Coj Dab Essay

Coj dab, one of the world's oldest belief systems, it dates as far back as 2700 B.C.E. according to the Chinese’s Shǐjì (史記, "The Scribe's Records") records, and is still thriving in the modern era. Coj dab is the religious belief system of the Hmong people. One must wonder what extraordinary theology, characteristics, or significant features that Coj dab has that has allowed it to survive the test of time. Coj dab is not based on the teaching of founders, such as Buddha, Christ, or Muhammad, but yet has been the exemplary of Hmong culture for centuries. Coj dab has often been associated with Animism and Shamanism, yet unlike them, it often been misinterpreted as ghost or devil worshipping by some. Coj dab is a religious belief system in which the "spiritual world coexists with the physical world" and that everything has a soul or spirit, both animate and inanimate objects. At the center of Coj dab is the traditional healer, the txis neeb or shaman. The txis neeb serves as a bridge between the physical and spirit world through shamanic ritual practices, such as ua neeb and hu plig conducted for primary purposes of healing and divination. While there is no standardization in Coj dab rituals and practice such as set rules,

It's believed that a person has 12 souls; the three major ones are the reincarnation, residing, and the wondering soul. "The reincarnation soul leaves the body at death and is reborn in another being's body. The residing soul stays with the body as it breaks down and becomes the ancestral spirit that descendants revere and pay homage to. The wandering soul leaves the body during dreams or to play with other souls or spirits. If frightened, the wandering soul may be lost in the spirit world. At death, the wandering soul returns to the spirit world and continues to live life there much as it did in the physical world. (Owens and