Aftermath Of The Bus Crash..

[Ipod]

Well if you guys remember when loganberry or dingleberry as some of you call him posted about a bus crash near his home.. well aboard the bus was some mien folks (same nationality of me). and this nationality isnt that well known.. but here is what happens when there is a death in a family.. this is what the family and friends go through...

During the extended ceremonies, each family sacrificed cows, pigs and chickens to serve to their many friends and relatives from as far away as Redding and Visalia.

Immediate family members are forbidden to eat meat during the three-day event, said Chai Saechao. And sex is forbidden for relatives and friends.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1308873.html

pictures:

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1308873.html#more_images

anyways, if you got any question feel free to ask and i'll try my best to answer it..

Edited October 13, 2008 by Ipod

[Godsmack]

Why the tradition of no meat or sex for relatives and friends?

Also whats with the 3 days?

[bangin_explorer]

Not Found

The requested URL /101/story/1308873.html was not found on this server.

[loganberry]

its crazy around here man, everyone is freakin out..

they were all asian americans and some of the funeral ceramonies has to do with there religion

other towns around me been goin crazy too, murder in willows, orland hardware burned down this morning, and riotting in chico..WTF!

Edited October 14, 2008 by loganberry

[Ipod]

Why the tradition of no meat or sex for relatives and friends?

Also whats with the 3 days?

to be honest, im not really sure why. since me being christian, we do it a different from those who believe taoism.. the 3 is to make sure teh one that passed alway have enough food and money to move onto the next life...

Not Found

The requested URL /101/story/1308873.html was not found on this server.

damn it expired.. i'll post the whole thing up on here..

its crazy around here man, everyone is freakin out..

they were all asian americans and some of the funeral ceramonies has to do with there religion

other towns around me been goin crazy too, murder in willows, orland hardware burned down this morning, and riotting in chico..WTF!

correct. it is how they prepare the deceased one for life in next life... and hoping they will move on with their life and not come back to haunt.

[Ipod]

Hundreds of Iu Mien took part in the long goodbye to Fin Siew Saechao – an ancient three-day funeral ceremony that ended with her burial Sunday afternoon.

A cherished member of Northern California's Iu Mien community, Saechao, 64, was among nine Sacramentans who died after their bus flipped over on the way to the Colusa Casino Resort on Oct. 5.

At her family's Oak Park home Sunday, buffalo horns, bells, drums and cymbals rang out to the spirit world to ensure Saechao's soul would find its way safely into Iu Mien heaven.

The hardest part came at midnight Saturday when Saechao's family had to say their final goodbyes and tell her they couldn't talk to her, or love her, anymore.

"We were all crying," said her only son Chai Saechao, a sheet metal worker. "We told her, 'Mom, you are in heaven, don't worry about us,' so her spirit doesn't come back.

"

The funeral rites began Friday evening and continued around the clock, orchestrated by Fou Meng Saelee, a shaman – or spirit-healer – from Oroville. The ceremony, which Iu Mien elders believe dates back 15,000 years to their roots in China, was assisted by several Sacramento shamans.

Similar ceremonies have been going on throughout Sacramento since the bus crash, with more to come.

Sacramento, home to 6,000 Iu Mien, is considered the Mien capital of the United States.

Four Iu Mien, known as Mien for short, died along with four Hmong refugees as a result of the bus crash. Bus owner Daniel Cobb also died.

The Hmong and Mien are distinct tribes from the mountains of Laos. They were driven out of China centuries ago.

Both cultures practice shamanism, or spirit worship. During the Vietnam conflict, the CIA recruited the Iu Mien and Hmong to fight a secret jungle war against the Lao and Vietnamese communists.

The shamans who guided Saechao's spirit included several veterans of the secret war. Yao Luang Saetern, 62, of Sacramento, said he was handed a rifle at 12 and fought for 16 years "until my Lao country is gone to the communists.

"

Fin Siew Saechao was born in Nam Tha, Laos, on Jan. 1, 1944. She went to Thailand in 1983 and arrived in Sacramento in December 1994 with a daughter and son from separate marriages.

She made her mark here as a master gardener who could cultivate anything, whether it was chickens, vegetables, or friends. She nurtured her many grandchildren.

"She took care of all my kids – she raised my kids," said Meuy Saechao, her daughter-in-law who works as a waitress in a Thai restaurant.

"She accepted all my friends, she trusted everyone, and she joked around a lot and made you smile," recalled her grandson Sarn Saechao, 13, who plans to become an astronaut. "She had a good time. She used to barbecue chicken, and it was delicious.

