“Oh, you are so ugly!” Pinch, smack. “And your nose is so ugly and flat!”

A group of ladies were gathered around a perfectly angelic, chubby baby with shiny black curls, bright eyes and dimples. They all smiled and cooed at him as they heaped more insults upon him. The infant gurgled happily, obviously enjoying all of the attention.

“Why don’t they admire their babies like we do in America?” I wondered. I found out later that many Cham people are afraid of the spirits. They think that if they say good things about their babies, it will draw the attention of the spirits that might sicken or kill the children. “They are admiring their babies,” I realized, “but in their secret code.”

I have observed many other examples that highlight the fact that these people are steeped in the spirit world. When people get snake bites, most want to go to the Kru Cham (traditional healer). When they face a crisis, they look to the spirits.

When I sprained my ankle, it was all I could do to keep the ladies from carrying me off to see the Kru Cham. They said he would blow on my leg and get the wind inside of me balanced out. They insisted I would be better very soon if I would only go. As I pondered all of this, I wondered how it could possibly fit in with the Muslim religion. I became more and more confused as I received conflicting answers to my questions about Islam and the spirits.

“Some friends told me that when someone dies, the spirit can come back and make them sick,” I said to some of my more devout Muslim friends one day. “Is this true?”

They looked at each other. “No, we don’t believe the spirits come back after you die. We believe people stay in their graves until the judgment. Maybe someone got confused because they watch too much TV. All sickness comes from God as a judgment because we have broken rules in Islamic law.”

Another day, as I was walking around the village practicing the language, I asked some people questions about the Kru Cham. Some flatly denied there were any Kru Cham in the village. They claimed they go to the hospital when they are sick (which I knew was usually not true). Others said there are several Kru Cham in the village, and that’s where they go when they are sick.

“I don’t have very much money, so when I or my children get sick, we go to the Kru Cham,” Fatima told me.

“What does the Kru Cham do to help you get well?” I asked.

“Oh, he gets a glass of water and puts words from the Quran into it. Then he blows into the water and says a chant. After that, he gives the water to the sick person to drink and also pours some over their head. Then they get better!”

“Does it really work?” I asked.

“Yes. After this, the sick person is better,” she repeated.

Greg and I had both heard conflicting reports about beliefs in spirits related to sickness, so we decided to take a class period and ask our language helper, Hammad, to explain to us what the Cham believe.

God handpicked Hammad to be our language helper, Greg and I are both sure. Unlike most people here, Hammad doesn’t try to sugarcoat things or hide the truth because of shame or embarrassment. He tells it like it is. On this particular day, he surprised us by sharing with us that, in the past, he had been a Kru Cham. He told us many interesting things, like how he could tell the future by looking at a chicken egg perched on top of a pile of uncooked rice. The ritual involved candles and some kind of a chant. He also explained how many Cham think that sickness comes from the spirits, and in order to get better, one must see a Kru Cham, not a medical doctor. He also explained that often some of the ladies become possessed by a spirit, and only the Kru Cham can cause the spirit to leave.

“But why do so many people say there are no spirits and no Kru Cham?” we inquired.

“Because Islamic law forbids going to a Kru Cham,” Hammad confided. “It’s a secret. In this village, about 70 percent of the people believe in the spirits and go to the Kru Cham when they are sick. But they don’t do so openly.”

Now the puzzle pieces were starting to come together in our understanding. Many Cham make a show of following Islam, but inside they still keep to the old spirit traditions. Their religious practice is a syncretism of two conflicting ideologies. Since there is such strong outside pressure for them to conform to fundamental Islam, the people hide their continuing faith in the Kru Cham. So Cham villages often contain both devout Muslims and closet spiritists living side by side.

The more deeply we delve into the culture and beliefs of the Cham people, the smaller and more inadequate we feel. Even now, plans are being made to build a new mosque next to our house funded by Kuwaiti money.

Just the other day, I was reading about the miracle of the loaves and fishes. The disciples were given an utterly impossible job. “You feed them,” said Jesus. How could they feed well over 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes? If they had waited to obey the command until they had all the resources they needed, the multitude would have gone hungry. It is the blessing of God added to the meager offering of ourselves that multiplies the resources and brings about amazing results. We can’t see how God is going to plant His banner among the Cham, but we choose to obey His command to feed the people. Oh God, multiply the loaves and fishes!

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