We have to rely on our government Social Security check. In Laos, we were able to perform our rituals without embarrassment, without worrying about neighbors. Here there is no space to perform animal sacrifices. Our rituals are not accepted here. Those rituals are integral to Hmong religious customs and practices, which are unique and not influenced by other major Asian religions.
Funerals can last anywhere from four to seven days.
A pig is sacrificed as guests partake of a sumptuous meal. A chicken is also sacrificed, and used to convey the departed spirit to the afterlife. The chicken is the most important thing of the dead person because the chicken can fly and can make a noise to let people in heaven know that she is coming. But it is perhaps language skills that have most handicapped many in the Hmong community. Chong Neng Vang's son Ce, who was in his early 20s when he arrived, says he still feels handicapped by his limited English and by his inability to provide for his wife and nine children.