https://www.joincake.com/blog/hmong-funeral/
Some unusual beliefs are in described in the article but the bottom line is "Hmong funeral traditions begin from the moment a person is born" so getting it right is crucial at the end of the person's present life, it's a huge responsibility for the family and friends of the loved one.The Hmong religion is traditionally animist, which means the Hmong people believe all living things are interconnected.
Observers of the Hmong faith believe in reincarnation, making funeral ceremonies that much more impactful. Hmong funeral rites are elaborate and meaningful, and they must be performed correctly. The steps and rites in a Hmong funeral are specifically designed to help a soul along its path to reincarnation.
Losing a loved oneThe purpose of the whole funeral service remains the same: to help the person’s soul reunite with his ancestors and, subsequently, be reborn.
The Hmong people believe that anyone who doesn’t receive the proper funeral rites will be lost, destined to wander the afterlife alone for all of eternity. For this reason, the proper Hmong funeral rites are essential, and they often last three or even four days...
A traditional Hmong funeral doesn’t include a funeral director. Instead, a Hmong family and the community, including a shaman, prepare the body and host the funeral themselves.
Fresno funeral home sued by family after placing wrong body in casket. What happened?
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/ar ... rylink=cpy
Family members of a recently deceased Madera woman are suing the Fresno Funeral Chapel for negligence after their relative’s body was dressed and delivered to the wrong funeral. The mix-up not only caused the family of Cher Lee emotional trauma — it also caused them to worry that they may have affected Lee’s journey to her final resting place, according to the lawsuit...
...“The afterlife and its preparation is of extreme significance for both the living and the departed. Indeed, many Hmong believe that when the body is mishandled, and the funeral songs sung, the deceased relative not only fails to make their journey to the afterlife, but the deceased stays lost between this life and the next and curses the surviving family members"...
...According to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Fresno County Superior Court, the Lee family was shocked to discover Cher Lee was prepared and transported to somebody else’s funeral. Equally stunned was the Khang family when they opened the casket of who they thought was their relative.
“In the middle of the funeral, however, to the extreme shock and surprise of all in attendance, the Khang family opened the casket to discover the wrong body!,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant had dressed Cher Lee in the Khang family members’ ceremonial funeral clothes and was now in the open casket in place of the departed Khang family member.” The following weekend a member of the Khang family approached the Lee family with photos of Cher Lee at their own family member’s funeral, dressed in the wrong clothes, the lawsuit states.
RESPONSE FROM FUNERAL HOME Steven Smith, the chapel’s funeral director, admitted Friday the funeral home at 1136 A Street didn’t do enough to make sure they were preparing the right body for the right funeral.
Smith said the problem began when one of his staff brought out the wrong body to be dressed for the Khang funeral that day. It didn’t help that two of the Khang family relatives helped dress the body and didn’t realize it was a different person, he said.
