Exploring Hmong Americans’ Attitudes towards Hmong Traditional Full-Service Funerals: The Hmong Cultural Integration Project

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine what people in the Hmong community think of the length and cost of Hmong traditional full-serve funerals, as well as alcohol use to show gratitude to visitors who attend the funeral. The study is based on survey results from 904 Hmong community members and 23 bereaved Hmong family members in two surveys. The results of the surveys show that most traditional full-service Hmong funerals last three days; they usually start on Saturday and end on Monday. Individuals who were born outside of the US, older than 40 years old, women, and Hmong Christians were more likely to disapprove of multiple funeral service days, the cost of funerals, and alcohol use to show gratitude to visitors. On average, a Hmong funeral costs about $31,843 USD. The paper concludes with suggestions for including specific members of the Hmong community to be part of future planning for a more affordable Hmong funeral.

Keywords

• hmong funerals
• cost of funerals
• alcohol usage in hmong funerals
• grief and dying