PebHmong Discussion Forum

General Category => Hmong Culture & History => Funeral Rituals & Customs => Topic started by: JuneBug on October 28, 2013, 07:43:21 PM

Title: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: JuneBug on October 28, 2013, 07:43:21 PM
i recently attended the funeral of a guy who shot himself and his wife's supposed bf.  i think his name was cheng vang or something. 

anyway, through out the three day ritual, his dead body was periodically taken out of the casket and set it aside on a platform a few feet away. 

i don't know about you all, but this is creepy.  the guy laying there outside of his casket wearing a khaus noog!   :o
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: SummerBerry on November 04, 2013, 12:10:25 PM
Traditional funeral are creepy but then I have more respect for it.  My fil was taken out for certain rituals that need to be done.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: MovKuam on November 08, 2013, 04:32:54 PM
Back in the day body never in a casket.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Amara on November 10, 2013, 12:39:45 PM
Never seen this happen before.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 03, 2013, 09:34:58 PM
Never seen this happen before.

2x

Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 03, 2013, 09:36:07 PM
Back in the day body never in a casket.

Just the corpse on the wooden horse.

Heard stories of people laying the dead on the side of a shrubby road while they are still digging the grave somewhere else. Then passersby would pass by and be frightened by the appearance.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 03, 2013, 09:36:32 PM
i recently attended the funeral of a guy who shot himself and his wife's supposed bf.  i think his name was cheng vang or something. 

anyway, through out the three day ritual, his dead body was periodically taken out of the casket and set it aside on a platform a few feet away. 

i don't know about you all, but this is creepy.  the guy laying there outside of his casket wearing a khaus noog!   :o

Creepy. Never heard of this before.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 03, 2013, 09:36:51 PM
Traditional funeral are creepy but then I have more respect for it.  My fil was taken out for certain rituals that need to be done.

Strange.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 03, 2013, 09:37:27 PM
GREAT! Why did I have to click on this thread.. now this mental image is going to be in my head. Reporter, you better come and hold me!  :2funny:

I thought you are never scared of such thing, HS.

Good night.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 03, 2013, 09:40:19 PM
Movies, I not scare but real thing such as this.. I get scared easily. Wow, I can't believe they would do such a thing but they are practicing the old traditional back in Laos.. Back in laos....they used to leave the corps out until it's rotten..

Why? I thought the rotten ones were just because they were famous people whose funeral celebrations had to be longer. That's all. But they tried to rot the body?
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 03, 2013, 09:43:12 PM
Sometimes.. they keep waiting for a  relative to come.. remember those days.. they had to traveled long...

Yeah.

Oh, well.

Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: celi on December 04, 2013, 12:23:10 PM
never heard of it....must be something newly created ritual....weir d....
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 04, 2013, 01:38:29 PM
never heard of it....must be something newly created ritual....weir d....

I agree. I think the OGs are trying hard to prove to us younger generations that we Hmong have some traditions. ;D

I was thinking about this a lot earlier today and couldn't think of any other reasons why the corpse would be lifted back and forth from the tomb in that manner, except that the OGs are just trying to prove some traditions to the younger generations.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: yuknowthat on December 08, 2013, 02:16:55 PM
hmmmmm? that's weird...what i've seen is the ritual or tradition to be done outside the casket first then put the deceased inside the casket
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 11, 2013, 02:00:24 AM
hmmmmm? that's weird...what i've seen is the ritual or tradition to be done outside the casket first then put the deceased inside the casket

I'm thinking some more about this. I think the above-mentioned family was just sloppy and didn't quite take care of all things before putting the corpse inside the coffin. Then they remembered something wasn't yet done and took it out to do that part; then they thought they were already done. But then they realized something else had yet to be done, etc.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: yuknowthat on December 16, 2013, 06:10:54 AM
that was one thing probablity i had hin mine while thinking about this too the other day..
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on December 20, 2013, 05:11:09 PM
that was one thing probablity i had hin mine while thinking about this too the other day..

