Judge Rejects Hmong Asking Rites For Wrong Woman Sought To Perform Ceremony That Would Cause Death For Anyone Who Lied During Trial

A Hmong woman asked a judge Friday for permission to perform a native ceremony in court that would cause the death of anyone who lied in the case.

Judge Harry Crump refused, telling Yer Vang she would have to perform the ceremony someplace else.

“I cannot believe you are seriously making a motion like that to this court,” Crump said. “Court rules of decorum do not allow demonstrations within the courtroom area.

“I’m sure the gods will understand,” he said.

At a cemetery about an hour later, Vang emptied a collection of papers - some of them court documents, others decorated with scalloped edges and painted red - on the grave of Yee Lee, a Hmong shaman.

As the paper burned, she wept and chanted in her native tongue, bowed and kissed the ground. Her interpreter said she was asking God for justice, that anyone who was dishonest or discriminated against her should die.

“Effective today, you will see something happen,” said Chanhia Yang, the interpreter. The deaths are to occur within three years, he said.

The Hmong are a mountain people who came to this country from Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War.

Vang sued Caterair International Corp., an airline catering company where she was a food preparation worker from 1989 until 1996, claiming racial discrimination and accusing a supervisor of assault.

In October, a jury rejected all of Vang’s claims except one, ruling that a supervisor had assaulted Vang in 1996 by yelling and putting her finger in Vang’s face. She was awarded $1,107 in lost wages.

Vang’s request wasn’t the first curious clash of foreign culture and the Minnesota court system. Earlier this year in St. Paul, a Hmong man who survived a stabbing sought restitution for the costs of a traditional healing ceremony. The method: slaughter of animals including a cow and a pig.

A judge ruled in his favor, ordering the attacker to pay $985 to cover the ceremony, comparing it to the funeral or therapy costs that other crime victims might seek to recover.