Then the body is set
on the floor with the head touching the main spiritual pillar of that house.
The feet will be pointing the wall of the house that is the closest to
the mountainside (86). If the person that has died is a female, then after
they have placed her on the floor the same person who has fired the gun
in the beginning of the death will again fire four more gunshots. But if
the dead is a man, then six gunshots are fired after this has happened.
This
picture show us how much the family member loved the one that left them.
Preparing to dress him, before putting him in front the spiritual pillar
where all the special events take place ( leading the dead on it way to
the spiritual world, going into after life, playing the reed pipe and drum
also take place here).
After crying, family member will dress his
up and get ready to put him in front of the pillar. In front of the
pillar the geomancer will guide him back to his afterlife.
Even after the person has died the Hmong religion thinks that the dead person still needs to eat. They prepare a little of rice and meat for the dead three times daily. This is for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But by doing this they need a food server. This food server is trained in the recitation of a certain type of verses. At breakfast, lunch and dinner the food server sits next to the body and throws two pieces of bamboo sticks next to the head of the dead. This is supposed to see if the dead would accept the food or not. When both the bamboo sticks are faced down or both of the bamboo sticks are faced up, this means that the dead does not accept the food. The dead only accepts the food that is given to him or her if the both the bamboo sticks are facing the opposite sides of each other. After the food is so called eaten, then they just throw the food out. No one is allowed to eat the food.
The warrior of the ceremonies
is the one to help provide guidance for the dead. While the dead is still
going on his/her journey it will be a rough journey for him/
her. There would be people
to trick them along the way so they would go the wrong ways, and there
would also be obstacles that the person has to face. That is why the warrior
has given a pair of bows and arrows to the dead. There would also be a
sword for the dead to protect themselves throughout this journey. If they
have taken a wrong way the warrior would guild them back to the way they
are supposed to go. By playing the drums constantly and the reed pipe.