Last week, we talk about the overall placenta in Asia. Today, we shall zoom into one of the oldest known civilisations in the world, the Hmong people. Currently, the Hmong people mostly live in Northern Thailand, Southern China, Northern Lao, North West Vietnam and Myanmar.

In this traditional tribe, the placenta holds a very important position until it needs to be buried inside the family home where the birth of a child takes place.

The Hmong people believes that the placenta connects the living world and the spirit world. This means there is a sense of deep belonging and connection of one’s placenta all through the life and therefore, it should not be ignored and disposed. The word used by the Hmong people for placenta actually means ‘jacket’ and they believe that the soul of a person actually goes back to the place where his or her placenta was buried in order to collect its ‘placenta jacket’.

By successfully doing so, only then will the soul move on to the spirit world where it can meet its ancestors. In other words, collect the jacket and travel in the spirit world so that the soul will be reincarnated and sent back to the world as a new baby.

However, if the soul and jacket are not reunited, the soul will remain in a state of unease and wander for eternity. It is full of misery, alone and naked as it could not collect its placenta jacket. The males will be buried right below the main post of the house to connote them as the main strength of the family, and serve as the performer of rituals and spiritual carrier of the household. On the other hand, the female placenta is buried under the bed of their parents.