The art of being governed: apocalypse, aspirational statecraft, and the health of the Hmong body (politic).

Hmong ritual practice revolves around managing proper relations between one's ancestors and living kin, as this relationship is a key factor in both the physical health and more general welfare of living descendants. General Vang Pao came to take on the mantle of an ancestor for all Hmong, and his post-mortal welfare became metonymically linked to the welfare of the entire Hmong community, regardless of clan or kinship. His funeral (lub ntees, lub cawv xeeb) and soul-releasing (tso plig) ceremonies were perhaps the largest occurrences of coordinated public ritual in recent Hmong history. Beyond merely resolving the affairs of his life and sending his spirit to the ancestral realm (the common functions of these rites), these events became sites of the ritual enactment of Hmong statehood, both for those who organized and coordinated the rites, as well as for those observing and participating more broadly in the events. In many ways, the events marked simultaneously the conclusion of a Hmong apocalypse, whose apotheosis was the aftermath of America's secret war in Laos, as well as an aspirational utopia-the very performance of a Hmong state that is more dreamed than real. An ethnographic analysis of the iconography, discourse, and ritual innovations at the events reveals a set of practices best described as 'aspirational statecraft.' Ritual performers asserted a meridian of time marked by Vang Pao's passing and sought to fulfill the longstanding desire for Hmong statehood by casting Vang Pao as a metonymical ancestor to the entire Hmong body politic.

The Meaning of Giving Birth: Voices of Hmong Women Living in Vietnam.

Increasing knowledge about the sociocultural context of birth is essential to promote culturally sensitive nursing care. This qualitative study provides an ethnographic view of the perspectives on birthing of Hmong mothers living in the highlands of Vietnam. Unique cultural beliefs exist in Hmong culture about the spiritual and physical world as well as ritual practices associated with childbearing. This includes variations of ancestor worship, reincarnation, and healing practices by shamans. Traditionally, Hmong families take an active role in childbirth with birth frequently occurring in the home. Situated within a large collaborative anthropology project, a convenience sample of 8 Hmong women, who had recently given birth, were interviewed regarding the perinatal experience. In addition, ethnic traditional birth attendants (midwives) and other village women contributed perspectives providing richly descriptive data. This ethnographic study was conducted during 6 weeks of immersed participant observation with primary data collection carried out through fieldwork. Data were analyzed to derive cultural themes from interviews and observations. Significant themes included (1) valuing motherhood, (2) laboring and giving birth silently, (3) giving birth within the comfort of home and family, (4) feeling capable of birthing well, (5) feeling anxiety to provide for another child, and (6) embracing cultural traditions. Listening to the voices of Hmong women enhances understanding of the meaning of childbirth. Gaining greater understanding of Hmong cultural beliefs and practices can ensure childbearing women receive respectful, safe, and quality care.

Moral identity as moral ideal self: links to adolescent outcomes.

The purposes of this study were to conceptualize moral identity as moral ideal self, to develop a measure of this construct, to test for age and gender differences, to examine links between moral ideal self and adolescent outcomes, and to assess purpose and social responsibility as mediators of the relations between moral ideal self and outcomes. Data came from a local school sample (Data Set 1: N = 510 adolescents; 10-18 years of age) and a national online sample (Data Set 2: N = 383 adolescents; 15-18 years of age) of adolescents and their parents. All outcome measures were parent-report (Data Set 1: altruism, moral personality, aggression, and cheating; Data Set 2: environmentalism, school engagement, internalizing, and externalizing), whereas other variables were adolescent-report. The 20-item Moral Ideal Self Scale showed good reliability, factor structure, and validity. Structural equation models demonstrated that, even after accounting for moral identity internalization, in Data Set 1 moral ideal self positively predicted altruism and moral personality and negatively predicted aggression, whereas in Data Set 2 moral ideal self positively predicted environmentalism and negatively predicted internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Further, purpose and social responsibility mediated most relations between moral ideal self and the outcomes in Data Set 2. Moral ideal self was unrelated to age but differentially predicted some outcomes across age. Girls had higher levels of moral ideal self than boys, although moral identity did not differentially predict outcomes between genders. Thus, moral ideal self is a salient element of moral identity and may play a role in morally relevant adolescent outcomes.