does anyone know why this is done?  I don't recall ever seeing this done before.  I believe this was the morning of the burial when everything was being taken down.

it's nyias ev nyias ntawv ntuag or something rau yus niam yus txiv ua yuav koob yuav moov ua zaum kawg and then coj mus hlawv...someth ing like that ..tsis paub tseeb heev thiab..

typical yuav koob hmoov before burning the paper money. one person is chosen to represent the family during the txiv xaiv song about burning paper money. after that they burn the paper. the belief is if any part of the paper remains after the fire, these are 'koob hmoov' left from the spirit. the paper is bagged and given to the family for good luck.

slude-  You know the rice that is given to the family at the end of the funeral before the burial. I know it’s important to keep that rice and I guess you’re suppose to eventually cook and eat it? The morning of the burial someone had taken my dad’s truck so he told me to put it in my car. I was leaving to change, but my nieces went w/ me so one of them sat in the back and held on it so it wouldn’t spill. On my way back, it was only me and when I turned the corner, the bowl tipped over and most of the rice spilled onto the floor. I remember from my aunt’s funeral a few years back when they gave the rice to my cousins…the elder guys said for my cousins to take the rice and cook it b/c it’s koob hmoov. Anyways, when I got back to the funeral home, I told my dad that the rice spilled and asked if he still need it. He kind of freaked out saying “cov mov ntawd yuav muab mus ua noj hos, ua cas tseem txeej tag lawm thiab”. I told him I’d scoop it back up when we came back from the burial, but when I got back he had taken whatever was left in the bowl (which was not much). It’s been a week and the spilled rice is still on the floor in my car. I don’t know if I should vacuum it or try to save it b/c I won’t be going home until another week. 

we did that. if ur parent or close relative died, you buy those long money paper thng, you unfold it and tie it to a branch. the boys sit up frnt, the grls at the back. son in law and daughtr in laws includin nephew/nieces, brothers, aunts, uncles etc are invitd to join. but u bring ur own paper stuff. they put it out by the casket first and then you carry it ovr your right shoulder and bow. when it is over, you take it to burn to see how much luck or fortune the deceased left for you. bag it and take it home with u. some people take it very serious and even cried at the result. some pray b4 burning for certain thngs. u will see this ritual done mostly at moob leeg/moob ntsuab funeral.

correction, some hmong dawb do that also.

Few years ago I did not know how to burn those paper so I burned it vertical. Everything got burned. The OG told me I was suppose to let it burn and then lay it on to ground to let it stop burning itself. Mine got completely toasted so that mean I got no koob hmoov.

My aunt was married to a Hmong leej so we did that when she passed. The strange thing was that my cousin's wife didn't have one b/c my cousin had one already but after the burning, she found a piece of the gold paper inside her name tag.    She did treat and love my aunt better then the other nyabs.