The replica was mainly based on a model of the tomb Nga built for his father-in-law who died in 1996. It consists of a stretcher for carrying the dead, a coffin, and a shelf to hold worshipping offerings. The house, which is made entirely of wood, is 2.55m tall, 4.85m long and 3.25m wide and can accommodate four to five remains of the deceased.

Under Co-tu customs, the tomb house is built on the grave of the dead person one year after he or she was buried. This is always a solemn ceremony, with buffalos killed for offerings in the presence of crowds of villagers. The bigger the house is and the more beautifully the house is decorated, the higher position the dead held when alive and the more dutiful towards the parent the children are, according to Co-tu customs.

The Co-tu community has a population of almost 50,000 mostly in Hien and Giang districts of Quang Nam province and A Luoi and Nam Dong districts of Thua Thien-Hue province, in the central region. They bury their dead close to one another in the village cemetery, build a funeral house on the grave and put many wooden statues around it.