Scores of seemingly healthy Hmong immigrants have died mysteriously an
d without warning from what has come to be known as Sudden Unexpected
Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS). To date medical research has provide
d no adequate explanation for these sudden deaths. This study is an in
vestigation into the role of powerful traditional beliefs in illness c
ausation. In Stockton, California, 118 Hmong men and women were interv
iewed regarding their awareness of and personal experience with a trad
itional nocturnal spirit encounter. An analysis of this data reveals t
hat the supranormal encounter acts as a trigger for Hmong SUNDS.