Yang funeral this weekend

By Maurice O. Ndole
The Collegian

An elaborate three-day funeral for Fresno State Social Work major Shee Yang, performed according to Hmong culture, is set to start this weekend.

The funeral scheduled to take place at The Palm Memorial Chapel will begin Saturday at 7 a.m. and end Monday at 12 p.m.

Family spokesman and Fresno State Social Work Department field instructor Bee Yang said the ceremony would take several days to accommodate Hmong traditional rituals and public activities.

He said on Saturday a major ritual ceremony for the body would be performed from 7 a.m. to about 1 p.m.
He said the ritual involved talking to body and warming up the spirit for the major ritual ceremony, Bee Yang said.

After the major ritual ceremony for the body, Bee Yang said an instrumental ritual would be performed to guide the soul back to the ancestors. He said the ritual involves music played using drums and an instrument known as qeej, (pronounced as cane), a Hmong flute made from bamboo. He said dancing was not involved in the ritual.

Bee Yang said public activity would follow the major rituals on Saturday from around 2 p.m. and expected to end April 3. He said the public was welcome to attend all sections of the funeral program and would be allowed to speak about their memory of Yang or offer donations.

A final ritual would be performed April 3 before heading to the burial site at around 12 p.m.

Fundraising on behalf of the family is ongoing. Kham Lee, President of the Asian Social Work Students Organization said on Friday, the Hmong Students Organization is planning to set up table at Golden Bowl Supermarket located on First and Olive Avenues to raise money to support the Yang family.

Yang and his two nieces Ia and Pakou died March 19 when a fire burned their mobile home located on Locan Avenue north of Bullard Avenue in Clovis.

Yang was 22.

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