"

Her granddaughter, Muang Saechao, 21, who has two kids of her own, added: "She had a really good heart. Even though I made mistakes, she always accepted me.

"

A few blocks away, a similar ceremony was conducted for Muang Fo Saephanh, 68, a beloved Mien grandmother of 10. Her husband, Chiem Hinh Saelee, 79, is still in intensive care, said one of their daughters, Fahm Saelee. "He told us the bus was swerving before it actually crashed," she said.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating whether the driver – who witnesses said was asleep at the wheel – was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or if there's a medical explanation.

Both grandmothers went gambling about twice a week.

"She played penny slots," said Saephanh's oldest daughter Tracy Saechao. "She told me she had nowhere to go when all us kids are working. On the bus, there's lots of joking and talking. In March, my mom won $1,000 at a casino drawing and gave it to the grandkids.

"

During the extended ceremonies, each family sacrificed cows, pigs and chickens to serve to their many friends and relatives from as far away as Redding and Visalia.

Immediate family members are forbidden to eat meat during the three-day event, said Chai Saechao. And sex is forbidden for relatives and friends.

It's all part of purifying the departed's home and family.

"Last night, we had to put magic on the people here, and everybody has to go outside the house so there's no bad spirits left in there that might go with her or stay in the house," Chai Saechao said.

Along with food and drink laid out for the spirit gods and the departed, mountains of paper with Chinese writing representing money for the ancestor spirits, were burned or taped over the doors.

The walls in Saechao's living room were covered with colorful Chinese murals with faces of spirit gods. To ensure the gods were listening, the shamans chanted poetry from a thick leather-bound Chinese volume more than a century old.

The shamans also sang of Fin Siew Saechao's journey from Laos to Thailand to Sacramento and "let them know she was a good, loving person," said Fou Meng Saelee, the chief shaman.

"We're trying to help my mom out so she can go to heaven, have a good place to live and money to spend," Chai Saechao explained. "The shamans are talking to my dad's parents and grandparents to let them know my mom's coming.

"

Saelee, the chief shaman, explained that he was helping guide Chai's mother "to another world just like this, with humans living in house, stores …"

He danced with bamboo plants, one for good luck and good spirits, another to chase away bad spirits.

The chief shaman gathered the children and grandchildren in a half circle and tossed rice at them to bring them prosperity in the coming year.

"It's like going to church," Chai Saechao said. "You don't know if God helps you or not, but it makes you feel better.

"

Chai Saechao, 31, was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and community support during his mom's traditional Mien funeral but wondered whether it represents the end of an era.

"I'm afraid once this generation passes, we are done because no one will no how to do it," he said.

His cousin Tom Saechao added, "The new generation here learns English – and they'd have to learn Chinese. Most of them go to church now."

"I hope somebody will keep it up, but I doubt it," Chai Saechao said. "Going to church is easier."

E. Vang Saelee, 74, became the ninth victim of the deadly bus accident that occurred on the way to a Colusa casino Sunday night.

Saelee, a Iu Mien refugee from Laos who served in the CIA-funded secret war against the Vietnamese and Lao communists, died Friday morning at UC Davis Medical Center.

Saelee followed his wife, Meuay C. Saelee, 74, into death – she died at the scene of the bus crash on a country road.

Their only child is Rick Saelee.

"There's only myself left," said a devastated Rick Saelee, gazing at his father's soldier pictures from the Vietnam era.

"Among all the victims I've come across, he's the one who's having the hardest time because he's an orphan and doesn't have siblings jumping in to lend a hand," said Chiem-Seng Yaangh, who is helping the victims' families.

Sacramento Lao Family Community, the Hmong Women's Heritage Association, and Lao Family Community Development have set up a trust account to support the families of the victims. The account has been opened at American River Bank, 9750 Business Park Drive, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95827.

There are two separate accounts. The first account, No. 0210034268, is for victims' relief, and the second account, No. 0210034251, is for victims' funerals.

For information, call Kobi Vang of Sacramento Lao Family at 424-0864.

The "gambler's special" bus headed for the Colusa Casino Resort flipped Sunday night after the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel. Bus owner Daniel Cobb was among those killed. Most of the 35 people who survived the crash were hurt, some critically.

Quintin J. Watts, 52, was driving the bus for the first time Sunday when it crashed. Injured and still hospitalized at Woodland Memorial Hospital, he is under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Upon his release, he will be booked into Colusa County jail on parole violations, a CHP spokeswoman said Friday. Charges stemming from the crash, if any, will be determined at the end of the CHP's investigation