Yeah.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: NorthToWest on January 07, 2014, 02:51:15 PM
They took him out to serve him breakfast lunch dinner... O0
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: thehotone on January 24, 2014, 07:43:57 AM
i think the only time the body is palce outside the casket is when they ter-kev (show the way). once the body is placed inside the casket, they do not take it out anymore. 
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on February 08, 2014, 12:04:30 PM
They took him out to serve him breakfast lunch dinner... O0

And snacks in between, too? lol
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: Reporter on February 08, 2014, 12:05:00 PM
i think the only time the body is palce outside the casket is when they ter-kev (show the way). once the body is placed inside the casket, they do not take it out anymore. 

Hm...do they even take it out for that?
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: mronline on March 30, 2014, 10:10:37 PM
never heard of it....must be something newly created ritual....weir d....


for real? all my life, i have not even heard or seen of such thing. most be that the living trying to hard to place the crowds and but forgot to prepare the dead's funeral in good moral manners.
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: yuknowthat on April 01, 2014, 07:54:19 AM
And snacks in between, too? lol
:2funny: tiger bite lol..
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: HmongSandal on May 19, 2014, 05:06:36 PM
This is creepy hmong traditional is taken to extreme measures. Im glad I live in the USA to attend a hmong funeral. Back in Laos, there was no "Freezer" to freeze the body so with-in 3 or so days... the body of the decease would rapidly rot, literally rot. Unlike the USA, there is freezers we can store the decease into until we're ready for the funeral services. Also years ago, my grand father would tell me how Hmong funerals would be like back in Laos compare to the USA. Since there is no lighting in Laos, or Thailand ect.... they would put the decease on a table high as a dinner table, and light a candle. You wouldn't want to be awake ALONE at night!! Especially with that smell, plus people would just hold the funeral service inside their own homes. I would go insane after the funeral service is done, super scared to stay in that house! But yet again, this traditional Hmong Funeral is really scary.  >:D Don't look at the decease if you have a weak spirit or feel like you cannot bare with it after you've looked at it. I heard you can keep on feeling scared and sick!  :o
Title: Re: purpose of taking the dead body out of the casket at a hmong funeral?
Post by: chidorix0x on June 24, 2014, 06:19:38 PM
I agree. I think the OGs are trying hard to prove to us younger generations that we Hmong have some traditions. ;D

I was thinking about this a lot earlier today and couldn't think of any other reasons why the corpse would be lifted back and forth from the tomb in that manner, except that the OGs are just trying to prove some traditions to the younger generations.

Epic fail.  The OGs aren't trying to prove anything to the younger ignoramus generation.  If anything, they are trying to uphold tradition.

As for "WHY" they kept searching the casket, taking the body out, it is probably to ensure someone (outsiders/disgruntle in-laws etc.) did not put things (metal/foreign objects) inside the casket to potentially bring upon bad omens to the deceased and his/her children/posterity.  (Yes, this is the MAIN reason, Hmong belief, why something like this could happen -- body taken out and casket thorough examined.  Anything else is definitely out of the norm, and is unheard of, an anomaly.)

I'm thinking some more about this. I think the above-mentioned family was just sloppy and didn't quite take care of all things before putting the corpse inside the coffin. Then they remembered something wasn't yet done and took it out to do that part; then they thought they were already done. But then they realized something else had yet to be done, etc.

Epic fail.  (If true, then this family must be borderline "mentally challenged", if not completely.  Most/all Hmong know better.)

They took him out to serve him breakfast lunch dinner... O0

Epic fail.

i think the only time the body is palce outside the casket is when they ter-kev (show the way). once the body is placed inside the casket, they do not take it out anymore.

Fail.  This (Taw Kev/Qhuab Ke) is done in advance prior to placing the body inside the casket.

Yes, the body is never taken out of the casket once placed inside. (They do not take it out anymore.)