I can buy them cakes and candies. They pretend leaves are vegetables and use broken bowls for pots. At funerals, groups of men and women, standing or sitting, weep and sing lamentation songs. They hold each other's shoulders and hands and move them up and down showing strong emotion. The effect is like a chorus performing on stage.
Rituals occupy a major part of Hmong musical life.
The head of househead can perform it himself with offerings such as incense and candles, and no ritualist is needed. For the Oa n'nh and khxa k', however, a professional ritualist is required. He enters a trance during which he plays the chxa n'nh, a circle of jingling coins, shakes his head in accordance with this musical instrument's regular beats, and sings songs, often in an unknown language. With a piece of red cloth on his head, he stamps his feet on the floor and shouts, chasing the unwanted spirits while his tongue trembles. The khxa k' song is sung in slow, regular tempo from beginning to end.