International index of literature on Miao/Hmong studies gzfolks@gmail.com 美国缘何抗拒苗族文化 American Culture Against the Hmong 巴特勒大学 安妮卡·康诺利（Annekah Connolly） 译者语：这是 2019 年巴特勒大学一名叫安妮卡·康诺利的大学生发表的 FYS 研讨作品，文章简洁而又准确地阐述了妮·法德曼的《神灵抓住，你就倒 了》著作的要义——西方文化与苗族信仰之间的差异，并探明它们之间如此之 深的文化鸿沟，导致了一类人不尊重地将另一类人视为异类。尽管这些不同文 化中的人们，可能有“不寻常”的行为或信仰，但他们都是应受到尊重的人。 美国人僵化地以西方思维方式思考，却错过了一些人性所提供的东西。这篇优 秀的小论文说明，法德曼的《神灵抓住，你就倒了》以及民族心理学仍然美国 学界的热门话题。 世界各地每天都有不同的视角、 意见和观点发生碰撞。这些不同背景 文化的相会，可以成为发展各种理念 的有力工具，尤其是当它创造共享知 识的时候。然而，两种文化被迫在一 起，并不总是导致更高的共同理解。 在安妮·法德曼的《神灵抓住，你就 倒了》中，当美国文化和苗族文化相 遇时，有一个反复出现的主题——西 方的冷漠。安妮·法德曼利用这个反 复出现的主题——冷漠，来表达这样 一种观点：无知是如此具有分裂性， 以至于对他人潜在的尊重被忽视了。 据说，人类害怕他们不理解的东 西，这就是为什么美国文化与苗族和 他们的信仰之间互动如此之少的部分 原因。当苗族人第一次搬到默塞德 时，他们被视为“外来客人”(法德 曼 232 页)，一个独特的和受敬重的 群体。然而，一旦苗族开始举办他们 的文化祭祀、萨满教仪式和通常的非 美国行为，这种观点很快就改变了。 当地的美国人很快就排斥这种新的文 化，因为它与他们所习惯的西方思想 不同。当美国人拒绝把苗族人融入他 们的社区时，西方的漠不关心就发生 了，因为该地区的大多数美国人拒绝 接受这种新文化。美国诞生的目的是 让所有不同背景的人，在一个安全的 空间里自由地实践自己的信仰，而这 些西方医生忽视了这个价值，对苗族 人的行为是不加考虑的。在一个其他 文化和信仰理应受到欢迎的国家，这 些很不起眼的、“不寻常”的异族文 化应当不可忽视。 当李莉娅（Lia Lee）被送入医 院时，西方的冷漠又一次出现。当李 家与医院工作人员交流时，通常（特 别是在晚上）没有官方的苗语翻译可 用，而且医生几乎不可能与苗语患者 交流(法迪曼 25 页)。任何人在一天 中的任何时候，都可能发生医疗问 题，然而在院方的西方文化冷漠，忽 视了需要翻译的可能性。这是特别有 问题的，因为在默塞德市六个人中就 有一个是苗族人(225 页)，这意味着 苗族翻译应当是一个有用的和合乎逻 辑的医院工作人员的补充。由于缺乏 沟通，一些医生把苗族病人当作动 物，说他们必须“行使兽医疗 法”(25)，因为没有共同的语言来理 解病人的感受。西方医生对苗族文化 的漠视是显而易见的，因为由于缺乏 通用语言，医生将苗族从人种贬低为 动物，而在默塞德社区，尽管苗族与 1 International index of literature on Miao/Hmong studies 美国人的比例很高，但他们拒绝找翻 译。 西方人关于聪明和受过教育的观 点仅仅是关于学习和理解。实则上， 支持这些事实以及为何这些事实是正 确的原因，完全以西方教育及其思想 为基础。在《神灵抓住，你就倒了》 中，美国医生最为不满的是，莉娅的 父母 Foua 和 Nao Kao 没有给她服用 所需的癫痫药（Fadiman 53 页）。那 种情况下，医生认为作为受教育程度 最高的人，他们应该拥有最大的权 威。由于他们是专家，经过多年的医 学院学习，投入了大量的时间、精力 和金钱，他们知道如何最好地帮助病 人（276 页）。这种占主导地位的心 态是西方医生如此麻木不仁的部分原 因。医生们认为苗族人很愚蠢，他们 的行为既无用又低级,因为其不符合 西方传统规范。他们不理解，苗族人 可能不会说英语，也没有接受过美国 的教育体系，但他们仍然是聪明的 人，依靠自给自足已经生存了几千 年。 在医学领域，国家主义和西方医 学关于身体而不是灵魂信仰的占据优 先地位，这一理念改变了两种文化之 间的动态。对于美国医生来说，医学 目标是拯救一个人的生命，不管这个 人长什么样，说什么语言，或者相信 什么。这一西方观点与苗族的主要信 仰——保存灵魂是最重要的——发生 了很大的冲突。在《神灵抓住，你就 倒了》中，一个美国医生毫无歉意地 说，“生命是第一位的”(法德曼 277 页)。即使父母不愿意为他们的孩子 做手术，因为他们认为孩子的灵魂可 gzfolks@gmail.com 能会永久受损，这个拯救生命的手术 应该继续下去。这种对他人文化信仰 的漠视，正是西方文化如此无知的原 因，因为它完全忽略了生活的所有部 分——苗族人如此珍视的情感和家庭 生活。 可能有些人会争辩说，事实上也 有美国医生真的关心苗族文化，了解 他们的信仰。虽然这可能是对的，但 大多数美国医生在与其他文化和信仰 进行交流时，仍然深受西方理念的影 响，因此对学习其他文化的知识不感 兴趣。因为这些人太专注于自己的文 化，他们缺乏其他文化的知识和意 识。 安妮·法迪曼（Anne Fadiman） 在《神灵抓住，你就倒了》中，强调 了西方文化与苗族信仰之间的差异， 并探明它们之间如此之深的文化鸿 沟，导致了一类人不尊重地将另一类 人视为异类。尽管这些不同文化中的 人们，可能有“不寻常”的行为或信 仰，但他们都是应受到尊重的人。美 国人僵化地以西方思维方式思考，却 错过了一些人性所提供的东西。家 庭，传统和社区是使生活变得独特和 有意义的关键因素。只关注事物的表 面价值和现实，人的情感部分就丢失 了。 参考文献： 安妮·法迪曼《神灵抓住，你就 倒了》，Farrar Straus＆Giroux Inc，2007 年。 翻译：余岛 （gzfolk@gmail.com） 2020.5.10 原文链接： https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/fys_ww_f2019/32 2 International index of literature on Miao/Hmong studies gzfolks@gmail.com American Culture Against the Hmong By Annekah Connolly Every day throughout the world, different perspectives, opinions, and viewpoints collide. The meeting of these different backgrounds can be a powerful tool in developing various ideas, especially when it creates a shared knowledge. However, two cultures forced together does not always result in a higher shared understanding. In Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, there is a recurring theme of Western insensitivity as the American and Hmong cultures meet. Anne Fadiman utilizes this recurring theme of insensitivity in order to present the idea that ignorance is so divisive that the underlying respect for other humans is overlooked. It is said that humans fear what they do not understand, which is part of why American culture so poorly interacts with the Hmong and their beliefs. When the Hmong first move to Merced, they are greeted as an “exotic guest” (Fadiman 232), one that is unique and highly revered. However, this perspective quickly changes once the Hmong start practicing their cultural animal sacrifices, shamanic ceremonies, and generally un-American behavior. Local Americans quickly reject this new culture simply because it is different from the Western ideas they are used to. Western insensitivity occurs as the Americans reject the mixing of Hmong people into their community, as the majority of Americans in the area refuse to be accepting of this new culture. The United States was created with the intent that people from all different backgrounds are free to practice their own beliefs in a safe space, and these Western doctors are acting inconsiderately towards the Hmong by ignoring this value. In a country where other cultures and beliefs are supposed to be welcome, it is not evident and “unusual” cultures are disrespected. Western insensitivity makes yet another appearance when Lia Lee is admitted to the hospital. There