neeb places his sacred tools on it. These include a saber, gong, tambourine, rice, candle, and holy water. First a pig was tied to the members of the Lee family, thus intertwining their souls. Then the pig was thanked for its service and sacrificed. Next came Lia's name calling, during which they hoped Lia's soul would hear their request to come back. To search for her soul, the txiv neeb entered his signature trance. The Hmong believe that he boards a...