Journal of Undergraduate Research
Keywords
prophets, scripts, nations, Hmong, northern Thailand, religion, ethnonational
College
Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Department
Anthropology
Abstract
As a sociocultural anthropology major, my ORCA project entailed spending three months on an ethnographic study. I chose to conduct this study in northern Thailand among the Hmong, a small hill tribe ethnic group. During my stay in a Hmong community near Pua, Nan Province, I spent much of my time with a small messianic religious group known as Is Npis Mis Nus (pronounced “ee bee mee new”), or Is Npis for short. My goals were to understand the various concepts of nationalism and ethnicity for both the Is Npis and the Hmong in general, which I ascertained largely through interviews and participant observation. As I got to know the Is Npis and their beliefs, my research questions developed into the following: “Why is there a need for the Is Npis Mis Nus religion? What does their religion provide that the Hmong do not already have? And why is there tension between messianic and non-messianic Hmong?”
Recommended Citation
Ramirez, Belinda and Hickman, Dr. Jacob
(2013)
"Prophets, Scripts, and Nations: Hmong Religious and Ethnonational Borders in Northern Thailand,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013:
Iss.
1, Article 158.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/158