is often no official Hmong translator available when the Lees are interacting with hospital staff, especially at night, and it is nearly impossible for doctors to communicate with the Hmong patients (Fadiman 25). Medical problems can happen to anyone at all times of the day, yet the ignorance of the Western culture in the hospital overlooks the possibility of needing a translator. This is especially problematic because one of six people in Merced are Hmong, (225) meaning that a Hmong translator would be a useful and logical addition to the hospital staff. Due to this lack of communication, some doctors treat Hmong patients as animals, saying 3 International index of literature on Miao/Hmong studies that they must “practice veterinary medicine” (25) because there is no common language to understand how the patient feels. The inconsideration of the Western doctors towards the Hmong culture is evident as the doctors literally degrade the Hmong from human beings to animals due to a lack of common language, and refuse to find a translator despite the large ratio of Hmong to Americans in the Merced community. The Western perspective of being smart and educated is solely about learning and understanding; facts, support of those facts, and the reason why those facts are true is the basis of Western education and thinking. In The gzfolks@gmail.com they are nevertheless smart people who have survived for thousands of years by being self-sufficient. In the medical field, nationalism and Western medical beliefs about the body, rather than the soul, take precedence, changing the dynamic between the two cultures. For American doctors, the medical objective is to save a human life, regardless of what the person looks like, which language they speak, or what they believe. This Western viewpoint greatly clashes with the Hmong’s prime belief that soul preservation is of the utmost importance. In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, an American doctor unapologetically states that “the life comes first” (Fadiman 277). Even if the parents do not want to consent to surgery for their child due to their beliefs that the child’s soul may be permanently damaged, the lifesaving surgery should go on. This ignorance of another’s cultural beliefs is precisely what makes Western culture so unaware, because it completely misses part of what life is all about - the emotional, familial aspect of living that the Hmong so deeply value. Some may argue that there are American doctors who really do care about the Hmong culture and getting to know what they believe. Although this may be true, the majority of American doctors are still heavily influenced by Western ideas when interacting with other cultures and beliefs, therefore becoming uninterested in learning about what other cultures have to Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, the American doctors are upset that Foua and Nao Kao do not give Lia the epilepsy medicine she needs (Fadiman 53). As the most highly educated people in that situation, the doctors think that they should have the most authority. Since they are experts who have put in large amounts of time, energy, and money going through years of medical school, they know how to best help a patient (276). This dominant mindset is part of what makes the doctors of this Western culture so insensitive. The doctors believe that the Hmong are stupid and that their practices are irrelevant, simply because they are not the traditional Western norms. The Hmong people may not speak English or have gone through the American schooling system, but 4 International index of literature on Miao/Hmong studies offer. Because these individuals are so focused on their own culture, they lack knowledge and awareness of other cultures. In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, author Anne Fadiman highlights the difference between Western culture and Hmong beliefs in order to demonstrate that the cultural division between them can be so distracting that it causes one to disrespectfully treat the other as different. Although the people in gzfolks@gmail.com these different cultures may have “unusual” practices or beliefs, they are all human beings who deserve to be treated respectfully. Americans rigidly thinking in the Western mindset miss out on part of what humanity has to offer. Family, tradition, and community are key factors that make life unique and meaningful; by only focusing on the face value and reality of things, the emotional part of being human is lost. Works Cited Fadiman, Anne. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. Farrar Straus & Giroux Inc, 2007. 5