Sacrificing Chickens-The truth

[destiny_56085]

We have a huge Hmong community here in MN. I work with and are friends with quite a few too. They will never go into detail on their holidays or rituals though. From my history of selling birds, they usually want chickens around Halloween and Easter for their major holidays. If there are special occasions such as a woman giving birth, a car accident, etc they will come looking for specific type of birds. They want a certain feather color, leg color, comb shape, etc. They usually like anything 'red'. Not like rhode island reds, but light brown leghorns or BB red old english. Some will pay high amounts for anything with a long tail such as your phoenix crosses. They will not take a white bird unless it is a silkie. Speaking of which, they have a medicinal soup they make out of the black skinned chickens. They are very efficient too and use every part available including the blood.

Depending on what culture, they also come looking for ducks in the fall too. I can't remember which one...Laos, Vietnamese, Thai, etc.... But some will only take the smaller ducks like your call ducks or maybe even the smaller mallards. Some will rarely butcher the larger ducks but they have a way to avoid the greasiness. Some of them only like the muscovies.

I'm not sure what ritual they perform with the pigeons. I've had some calls where they want a specific color and sex of a pigeon. All they want to do is be able to release it. Something about freeing their spirit....

I do know that the Asian community is beneficial at our swaps. They come and buy truckloads of the cheap cull birds. They actually prefer the older birds too because there is more flavor there. As a silkie breeder, they are a good place to get rid of my cull birds that can't find pet homes.

 

[fowled-out]

Quote:
During October to December, this is the time the Hmong celebrate the new year. Every family celebrates at a different weekend during these months. When it is held, the family is to not go outside for 3 days. During those 3 days, you are to prepare 10 meals a day, 30 total. This celebration is called "Peb Caug" (Pey Chao) meaning "30". Your are to slaughter enough chickens for 30 meals, or you can use a pig or a cow. Most prefer chicken because it's cheaper and you don't get tired of the meat as easily as pork or beef. Think of it as a FAT HMONG THANKSGIVING, haha.

Now the issus with the specific color of the chicken goes like this. The Hmong people have a shrine in the house, this shrine houses the protected spirits of the house. There is one spirit called "Xwm Kab" (sue kaa) which is the spirit which protects the whole family. One spirit is the "Dab Rooj Taag" (dah tong thah) which is the Front Door spirit which blocks evil spirits. One is the "Dab Ncu" (dah chu) which is the stove spirit which will help the family to always have something to eat. The other one is the "Dab Rooj Tog" (dah tong toh) which is the Back door spirit, same routine as the front door. During the Hmong New Year celebration, the shrine is to be replaced by a new one. A crowing red rooster or a duckwing crowing rooster must be sacrifice to protect the shrine. The chicken is slaughtered and it's neck feathers are dabbed with the blood and sticked onto the shrine in three places.

In Hmong culture, after a women gives birth, she has to eat nothing but boiled chicken soup for 30 days, long story, but it's supposed to cleanse the body.

And about the pigeons, they are nothing special, just for dinner and fun of raising it.

Hmong people don't like the chickens at the grocery store, they blame heart disease, diabetes and all sorts of sickness to grocery chickens because they've never seen these kind of illnesses back in the old country. They have never say such a fat plump chicken before, that's why they choose farm raised chickens.

 

[lacasitarojafarm]

My best friend is a Chinese minority (Min) and I get silkie hens for her and her mother for sacrficie and for elder worship. They sacrifice the childken and then offer it on their family altar then they eat it. Seems fair to me.

 

[Southernbelle]

Thank you for sharing the glimpse into your culture. I've never known any Hmong people and I enjoyed your stories.

 

[wegotchickens]

Thank you very much for sharing!

 

[littlefarm_bighappy]

I appreciate you sharing your beliefs and customs.

The issue of animal sacrifice for is a sensitive one, though, as I am atheist. THe thought of sacrificing a dog is especially repugnant, and I can't think of any city that wouldn't prosecute this as animal cruelty.

 

[poconoadoptionfamily]

Thanks for sharing! Told the rooster crowing story story to my son and he loved it.

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
+1

And as a diverse board, we also must remember we do have members from other countries. Not everyone on here lives in the USA.

 

[Olive Hill]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing. There is a family of asian descent that comes to our swap every month and buys up most of the roosters within a few minutes of the swap opening. I assumed they ate them, but hadn't thought of the sacrifice and offering aspect before.

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
+1

And as a diverse board, we also must remember we do have members from other countries. Not everyone on here lives in the USA.

+2

And our customs are just as odd to them as theirs are to us. My aunt is a ESL teacher and one of the students she was tutoring from China observed aloud one day shortly after he had arrived "Here you love your dogs. In China we eat them." Out of the mouthes of babes.